January 22, 1910 



HORTICULTURE 



109 



SEASONABLE NOTES ON CUL- 

 TURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK. 

 Make a Good Start. 

 Now is the time, more so than any 

 other part of the year, when well- 

 weighed plans for the coming months 

 should be laid. Catalogues are now 

 coming in and they should have care- 

 ful persual. In your list of things 

 needed include a few of the newer 

 things that seem worth trying. The 

 best strains of all kinds are neither 

 too good nor too expensive for the 

 florists' use. 



Sowing Seeds. 

 At about this time it is right to make 

 sowings of such things as centaurea, 

 lobelia, petunia, salvia, torenia and 

 some other seeds that are slow in 

 growth and require from now on to 

 grow into good salable plants by bed- 

 ding out time. Make a sowing of pan- 

 sies now. As soon as large enough 

 they should be pricked off into flats, 

 and if they are kept on the move they 

 will be fit to be planted into frames in 

 the early spring. Pansies thus handled 

 will be excellent stock with bloom by 

 the first week in May, and as good as, 

 if not better than, fall sown stock. 

 Also sow for the greenhouse seeds of 

 Asparagus plumosus and Sprengeri, 

 Dracaena indivisa, gloxinias. Primula 

 obconica, Musa Ensete, Grevillea ro- 

 busta and smilax. These all require a 

 warm temperature and bottom heat foi 

 successful germination. 



Propagation. 

 From now on and for two months is 

 a time when conditions are found most 

 favorable for the propagation of stock, 

 but florists have to carry on propaga- 

 tion at all seasons where there is an 

 open market, so there is hardly any 

 let-up to speak of. But growers should 

 manage their work in a way so as to 

 do the largest and main part of their 

 propagation at this season. It is well 

 known that good cuttings must come 

 from good stock plants, so see that 

 they have proper attention. Put in 

 batches of begonias, carnations, ger- 

 aniums, fuchsias, lemon verbenas, Ian- 

 tanas, double petunias, ivy-leaved ger- 

 aniums, vincas, fancy and scented ger- 

 aniums, English ivies, heliotropes and 

 lobelias. It is time enough yet for the 

 soft-wooded and fast-growing plants as 

 achyranthes, coleus, impatiens and 

 many others as they are better when 

 propagated later. Where a large quan- 

 tity of new stock is wanted not a 

 square foot should be left idle any 

 longer than possible. 



Lilies for Easter. 

 If Harrisil lilies have a good start, 

 say six to eight inches high, with a 

 little judgment they should be all right 

 for Easter. They are generally al- 

 lowed from six to eight weeks from 

 the time the buds show until they are 

 in full flower, so the growers can fig- 

 ure out when to have them in bloom. 

 You can do more real forcing In the 

 last four weeks previous to flowering 

 than you can with safety in two months 

 in mid-winter. Giganteum, multiflorum 

 and Pormosum are considered to be 

 the best varieties of longlflorum for 



forcing. Lilies make good progress in 

 a temperature of 60 degrees; when the 

 buds have made their appearance they 

 should have an increase of 10 degrees. 

 As the days get longer this is usually 

 not difficult to afford just before Easter 

 time. Be sure to ventilate when ever 

 possible and, with a little attention to 

 fumigation, good results should follow. 



Rambler Roses. 



If the supply of wood is plentiful 

 they should have the wood that flower- 

 ed last year cut away and tips of the 

 unripened growth topped back. No 

 other pruning is required. See that 

 they are tied before the eyes break, 

 and when the canes are long, bending 

 spirally around three or four strong 

 stakes is a good way. Another plan 

 is to trim and tie in fan shape, or in 

 fact any way one's fancy may sug- 

 gest. Bending induces an even break 

 all over the canes. It takes about 

 eight or ten weeks for Ramblers to 

 come into flower. Give more or less 

 heat as occasion demands. 



Spiraea. 



It is time to start these now, because 

 Easter is so early this year. When 

 root action starts they should be 

 moved into where a temperature of 

 almost 50 degrees at night can be 

 maintained. Be careful that they don't 

 suffer from want of water; they 

 should have plenty of water all the 

 time. A month before they come into 

 flower see that they have some weak 

 liquid manure; it can be given at 

 least once a week. 



Hydrangeas. 

 Hydrangeas will not come in any 

 too soon if started now for Easter. 

