December 6, 1913 



HORTICULTURE 



765 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS^ STOCK 



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

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



Christmas Azaleas 



There are few more popular Christmas plants than 

 azaleas, the bright colored sorts, such as Hexe and Mme. 

 Patrick selling particularly well, although other colors 

 are also desirable. We give them 60 degrees at night 

 as soon as the first flowers begin to open, but a lower 

 temperature will be in order if they promise to open by 

 Dec. 15. The longer they can be kept at about 55 

 degrees or even 50 degrees before they go to the store the 

 better. Any at all backward must have plenty of heat ; 

 65 degrees at night is not too much. Spraying freely, 

 hard forcing will cause the plants to make growths 

 ahead of the flowers, and these young shoots should be 

 rubbed off, as they check the development of the flower 

 buds. Don't overlook the proper watering of the plants, 

 especially when in the forcing house. They should 

 never suffer on that account, as it is always sure to 

 show bad effects. 



Lilies for Christmas 



All lilies intended for that date should be so far ad- 

 vanced as to have the buds begin to turn white twelve 

 to fourteen days before Christmas. They can stand a 

 temperature from 60 degrees to 70 degrees during the 

 night and with a rise of from 15 to 20 degrees during 

 sunny days. When they have their flowers well ex- 

 panded they should be given a lower temperature, but 

 remember they will not relish cold draughts, which will 

 cause them to wilt. To properly harden them off, it is 

 best to treat them gradually until you have them in a 

 temperature of about 50 degrees, night. See that they 

 are kept clean of fly, as there is nothing more unsightly 

 than lilies with green fly on. Go over your plants often 

 and give them water at the roots as they must not be 

 allowed to become dry and see that the pots are all made 

 clean by washing. 



Manure for Florists' Crop 



Florists all agree in giving a good grade of well- 

 decayed barnyard manure first place among fertilizers 

 for general use, but all experience the same difficulty in 

 procuring it in a condition sufficiently decomposed for 

 immediate use. They must therefore lay in fresh ma- 

 nure which at this time of the year is not hard to obtain. 

 Pile it up and give it time to decay. In doing this it 

 must be remembered that the shrinkage in bulk through 

 decomposition is considerable, and that in laying up a 

 supply for the entire coming season due allowance must 

 be made on this score. Forked over once or twice dur- 

 ing the progress of decomposition it will be in proper 

 condition for. use next spring. Horse manure, if not 

 stirred up frequently, burns quickly and is then of little 

 value. It should always be kept in a soaked condition 

 by letting the hose have a play on it occasionally should 

 no rains fall. Refuse or spent brewers' hops quickly but 



somewhat liercel}- pass through the stage of fermentation 

 and need no forking. 



Propagating Carnations 



Wliile it is a little early to propagate most varieties, 

 yet in many cases it is well to begin as soon as you can. 

 There are varieties that grow slowly and need a long 

 growing period. In working up a stock of some fine 

 variety don't be over-anxious to get as many cuttings as 

 possible, but rather try to get as many good plants 

 as possible. A thousand weak runts are not nearly so 

 good as a hundred fine, strong plants when housing time 

 comes. Opinion seems to be pretty generally settled as 

 to the proper cutting to take, the young shoots around 

 the base of the flower stems, or the young shoots that 

 grow after the flower shoot has been topped back. Both 

 of these will make high-grade stock. Avoid the side 

 shoots from up around the middle of the flower stem or 

 the young flower shoots that have begun to lengthen out. 

 When taking off cuttings try to select a uniform size and 

 be sure they are well matured. When trimming them, 

 cut back the leaves that stand outward, taking off one- 

 fourth to one-third of the leaf, but never cut back the tip 

 of young leaves that have not spread apart. 



Soils for Winter 



Make it an aim to have a good pile of soil hauled and 

 placed under cover where it can be kept in a dry con- 

 dition. Late fall is a very good time to haul earth, 

 manure, sod and sand, and is the most propitious time 

 for piling up, composting and storing bench and potting 

 soils. Prudent and ample provision for the needs of 

 the season now fully entered upon and that to follow 

 should now be made. Success with any kind of plants 

 under closely strained cultivation depends to a consid- 

 erable extent on the kind and condition of soil in which 

 they are growing. Soils and composts should never be 

 allowed to run out on any place where plants are grown 

 commercially; there should be at all times a supply of 

 soils ready for immediate use and for whatever purpose 

 needed. So seize the opportunity now and lay in a 

 good supply for potting. Since it is well-nigh impossi- 

 ble to obtain soils fit for immediate use from any source 

 save our own place of storage it is well to have this well- 

 stocked at nearly all times. 



Start Freesias for Easter 



Now is the time to start freesias wanted in flower for 

 Easter. It always pays to grow some in pans as they 

 make a fine show for that date. Fill some 6-inch pans 

 with a good rich compost of fibrous loam three parts, and 

 one of cow or stable manure. In these you can place 

 from 16 to 18 bulbs in each pan. Place in a house about 

 50 degrees at night. Water with care until they become 

 well-rooted when they should have plenty. Later on 

 they will stand a temperature 55 to 58 degrees. 



Mr. Farrell's next notes will he on the following: Cyclamen; Decorative (Jreens: llowcring Plants for Christmas; Orcbids; 



Winter Protection ; Protecting Pansies. 



