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GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



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The Month's Work in Garden and Greenhouse 



HENRY GIBSON 



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,,,. ^ \Miile a srreat deal of harm is 



Winter , . ^. ^ , , , 



p . not intrequently done by covering 



up the hardy plants too early, 



yet when December is passing on there is not likely 



to be much damage from premature covering. At this 



writing we are having mild weather in many sections of 



the country, but this may pass overnight, and the most 



should be made of every available opportunity to get 



the Winter covering into place. 



It is not usually during the early part of the season that 

 stock suffers for want of covering. It's the first three 

 months of the year that the damage is done. 



Dry leaves and straw make the best covering for most 

 plants. Heavy wet nianure and like material is to be 

 avoided for mulching. Dry leaves covered with sufficient 

 manure to hold them in piace is as good as anything, ex- 

 cepting, perhaps, salt hay, where it is available. For small 

 seedlings recently transplanted, a little brush, in, among 

 and over the plants before the leaves go on will prevent 

 damage when the leaves get wet and weigh down on the 

 plants. The lighter the covering the better the chance the 

 plants have, especially during a mild Winter. 



With plants like Phlox, Aquilegias, and Peonies, it 

 does not matter so much, as these subjects have no 

 growths above ground, and any one of them is benefited 

 by a heavv mulch of well rotted manure, to be dug in in 

 the Spring. 



Others like Iris, Coreopsis, Shasta Daisies, Pinks, Lani- 

 panulas, and Primulas, cannot stand such treatment. 

 Light covering is of benefit to most plants, but there is 

 every bit as much danger from too much as too little. 



All evergreens that are likely to have their branches 

 broken by being weighted down by heavy snows should 

 have a string around them. As soon as possible after a 

 heavy snowfall they should l^e gone over with a long pole, 

 and the snow shaken from them. 



A good stock soil leaf mold 

 ^'"*^y and sand, for use during the Win- 



Preparation ^^^^ should be put in without de- 

 lay. Breaking through several inches of frost in 

 order to get soil in Mid-Winter is not an undertaking that 

 is any too well relished by most gardeners, whether they 

 be amateur or professional. Nor is it necessary.^ when 

 it can be obtained by a good deal less effort before it 

 freezes up. 



Newly fallen snow should be removed from fram-s. 

 if thev "have not frozen through, as the growing plants 

 within soon damp oft' if allowed to remain in darkness too 

 long. Decaying foliage should be removed from let- 

 tuce, parsley and violets. 



Flats, Bean Poles, Pea Brush, should be gone over and 

 the stock replenished as circumstances permit. A'eee- 

 tables and fruit in storage should be gone over at fre- 

 quent intervals, and any decaved specimens removed. 

 The Sunimer Flowering Inilbs should be likewise treated. 



Seeds of Calendulas sown now 

 will start to flower in ^March. when 

 planted out on a bench in a 

 carnation house temperature. They will be at their 

 best round the Easter holidays, when something in the 



In the 

 Greenhouses 



way of variety is appreciated. Give them good, rich soil 

 containing plenty of well-rotted cow manure, as they are 

 gross feeders, and under generous treatment they are 

 prolific bloomers. 



A plant that is worthy of more general cultivation is 

 the new Salvia "America." It blooms well in the Fall, 

 and is very decorative. It grows to a height of 15 inches, 

 with the flower spikes thrown well above the foliage, and 

 bids fair to become the leader among the dwarf salvias. 

 It increases readily from cuttings, and those who have a 

 few plants will do well to pot them up, and root as many 

 cuttings as needed during the Winter. It is easily raised 

 from seed which has been on the market for the past two 

 years. 



Gladiolus is one of the most useful bulbs we have for 

 adding variety to the supply of cut flowers during late 

 Winter and early Spring. It forces readily and as it does 

 not occupy much room can be grown where other plants 

 cannot. It takes anywhere from 12 to 15 weeks to flower 

 Inillis that are planted at this time, but the later in the 

 \\ inter they are planted the less time it requires for them 

 to bloom. 



They are adaptable for culture in pots, one bulb to a 

 4-inch pot, or three to five, according to size, to a six- 

 inch pot. or where enough head room is available they 

 are admirably adapted for planting between crops of 

 violets, _pansies, forget-me-nots, etc., without interfering 

 materially with these crops. The soil should never be 

 allowed to dry out or blind buds will be the result. As 

 the buds appear a bi-weekly application of liquid manure 

 will greatly benefit them. 



During the short, dark days, when heavy firing has to 

 be done, more attention will have to be paid to watering. 

 No good gardener has any regular days for watering ; it 

 is a matter of being on the lookout all the time, with the 

 watering can or hose nearby at all times. Best results 

 are obtained with greenhouse plants, grown with artificial 

 heat, by keeping them fairly moist at all times. 



( irown along without a check, perfect plants are pos- 

 sible, whether it be Begonias or Primulas : in fact, any 

 kind of plant : but when the leaves hang over the sides of 

 the pot a few times, and raw drafts allowed to strike 

 them, the results are soon visible. On the other hand, 

 the soil they are growing in does not have to be 

 kept saturated all the time. No hard and fast rule can 

 be laid down for watering; only actual experience and a 

 critical eye for dry places in the bench, or dry pots can 

 be a sure guide. Heating pipes below and along the 

 sides of the benches cause them to dry out unevenly, and 

 one soon comes to know the spots that dry out quickly. 



Excess moisture is always to be avoided, but should 

 the atmosphere appear dry soak the walks and below the 

 benches with water. Alm'ost all soft wooded plants when 

 making growth demand a moist atmosphere, and when 

 thev don't get it there is sure to be trouble. Pot plants 

 that are growing actively and that don't need watering 

 once a week should have the drainage examined, for 

 something is likely to be amiss there. 



Carnations are always best watered in the forenoon so 

 that the foliage will be' dry by evening, though thp un-to- 

 the-minute jjlantsman seldom wets the foliage p^: this time 

 of the vear when watering. Put the end of the hose m 



