650 



The Weekly Florists^ Review, 



March 1'7. 1902. 



ing September and October the plants 

 grew very rapidly, soon forming uense 

 growtli, and by the end of October were 

 good salable plants. 



"I do not find any more diflSculty in 

 growing Lorraine than any other be- 

 gonia. No begonia will thrive in a stag- 

 nant soil or a stagnant atmosphere, 

 therefore the plants must be carefully 

 watered and ventilated, especially during 

 the winter. Lorraine will bear more 

 light than any begonia I know of under 

 glass. My experience is that it is well 

 suited in a night temperature of about 

 55 degrees, and our house that they were 

 flowering in was more frequently 50 at 

 night, after cold weather set in. 



"The plants did not receive any liquid 

 manure but once, that at the end of No- 

 vember, for I was perfectly satisfied 

 with the way they were growing, and ae- 

 cided to let well enough alone. In con- 

 elusion I would say, do not attempt at 

 forcing the growth, watch carefully the 

 growth as it proceeds, taking care that 

 it is being well solidified, for upon the 

 grower's judgment all depends whether 

 success or failure follows. To treat 

 plants one' year the same as another is 

 to court failure, the varying atmos- 

 pheric conditions having a great influ- 

 ence upon vegetation in general." 



CHRYSANTHEMUMS IN COLD 

 FRAMES. 



BV Wll.I.IAM SroTT. 



[Rea<t _before the Tarr.viown Hon. Societ.v.] 



The chrysanthemum is but one of 

 many plants which the amateur flower 

 lover may cultivate successfully. Jly 

 reason for choosing it for my subject is 

 because I consider it one of the easiest 

 plants to cultivate and with proper care 

 one that cannot fail to give satisfac- 

 tion and pleasure to the cultivator. In 

 treating the subject I will divide it in 

 two sections: that of bush and the single 

 stem plants. 



In growing for bush plants the first 

 difticulty the amateur encounters is get- 

 ting his plants started early enough to 

 give him a good foundation for large 

 bushes. The best time to strike the cut- 

 tings for this purpose is about the be- 

 ginning of February, but without the 

 assistance of a hot-bed the amateur will 

 be unable to strike cuttings this early, 

 and as plants can be procured at a very 

 small cost from any reliable florist, 1 

 would advise him to buy the few plants 

 he will require for specimens. Any time 

 after the middle of March they can be 

 handled satisfactorily in a cold-frame, 

 and if procured at that time from a 

 florist should be planted at least four 

 inches high and well rooted in small 

 pots. As they will likely come out of 

 warmer quarters than a cold-frame, it 

 would be well to let them remain for a 

 few days in the pots in which they are 

 received, until they are somewhat ac- 

 climated, before attempting to shift 

 them ; but after about a week they can 

 be safely transferred to 4-inch pots. 



After they have got a hold of the 

 fresh soil and made a little growth, the 

 points should be pinched out to induce 

 branching. Air must be admitted to the 

 frame every day and regulated so that 

 the temperature won't rise much above 

 G5 degrees, but in the afternoon should 

 be closed when the temperature begins 

 to fall below this, so as to retain all 

 the sun heat possible to help keep up the 

 night temperature, and some sort of cov- 

 ering should be provided for the frames. 



No hard and fast rule can be laid 

 down in regard to watering, but the 

 plants should be looked over once a day 

 or even twice during very bright A\eath- 

 er and water applied when the soil shows 

 signs of dryness. But great care must 

 be taken not to over water, as the plants 

 are more likely to b-ecume sickly through 

 too much water than not enough. 



When the 4-inch pots are well filled 

 with roots the plants should be shifted 

 into sixes and later into S-inch, and 

 finally into twelves, which stage they 

 will reach early in June. In making our 

 compost heap in the fall we use four 

 loads of sod to one of well rotted barn- 

 yard manure. After standing all win- 

 ter this is ready for use for potting in 

 the spring. Before using this is well 

 c-hoppeil up to insure thorough mixing. 

 For tlie first pottings we use a little 

 leaf mould and sand, so as to render the 

 compost somewhat lighter, but for sub- 

 sequent pottings wo use without these 

 additions. But for llie final potting we 

 use a good sprinkling of bone meal, and 

 if the soil is of a heavy luiture some 

 finely broken charcoal. In the last pot- 

 ting thorough drainage must he provided 

 by using plenty .of crocks in the bottom 

 cf the pots and the soil should be packed 

 miideratcly firm. Pinching should begin' 

 as l)efore stated when the [jlants are in 

 4-inch pots, and bo continued according 

 as the shoots, attain a length of about 

 three inche?.' ^^Sovcral shoots will be 

 produced frorii 0Bch break and the strong 

 er ones should be pinched out a. day or 

 two before tbe weaker ones, so as to 

 give the latter a chance of stronglheninir. 

