July 12, 1913 



HORTICULTURE 



37 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK 



CONDUCTED BY 



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9>t.^a/,AU/ 



Questions by our readers In line with any of the topics presented on this page will be cordially received and promptly answered 

 by Mr. Farrell Such communications should Invariably be addressed to the office of HORTICULTURE. 



UAKUt 



Care of Violets 



Of the leaders in cut tlower stock, grown extensively 

 for winter proclnction. none proba1)ly requires a greater 

 amount of watcliful attention and judicious care dur- 

 ing our hot and dry summer months than do the violets. 

 The slightest neglect, the least delay or oversight, very 

 often costs the grower dearly. Keep the plants well 

 watered and clean. They should grow without a check 

 and this necessitates faithful watching. Remove every 

 runner. Keep the plants free from diseased or yellow 

 leaves. Watch out for greenfly or other insects; don't 

 wait until they pay a visit, but use fumigation and a 

 weak solution of nicotine regularly to keep them away. 

 A very important matter at this time of the year is to 

 keep the surface of the benches loose by continual 

 scratching. Do not wait for weeds to come, but go o\er 

 the benches twice a week if possible. 



Begonia Gloire de Lorraine and Cincinnati 



From now on until fall this begonia will reveal a 

 degree of vigor and rapidity of growth surprising and 

 hardly looked for in the erstwhile fragile striplings. And 

 this should keep the grower on the alert and fill him 

 with anxiety to do his share in the making for a satis- 

 factory finish. As heretofore, careful attention to 

 watering, ventilation and shading is necessary, but 

 sprinkling or syringing overhead and through the foli- 

 age, from now on, should be less heavy and frequent, a 

 gentle spraying now and then, in the early morning 

 hours preceding a hot day, being entirely sufficient. A 

 repotting of the fast-advancing plants will be a |)art of 

 the treatment, admitting of no delay. Better specimen 

 begonias are raised by timely, short shifts, gradually 

 working up to the final size than by long sliifts, skipping 

 several sizes at every transplanting. For the last shift a 

 quantity of old, friable manure, easily l)roken up and 

 pulverized to form about one-fourth of the entire bulk, 

 should be added to the usual mixture of leaf mold, loam 

 and sand. Be sure to give them ample drainage. 



Rambler Roses 

 Crimson Rambler and othei- l!amljlei-s want watchful 

 care just now. That i>, tliose grown in pots under 

 glai5s during summer. We often get our hottest weather 

 at the middle of July, and if the tender and unripened 

 shoots of these roses suffer for water mildew will set in, 

 which much weakens the growth and the strength of the 

 eyes which will now be forming. From these eyes come 

 the trusses of bloom that you are looking forward to 

 next spring. Copious watering and daily heavy syring- 

 ings must be given the Raiuliler roses. By the end of 

 August they will have made all the growtli desirable and 

 can then be stood outdoors to ripen their wood. We 

 then have canes and eves tliat are IjouikI to {jive a truss 



of bloom at every eye. By plunging tlie pots in a bench 

 where there is some soil they will retain the moisture 

 better. 



Ferns from Spores 



Every florist who grows ferns will not do wrong to 

 make a good sowing now of any varieties that he may 

 need. With care and attention it is remarkaljle how you 

 can work up a fine lot of stock in this way. Pans well 

 drained with lots of crock, on which some moss is spread, 

 filled with a compost of fil)rous loam, peat, and leaf mold 

 in equal parts, with enough of sand to insure an open 

 condition are the first requisite. The pans can be filled 

 to within an inch of the top and firmly pressed all over. 

 For the top layer use fine sifted compost, press even and 

 give a good watering. The spores should be scattered 

 evenly all over the surface. AH that is needed then is 

 to press the surface over and cover with a pane of glass. 

 Place in a well-shaded house where they can have a 

 genial moist atmosphere. Give common sense attention 

 in keeping them in moist state. 



Mignonette 

 There are several ways in which to start a good planta- 

 tion of mignonette for next winter's cutting. I have 

 found, after trying several methods, that to sow the 

 seeds where the plants are wanted is still the best course. 

 It is best for the plants and saves a deal of labor also. 

 It is just as easy, with a little forethought and prudent 

 management to have tlie lienches in readiness now as at 

 any time later on. If mignonette is to be grown on 

 l)enches now taken up by chrysanthemums, it is best to 

 start the seeds a month from now in 3 or 4-inch pots 

 and to transplant into the benches when these are cleared 

 off. A heavy but somewhat gritty loam generally en- 

 riched with old manure is a good soil for mignonette. 

 Hark out spaces a foot each way. Let them be an inch 

 or two deeper than the sourrounding level of the soil 

 and thinly scatter six or eight seeds in each depression. 

 Give a good firming and cover with -i-inch pots, these 

 to be removed when the plants are peeping throuffh the 

 soil. 



Propagating Ivies 



Xow is the time to think about the ivies that you may 

 need for baskets, vases and veranda boxes. Any stock 

 now in 3 or 4-inch pots can be planted out in a piece of 

 rich ground where they will make fine growth by the 

 middle of September, when they can be lifted and pot- 

 ted and placed in a frame where they will do fine for six 

 weeks. These can be increased during the winter into 

 stock of 2, 3 or 4-inch pots which make good material 

 for spring sales. This will include vincas and English 

 ivy. 



Mr. Farrell's next notes will bp on the following: BougalnTllleas; Calanthes; ChrysaQthcmums; Cocos Weddellana; Planting Car- 

 nations; Planning for Next Winter. 



