134 



HOBTICULTURE 



August 2, 1913 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



^^ I ^ CONDUCTED BT 



A Contrast 



Yes it was quite a contrast indeed to see a bench 

 planted to that good old variety, Bridesmaid, and an- 

 other bench planted to Mrs. George Shawyer. There 

 they were, each in its glory. The only difference was 

 the old and the new. We say the only difference, but it 

 was not the only difference after all, for the Bridesmaid, 

 good enough in days gone by, could never begin to be in 

 the race with its newest rival, not only in the quality of 

 the cut flowers, but all the way around, including stem, 

 foliage, productiveness, keeping qualities and all the 

 rest of the points. There are less Brides and Brides- 

 maids grown for the market in the east now than there 

 ever were before. In fact ask many wholesalers for 

 some of these and they will look at you for a while to 

 see if you mean it. 



Mildew 



When the Killarney made its first appearance, its 

 great drawback was its greater liability to mildew than 

 the varieties then in cultivation. In fact it was said 

 by many that Killarney could not be grown without 

 mildew, and this was thought to be true, and yet there 

 are thousands of Killarneys grown today without even 

 a speck of. mildew, and it will be the same with the new 

 varieties just now being commercialized. 



Black Spot on Beauties 



Although it is still early in the season it is best to 

 keep a sharp lookout for this disease on all the early 

 planted houses, and it is not a very bad idea to take all 

 the necessary precautions to prevent spot setting in. 

 Experience will show that spot will usually set in on 

 and among the clusters of bottom leaves, leaves that 

 come in contact with the soil. It is therefore advisable 

 ■ to go over the plants every now and then and pick off 

 any leaves that may be too low for safety. It is best 

 not to do this all at once as it might then have a weak- 

 ening effect on the plants. Begin when the plants 

 branch out and the shoots begin to reach the first wire, 

 and then keep on picking off all the surplus foliage. 

 Another advantage to be gained when the lowermost 

 leaves are picked off is the fact that red spider generally 

 manages to secure a foothold among these leaves, and 

 once it has been admitted it will not be so very easy to 

 rid the plants of it, as it is very difficult indeed to reach 

 these with the hose while syringing. 



Lime 



The season is far enough advanced. now to make it 

 necessary to use lime regularly, dusting or blowing it 

 underneath the foliage last thing at night, and not 

 being afraid of using too much. There is a little trick 

 in doing this Just right, as has been stated in these col- 

 umns before and that is to blow the lime underneath the 

 plants rather gently, so that the lime dust thus produced 

 will rise slowly, instead of blowing out on the other 

 side of the bench as it would should too much force be 

 used. Properly applied dry air-shacked lime is of great 

 value to the rose grower. 



Liming the Benches 



It is yet rather early in the season to apply much lime 

 to the benches but still in the early planted houses it may 

 be necessary to use a little to insure good sturdy growth. 

 When applying the lime, it is best to use only a little 

 at a time, just enough to whiten the surface of the 

 benches. Then go over it and rub the lime around so as 

 to make sure that it will stay where it was put and soak 

 into the benches evenly when water is ajjplied, instead 

 of settling too much in one spot, and very little in 

 another. 



Greenfly 



In spite of all said and written this pest still finds 

 plenty of room for existence on many places, and a word 

 or two on this old topic will not be altogether out of 

 place. With the hot weather of the past two weeks, 

 fumigation could hardly be resorted to, and yet that is 

 no excuse whatever for not having the plants free from 

 Aphis. With the many good spraying materials that are 

 now on the market it ought to be a simple matter to keep 

 them all free from insects. Only do not try to do it all 

 at once. Tlie doctor gives us medicine to take a little 

 at a time and thereby helps us to get well, whereas if it 

 was taken all in one dose it would no doubt kill us then 

 and there. Apply this same principle when spraying or 

 fumigating the houses. A weak spray applied last thing 

 at night followed by a syringe the next day, and another 

 spray right after syringing while the plants are still 

 wet, will go a good ways to rid the plants of all insects. 

 However it is best not to wait until the plants become 

 infested, but spray or fumigate regularly every so often, 

 and by doing this no greenfly will ever get a chance. 

 This constant war on the pest will help keep red spider 

 out, too. Although the spray has to be made quite strong 

 to kill .spider a weaker one is very distasteful indeed, and 

 more congenial quarters are usually sought by Mr. 

 Spider and his kin. 



Commercial Fertilizers 



Do not be in too much of a hurry to feed the plants, 

 especially with highly concentrated chemical fertilizers. 

 This may be all good and well later, when the supply of 

 plant food in the bench soil has been practically ex- 

 hausted, but at present it is much better to let the plants 

 find all nourishment in the soil. This will not only in- 

 sure sturdy growth, but will insure well rooted plants 

 as well, for if the plants find all they require right 

 within easy reach, the roots will not spread far and 

 near to reach the necessary food, etc. We had a good 

 proof of this one time when two houses were torn out for 

 replanting. One bench of Beauties was found to have 

 hardly any roots at all, for it had been given too much 

 water, etc., and the plants in the second house were 

 rooted right down to the bench boards, so that often a 

 board would lift with the plant. Of course the boards 

 were not fastened in the least. To go further we found 

 that in the latter house two and almost three roses were 

 cut for every one of the roses cut in the first house, be- 

 cause of proper care and treatment which meant good 

 roots, and good roots mean cut flowers good and plenty. 