 After the end of .Tuly pinching should 

 be discontinued and the plants allowed 

 to make all the growth they can before 

 setting their flower buds. Tlie last of 

 August or the beginning of September 

 selecting the flower buds will have to 

 be attended to. The exact date will de- 

 pend upon the variety, some varieties 

 setting earlier than others, but as a gen- 

 eral rule with planis that have been kept 

 pinched up to the end of •TiUy. it is safe 

 to take the first bud that sjiows. 



By faking the bud is meant the se- 

 lecting of the central bud by removing 

 all buds and shoots that appear around 

 it. Here I wouM advise the inexperi- 

 enced not to be too hurried, but to allow 

 the buds to be stifTiiiently prominent, so 

 that they can he removed without dan- 

 ger of injuring the central bud. 



As growth goes on sullu-ient space 

 must be allowed for development ami 

 the sashes heightened according as the 

 plant requires it, plenty of air being 

 given day and night after all danger of 

 frost is over. 



Throughout the growing season suf- 

 ficient stakes should be placed in the 

 plants to insure support and to bring 

 the plants into shape, but the final stak- 

 ing should not be done until the buds 

 begin to show color. Several methods 

 of staking are adopted, some supporting 

 every flower Avith an individual stake, 

 others make a regular wire frame over 

 the surface of which the blooms are 

 evenly fastened. This latter plan makes 

 the neatest looking plant, as it is easier 

 to get the shoots well down over the 

 pot and give the plant a more symmet- 

 rical form. 



The varieties I would recommend for 

 bush plants are Olory of the Pacific, 

 pink, and its sport. Polly Rose, two 

 good early dwarf varieties: A, J, Bal- 

 four, pink: Mrs. Robinson, white; Oc- 



tober Sunshine and Robert Hallidav. vel- 

 low: and G. W. Childs. red. 



In growing plants for specimen blooms 

 under cold frame culture, I consider the 

 best time to strike the cuttings is from 

 the first to the tenth of May. Then the 

 amateur is at no disadvantage, as with 

 greenhouses at my disposal I always pre- 

 fer to strike my late cuttings in cold 

 frames, as I find better results are ob- 

 tained. A flat about three inches deep 

 should be procured and filled with sharp 

 sand: into this the cuttings should be 

 placed about two inches apart, the sand 

 being moderately damp, so that it can 

 be well firmed around the cuttings. Keep 

 well watered and keep the frame in 

 which they are placed heavily shaded 

 for the first few days until the cuttings 

 begin to callous, after which more light 

 can Ijc allowed, hut the shading should 

 not l:e entirely removed until root action 

 has taken place. The closer the frame 

 can be kept the better while the cuttings 

 are striking, as air has always a flag- 

 ging influence. But as the shading is 

 lightened, more air must be given to 

 keep the temperature from rising too 

 high. 



When well rooted, )Kit up into 3-inch 

 pots. When they are well filled with 

 roots, pot into flinch pots, which will 

 be found large enough to flower them 

 ill. Kee]i the plants growing to a single 

 st«m by removing all side shoots as 

 I hey appear. Should buds appear pre- 

 vious to the end of August, they should 

 lie pinched, out. Several shoots will re- 

 sult from this pinching and the strong- 

 est one should be taken up for a single 

 stem, as before, all others being re- 

 moved, Tlie selecting of the bud largely 

 depends on the variety. 



■The plants produce what are known 

 as first crowns, second crowns and ter- 

 minals. A crown bud is a bud sur- 

 rounded by shoots. These shoots, if the 

 bud is removed, will make more or less 

 growth according to the variety before a 

 bud is again produced, while a terminal 

 bud is a bud surrounded by buds, des- 

 ignated terminal as it terminates the 

 growth of the plant for the season. 



Few varieties do ■/■ell on the first 

 crown, a notable exception being IT. .T. 

 .loiies. which must he taken on Hie first 

 crown to give satisfactorv results. I 

 have also had some good flowers on the 

 Afa/lame Carnot variety from first crown 

 buds, but as a rule the flowers come 

 (no <lense to' open properly, and with a 

 long, bare neck. The second crown bud 

 is the one from which the majoritv of 

 varieties produce the best flowers. This 

 as a rule is produced about the beginning 

 of September. Though some of the ear- 

 lier varieties will produce terminals 

 about that time, again some varieties, 

 such as Col. Appleton and Gold Mine, 

 give the best results on the terminal 

 hud, but the list of varieties is so long 

 that it would take too long to enumer- 

 ate them or to describe the bud most 

 suitable to each. Suffice it to say that 

 the denser the flower the later the bud 

 may lie taken, and as new varieties are 

 constantly produced the grower can only 

 learn by experience and a close study of 

 his varieties just what buds he ought to 

 select. 



Opinions differ greatly regarding when 

 feeding should be commenced, but my ex- 

 perience is that if the plant has had a 

 suitable soil feeding is not necessary un- 

 til after the buds have been taken, and 

 if done much before is apt to produce 

 soft, pithy growth, I invariably use 



