Features: As close to black as you are likely to find.
Sowing Guide - Indoors: Sow indoors to flower the same year, 0.5cm (1/4") deep, in a tray of compost. Water well and place on warm kitchen windowsill. A temperature of 15-20cm (60-68oF) is ideal. Keep moist. Seedlings usually appear in 14-28 days. Transplant to other trays 5cm (2") apart when large enough to handle. (Always hold seedlings by a leaf, never by the stem.) Gradually accustom young plants to outside conditions (avoid frosts), before planting out 15cm (6") apart, when frosts are over.
Sowing Guide - Outdoors: Sow outdoors thinly in a seed bed, 0.5cm (1/4") deep, into finely prepared soil which has already been watered. Thin seedlings to 5cm (2") apart before planting out to flowering position from late summer onwards, spacing 15cm (6") apart.
Soil Type: Well drained, fertile
Position: Part shade
Hints & Tips: Remove dead flower heads to prolong flowering. A feed in late summer may keep plants flowering well into the autumn.
