March 12, 1910 



HORTICULTURE 



380 



SEASONABLE NOTES ON CUL- 

 TURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK. 



Adiantums. 

 Plants started into growth from 

 divided stocli will now need careful 

 attention. After repotting keep them 

 moist, and if a few degrees more 

 warmth be given they will malie nice 

 specimen plants by mid-summer, and 

 a good many will be easily market- 

 able at a much earlier date. For 

 bench-grown adiantums for cutting 

 purposes that have become nearly 

 denuded of foliage by constant cut- 

 ting, it is now time for a rest. In the 

 interval between two main crops, 

 water should never be entirely with- 

 held but reduced to a minimum, 

 while enough of moisture must be 

 present at the roots to maintain the 

 new growth. For a while just a 

 light sprinkling will give all the 

 moisture needed. When new growth 

 attains size and shape water in the 

 usual quantities can be resumed. 

 While the plants are young and mak- 

 ing luxuriant growth they will re- 

 quire more shade than later on, when 

 the foliage gets hardened. These 

 notes refer to Adiantums Croweanum, 

 cuneatum, gracillimum, and hybridum. 



Asters. 



Successive sowings of the best 

 strains obtainable should be made 

 from now or until the middle of May. 

 Use good fresh soil and, if heavy, it 

 will stand a quantity of sand to 

 lighten it up. A cool house of about 

 50 to 55 degrees is right for the seed- 

 lings. When about an inch high they 

 should be transplanted into flats, 

 small pots, or frames. Sow early, 

 mid-season and late sorts in order to 

 cover the entire aster season. Don't 

 let them get stunted and root-bound 

 in the seed boxes, thus weakening 

 them and rendering them more sus- 

 ceptible to the attacks of diseases and 

 insect pests. Many failures can be 

 attributed to this one cause. 



Crotons (Codiaeums). 

 Now or up to May is a very suit- 

 able time to propagate croton cut- 

 tings. If you can put them in a 

 propagating frame so much the bet- 

 ter; they can be aired frequently be- 

 fore being taken out so as to pre- 

 vent a check when potted. In select- 

 ing the cuttings, only clean healthy 

 wood should be chosen. They should 

 be potted into small pots when 

 rooted and care should be taken to 

 keep them close and shaded for a few 

 days. They must have a very moist 

 atmosphere and frequent syringings 

 to aid them until they get estab- 

 lished. Plants that have outlived 

 their usefulness can be mossed by 

 cutting an upward incision and tying 

 some moss around the incision which 

 should be kept continually moist, the 

 plant receiving only water enough to 

 keep it alive at the roots. When 

 roots have made their appearance the 

 tops can be cut off, potted and 

 handled in the same manner as cut- 

 tings as above mentioned. 



Coelogyne cristata. 

 These orchids are very useful for 

 the florist, being easily managed and 

 profuse bloomers. The time for re- 

 potting or dividing is just after 

 flowering. Although they can be 

 grown on blocks of wood, pot culture 

 is preferable. Plants which have 



grown too dense will require separat- 

 ing and starting over; others will 

 only require top-dressing — that is if 

 the potting material is still good. A 

 good compost may be formed of equal 

 parts of chopped fibrous sod with the 

 fine part well shaken out, peat fiber, 

 sphagnum and some broken charcoal; 

 the pots should be half-filled with 

 drainage of clean broken crocks. The 

 plants should be raised above the 

 rim of the pot upon a moderate cone, 

 and the compost pressed rather firm. 

 After shifting, dividing, or top-dress- 

 ing, spray them frequently and keep 

 shaded. While coelogynes require and 

 enjoy a good supply of water in 

 their growing season throughout the 

 summer, when the growth of the 

 bulbs is matured, just give enough 

 moisture to keep the pseudo-bulbs 

 from shrivelling. A temperature of 50 

 to 55 degi-ees suits them well. They 

 enjoy a moderately cool house at all 

 times. 



Bougainvilleas. 



These are splendid spring-flowering 

 plants. The sprays of flowers are good 

 for cutting and last for an almost in- 

 credible length of time, while as p(5t 

 plants they are of great value for deco- 

 rations. Those intended for Easter 

 that are in flower will require plenty 

 of water, and care should be taken 

 that they do not get dry at the root, 

 which is sure to give them a check. 

 If flowers are well developed at this 

 time they will be better to be moved 

 into a cooler house. Cuttings of half 

 ripened wood root easily from now 

 until May, and will make nice plants 

 for 6 or 7 inch pots by next fall. 



Pelargoniums. 



