DURING the next week or two, conservatory and pot plants, especially of those varieties which require a long growing season, should be sown indoors.

It is mostly the small-seeded kinds like begonia, eustoma, exacum and calceolaria which should be started off now. They will be substantial plants by Easter.

Fine-seeded greenhouse and conservatory plants are best sown in a soil-less seed compost. Fill the pot or tray with compost, tamp it down gently and then stand it in a bowl of water up to the rim so that the compost can become thoroughly moist. Remove the pot or tray and allow it to drain for an hour or so. The seeds can then be carefully sown on the surface of the compost.

For most gardeners, getting an even distribution with seeds that are often as fine as pepper is difficult. So take a small quantity of dried silver sand and mix it in the packet with the seeds before sowing.

Shake the packet gently to ensure as fair a distribution of seeds as possible throughout the sand and then sprinkle the mixture thinly over the surface of the compost. Not only should the seeds be distributed easily, but the sand indicates precisely where they are.

Do not water the seeds again, for the compost should be moist enough. Any additional covering may smother tiny seeds.

Providing that the pot or seed tray is placed in a warm light place, germination should follow quickly. Damping off disease is the only difficulty that might arise, especially in areas where the seedlings are crowded together and there is high humidity.

This can be readily controlled by gently sprinkling emerging seedlings with a mixture of water and Cheshunt Compound. At this time of the year this is always a wise precaution, even when the disease has not been observed. The symptoms of damping off disease are very distinct. Patches of seedlings in a tray appear to have been felled at the base, the lower part of the stem rotting away and causing the otherwise healthy young plants to collapse. This is not exclusively a problem for tiny seedlings. Even young plants of palms, Swiss cheese plant and asparagus ferns can suffer, although in practice, they are less likely to do so.

All these foliage plants can also be sown immediately, although considerable patience is needed, for they often take several weeks to germinate. Commercially-produced seed is almost certainly viable, so it is important to wait patiently for the seedlings to appear.

Germination is often erratic, so if only two palm tree seeds germinate at first, do not discard the rest. They are likely to appear over the next two or three months. However, it is important to lift the emerging seedlings as soon as they are large enough to handle and to pot them up individually. Use a good potting compost, for they will require the balanced nutrients that are absent from seed compost. Be sure to place seedlings in plenty of light so that they can achieve balanced growth, something that is often difficult to guarantee indoors at this time of the year with poor light and central heating.

GARDENERS' QUESTIONS

Q. My spathiphyllum or peace lily is growing, but the edges of the leaves are turning yellow or brownish, what is wrong?

A. It is almost certainly associated with compost condition. If your plant has been in the same compost as it was originally purchased, then it is time to repot. Soil-less composts deteriorate within a year and need replacing, ideally in this case with John Innes No 3 Potting Compost.

Q. Is it too early to sow tomato seeds? I only have a window ledge.

A. It is rather early if you do not have really warm well-lit conditions. For eventual greenhouse or indoor cultivation mid-February is early enough to sow. For outdoors, you can leave it until March.

Q. When can I transplant my rose bushes, they have been in their present position for four years?

A. Roses can be moved at any time while they are dormant.