Nemesia Growing guide A quick-growing cheerful annual with more colours and colour combinations than any other. Type Half hardy annual, reaching about 8-10in/20-25cm. Garden conditions Good in containers or beds and borders but hates so drought so ensure the soil is kept moist. Best in cool gardens or in partial shade in hot areas. Sowing indoors Sow from early to late spring in fresh seed sowing compost. Temperatures above 60F (15C) depress germination, as do fluctuating temperatures, so use a thermostatically controlled propagator on a windowsill or in a greenhouse out of the sun. Pricking out Prick out as soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle, preferably individually into 2in (5cm) square pots. Plant out or move into larger pots before the roots become too congested. Growing on Keep moist and cool, plants do not recover well from drought. Planting out Plants are neither frost hardy nor tolerant of sudden heat and bright light so harden plants off carefully. Nemesia 'Sundrops' Sowing outdoors Nemesias can also be sown direct where they're to flower although seed of 'Sundrops' is too expensive too risk. In cool areas sow in good, moisture retentive soil in late spring; in warmer areas sow in early spring or in autumn. Pests and diseases Greenfly can be a problem on both seedlings and garden plants, browning of the foliage is usually caused by drought and heat stress. Variety guide 'Blue Gem' Small, blue, white-eyed flowers on neat plants. 'Carnival' Bright, large-flowered mixture. 'Danish Flag' Sparkling small-flowered, red-and-white bicolour. 'Fire King' Large, vivid scarlet flowers. 'KLM' Dainty small-flowered blue-and-white bicolour. 'Pastel Mixed' A vast range of pastel shades including pretty bicolours. 'Sundrops' The latest thing: neat and bushy, with twenty colours in five groups of shades. 'Tapestry' Same as 'Pastel Mixed'  ©copyright 1999 Graham Rice. All Rights Reserved. All Images Digitally Watermarked.