March 20, 1902. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review, 



57 J 



Azalea, with Pot Cover of Porto Rican Matting. 



raise the ventilators an iucli or two at 

 least a few hours each day, to change 

 the air in the house, and we know that 

 it pays us well. Sleepy carnations will 

 be an unknown quantity where this is 

 practiced. 



This, however, is not always the reason 

 why carnation blooms do not keep well 

 after they reach the store. When the 

 retailer learns to pay for freshness rather 

 than for enormous size he will have less 

 trouble in that line. The present de- 

 mand for size naturally causes the grow- 

 er to allow the blooms to stand until they 

 are fully developed and often over-devel- 

 oped before he sends them in. Such 

 blooms will not stand handling as well 

 as blooms that are less matured. If the 

 retailers were willing to pay the same 

 price for the blooms when they are about 

 three-fourths developed as he does when 

 they have.their fullest size he would have 

 less occasion to complain of sleepy ear- 

 nations. 



One who handles carnations in any 

 quantity can tell at a glance whether a 

 bloom has just unfolded its petals or 

 whether it has reached its fullest size. 

 No grower will send in his blooms be- 

 fore they are full grown when he knows 

 that he can make at least 2.3 per cent by 

 allowing them to remain on the plants a 

 day longer, but he would be only too 

 glad to send them in if he could get the 

 same price for them and know that they 

 give better satisfaction all around. We 

 occasionally have a bunch of large, fully 

 developed blooms shoved under our nose 

 with an invitation to compare them with 

 ours, which are just opened. We do not 

 mind it any more, as we have learned 

 that the suggestion to place a few blooms 

 of each lot in water for three days and 

 then compare them invariably causes a 

 back-down by the aforesaid gentleman. 



Much of the poor, sleepy stuff seen at 

 Christmas and Easter has been saved up 

 too long. While we believe it to be neces- 

 sary and po.ssible to save up most of our 



cut of a week previous to these days, we 

 also find that it takes a great deal of 

 .ludgment and a thorough knowledge of 

 each variety to keep the bloom in good 

 condition for so long a time. By saving 

 up the bloom a week I do not mean to 

 stop cutting two weeks ahead and to cut 

 clean every bloom that is open a week 

 later, and store them in the cellar an- 

 other week. We usually let up sending 

 the blooms in about one week ahead of 

 the date they are wanted, and cut the 

 blooms as they need to be cut, and store 

 away in a cool, dry cellar. Some of the 

 varieties need to be cut almost as soon 

 as the petals are unfolded, wliile others 

 must be left on a day or two longer. 

 For instance, many of the delicate pink 

 varieties should be cut before the sun 

 bleaches them, while others, that unfold 

 with a rather deep color, will bleach into 

 much prettier shades after being open 

 a day or two. Nearly all the whites be- 

 come purer after a day or two. 



After taking them into the cellar you 

 should look over the blooms every day, 

 changing the water and clipping the 

 stems. There will be many blooms that 

 will not keep in good condition as long 

 as you intended and you can send them in 

 and get a good price for them if you do 

 it in time, certainly more than they will 

 be worth if you keep them with the rest. 

 There is always more or less of a short- 

 age of good stock during the week before 

 Christmas and Easter. 



Be sure there is no aphis on your plants 

 when you begin saving up the blooms. 

 You do not want to fumigate the houses 

 while there is a lot of open blooms on 

 the plants, and it will not be necessary 

 if you see that the plants are clean at the 

 start and you give a light fumigation 

 then. Don't fumigate strong, as it will 

 take the color out of the nearly open 

 buds, but rather repeat a mild fumigat- 

 ing two or three times, which will do the 

 work just as well. 



A. F. .J. Bauk. 



ROSES. 



To be in good condition for planting 

 in May or early in .Tune, young stock 

 should be shifted into 3-inch pots soon 

 after Easter. This gives them time to 

 form nice stocky plants and to fully 

 ri[)en their wood before planting time. 

 When shifting rrom il-i-inch to 3-ineh 

 pots the soil should be passed through a 

 half -inch screen ; the shift being so 

 small requires that the soil be fine so 

 that it can be packed evenly around the 

 ball. 



It is also better to give ample drain- 

 age at this potting, as they will now re- 

 quire copious supplies of water and 

 more syringing to keep spider in check. 

 The bail should be placed about the same 

 depth in the pot as it was before and 

 the soil packed evenly and firmly around 

 it. If treated in this way the plants will 

 be of a uniform stockiness, which they 

 can never attain if potted loosely and 

 deep. 



Though Meteors require a high tem- 

 perature during their flowering season, 

 they do not require it while young. A 

 temperature of 56 degrees at night and 

 70 degrees on bright days makes more 

 robust and healthy stock. They should 

 not be subjected to the higher tempera- 

 ture till the plants are fully established 

 and the bench fairly well tilled with 

 roots. Beauties, Kaiserins and Golden 

 Gates succeed equally well while young 

 in the same temperature. As soon as 

 potted, the plants should be watered till 

 the soil is thoroughly moistened. 



The sudden changes in the outside 

 temperature which we may expect dur- 

 ing the next two months will test the 

 skill of the grower to keep his stock free 

 from the attacks of mildew. Care and 

 good judgment in ventilating so that the 

 temperature of the house undergoes no 

 sudden change and keeping the house 

 free from draughts will keep the stock 

 hardy, healthy and consequently less 

 liable to be attacked. ErBES. 



ROSE SOIL — DEFORMED BEAUTY 

 BUDS. 



As it is impossible for me to procure 

 old rotted cow manure to mix with my 

 rose soil, I would like to know if I 

 could not use cow manure made this 

 winter to mix with the sod soil. If turned 

 over several times before the end of May, 

 would it be safe to plant roses in such 

 a soil by June 1 ? 



Why do my American Beauty roses 

 have 50 per cent deformed buds, and 

 how can I prevent this? The plants are 

 healthy and strong. C. G. 



By keeping out all rank litter and 

 heavy corn stalks, the manure made dur- 

 ing the past winter can be used with all 

 safety. After piling up sod with the 

 requisite proportion of manure, it should 

 remain in that condition for about three 

 weeks before being chopped; turning it 

 over twice at inteiwals of ten days will 

 bring it into excellent condition. 



At this particular season there are al- 

 ways a percentage of malformed Beauty 

 Wuds, especially on the weakly older 

 wood. This is caused by the plants di- 

 verting the greater part of their vitality 

 to forming strong new canes. If the 

 deformed buds are on the new canes, the 

 trouble may arise from an attack of 

 thrips. which usually begin to be plenti- 

 ful about this time. Overfeeding and 

 irregular watering also causes distorted 

 buds. EiBES. 



