270 'THE PI.ANT WORLD 



The Home Garden and Greenhouse. 



Conducted by F. H. Knowlton. 



[The editor of this department will be glad to answer questions of a rele- 

 vant nature, and also to receive short articles on any phase of this subject.] 



TIMELY WORK IN GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE. 



Primulas. — Cold frames with any situation except a directly southern 

 one are the best for the summer and fall culture of these most useful 

 winter blooming plants ; after September it matters little if the frame 

 faces due south, provided shaded sash, or a covering of tiffany is over 

 the plants during the heat of the day. It stiffens these plants up wonder- 

 fully to have the sash removed except during strong sunshine or heavy 

 rain. The copious night dews are very refreshing to them, and until 

 danger of frost threatens they are benefited by all possible exposure. 

 The plants should be in their blooming pots by this time ; 5 and 6-inch 

 are good, useful sizes, the P. stellata varieties doing better in a size larger 

 than the P. sinense. If any old plants have been kept over, 8-inch pots 

 will be none too large, but spring seedlings are far preferable. When 

 the plants become well rooted round the sides of the pot, a pinch of 

 Clay's fertilizer or a watering with soot water will be found bracing. 

 Later in the season stronger liquid stimulants may be used, but the finest 

 Primulas we ever had were grown without liquid manure. These plants 

 are better grown in frames until at least the middle of October. Most of 

 them are now pushing flower spikes, which should be pinched out for at 

 least two months yet. 



Freesias. — The last planting of these should not be delayed much 

 longer. Of course, bulbs may be kept until the new year, but they lose 

 much of their vitality ere theu. Some growers prefer pots or pans for 

 the culture of these, but fully as good returns may be had from growing 

 them in flats ; one 24 by 12 inches and 3/^ to 4 inches deep will hold 

 fifty bulbs. We keep the bulbs dark until growth starts, and in the open 

 until frost threatens, when they are transferred to shelves in a house with 

 a night temperature of 50 to 52 degrees. Constant waterings bake the 

 surface of the soil in the flats or pans, and stirring the surface once in 

 ten days helps growth. Freesias are now usually cut clear to the ground 

 when in flower in order to allow of long stems. This is very injurious 

 to the bulbs, and while they may seem of good size when ripened, they 

 fail to start with the vigor of new bulbs after two seasons, and if stems 

 18 to 24 inches long are desired some new stock must be introduced each 

 year. 



Cyclamen. — If seed has not yet been sown for next season's supply, 

 the present is a suitable time for the work. Pans or flats of light, well- 



