February 12, 1910 



HORTI CULTURE 



■225 



SEASONABLE NOTES ON CUL- 

 TURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK. 

 Begonias. 



We have now quite a number ot 

 varieties of Begonia sempertiorens. 

 Very few other bedders are so satis- 

 factory for certain outdoor decorative 

 effects as these begonias. Tiiey are 

 exceedingly good for the florist who 

 deals in bedding and pot plants, for 

 marking sharply cut lines, and also for 

 massing purposes. Seeds of Begonia.-, 

 sempei'florens and Vernon and its var- 

 ieties should be started now. Use 

 light soil. Sow the seeds very thinly 

 over the freshly watered surface. Press 

 them firmly into the soil with a piece 

 of smooth brick or board. The seeds 

 are so ver> minute that they need no 

 covering. These begonias can be prop- 

 agated from cuttings also. 

 Cinerarias. 



From now on the plants intended 

 for Easter will likely need a little 

 more heat, unless they are very far 

 advanced. They should have a very 

 light bench, plenty of room, an abun- 

 dance of air and must never be al- 

 lowed to become dry. They should 

 have mild but frequent fumigation. 

 They can also stand sprinkling with 

 tobacco water now and then, which 

 should easily keep them free of aphis. 

 When the flower trusses begin to show 

 and all along before they show color, 

 they should be fed with liquid manure 

 of any kind, say twice a week, but 

 not too strong. They will be improved 

 both in substance and color of the 

 flowers by it. 



Ferns. 



This is a good time to look over 

 your ferns. It is possible that some 

 of your stock has not been overhauled 

 for some time and some will need pot- 

 ting. If any have got too large for 

 your use, divide them up and repot in 

 sizes big enough to allow an inch of 

 soil around the clumps. Where the 

 plants only need a shift, merely re- 

 move the crocks from the bottom of 

 the plants and any loose soil before 

 they are repotted. A good compost for 

 ferns consists of equal parts of loam 

 and leaf-mold with some sand; if man- 

 ure is used it should be thoroughly de- 

 composed See that your ferns for fill- 

 ing fern dishes, have good attention 

 While they don't like syringing, the 

 atmosphere that surrounds them 

 should be kept moist. When ferns 

 have filled their pots with roots liquid 

 manure stimulant may be given at 

 short intervals all through their grow- 

 . ing season. By its use the plants are 

 kept in a vigorous, thriving condition, 

 with much less pot room than would 

 otherwise be necessary. Seedling ferns 

 will require all the care possible. Seed 

 spores should be pricked off when 

 large enough to liandle. Into flats, and 

 all that are of sufficient size should be 

 potted at once. Adiantums are always 

 in demand, and various Nephrolepis, 

 such as Bostoniensis, Whitmani, 

 Scottii and Elegantissima; also Pterls 

 cretica Mayii, P. serrulata cristata, P. 

 Wimsetti and Cyrtomiuni falcatum. 

 Gardenias. 

 These plants can be retarded or ad- 

 vanced with ease. To have good suc- 

 cess with gardenias the young stock 

 should be raised by the grower him- 

 self in preference to southern grown 

 stock. The cuttings that were taken 



from the parent plants in January and 



AZALEA MADAME PETRICK. 



This is one of the newer varieties 

 of Azalea indica and in the three or 

 four years in which it has been avail- 

 able to the trade in this country it 

 has acquired a reputation as one of 

 the most desirable ever introduced and 

 has enjoyed a demand far beyond the 

 present supply. Its popularity with 

 the florist trade is due largely to its 

 early forcing character. It can be eas- 

 ily brought into bloom in November 

 and will be widely used for that rea- 

 son. The flower is a very fine bright 

 pink, something like Van der Cruyssen 

 but smaller. Azalea Madame Petrick 

 was introduced to the trade by C. Pet- 

 rick of Ghent, Belgium, who named it 

 after his wife, now deceased. 



The late W. K. Harris is credited by 

 Robert Craig as having been the first 

 to import this variety to this country. 

 With characteristic prudence Mr. Har- 

 ris would not divulge the name ot the 

 variety or where he bought it, but, 

 nevertheless, Mr. Craig managed to 

 g?t a good consignment himself the 

 following year. 



There are other azalea novelties to 

 be put on the market in the near fu- 

 ture which have been tested by sample 

 only as yet, but which give promise 

 of great superiority to the old stand- 

 ard sorts. Mme. August Haerens is 

 one of these. It has a very large 

 flower of bright crimson red and fine 

 foliage. 



put in sand should be potted up as 

 they become ready and grown on in 

 a temperature of about 60 degrees. The 

 young plants should be repotted as 

 they require it. Give them plenty of 

 moisture and see that they are kept 

 free of insects.. Don't fail to syringe 

 them on all favorable occasions. If 

 you have plants in the benches at this 

 time with a full promise of a good 

 crop, be sure and maintain a temper- 

 ature of 65 degrees at night with little 

 or no deviation either way. This 

 means ev'erything in the perfect de- 

 velopment of gardenia blooms. 

 Outdoor Frames and Hotbeds. 

 It will be well for the florist to look 

 over his cold frames. The exposure 

 to the weather soon puts them in need 

 of repairs. Now is a good time to 

 make any repairs necessary so as to 

 have them ready when wanted to re- 

 lieve over-crowded houses. Frames 

 protected with some covering or mats 

 will not he a risk for plants of a half- 

 haidy nature. To make a hotbed put 

 in some fresh horse manure about 

 eighteen inches deep and tramp well: 

 when the weather gets warmer less 

 will do. Allow about a week or so 



after making for the intense heat to 

 abate. When the temperature is down 

 to a steady point of 80 degrees, spread 

 a layer of fine soil of five inches for 

 seeds; if for plants, roots or bulbs, 

 more soil should be used. Be sure and 

 see to ventilation on all bright days. 

 Primula obconlca. 

 The stock that is in four-inch pots, 

 it they are well filled with roots, can 

 now be shifted into five or six-inch 

 pots. They like a rich soil — a mix- 

 ture of good loam, well-decayed man- 

 ure and leaf mold. Thus handled they 

 will produce a great wealth of bloom 

 for two months that will pay well for 

 the trouble Be sure and make up 

 some pans for Easter by using three 

 or four plants from four-inch pots to 

 a nan. They are sure to be as popular 

 and useful as ever. Seedlings sown in 

 .January, when large enough to handle, 

 should be pricked out into pans or 

 shallow flats. As soon as they have 

 made leaves an inch long, they should 

 be potted in two-and-a-half-inch pots. 

 Give them plenty of air and keep them 

 as near the glass as possible to pre- 

 vent them from drawing up. 



.T. .T. M. FARRELL. 



