i8 



GARDENING. 



Oct. /. 



warm growing houses -until they bloom, 

 w^hen they are usuall3' removed to the 

 display house. Mr. Uihlein has a nice 

 little collection of the East Indian pitcher 

 plants (nepentAes) which are in unusually 

 fine condition; they are kept in a com- 

 partment divided by sliding doors from 

 the main house, requisite moisture being 

 supplied bj' an open tank at the bottom. 

 Some of the finer alocasias and anthur- 

 iums luxuriate under the same treatment. 

 Among newer plants the pretty little 

 Saintpaulia. ionantba has bloomed very 

 freely, and the purple-leaved Strohilan- 

 tbes Dyerianus has proved a valuable 

 bedding plant, making a fine effect all 

 summer. It will be used for color effect 

 indoors during the winter, together with 

 foliage begonias fittonias, wandering 

 jew and similar plants. E. T. R. 



THE ORBENflOUSE. 



All warm-greenhouse plants should 

 now be under glass. Theseinclude fancy- 

 leaved begonias, banana and rubber 

 plarts, tender palms, and the like that 

 maj- have been massed i,ut of doors for 

 subtropical effect in summer, or placed 

 outside for their own good. If they had 

 been plunged in their pots the change to 

 indoors will hardly show on them; but if 

 they had been p'anted out and had to be 

 lifted, reduced and potted, they are apt 

 to lose a good many leaves, even if kept 

 moist overhead, and a little close for a 

 time. 



Ordinary greenhouse plants, such as 

 bouvardias, carnations, stevia, genista 

 and the like that have been lifted and 

 potted, if not yet indoors, should be all 

 neat, clean, convenient and ready at a 

 moment's notice to rush indoors at the 

 first appearance of frost. While some 

 plants, as azaleas, carnations, geraniums, 

 freesias and obconica primroses may not 

 show any signs of injury if a slight frost 

 should overtake them, others, as callas, 

 marguerites, stevias, heliotrope, nastur- 

 tiums and cinerarias are injured b3' the 

 least touch of frost. Be on the safe side, 

 however, and don't let frost catch any 

 of your pot plants out of doors. 



At this time of year greenhouses need 

 very little shade. Ferns, most palms, 

 fine-leaved plants like marantas. alocas- 

 ias, begonias, colored dracienas, pitcher 

 plants, and screw pines should get some; 

 but crotons, ficus of sorts, allamandas, 

 ixoras and the like among the warmer 

 plants, and carnations, chrysanthemums, 

 stevias, heliotrope and geraniums need 

 no shading. Cinerarias, calceolarias, 

 obconica and Chinese primroses, how- 

 ever, we find prefer a little shade even if 

 thev require cool treatment. 



In the case of established well rooted 

 greenhouse plants, from now on till mid- 

 winter, is the time to economise in the 

 wav of fire heat; plants naturally are 

 now becoming inactive, and encouraging 

 them in this rest is assisting nature for a 

 better growth next year. But don't let 

 the temperature get'too low, or the at- 

 mosphere raw or chilly. Ventilate early 

 in the forenoon, andalittleat a titre; and 

 shut up early in the afternoon and a little 

 at a time, being sure to shut up soon 

 enough to keep in considerable sun heat. 

 In wet, raw, or chilly weather have a 

 little fire heat to warm and sweeten the 

 atmosphere, even if ventilation has to be 

 given at the same to keep down the tem- 

 perature. Water all free-growing plants 

 plentifully. Whatever syringing over- 

 head is done should begiven early enough 

 in the afternoon to allow of the foliage 

 getting quite drv before night. 1 lon't w et 

 the plants oveVhead in wet weather. 



rather increase the fire heat and give a 

 little ventilation, and in the case of the 

 warm houses moisten the floors and 

 benches if need be. 



Fancy-leaved caladiums may now be 

 laid aside where they will be dry and 

 warm; let them stay undisturbed till 

 potting time next winter or spring Store 

 gloxinias in much the same way, or. if 

 you need the pots shake the "bulbs" and 

 store them close together, and one deep, 

 in wooden flat boxes with a little sand or 

 loam under and over them. Don't let 

 them get too dry in winter. Be sure to 

 label the achimenes, then cut them over 

 and store them anywhere where thev can 

 be kept warm (50° to 60°) and dry' over 

 winter; if kept reasonably cool they 

 remain longer in spring before starting 

 into growth. Amaryllises and crinums 

 that have been growing all summer may 

 now be kept dr^' to remain so for some 

 months. 



While we are very glad to have the 

 allamanda and clerodendron vines in 

 bloom at any time, about this time of 

 year when we are crowding the green- 

 houses with other plants, we usualh' 

 lessen the water supply to these vines, 

 and head them in a good deal, keeping 

 them rather dormant till spring. 



Cinerarias, calceolarias and Chinese 

 primroses are now making good growth 

 and should be repotted as often as they 

 require it; keep them cool but away from 

 frost, and give them lots of water. We 

 like 4 and 5-inch pots for Primula ob- 

 conica, and get more flowers proportion- 

 ately from these sizes than from larger 

 ones. 



