Mr Fothergill's Salvia Blaze Of Fire Seeds, Excellent in beds and containers. To encourage a bushy habit and more flowers, pinch out the growing tips when plants are 10cm high.

Sow indoors, a warm kitchen windowsill is all you need for starting these seeds. Sow 0.5cm deep in trays of compost. Water well and place in a warm position. A temperature of 20-25°C. is ideal. Keep moist. Seedlings usually appear in 14-28 days. Transplant seedlings 5cm apart to further trays when large enough to handle. (Always handle by a leaf, never by the stem.) Grow on in cooler, but not cold conditions. To encourage a bushy habit and more flowers, pinch out the growing tips when plants are 10cm high. Gradually accustom young plants to outside conditions (avoid frosts), before planting out 20cm apart, when frosts are over.

• A half hardy annual, flowers the same year as sown
• Sizzling red hot spikes of colour through the summer
• Beautiful for massed bedding displays and containers

Sow time: Jan-Mar
Flowering/Harvesting time: Jun-Oct