April 30, 1910 



tlOIVTICULTURi: 



655 



SEASONABLE NOTESON CULTURE 



OF FLORISTS' STOCK. 



Adiantum Farleyense. 



This beautiful fern, I think, is un- 

 surpassed by any of its allies, and tor 

 decorative purposes it has few equals. 

 Its culture differs somewhat from that 

 given other adiantums commonly 

 grown. The only mode of propaga- 

 tion is by division, the fronds being 

 all sterile. Any plants that are resting 

 now, and before the young growth 

 starts, can be broken up into pieces 

 and put in a compost of chopped 

 sphagnum peat and sand. They can be 

 covered very lightly with the same 

 material and placed in a warm propa- 

 gating bed or house with suitable 

 shading. They should be left in the 

 bed long enough to make roots suf- 

 ficient to cause little balls of the com- 

 post to adhere to them. The soil for 

 the first potting should consist of 

 fibrous loam, leaf mold and sand, in 

 equal proportions. When potting from 

 4-inch up, the soil should be in a 

 lumpy condition, using only the 

 fibrousi portion and discarding the fine 

 soil entirely. 



A very good compost to use for this 

 fern is one part of dry cow manure to 

 four of fibrous soil. Pot moderately 

 firm. In hot and dry weather keep the 

 atmosphere moist and give plenty of 

 fresh air, taking care, however, not to 

 expose them to cold draughts. A tem- 

 perature of 65 to 68 degrees at night 

 is sufficient. Prom now until Noveni- 

 T)cr it is best to have the glass shaded, 

 hut during the remainder of the year 

 full light can be admitted without in- 

 jury. 



Aquatics. 



Florists who have ponds of their 

 own can derive quite some profit from 

 planting them with aquatics. But 

 when such facilities are not at hand 

 they can be successfully grown in 

 tanks, vats, or a hogshead sunk into 

 the ground To gi-ow any of the 

 Bymphjeas to perfection there is 

 nothing better than cow manure. In 

 all cases where artificial resources are 

 used a good rich soil and plenty of 

 it is necessary to cultivate aquatics. 

 By planting strong plants of nymphfeas 

 In May, you will have fine flowers by 

 July. The hardy nympha;as and 

 nelumbiums when in natural ponds 

 and tanks must have sufficient water 

 above the crowns in winter so that 

 the ice does not reach them. When 

 grown in tanks they can be protected 

 with branches and salt hay. The 

 tender species will do finely In our 

 Iiot summers, but must be taken up 

 and kept in a house of 55 to 60 de- 

 grees. The tubers can be placed in a 

 flower pot with ordinary soil, which 

 should be moist but not wet during the 

 winter. The best hardy nymphsas 

 to grow are Marliacea white, Marliacea 

 rosea pink, Candidissima white, Lay- 

 dekeri lilacea rosy lilac, Odorata sul- 

 phurea yellow. Here are some fine 

 tender species: Nymphsea gracilis 

 white, Mrs. C. W. Ward rosy pink, 

 Zanzibarensis dark blue. Pulcherima 

 light blue. 



Grevillea robusta. 



This plant is very useful to the 

 florist for vases and veranda boxes. It 

 is now about time to sow the seeds. 

 Start them in flats and shift as re- 

 quired. They should be kept indoors 

 all summer and will make useful 



plants for next year. Plants of moder- 

 ate size are the most to be desired, 

 therefore it is best to sow some seed 

 every spring. They lose their decora- 

 tive value when over three feet high. 

 No florist should fail to gi'ow some 

 grevilleas. They will stand a good deal 

 of rough treatment, and are not sub- 

 ject to any insects. 



Bedding Stock. 



The season for planting all kinds of 

 bedding and flowering plants will soon 

 be here, and, to get the best results, 

 sufficient time and labor should be 

 given the plants so as to have them 

 in good shape. Bedding plants should 

 be allowed to become reasonably well 

 pot-bound by shipping time. Stock 

 thus becoming more firmly root-bound 

 from day to day will need the closest 

 attention as to watering and airing. 

 Much of the bedding material now con- 

 gesting our houses should find its way 

 into frames. Should these be all in 

 use, temporary inclosures can be 

 brought Into play. All these make- 

 shifts will give room needed by other 

 stock yet to be potted up. Stock es- 

 pecially raised and dealt in for out- 

 door planting should, in the first place, 

 never be grown too rapidly. As the 

 planting season draws near, a gradual 

 hardening-off process should be car- 

 ried on so as to put them in condi- 

 tion for outdoor changes. It is unwise 

 now to cut down any stock for cut- 

 tings, thus spoiling your fine plants 

 for an uncertain market. 

 Dahlias. 