In order to get fine, full flowers of 

 chrysanthemums we must disbud them, 

 that is remove all the little, deformed and 

 side buds on a shoot, retaining one plump, 

 perfect bud to each; also pinch off all 

 unnecessary bottom and stem side shoots. 

 We aim to get fine succulent foliage and 

 large flowers, and remove everything else 

 in the way of supernumerary buds and 

 laterals. And in order to have the finest 

 carnations and roses we do much the 

 same thing in their case, especially as 

 regards disbudding the flower buds. 



that we can take up and treat all the 

 sprouting bananas, like sapientum and 

 Cbinensis. with most as much freedom as 

 we would bulbs or tubers, but we cannot 

 do this with ensete, superba, and n<in- 

 sprouting sorts like them. 



KEEPING MUSfl ENSETE OVER WINTER. 



G. H. S , Woburn, iMass., writes: "I 

 have an Abyssinian banjma (Musaensete) 

 plant in my garden with leaves eight 

 feet long. Can I lift and keep the root 

 over winter so that I may have the plant 

 in my garden again nextsummer? It was 

 raised from seed sown last winter." 



Perhaps you may. Cut down all of the 

 leaves to within four feet of the ground, 

 then dig up the plant very carefully 

 securing as many unbroken roots as pos- 

 sible; then pot it into a large pot, or bet- 

 ter still, into a nicely cleaned iron-hooped 

 butter tub. Water it well at the root, 

 and sprinkle the top overhead once or 

 twice a day for a time, but if any water 

 lodges in the sheaths of the leaves dump 

 it out, for if left, it may cause rot. Now 

 winter the plant in a light warm cellar. 

 A breath of frost is injurious to it. Over- 

 watering will rot it. Cut away all decay- 

 ing parts as they show themselves during 

 winter. Had your plant been an old root 

 bound specimen before being set out its 

 chances of surviving the winter would be 

 greater than in the case of a young seed- 

 ling that never had ary restricted root 

 growth. Had you a greenhouse you 

 would have very little trouble with it. In 

 fact when you can get up such a fine 

 specimen in one vear from seed wearenot 

 sure that the old plant is worth saving. 

 This seems hard advice in view of the fact 



CflRNflTIONS IN WINTER. 



Please give me some information about 

 raising carnations for winter blooming, 

 I have tried to have them but meet with 

 no success. Do they need much warmth 

 and sunshine and water, and what kind 

 of soil? Mrs. S. H. Miller. 



Suft'olk Co.. N. V. 



Carnations for blooming this winter 

 should be one j-ear old plants, that is 

 plants that were propagated from cut- 

 tings last winter or spring, and planted 

 out of doors over summer, then lifted and 

 potted or planted on greenhouse benches 

 in August or September, or even in Octo- 

 ber. Ifyou have plenti greenhouse room 

 planting them on a bench is by far the 

 best way; if you have only limited green 

 house space, or no greenhouse at all, then 

 you must grow them in pots. Plants 

 grown in the open ground without any 

 preparatory treatmtnt for Hfting will 

 now be in full bloom and full of flower 

 spikes; this is a bad condition of things 

 for lifting, thej' should have been kept 

 pinched in at least till August so as to 

 make them short stocky plants, which 

 when lifted and potted carefully would 

 not wilt. If they have not been so pre- 

 pared cut back all the most advanced 

 shoots. Lift the plants with big balls of 

 earth to the roots, then slap the earth 

 away gently so that it may drop off 

 without tearing the roots; when the ball 

 is reduced enough to get it comfortably 

 into a 6-inch pot pot it, using a rich 

 fibrous loam with some well decaj-ed 

 manure mixed in with it and a sprinkling 

 of hone meal if you have it handy. The 

 pots should be clean and well drained. 

 Pot firmly. Put a neat short, strong 

 stake to each plant at potting time to tie 

 up the flower spikes to. Place the pots 

 out of doors in a sheltered, slightly shaded 

 spot for some days till the plants recover 

 from the shock of moving and start mak- 

 ing new roots; water them moderately at 

 time of potting and sprinkle them gently 

 overhead two or three times a day for a 

 while to keep them plump. While a 

 slight frost maj- not hurt them it does 

 them no good, and we should try to get 

 our carnations indoors before frost 

 touches them. But while this is good 

 practice as regards the greenhouse it re- 

 gards modification in the window. Rather 

 than bring them into the window the 

 first of October to keep them there, we 

 would keep them out of doors as long as 

 the weather would permit, setting them 

 in on the piazza away from frosts, high 

 winds and cold wet storms, taking them 

 indoors permanently when the weather 

 became too unsettled to trust them out- 

 side. Never let the carnations get quite 

 dry, and don't drench them, but keep 

 them fairly moist at all times. They like 

 a sunny window in winter and fresh air 

 every day. .\ hot, close, stifling atmos- 

 phere is hurtful to them, for they are cool 

 loving rather than heat craving plants. 

 A greenhouse temperature of 50° to 55° 

 at night with a rise by sun heat of 10° to 

 20° in the day time suits them nicely; but 

 in the dwelling house the minimum may 

 fall as low as 40°, and the plants do well. 



C.\RN.\TIONS, KKEPLNC. THEM OVER FOR 

 KXT YEAR. — H. C. B., New York, writes: 



