38 



• • GARDENING. 



Oct. 15, 



ROStS, PBRENNlflLS, NARCISSUS, GLAD- 

 IOLUS. 



F. X. B.. Indiana, asks abont; 



1. Roses. The young canes in my bed 

 of H. P. roses are five and six feet long, 

 too long to look well. Could they not be 

 kept at a uniform height of three feet, and 

 if so, when should the cutting have been 

 done? What would be the result on the 

 crop of fall roses? 



2. Tell us about mountain fleece. 



3. When should pots of paper white 

 narcissus be brought up for Christmas 

 bloom? 



-t. Eupatorhiw ageratoides. — Ought 

 you not to have added it to your list of 

 hardy perennials f )r blooming"in Septem- 

 ber (see page 404)? It has been very 

 beautiful with me for the past ten days, 

 and is indispensable for mixing with the 

 fall flowers in bouquets and vases. 



5. Gladioli.— Mine have been glorious 

 in spite of the dry weather, and one 

 dozen of mixed Childsii were so fu I that 

 I want some named ones. 



1. Cut the young shoots back two- 

 thirds their length after they have done 

 blooming in June, this will induce them to 

 throw out two or more middle sized 

 branches to the stem instead of one long 

 shoot, and these will bloom nicelv in fall. 

 But further summer pruning of "healthy 

 wood is not to be recommended as it in- 

 duces the lower wood buds that should 

 be reserved for next spring's work, to 

 break into growth. Old, scraggy and 

 decaying or enfeebled wood, however, 

 should be cut out at any time, and so 

 late as this you may shorten the shoots 

 to three feet without danger of starting 

 the lower eyes. 



2. It is a hardy herbaceous perennial 

 a native of the Himalayas, of vigorous 

 grow'th, and it bears a great prolusion of 

 deliciously scented fleecy flowers from the 

 end of September through October. Frost 

 destroys the flowers, hence the plant, 

 although most dfsirable inmildlocaHties, 

 is not fitted for open air culture where 

 frost comes before October. It loves rich 

 moist ground. Severe drouth defoliates 

 it in summer. When used as cut flowers 

 all the lai-ge leaves should be picked off. 

 else they will cause the sprays to wilt. 



3. It depends altogether on how far 

 advanced they are in the cellar. We take 

 them in about three weeks before cutting 

 time. But if the plants are in a backward 

 condition, and your room is not a brisk 

 warm one, they may need four to five 

 weeks. 



4. It is very good. We mentioned onlv 

 a few plants among the many available 

 ones. 



."). That's right. There is no better 

 or more satisfactory plant for an 

 amateur to grow than gladiolus. Inbuv- 

 mg gladiolus bulbs let us give you 'a 

 point: Write— "send me big bulbs, by ex- 

 press, I'll pay the charges." Small orders 

 of gladiolus are generally sent bv mail. 

 The buyer thinks it is chcaperto getthem 

 this way, but yon cannot reasonably ex- 

 ])ect that the florist is going to pr'epav 

 postage on heavy big bulbs if he can use 

 smallish ones. If you are willing to pay 

 the charges, however, the chances are he 

 will be very glad of the opportunity to 

 send your big bulbs to get rid of theiii. 



Field MICK .\rE THE i,ii,ii:s.— I'. H. B., 

 Philadelphia, "had a l;irge (|uantity of 

 Hly biflbs which I had planted amongmy 

 rhododendrons, eaten up by field mice. 

 How can I get ahead of the mice?" 



Field mice work under cover onI\-. ,\ 

 light mulch of straw, hay, or litter of anv 



sort, a sole of old grasson the ground, or 

 the like is paradise to them. They don't 

 like tree leaves so much. In mulching 

 your rhododendron bed don't use any of 

 these materials, but, instead use a good 

 coating of well wetted, half rotted leaves, 

 and tread it down firm about the plants. 

 Old well-pulverized muck too woifld be 

 good. But, for the hardier varieties, in 

 the neighborhood of Philadelphia you do 

 not really need a mulching. 



Growing Bulbs in W.\shinoton State. 

 — H. S. B., Spokane, asks us: "Do you 

 think it would be possible to grow hya- 

 cinths, tulips, and other bulbs here for 

 profit? My soil is a rich, black, sandy 

 loam, irrigated and it grows celery to 

 perfection. If so when should the bulbs 

 be planted?" 



If your land and other conditions are 

 favorable we believe you can grow good 

 . tulips, lilies, narcissi, alliums, erythro- 

 niums, and many miscellaneous bulbs, 

 but we are not so sure about hyacinths. 

 While the soil is of great consideration, 

 the proper manipulation of the crop is 

 of more importance. And before you can 

 make a living at it you must liave the 

 countenance of the market, you must 

 make a specialty of some one thing as 

 gladioli, narcissi or lilies and produce a 

 superior and cheap article in large quan- 

 tity, or go into a general bulb-grow- 

 ing business on a large scale. The grower 

 who is able to supply a long list of arti- 

 cles, is more apt to get orders than one 

 who can furnish only a few and that in 

 limited quantity. Before embarking in 

 the business get some idra of the very low 

 rates growers receive for bulbs, the time, 

 labor, expense, and thought required in 

 raising the crop and marketing it, and 

 then start on a small scale— to raise stock 

 for yourself to begin with. In the way of 

 hardy bulbs as tulips, narcissus, etc., now 

 is the time to begin. 