For the production of fine flowers 

 the ground should be deeply dug, and 

 well manured annually. Dahlias suc- 

 ceed best in an open situation, and In 

 a deep, rich loam, but there is scarcely 

 any good garden soil in which they 

 will not thrive. As the plants in- 

 crease in height they should be fur- 

 nished with strong stakes to secure 

 them from high winds, and securely 

 tied as the growth proceeds. The cut- 

 tings that were taken in February and 

 were struck in March and grown on, 

 should be nice stock in 4-inch pots 

 now. They should have plenty of light 

 and air, so as to harden them off 

 before planting-out time, which should 

 be about the last of May or the first 

 of June. It if is desired to grow them 

 for exhibition as is common with the 

 show varieties, remove all the lateral 

 growth two feet above the ground and 

 disbud, leaving only one bud to a 

 stem, allowing no more to set until 

 the flower is nearly developed. But 

 if a wealth of bloom irrespective of 

 size and form is wanted, allow all the 

 side shoots to grow. During their 

 blooming give them abundance of 

 water and cultivate well during the 

 hot weather. 



Lemon Verbena. 



Nothing is more appreciated than a 

 few sprays of lemon verbena in a 

 bunch of flowers. They should be nice 

 little plants now in 3-inch pots. They 

 will be greatly benefited by being 

 plunged in a mild hotbed, and should 

 be pinched so as to form good bushy 

 plants. They will stand lots of syring- 

 ing to keep down red spiders, and will 

 need frequent fumigation to control 

 the green fly. 



JOHN J. M. FARRBLL. 



FERTILIZERS FOR STRAWBER- 

 RIES. 



The following notes on strawberry 

 culture were given by Wilfrid Wheeler 

 in response to an inquiry from the 

 "Question Box" at the meeting of the 

 Gardeners' and Florists' Club of Bos- 

 ton on April 26. 



Strawberries need a good deal of 

 quickly available plant food in the 

 form of potash and phosphoric acid 

 added just before the blossoms ap- 

 pear. 



In preparing land for a strawberry 

 bed care should be taken to provide a 

 situation where there is abundant 

 moisture in the soil or where water 

 can be added, for while almost any 

 soil will grow a good plant it needs 

 a soil with plenty of moisture to pro- 

 duce good berries. I speak of the 

 moisture conditions as being very 

 essential in dis.solving quickly the 

 necessary elements contained in the 

 fertilizers, which are applied just be- 

 fore the bed comes into fruit, as well 

 as supplying the water, of which the 

 strawberry contains nearly 83 per 

 cent. There is nothing better as a 

 fertilizer for strawberries the first 

 season than well-rotted stable manure, 

 well worked into the soil. The plants 

 should be fed during the growing sea- 

 son with such materials as tankage, 

 basic slag, bone meal and wood ashes 

 or sulphate of potash. A good for- 

 mula to use is as follows: 1000 lbs. 

 of tankage, 500 lbs. basic slag and 500 

 wood ashes or 200 sulphate of potash 

 to an acre. This should be applied 

 at intervals of about three weeks, 

 care being taken that the fertilizer is 

 not put on the green leaves of the 

 plants. 



Fertilizers containing nitrogen In 

 any form should not be used in the 

 spring near the fruiting season, as 

 such fertilizers have a tendency to 

 soften the berries, make them insipid 

 and of poor color. 



Wood ashes and basic slag can be 

 applied at this season with excellent 

 results. If wood ashes cannot be ob- 

 tained, sulphate of potash is a good 

 substitute, used at the rate of one lb. 

 to 125 square feet. 



It is very difficult to give advice to 

 anyone when soils and conditions are 

 not known, but I have often noticed 

 in garden culture that strawberries 

 are overfed rather than underfed and 

 the plants go all to foliage rather 

 than fruit. If it is borne in mind 

 that after a good plant has been 

 grown nitrogenous fertilizers should 

 not be applied I feel sure that in most 

 soils the strawberry will be a success. 



"COUNTING THE COST. 



"To make one little, golden grain 

 Requires the sunshine and the rain. 

 The hoarded richness of the sod. 



And God. 



To form and tint one dainty flower 

 That hloonis to bless one fleeting hour 

 Doth need the clouds, the skies above. 

 And love. 



"To make one life that's white and good, 

 Fit for this human brotherhood. 

 Demands the toil of weary years— 



And tears.' 

 T. A. DALY. 



Mr. Farrell's next notes will be on 

 Annuals, Bay Trees, Cymbldiums, Bpa- 

 crls, Hardy Ferns and Tuberoses. 



"Your paper is a great help to me, 

 and I hate to lose a number." 



E. W. S. 

 N. Y. 



