December 37, 1913 



HORTICULTUBE 



899 



CARNATION TROUBLES 



Carnation and Antirrhinum Disease 



A MorristowDj N. J., grower sends the following 

 inquiry: 



Mr. Farrel). 

 Dear Sir: 



Would you kindly advise a cure, if any, for blight on car- 

 nations and snapdragons? I have reason to believe that 

 it originated in a celery frame while in their summer 

 quarters and where the celery last year was wintered. 

 I have tried Bordeaux Mixture and other reputed remedies, 

 but it fails to check it any. First the tips of the leaves 

 and then the stems dry up. Any suggestion will be gladly 

 accepted and appreciated. 



In reply I shall take up the carnations first. From 

 the scanty facts given I would say that his carnations 

 are sutfering from leaf spot or blight (Septoria Dianthi). 

 It alfects both leaves and stems to such an extent that 

 the sap is cut off from the branches making them dry 

 up and finally die. I would first of all go through the 

 benches and cut off all diseased shoots and bum them. 

 Pay attention to the watering at the roots and try to 

 keep them in an even state of moisture, but doing any 

 watering in the morning so they will have a chance to 

 dry off before nightfall. Once a week spray with am- 

 moniacal copper carbonate solution. This can be made 

 as follows : Copper carbonate, one ounce, ammonia, one 

 pint; mix together and when dissolved this is enough 

 for ten gallons of water. I would suggest a very steady 

 night temperature of from 52 to 54 degrees, aboyt 

 62 degrees on dark days, and 65 to 70 degrees on sunny 

 days. Give ventilation whenever possible. Keep the 

 surface of the soil stirred frequently. In short, give 

 careful culture, which only with spraying will help to 

 eradicate any fungous disease and do not propagate 

 from any of this diseased plants. Antirrhinums are 

 subject to leaf spot and the same treatment will do 

 for them. Do not syringe for some time, so the foliage 

 will be left dry, but spray once a week with the am- 

 moniacal copper solution. The causes of these fungous 

 diseases are often exceedingly complicated and difficult 

 to unravel, but it is known that too little moisture or 

 too much excessive heat or cold, too little plant food and 

 unfavorable soil, all go to make trouble. 



Weak Stems 

 Editor Hobticultube: 



Will you please let me have some information that will 

 help me to correct a bad case of weak stemmed carnations. 

 All my carnations are exceedingly weak in the stem al- 

 though flowers are of fair size; 2% to 3 inches, but very 

 light at the calyx. The houses average 50° to 55° at night, 

 with a chink of air on; the day temperature runs from 

 60° to 75° with everything open. As to feeding; I have 

 treated one bench with Clay's fertilizer, one bench with 

 blood and bone and muriate of potash (3 part to 1 part), 

 one bench has had ichthemic guatao, and one has been 

 given sheep manure; this last is the weakest stemmed batch 

 As to the others I can detect little difference. Once, so 

 far, everything had a good dressing of soot to kill cut- 

 worms. 



I have generally a few weak stems with the first cut- 

 ting, but the trouble has not been so continuous before 

 and I hope you can tell me where I have succeeded ia 

 "slipping up." 



To correct weakness in stems already formed is im- 

 possible but your detailed explanation of the treatment 



of your plants makes it easy to locate the reason for the 

 weakness of which you complain. It is simply a case of 

 overfeeding, aggravated by a too high temperature at 

 times at night and probably also in the daytime. Blood- 

 meal, guano and sheep manure are very rich stuff and 

 will hardly do for carnations at any time unless the user 

 is well acquainted with their action and it generally 

 takes a "slip up" before a man really begins to notice 

 that he had better leave these stimulants alone, at least 

 until spring. Even then a small dose at a time will go 

 a long way. 



I take it from your letter that your plants are yet in 

 good physical condition and only affected with weak 

 stems. If so, they will pull through all right, if you 

 keep them properly watered and aired. The night tem-' 

 perature should never go over 50 nor under 48. As 

 for fertilizer, I have an idea that there is enough of it 

 in your benches to raise a good crop of cauliflower after 

 your carnations are pulled out in the summer. 



If after planting your next year's carnations, you 

 wish some practical information as to feeding your 

 plants, I shall be glad to help you out. I am in a posi- 

 tion to do so as I have in my days paid dearly for find- 

 ing out that a man had better not fool around too much 

 with highftrung fertilizers. 



Carnation Rust 



HORTICULTUEE, 



Dear Sirs: — Will you kindly let me know through the 

 columns of your paper the cause of rust on carnations? I 

 used tankage in the field last summer and mixed it with 

 the soil in the benches and my plants are full of rust. 

 Would the use of tankage have anything to do with It? 



J. M., New York. 



Rust is produced by the spores of a fungus. These 

 spores are present wherever carnations have been or are 

 growing and will attack the plants, whenever favorable 

 conditions for their growth are present. The spores 

 will have an easy time of it, if the plants are in a weak 

 condition, either from constitutional weakness, checks of 

 any kind, or if the atmosphere in the houses is kept too 

 moist and the air stagnant. 



The above will readily suggest the needed treatment. 

 Some kinds of carnations — like most scarlets, crimsons 

 and yellows — are seldom without rust and will show a 

 very decided case of it upon the least provocation. As 

 far as your correspondent's case is concerned, I do not 

 see that tankage has anything to do with the rust on 

 his plants, unless enough tankage had been used to in- 

 duce a soft growth and subsequent treatment of the 

 plants had been favoring the development of the spores. 

 The plants will come out of the disease all right if kept 

 airy and not syringed more than is needed to keep red 

 spider in check. I have in these last years not found 

 any trouble, on account of rust; simply I think, because 

 I keep my plants free from moisture and always have 

 air circulating, whenever possible. 



Get your plants in good healthy growth and keep 

 Ihem so and rust will not show much. If the lower 

 leaves are much affected, I should advise to pull them 

 off, and burn; this will greatly reduce the chance for 

 further infection. Any sort of spraying with germi- 

 cides is a waste of time. 



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