J 00 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



JfXE V.I 



cause after the roots got down into the 

 soil we could if necessary water only the 

 soil in the bench and keep the soil in the 

 pots and the stems perfectly dry without 

 the least bit of trouble. Two years ago, 

 in spite of the early planting, etc.. we 

 lost quite a number of plants from stem- 

 rot, but last season out of the 3,000 I am 

 sure we did not lose a dozen plants. 



We also tried another variety, part in 

 these pots and the balance from the field, 

 planted in the bench, both put on the 

 bench at the time time. Those in the 

 pots gave us liner blooms on better stems, 

 both longer and stronger, during the 

 early winter, but the number of blooms 

 per plant was about 10 per cent less. The 

 plants in pots will not grow as bushy as 

 those in the tield, hence there are less 

 shoots and less blooms, but less cropping, 

 I believe. It is the check the plants get 

 in being transplanted that causes the 

 cropping to a very large extent. The 

 growth is arrested almost entirely for a 

 few days, until the roots catch hold again, 

 and when growth does commence again 

 they all come along together and bloom 

 witliin a short space of time. The small 

 shoots that were really a month behind 

 the larger ones do not wilt quite so much 



as to be ready to plant by August or you 

 will be late, and many another job that 

 needs doing will have to wait, and per- 

 haps none of your carnations will be 

 planted until that new house is finished 

 and your fall crop of blooms is ruined, to 

 say nothing of the lowering of the c;ual- 

 ity of your winter crop. 



Our plants are getting the benefit of 

 tield culture and will not need to be 

 disturbed at all this fall, and don 't 

 you think we will have some good 

 blooms this fall and a steady cut 

 right along? I do. We do not 

 need to rush the house up unduly. 

 Just so we get the glass on and a few 

 steam pipes connected by September is 

 all that is required, and we can stop a 

 few days now and then to look after 

 other jobs that need doing, and we can 

 plant the other houses at the proper time. 

 The only objection we can see at present 

 is that the plants will have no drainage 

 beneath them this winter, but with care- 

 ful watering no serious injury should re- 

 sult. 



These rains are causing an unusuai 

 growth of weeds, and you must keep 

 your carnations free from them if you 

 want good plants to house next fall; 



Cattleya Mendelii, Showing Habit of Plants. 



as the larger ones, and begin to grow 

 sooner and more rapidly when the roots 

 take hold. 



You will always find that the later you 

 plant the more your carnations will crop, 

 and if you plant on the benches in the 

 spring you will have less cropping than 

 when they are grown in the field during 

 the summer and housed in August or 

 later. Plants that are housed in July 

 will crop very little more than those 

 planted from pots, and it does seem to 

 do most varieties good to be out a few 

 months. 



This year we are working another 

 scheme that promises to prove satisfac- 

 tory. Having decided in the winter to 

 build a large new house 45x200, we 

 staked off the house and made beds and 

 walks just as we expect to have them ar- 

 ranged in the house hereafter, and plant- 

 ed our carnations right where they are 

 to stay next winter. Xow we are en- 

 engaged in building the house over them, 

 and although it takes a little more care 

 and perhaps a little more work in build- 

 ing, just think of what advantage we 

 gain. When you build your house first 

 you are compelled to rush it through so 



even if you have to pull them by hand it 

 will pay you to do so. Keep the culti- 

 vator going after each rain, too, as the 

 ground will bake quickly at this time of 

 the year. A. F. J. Baub. 



CARNATION SOIL. 



AVould it be safe to use for carnations 

 next winter the soil in the benches in 

 which roses were grown last winter, and 

 which has been dried out for a month? 



L. Z. 



Up to a few years ago there were more 

 carnations grown in old rose soil than in 

 any other kind except by those who grew 

 nothing but carnations, and those were 

 few. The carnation does not like fresh 

 sod nor fresh manure, and I suppose that 

 is what led up to the practice of grow- 

 ing them in the soil that had roses grow- 

 ing in it the previous year. 



This soil would not be so bad if it 

 were spread out in a pile about a foot 

 high and left exposed to the weather a 

 year or two, but when it is used right 

 over without this exposure it soon be- 

 comes sour, and nothing will grow well in 

 it. We have often used it ov^ this way 



with good results, but if we can get fresh 

 soil without too much trouble we always 

 prefer it to soil that has been used. 



If L. Z. has no soil piled up for his 

 carnations, he had better get to work 

 and get some. I would not get a heavy 

 sod, but would prefer it from a field that 

 has been under cultivation up to a year 

 or two ago and on which there is bo 

 heavy growth of weeds or sod. Add 

 well rotted manure in the same propor- 

 tion as with sod and work it over once 

 each month. A. F. J. BAtiR. 



CATTLEYA MENDELII. 



In this species we have one of the 

 finest cattleyas known. It is a native of 

 Colombia, though it is regrettable to 

 have to state that it is becoming very 

 scarce in its native home, according to 

 the collectors. It is very variable in color 

 ing, running from pure white to Aeey 

 pink in the petals and sepals, the lip be- 

 ing large and generally a rich magenta 

 color. There are many beautiful varie- 

 ties of this species, the pure white form. 

 C. M. Bluntii, being an exquisite thing. 

 Plants such as the one in flower, can be 

 bought at from .$2..iO upwards. There is 

 no limit to the "upwards" for there are 

 some splendid clumps in cultivation, if 

 one will pay the price for them. 



I know of no cattleya that will re- 

 spond to intelligent care as will C. Men- 

 delii. It is the freest of growers and we 

 sometimes cut blooms with stems no less 

 than eighteen inches in length. The 

 three plants in the illustration will give 

 the reader an idea of the wonderful 

 vigor of this species when well grown. It 

 is not at all unusual for plants to make 

 two and even three growths in a season 

 and flower on all of them together. 



The plants in the illustration are 

 growing on fern root with an annual 

 top dressing of moss, in a house with top 

 and bottom ventilators, which are open 

 night and day in the summer time. This, 

 with ample water supplied during the 

 growing season ensures a well ripened 

 bulb, which will produce wonderful 

 spikes, with four and five flowers to a 

 spike. We have plants that produce 

 annually from 30 to 50 flowers each. But 

 aside from its commercial value this 

 species should be grown by everyone 

 who loves orchids, as it so well repays 

 the grower for his labor. 



The flowers will appear from March 

 to July, according as the plants com- 

 plete their growth in the fall. We al- 

 ways like to keep the temperature well 

 up to 60 degrees nights in the coldest 

 winter weather, and never dry off your 

 plants to any great extent. The present 

 is the best time to repot if the plants 

 need it, that is to say as soon as the 

 flowers are cut and before the youn^: 

 growth is much advanced. C. T. 



ROSES. 



Seasonable Hints. 

 During the hot weather newly plaBtei 

 houses should have all the ventilatioi 

 possible during the day, and ghooM 

 never be closed down tight over night, 

 especially in dry weather. If the leaven 

 show dampness in the morning, that is a 

 sure indication that the ventilation fcan 

 been deficient. This dampness is cansei 

 by condensation of the moisture in the 

 house, and if allowed to continue for 

 any length of time, the foliage will .be- 

 come of a very thin and soft texture, 



