November 12, 1910 



HORT I CULTURE 



603 



Seasonable Notes on Culture of 

 Florists^ Stock 



CINERARIAS 



These plants should now be in two-inch pots and 

 before lon.i:; will want a four-inch pot which should do 

 them nntii Feliruarv. When shifting from a four-inch 



Cineraria stellata 



pot the soil should be of an open nature. A good com- 

 post to use is two parts of fibrous loam, one part of well 

 decayed cow or sheep manure and one part of leaf mold. 

 Thev should be given a place in a cool house where the 

 atmosphere is kept airy and moist. While these plants 

 like plenty of water at the roots it should not be over- 

 done, as it will cause a stagnant state of the soil which 

 is fatal to their well being. Cinerarias become weak and 

 drawn when grown in a too warm atmosphere, conse- 

 quently only enough fire heat should be applied to keep 

 them at about 40 degrees at night, with a rise of 10 

 degrees by day. In all their stages of growth they are 

 especially liable to the attack of green fly and will require 

 to be fumigated frequently with tobacco paper. 

 genistas 

 If these are not wanted in bloom until Easter, you 

 will have to keep them as cool as possible. If they are 

 kept Just clear of freezing that is all that will be needed. 

 A pit or a north house where there is very little fire heat 

 will be all right for them. It is easier to do your re- 

 tarding now in the short and dark days of winter than 

 when ]\Iarch and April come. Don't keep them any 

 higher than 38 to 40 degrees at night. See that they 

 are not allowed to dry out at the roots. They should 

 be carefully and moderately watered when they need it. 



JAPAN LILIES 



Those intended for Easter and that are out in a cold 

 frame should be protected from the severe weather that 

 we are liable to have any time after this date, and also 

 from anv long-continued rains. The bulbs can be left in 

 the frames until about the middle of December by which 

 time they should have made plenty of roots, with a little 

 top growth. They can then be brought into a house 

 where the temperature is al)out 45 degrees at night and 

 kept tliere during December. There is time yet to pot 

 up lilies of the Harrisii type for Easter. Give them 



0-inch ur 7-inch pots at once. It is a good plan to place 

 the bulb sufficiently low in the pot as there are numer- 

 ous roots that start from the base of the flower stems 

 which can later be given a liberal top dressing of some 

 good soil. The Japan lilies are always in good demand 

 for Memorial Day. In order to have a supply on that 

 date it requires more retarding than forcing. To have 

 them in flower for that day they should be in a cold 

 frame well protected until New Year's. They can then 

 be removed to a very cool house and carried through 

 with little artificial heat. . Longiflorums potted up now 

 will come along all right for Decoration Day. 



PANSIES 



The plants that are intended for growing inside should 

 he protected so as to allow of lifting them whenever there 

 is room inside. Those who grow cut flowers will find it 

 quite profitable to plant some pansies out on a bench in 

 a cool house. Any good soil enriched with a liberal 

 amount of well rotted manure will grow them. They 

 like a temperature of from 38 to 40 degrees at night. If 

 carried much higher it will diminish the size of the 

 flowers. When they come into bloom a weak dose of 

 liquid manure once a week will help wonderfully in the 

 size of the flowers. While good ])ansies can be grown 

 outside in this latitude with very slight protection, it is 

 however, much more profitable to winter them in cold 

 I'rames especially the finer strains. 



SPIRAEA JAPONICA 



The imported roots of spiraea or astilbes will soon 

 be here. Unpack them at once as they are sometimes 

 found to be in a very dry state. Soak them well after 

 unpacking and leave them outside to freeze before you 

 pot them up. They can be stored in any frame, putting 

 a little earth between the roots and some over the crowns 

 until you are ready to pot them up. Let them have the 

 benefit of rain or snow as it does them good. When 

 wanted they can be potted into six or seven-inch pots, 

 and stood under a bench for the first three weeks, after, 

 which they can be given a place on the bench in any 

 liouse that stands at'from 55 to 60 degrees at night. _ It 

 takes from ten to fourteen weeks to flower them. Astilbe 

 compacta and Gladstone are popular forcing varieties. 



TULIPS AND VON SIGN 



Your main crop of narcissi, hyacinths and tulips 

 siiould be planted now without delay. It happens often 

 that a portion of the main crop of these bulbs, intended 

 for spring trade, is neglected until too late, for lack of 

 time or other reasons. Wliether these bulbs are wanted 

 for an early or a late trade, it is better always to plant 

 them as soon as possible after they are received. Tulips 

 always force better after the new year. The necessary 

 condition to force tulips from December until March is 

 some place where they can have a strong top heat, with 

 only a mild heat at the roots. For your earliest ones 80 

 to 85 will not be any too high. Two or three daily 

 sprayings will be necessary in this heat. They should 

 be shaded with something such as cheese-cloth, so as to 

 induce a good stem. Wlien the first flowers show color 

 remove to some other bench until all the flowers are 

 out when thev can be prit in a cooler house. Von Sion 

 narcissi require just the reverse of tulips. It is well 

 to leave these bulbs outside until about the middle of 

 December when thev can be brought in and stored under 

 a bench in a house of 50 to 55 degrees. Tulips are bet- 

 ter left out until wanted. 



Mr FarreU's next notes will be on the following: Care of 

 nttleri-.- Forcing of Txi.is: He.iths: Lily of the Valley; Mig- 

 nonette: Be.nutios in Pols for Ea.ster. 



