December 27, 1913 



HOETICULTUEE 



901 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



^ CONDOCTED BY 



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

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



The Propagating Bench 



About this time of the year we begin to think of the 

 Ijropagating bench in earnest, as the time will be here 

 when the stock for the coming year must be rooted. 

 Where the benches are of wood, examine them all very 

 carefully and see that all the boards are sound and will 

 f^tand the liard usage •without breaking down anywhere. 

 There is nothing more annoying than to have a board 

 break about the time the cuttings are beginning to cal- 

 lous nicely. Where the benches are of tile or slate there 

 will be very little to repair, but make sure that there are 

 no broken tiles. We do not like the wooden bench as 

 well as the tile or slate, as the former is a very poor 

 conductor of heat. The latter is much better, and we 

 have little trouble to maintain the necessary temperature 

 in the sand. Whichever it may be, see that all the bot- 

 toms and sides arc in good condition, and then white- 

 wash the benches with hot lime to which a little copper 

 sulphate l\as been added. The sulphate will do away 

 with a good many spores of various fungus, and will 

 help the lime in its cleaning. Then use a little sphag- 

 num moss to fill any large openings, so that the sand 

 will not wash through. Make sure, however, that there 

 will l)e no danger of the surplus water not draining, as 

 perfect drainage is. very necessary to successfully root 

 rose cuttings. Do not use too much sand ; that is, do 

 not have it too deep in the bench. Four inches of sand 

 will be all that is necessary, for the less sand the easier 

 it is to control the bench. 



Sand 



This should be clean fresh sand, not too coarse, nor too 

 fine. A medium run of sand will be very good. See 

 that it is very sharp. Avoid using river sand if it is 

 possible. There are many thousands of roses rooted in 

 just such sand, but where it can be had we prefer the 

 other. Do not use sand that had been used before, or 

 been lying around collecting dirt. If it has been stored 

 in good clean quarters it will be safe. Try the sand for 

 dirt, by taking a little of it and rubbing it between the 

 hands. If the hands show a thick scum of dirt, then the 

 sand is not clean. It can be used, however, by giving it 

 several heavy waterings as soon as it is placed in the 

 benches, heedless to say all the sand should be well 

 screened and free from gravel or other coarse material. 



Shading the House 



Where the houses are exposed to the sun, it will be 

 necessary to shade them quite heavily, for sunlight is not 

 required in the process of rooting plants. It is well to 

 shade the house before any cuttings are put in for if it 

 does not work well the fault can always be corrected be- 

 fore tliere are any cuttings in the house that will be dam- 

 aged. Lime is generally used for the shading, but it is 

 not the best, for it injures the paint and is very difficult 

 to remove after it is not wanted. A much better plan is 

 to use a little whiting and kerosene into which may be 

 mixed a little dryer, as the oil alone will not dry readily. 

 Gasoline may be used, but it is dangerous and expen- 

 sive, as compared to the kerosene. 



Bottom Heat 



Make sure that there will be enough bottom heat to 

 niaintain a temperature of 64 degrees F. in the sand. 

 To do this it will be necessary to place cloth or other 

 material along the side of the bench, and let it hang 

 down to the walk to keep the heat under the bench. The 

 temperature above the cuttings or in the whole house 

 must be kept down to 58-54. The object of the higher 

 temperature in the sand is to encourage the roots, and 

 the low is to keep the tops or the top buds from 

 growing. Once the cuttings start to grow they will 

 never root well. It is not until the cuttings are rooted 

 that Ihe thermometer can be allowed to run up to 64 or 

 so. This will help soften the buds, and the cuttings will 

 start much quicker after they are potted, than if the low 

 temperature prevailed all the while that they are in 

 sand. 



Firming the Sand 



Before any wood is cut for the cuttings, the house 

 should be running just as if the cuttings were in, for 

 about two days. If there is any defect anywhere it will 

 surely show up in this time. Among other things see 

 that the sand is well firmed by being pounded down 

 gently Init fimily with a brick. This can be followed 

 by a pounding with a flat piece of wood nearly as wide 

 as the bench and having handles so that it will be very 

 easy to handle it. This same piece comes in real handy 

 when the cuttings are being put in as it can be used to 

 mark out the row, and again to pound the sand around 

 the cuttings when the row is full. Of course the sand 

 must be wet when the firming starts, as it would be 

 useless to pound the sand dry. 



in the year, grow to an inch or two and then proceed 

 to perpetuate their kind, making perfectly good seeds. 

 To go to the other extreme, orchids that are waning and 

 their vigor almost exhausted will make good parents in 

 that good seeds will be produced, even though it may 

 be the last dying effort of the plant. A thought for the 

 New Year is that the season of seed lists is at hand. 

 There will be many novelties that will tempt us, though 

 as the years go on these seem fewer and it is a good sign, 

 in that greater care is exercised today than ever in 



sending out a new thing. The advice is to try all that 

 appear to be good in a tentative way, trusting to older 

 and well tried kinds to carry one over, remembering 

 also that when a novelty ceases to be such and is not 

 controlled by anyone, it soon loses value to the average 

 grower even to the extent of losing its identity. 



