For Aupiist, 1'I2I 



671 



The Greenhouse, Month to Month 



W. R. FOWKES 



AUGUST is the humid month of the year, and with 

 humidity we are very hkely to have fungus diseases. 

 Many of our AMnter blooming subjects have 

 reached the noonday of their existence. Beware of de- 

 struction which comes with this period. We are at this 

 time of the year likely to be careless in small matters, but 

 if we are to experience no regrets, we must pay attention 

 to details. 



Chrysantheniums have arrived at the bud retaining 

 period, and August 20 is a safe date to retain the bud 

 that will give a fine bloom at the proper time. Keep them 

 clean and keep all basal growths picked off. Scrub the 

 pots clean also, for so much depends on cleanliness. Tie 

 up all growths neatly. Do not try to feed these plants 

 with every kind of fertilizer that is advertised. Experts 

 use less manure than amateurs. 



Carnations, which were benched in April, need a little 

 hydrated lime, but do not think of fertilizers. Many peo- 

 ple like to grow that fine variety, "Laddie," but complain 

 of its bad habit of bursting its calyx. My neighbor, 

 Ernest Wild, grows the most remarkable "Laddies" I 

 have ever seen in either private or commercial places, 

 and attributes his success to early planting in good soil 

 with bone meal incorporated, and no feeding of any kind 

 administered afterwards. His other varieties were of 

 equal merit, and it is proof that good soil, and clean, 

 careful, daily treatment is more important than anything 

 else. Remember not to pinch the shoots after August 20, 

 or your crop will be late. 



The first batch of Roman Hyacinths and paper white 

 Narcissi should be potted the latter part of the month and 

 ])laced out-doors under one foot of ashes. 



Buddlcya Asiatic a should be jjlaced in eight-inch pots, 

 and allowed to branch, which will form large plants by 

 November. 



Plant a few cosmos, early kinds that have been left 

 over, either six plants in ten-inch, or eight plants iii 

 twelve-inch butter tubs. They can be staked and grown 

 out-doors until you expect frost and their lovely, graceful 

 blooms will delight the eye in-doors for many davs after 

 frost has marred the beautv outside. 



Sow a packet of the Spring blooming (jcsiieria, whose 

 name is Isoloiiia hirsutuni hybridinn. The culture is the 

 same for these plants as for Gloxinias, only easier grown. 



Put into seven-inch pots, Canterbury bells, also Cam- 

 panula isophylla and the variety alba. Grow in a frame 

 until October and they will be useful and inexpensive. 



At the end of the month, sow a few seeds of tomatoes. 

 X'arieties are legion, but there is one variety that e.xcels 

 all others. It is grown imder several aliases, hut its true 

 name is "Carter's Sunrise," and to obtain the real article 

 secure it from Carter's Boston. What few [jlants the 

 average grower possesses should Ije of first-class quality 

 and a good start must be made with high-class seeds. 



SoW' a few cucumber seeds, and grow on so that they 

 will take the place of the worn-out ones. Many jieople 

 now favor the indoor varieties in preference to the out- 

 door ones. 



X'iolets must be benched or potted this month. Shade 

 the house until established. .\ short connecting house 

 is suitable, running north and south. .Allow sufficient 

 space between the plants to permit their full develoi)ment. 



Stevias sliould be lienched. Take cuttings of bedding 

 plants; geraniums can be inserted in flats of sandy soil, 

 covering the surface with half an inch of sand. Place 

 the flats out-doors in full sunlight so that they will root 

 nicely and can then be taken indoors at the pro])er time 

 where they will live all Winter in the flats, providing they 

 are free from heat and damp. Cool and drv is the cor- 

 rect atmosjihere. 



Sow Strcptocarpits hybrids which will make a delight- 

 ful showing in the Spring. Very sandy soil is necessary. 

 They take about six weeks to germinate. 



Take care of the Hibiscus grandiflorus and propagate 

 from the half-ripened wood. You will have splendid 

 flowers for table decoration throughout the Winter with 

 little trouble. 



Sow Heliotrope for standards, blank's Giant is ideal 

 for this purpose. It can be grown on without check, and 

 will reach three feet in height by December. If kept 

 fairly dry and cool all Winter, they will shoot ahead and 

 make charming plants for many purposes. 



Bouvardias and Lantanas of good favorite kinds should 

 be cut back, and in a few weeks, will break nicely and 

 give useful cuttings. The right way to propagate these 

 plants is from verv soft, young wood. 



Repot any old Pelargoniums ; the straggly ones need 

 to be cut back well, and when the plants have made a 

 new break, shake off the soil and repot into as small pots 

 as possible. Grow very cool. 



Beware of fungus in the rose house. Do not have 

 moisture on the leaves at night. At the end of -August 

 fungus often makes its appearance, so lime should be 

 blown between the ])lants with bellows after every good 

 watering. Reduce the damping process until firing is 

 started in earnest. 



Give the Poinsettias. which are desired for Christmas 

 bloom, a shift into six-incli pots. To a barrel load of soil, 

 give a six-inch pot full of Ichtheme Guano. The bracts 

 will be three times the ordinary size. 



Cinerarias ought to be i)laced in six-inch pots. Be 

 careful to drain these jjlants well : they are not very par- 

 ticular about the soil, if their drainage is clear. T alwavs 

 use a good amount of leaf mold with these plants and 

 when in full vigor, apply \'eimine to the soil once a week. 

 The best position for them is a bed of ashes. Thev dis- 

 like a latticed bench. 



Calla, the "Godfrey," that have rijiened their leaves 

 thoroughly while outdoors should now be shaken out and 

 reported. They flower freely if placed in small jiots : 

 three bulbs in an eight-inch pot will do nicely. Enrich 

 the compost with hone meal. 



Eucharis ainaaoiiica in the warm house should be fed 

 well, using soot w-ater to guard against the mite, which 

 destroys so many of this beautiful class of flowering- 

 bulbous plants. 



Orchids must be kept absolutely clean. A lady re- 

 marked to her gardener when he w^as cleaning off the 

 green scum on the pots, that she liked to see the green. 

 He said. "Yes. so do the snails. They like a dirty pot." 

 The lady was then assured that the gardener was right 

 in removing every bit of the scum. 



Be careful in watering the orchids as .some of them 

 (Continued on page 675) 