 They should be brought into a tem- 

 perature of 50 to 55 degrees at night— 

 that is, if they have been grown during 

 the summer in pots. Those that have 

 been grown in the field and lifted and 

 potted in the fall should have been 

 in a cool house since Christmas, and 

 it is good policy as far as forcing is 

 concerned to go slowly and increase 

 the heat later on. The terminal buds 

 should be full and plump, and the 

 wood also well ripened. If such is 

 not the case it will be of little use 

 to try to force them. They are great 

 lovers of plenty of water at the root 

 and should not be allowed to want 

 for the same. If the drainage is not 

 good look them over and remedy it. 



The Care of Plants Left Over. 



Poinsettias that have been left over 

 should be gradually dried out and 

 placed under some dry, warm bench, 

 where no water will reach them. 

 Keep in this dry state until the be- 

 ginning of April. There will be plenty 

 of time to propagate after that date. 

 See that there is a dozen old plants 

 of stevia saved. Stand these in some 

 cool corner of the house and cut down 

 within about six inches of the pot, 

 and by March they will produce some 

 fine cuttings. Begonia Gloire de Lor- 

 raine that is in 5 or 6 inch pots can 

 be put in a cool house of about 50 

 degrees at night and dried off slowly. 

 They will make some good cuttings in 

 May, or they can be made into large 

 specimen plants by pinching back the 

 old growths, shaking off the old soil 

 and repotting. 



JOHN J. M. FARRBLL, 



Connecticut. 



DUTY ON IMPORTED NURSERY 

 STOCK. 



Editor HORTICULTURE. I am im- 

 porting nursery stock from Europe, 

 and would like to know what is the 

 import duty on evergreens, and what 

 on deciduous trees and shrubs, or to 

 whom shall I apply for information at 

 Washington, D. C? 



Please answer through the columns 

 of HORTICULTURE. 



N. B. 



Portland, Ore. 



The duty on all trees and shrubs, 

 deciduous and evergreen, is 25 per 

 cent ad. valorem. As regards ever- 

 greens there is an apparent ambiguity 

 in the clauses of the tariff act in 

 reference thereto, but at the New York 

 custom house it is interpreted as 

 above and duty is assessed accordingly. 



CARNATIONS OR ASPARAGUS? 



Gentlemen: — I would like to know 

 through your valuable paper if it pays 

 better to grow asparagus than carna- 

 tions, and how best to grow it — for 

 strings or bunches. Also the best time 

 to plant it. How long will it be 

 when fit to cut and ship. J. B. 



Atlantic Highlands, N. J. 



In reply to inquiry asking if aspara- 

 gus or carnations pay best, we wish 

 to say if your greenhouses are modern, 

 up-to-date houses, carnations will pay 

 best, but if houses are old fashioned, 

 get good, strong 3-in Asparagus 

 Sprengeri plants from any wholesale 

 dealer advertising in HORTICUL- 

 TURE, use one-third well rotted cow 

 manure and one-third clay soil, and 

 part leafmould, and you will have a 

 good crop by June 1, when asparagus 

 is in good demand for school gradua- 

 tions. Use temperature 65 degrees to 

 75 degrees, and after May 15th, harden 

 it up, and you will have quite good 

 returns from your investment. A. G. 



CARNATION LADY ALGY. 

 This new carnation was exhibited 

 by A. H. Wingett at the meeting of the 

 Lenox Horticultural Society on Jan. 

 15th and was unanimously awarded a 

 first class certificate. In color it is 

 pure salmon pink. It has been the 

 good fortune of the writer to see it 

 growing this winter, and among a 

 house containing the best varieties 

 splendidly grown, "Lady Algy" at- 

 tracted instant attention. It is a 

 sport from Beacon, and when I say it 

 has all the good qualities of its parent, 

 growers will know that there is not 

 much amiss with it. Certainly we do 

 not know of anything to equal it 

 especially in attractiveness of color 

 either in natural or artificial light. 

 EDWIN JENKINS. 



We understand that J. W. Duncan, 

 assistant superintendent of the Boston 

 Park system, is planning to locate In 

 the West within the near future. Mr. 

 Duncan has been an active and popu- 

 lar member of the fraternity in Boston 

 and will be greatly missed. He was 

 elected president of the Gardeners' and 

 Floiists' Club at the last annual meet- 

 ing. 



