Mr Fothergill’s Chinese Lanterns Physalis Alkekengi Seeds

Description

Mr Fothergill’s Chinese Lanterns Physalis Alkekengi Seeds, Fascinating red ‘lanterns’ in autumn. For dried displays, cut when ‘lanterns’ show colour, hang upside down in bunches in a light, airy room. Remove leaves when stems are dry. .

Sow indoors for surest results, 0.5cm deep, in a tray of compost. Water well and place in a cold frame, unheated greenhouse or on a warm kitchen windowsill. Keep moist. Seedlings usually appear in 21-30 days. Transplant individually when large enough to handle to small pots. (Always hold seedlings by a leaf, never by the stem.) Gradually accustom young plants to outside conditions, before planting out 45cm apart. Or sow outdoors thinly in a seed bed, into finely prepared soil which has already been watered. Thin seedlings to 5cm apart before planting out to flowering position in autumn.

• A hardy perennial, flowers the year after sowing
• Fascinating lanterns turn from green to red
• Superb in mixed borders and dried flower displays

Sow time: Mar-Jul
Flowering/Harvesting time: Jul-Oct