November 1, 1913 



HOETICULTUEE 



593 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK 



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 HOETICULTUEE. 



NHW YOR 



"TAMC 



Dutch Bulbs for Outside 



It is safe to say that no florist who does a retail trade 

 can dispense with what are commonly termed Dutch 

 bulbs, outdoor planted. It pays to grow an assortment 

 of hardy bulbs for cutting, entirely apart from such as 

 may be used for bedding. These directly follow the 

 indoor crop. All Dutch bulbs like a well worked, friable 

 soil, in which old, well decayed manure has been mixed. 

 The hyacinth should be set six inches deep and the bulbs 

 the same distance apart. Tulips should be covered four 

 to six inches according to size. As to the planting time, 

 from the end of October to the middle of November is 

 a good period. Among the May flowering or Cottage 

 tulips, good yellows ai'e : Gesneriana Lutea, Golden 

 Crown, T. Eetroflexa, Bouton d'Or and Leghorn Bonnet. 

 Among whites La Candeur is good. In scarlets, Ges- 

 neriana Spathulata and Inglescumbe Scarlet. In pink, 

 Inglescombe Pink. For hyacinths, singles are far 

 preferable to doubles for bedding. Baroness van Tuyll 

 and Grandeur a Merveille, white; Gigantea and Ger- 

 trude, pink; Robert Steiger, crimson; Queen of the 

 Blues, sky i)]ue; King of the Blues, dark blue, and 

 Golden Yellow will be found excellent inexpensive 

 varieties. 



Ericas 



Unfavorable climatic conditions, with unusually slow 

 growth and the need of great care in treatment are some 

 of the reasons why heaths are not cultivated here as 

 extensively as they deserve to be. We are now at a time 

 of year when many of the heaths are slowly coming to 

 bloom, or are nearing final development. It is just at 

 this stage, and in giving perfect finish, when growers 

 experience the greatest difficulty and often fail at the 

 very last moment, when up to that point all had gone 

 smoothly and promised well. Wlien they show buds 

 they can stand more fire heat, even to the extent of being 

 slowly forced into bloom, but 45 degrees should be con- 

 sidered the normal. There must be no spraying of foli- 

 age, wetting of walks or stagings from now on. A thor- 

 ough drying out of the soil at any time is followed by as 

 fatal results as would over-watering. So pay attention 

 to watering at the roots for they like an even amount 

 of moisture in the soil. Watch out for mildew 

 and give flowers of sulphur, blown through the foliage 

 when first noticed. 



Primulas 



Whatever little benefit primulas may get by leaving 

 them in outdoor frames after this week is hardly worth 

 the extra labor involved from now on. An almost daily 

 opening, closing and perhaps covering of the frames will 

 soon become necessary, and the attendant must be on 

 a constant outlook for the danger signals of approaching 

 winter. There is always a considerable sale for these 

 pretty little plants during the early winter months. 

 Where they are found pot-bound, apply a light dose of 

 liquid cow manure from time to time. The plants now 



Mr. Farrell's next notes will be on the foHowing: Antlrrhlnu 



Culture; Spiraeas (Astllbes) ; TnH 



want all the sun there is and a light airy bench. A car- 

 nation house is just the thing. It depends from now 

 on, entirely, how much light, air and sun they get, as to 

 their blooming. The plants for early blooming should 

 be well set with buds now, and if a good number of them 

 have stems one-half inch long, so much the better. A 

 rather high bench, or a shelf near the glass, with plenty 

 of room between the plants will now be of advantage. 

 Orchids 

 Cypripedium insigne will soon be coming into flower. 

 They should be placed where they can have a night tem- 

 perature of about 58 degrees and regular ventilation is 

 essential at all times. From now on all shading can be 

 entirely dispensed with. With proper care the flowers 

 will keep in good condition for a month and over. All 

 cattleyas that have passed out of flower such as Har- . 

 rissonire, Eldorado, Leopolodii, Loddigesii, Granulosa, 

 Gaskelliana, etc., and have had a good rest can now be 

 given an overhauling and repotting. When you see the 

 new roots just peeping is the best time to do this work. 

 A good many growers use just the clear osmunda fiber 

 for their cattleyas and they are producing fine flowers 

 with the same so it will be well to give this a trial. Use 

 plenty of clean crocks for drainage. 



Winter-Flowering Geraniums 



Have you ever tried giowing a batch of nice doubles 

 and singles in 5-inch or 6-inch pots for winter blooming? 

 Keep the flower trusses picked off until the chrysanthe- 

 mum season is partially over. For Thanksgiving or 

 Christmas sales they are very attractive, for about every- 

 body feels that he or she can manage a geranium. Nar- 

 row, light shelves, on the sides of a carnation house, 

 where the atmosphere is fairly dry suits them admir- 

 ably. Where a crop of flowers is wanted from Thanks- 

 giving to Christmas, no more pinching of the geranium 

 buds should be done after the first week in this month. 

 Feeding should be given regularly after the pots are well 

 filled with roots. It is better not to use liquid cow 

 manure or sheep manure too freely, as the result would 

 be rank growing plants, soft in growth, which would 

 flower disappointingly. Instead, use fine bone or Clay's 

 fertilizer in the form of top-dressing. This will en- 

 courage surface roots and at the same time build up 

 short-jointed, stocky wood, which will flower most pro- 

 fusely during the winter. 



Wintering Fuchsias 



See that all your stock plants of fuchsias are taken 

 care of from this out. All tliose that were given a rest 

 can be siiortened back to good, firm wood and placed in 

 a house that stands no lower than 55 degrees at night. 

 By giving them a daily syringing they will soon break 

 into new growth which in a little while will make fine 

 stock for propagation later on. To root them well they 

 like the propagating sand at about 70 degrees and the 

 atmosphere at 55 degrees. When potting them up give 

 them two parts loam, one part rotten manure and one 

 part of leaf mold. 



ms; Llllunis giganteum and mulltflorum; Shrubs for Greenhouse 

 ps ; Lifting Coreopsis for Forcing. 