The chief point to be observed in 

 working up a fine stock of fancy pelar- 

 goniums is to throw out all shabby, 

 poor or stunted plants; they only help 

 to disfigure any good collection. Those 

 plants that have been shifted into 5 

 or 6 inch pots in January will be 

 growing very fast now. When the 

 warm days of spring come they will 

 need plenty of water, but during cloudy 

 or dark weather give very little water, 

 as the principal thing to be avoided 

 is dampness. Watch out for the aphis; 

 they are bound to be troublesome. 

 Nothing but regular and constant fumi- 

 gation will keep plants from being In- 

 jured by the greenfly. They thrive in 

 a temperature of 50 degrees at night. 

 JOHN J. M. FARRELL. 



Mr. FarrcU's notes uest week will treat 

 of Cob.iea; Time to Prop.igate; Handling 

 Seodlings: Plants for Va.ses; Caladlum 

 Esonlentura: Outdoor Sweet Peas. 



"WIRELESS" FROM NAHANT, 



MASS. 

 Within sound of the roar of the 

 Atlantic breaking on the rocky head- 

 lands of Nahant, swept by ocean 

 breezes laden with health-giving prop- 

 erties for man and vegetation, the 

 establishment of Thomas Roland at 

 Nahant, Mass., is unique, and the com- 

 bination of horticultural experience 

 and good judgment with climatic con- 

 ditions gives results which make a 

 visit to the range of houses on the 

 rock-bound peninsula a pleasure and 

 inspiration long to be remembered. 



Mr. Roland has just completed an 

 addition of eight new houses of the 

 most substantial construction: walls, 

 gutters, benches — in fact, everything 

 that can possibly be constructed of 

 cement — are of cement and good for a 

 lifetime. 



Easter plants are in the ascendancy 

 just now. The new houses are filled, 

 in the main, with roses — Hiawatha, 

 Lady Gay, Tausendschon, Catherine 

 Zeimeth and a number of new claim- 

 ants, including that lovely peach-pink 

 double-flowered variety from France 

 called in this country Mrs. Taft. Here 

 one can see the perfection of pot rose 

 training — Crimson Ramblers tied down 

 till they form low dense bushes laden 

 with flowers, which practically hide 

 (he pot. Charming little specimens of 

 Hiawatha ready to burst into a galaxy 

 of bloom and all the so-called "Baby" 

 Ramblers in bewildering variety bear 

 testimony to the fact that the rose is 

 rapidly coming to its own as an Easter 

 specialty, second to nothing else. All 

 the roses on Mr. Roland's place are 

 grown from cuttings home-raised. 



There is an interesting proposition 

 in a bench of calceolarias, raised from 

 seed of George Stewart's hybrid be- 

 tween varieties of the shrubbery and 

 herbaceous sections. These plants will 

 lie in bloom in May and will be worth 

 watching. Acacias are here in more 

 than the usual number of species to 

 be found in commercial establishments. 

 There are pubescens, armata, longl- 

 folia, grandiflora, heterophylla and 

 Baileyana, besides a number of others 

 not yet in salable stock; Erica cupres- 

 sina, melanthera and persoluta rosea 

 seem to revel in the saline atmosphere, 

 and boronias, bougainvilleas and other 

 standard Easter plants are at their 

 best. Of hydrangeas, there is an in- 

 leresting display, for here all the new 

 and improved sorts get a fair trial and 

 among those seen in quantity are Sou- 

 venir de Clair, a handsome, neat habit- 

 ed pink variety, and Avalanche — the 

 latter destined to supersede Thomas 

 Hogg and the later variety Joan 

 d'Arc. 



Genistas trained in the form of Swiss 

 flower baskets on home-made frames 

 make one covetous to possess them. 

 Amaryllis in dazzling array and iman- 

 tophyllums fairly blaze in the sunlight 

 and particularly in the case of the lat- 

 ter one is forced to wonder why it is 

 that the commercial plant grower has 

 overlooked these gorgeous gems among 

 spring blooming bulbs. 



Lilies? Of course, 10,000 plants In 

 one house alone. In another 25,000 

 candytufts in 2-ineh pots ready to oc- 

 cupy the space when the lilies vacate 

 at Easter, and make for the enterpris- 

 ing owner from the Decoration Day 

 receipts, the price of another range 

 of houses: And there are 30.000 leaf- 

 struck Lorraine begonias, best ever in 

 Mr. Roland's inspiring career. 



Just a word more. The hot water 

 which plays so important a part in the 

 flne work done at this notable estab- 

 lishment gets its push and effective- 

 ness from that little giant of modern 

 greenhouse equipment and economy — 

 the Castle Automatic Circulator. So 

 says Thomas Roland — and he knows! 



