Al-i:ll. 7 r.ilU. 



The Weekly Florists' Review, 



1043 



Window at Fleiscbman's New York Store at Easter. 



ROSES. 



Notes. 



Now that Ka>tev is a thing of the p;isl 

 the benches which weic iiiuiiojjolized by 

 |ilants for that occasion will, or should 

 iie, empty, ilany growers defer repot- 

 ting their roses until this room is avail- 

 able, which is not always a profitable 

 plan, especially when Eastev happens to 

 be late, but in these times of strenuous 

 competition we have to make many shifts 

 which are not always to our liking. 



As soon as we can get the room this 

 repotting should be attended to in order 

 to give tlie plants more root nourishment, 

 sunshine and breathing space. Beauties, 

 which are the first to suffer from being 

 pot-bound and overcrowded, should re- 

 ceive first attention. When warm weathei- 

 commences these, if left pot-bound, soon 

 gel into a hard and stunted condition 

 from which it takes them a long time to 

 recover. Overcrowding is a sure way to 

 lose the bottom foliage, as during warm 

 weather they require large supplies of 

 water and syringing, which is sure to 

 cause .softness of the leaves and young 

 wood, a condition inviting black spot, 

 mildew and other troubles. 



I have always had the best success 

 with Beauties when the half-inch shift 

 was practiced, the foliage, though small- 

 er, being of a firmer texture and the 

 wood more solid than when larger shifts 

 were used. And though the plants may 

 not be quite so large at planting time, 

 tliey invariably go to work quicker, make 

 more bushy plants and are not so sus- 

 ceptible to troubles as are the larger and 

 softer stock produced by using the larger 

 shift. 



Varieties such as Golden Gate and 

 Ivory, being less dense of foliage, do not 

 require so much room as Bride and 

 Bridesmaid, but should have the same 

 amount of attention as regards repotting, 

 ventilation, etc. 



Green fly and red spider will now re- 

 quire careful looking after, as if ther 

 are allowed to get a foothold among the 

 young and tender foliage they are diffi- 

 cult to get rid of and do a deal of dam- 

 age in a very short time. 



Frequent sprinkling of the paths dur- 

 in.g bright weather serves to keep the 

 requisite amount of moisture in the at- 

 mosphere, without which it is impossible 

 to retain that fresh and well-fed appear- 

 ance the foliage ought to have. 



As the season advances more air will 

 have to be given, and as less firing will 

 lie necessary the dangers of an attack of 

 mildew will be multiplied and the means 

 of subduing this pest will he lessened. 



This condition should make us all the 

 more careful in the ro.gulation of air 

 and the maintenance of a steady tem- 

 perature, using at the same time all the 

 other safeguards at our disposal. 



New Sorts. 



Those who intend investing in some of 

 the new disseminations should do so as 

 early as possible, so that the plants may 

 have time to grow into good stocky stuff 

 by planting time and also to get them ac- 

 customed to the soil and water before 

 jilanting in the bench. I have found this 

 a much safer plan than to wait until 

 jilanting time and then have to take the 

 chances of late propagated stock, which 

 may have been treated in quite a difTer- 

 ent manner and under diflferent condi- 

 tion- from my own. ElBES. 



CARNATION NOTES— WEST. 



Suitable Soils. 



If you are having -ume nice bright 

 weather and the around is drying off, 

 ^ou need not be idle while you are wait- 



ing for the weather to settle. In our 

 section we do not care to risk planting 

 carnations in the field until after April 

 l.i to 20. 



If your sod pile is not too wet you 

 would better have it turned over now 

 and thoroughly mixed. Especially should 

 it be done now if it was not done last 

 fall, but even if it was done then it will 

 do the soil good to be turned again. Do 

 not touch it, however, if it is in a wet 

 condition, but let it lie until it is dry 

 enongli to crumble nicely when being 

 shoveled over. To handle it in a wet 

 condition will ruin it for planting this 

 season, and only a thorough freezing will 

 put it into usable condition again. 



Some growers mix a lot of bonemeal 

 and other fertilizers into the soil at the 

 spring turning. I know of no very great 

 objections to this practice, hut I have 

 never considered it superior to mixing it 

 in the summer at planting time. A good 

 sod. from a piece of good ground, with 

 a good one-fifth of cow manure makes a 

 good base for the plants to work on and 

 the other manures and fertilizers can be 

 added as they are needed. If you do mix 

 some bone into the soil at this turning I 

 would advise you to use a rather coarse 

 gi'ade, as it will last much longer than 

 the bone-flour we use in the fall on the 

 benches. 



When getting your carnation patch 

 leady for planting you should be care- 

 ful, too, that the soil is not too wet 

 when it is plowed. Better wait until 

 May rather than to plow up a wet piece 

 of ground to plant on. It will get lumpv 

 and all the cultivating you can do will 

 not make it fit for plants to grow on. 

 If yon only plant a few thousand it is 

 just as well to plow the whole patch at 

 one time, but if you plant 25,000 or 

 more you would better plow it as you 

 plant it, say enough to last a couple of 

 days at a time. This can he done best 

 with a side hill plow. With one of these 

 you can plow across and back as many 

 times as you like without leaving any 

 furrows. You will find your plants take 

 hold much quicker in fresh plowed soil, 

 lipsides it being much easier to plant in. 

 If there is anything that will try the 

 temper of your men it is to have to plant 

 in dry. lumpy soil, and progress will be 

 very slow. 



I do not like to put much manure on 



mi^^L 



Alex. McConnell, New York, had an Outdoor Plant Display. 