When to pot Cannas.— J. M., Pitts- 

 burg, Pa., asks: "When in spring should 

 cannas be removed from the place where 

 they are stored in over winter, and 

 potted? Would not potting them in 

 February or March do more to prevent 

 the tubers from rotting than if they were 

 left until May?" 



With amateurs it is a question of room. 

 Decidedly potting them would help to 

 save them, but those who have windows 

 only can hardly aflbrd thespace formany 

 cannas. Pack them close, one deep and 

 heads up in boxes partly filled with ordi- 

 narily moist earth, and place these in an 

 equable cellar of 45° or thereabout, and 

 preserve them from drip, or a warm 

 atmosphere, and they should live well in 

 the cellar till March." But keep looking 

 at them now and again in winter. 



Roses. 



ROSES, CflNNflS AND CflRYOFTERlS IN OC- 

 TOBER. 



How glorious is this October weather! 

 Some of the roses in the field arc n<nv giv- 

 ing their finest blooms. The Polyantha 

 Clothilde vSoupert is a mass of flowers, 

 larger and rich r in color than at anv 



Ml 



to be as much at home outdoors asunder 

 glass, it is one of the finest white roses we 

 have, and very free bloomer. 



Cannas outdoors are still beautiful. 

 Oueen Charlotte is a mass of crimson and 

 gold. Golden Star is also fine, it will 



require heavy feeding to make this vari- 

 ety nm over three feet high. I raised this 

 variety last year from Star of '91 seed. 

 The French raised cannas will have to 

 take a back seat after our new American 

 varieties are introduced. I have now on 

 one greenhouse bench a greater variety 

 of color and form in cannas than can be 

 found in all the European varieties com- 

 bined. From a batch of Oueen Charlotte 

 .seedlings alone I can make up a better 

 collection than Crozv sent out last year 

 in his 20 varieties for '94. [Bravo, 

 America!— Ed.] I have at last the pure 

 yellow wanted. This one is of most 

 healthy growth and a very free bloomer. 

 It opened its flowers here outside during 

 our coldest night in September when the 

 temperature fell to 33° in the morning. I 

 cut the bloom heads oft" and divided the 

 plant; the flowers kept fresh in water for 

 nearly a week. I have also other shades 

 that are charming. 



Caryopteris Mastacanthus. — This is 

 the finest blooming shrub-like hardy plant 

 we have in bloom out of doors just now. 

 It is oije mass of rich blue flowers, and 

 has been in blossom for a month. The 

 heat and drouth of last summer had no 

 apparent evil effect on it, for its roots run 

 deep. Antoine Wintzer. 



West Grove, Pa., Oct. 7, '94. 



FALL BLOOMING flflRDY ROSES. 



We would name the following as among 

 the best hardy roses for fall blooming: 



M. P. Wilder, cherry carmine. 



Pierre Xotting, deep crimson. 



John Hopper, bright rose. 



Margaret Dickson, white with pale flesh 

 center. 



Paul Neyron, deep rose. 

 Mrs. John Laing, soft pink. 

 Marguerite de St. Amande, bright 1 

 Francois Michelon, deep rose. 

 Earl of Dufferin, velvety crimson. 

 Anne de Diesbach, lovely carmine. 



Ellwanger & Barf 

 Rochester, N. V., September 1894. 



Fael-Blooming Hardy Koses.— The 

 varieties of hardy roses that have shown 

 the most bloom in fall on our gi-oundsfor 

 the past few years would be about like 

 this: Mrs. John Laing, soft pink; Mme. 

 G. Bruant, white; General Washington, 

 led, shaded crimson. Coquette des Alpes, 

 white tinged with blush; La France, sil- 

 very-rose; Marshall P. Wilder, cherry- 

 carmine; Paul Neyron, deep rose; Coquette 

 des Blanches, white; Ulrich Brunner, 

 chen-y-red; Eugene Furst, velvety crim- 

 son; Mme. Masson, reddish crimson; and 

 Clothilde Soupert, pearly white withrosy 

 center. Perhaps this last named one 

 ought not to be classed as hardy, but it 

 has proved perfectly hardy with us for 

 the past two years. This is from our ex- 

 perience with the above roses as one and 

 two year old plants in nursery rows. 



Storrs & Harrison. 



Paincsville, Ohio. 



ROSfl WICHURfllflNfl TO COVER fl GRAVE. 



K.,.N.J. asks: Would you recommend 

 tlic trailing Wichuraiana rose for plant- 

 ing on a grave? I want it to cover the 

 loj) of the mound entirely. The soil is a 

 light mixture of sand and clay, and is 

 well drained. If you think the plant may- 

 be used in this situation how should the 

 soil be treated, when and how should the 

 jjlants be set out, and how far apart, the 

 idea being to form a mat of foliage. 



.lauted an< 



)uld 



