April 8, 1911 



^HORTICULTURE 



525 



Seasonable Notes on Culture of 

 Florists' Stock 



CARNATIONS 



Now that spring is with us carnations will need nn- 

 internipted attention in all details, such as disbudding, 

 fi'equent mulching, soil, having the ventilators wide open 

 during warm days, and if possible, a bit of air during 

 the night even if you have to keep your fires up during 

 some belated cold spell. Give regular and copious water- 

 ings at the roots and a good syringing every bright morn- 

 ing after the flowers are cut. so as to hold red spider in 

 check, and also attend to regular fumigation. Where you 

 have the frame room it is a good practice to give the 

 young stock a week or so in the frame before they go out- 

 side, for it often happens that we get a cold and wet 

 period after they are planted out in the field. When 

 stock is hardened off in frames they will stand without 

 injury any such visitation. See that your ground is 

 given a dressing of stable manure and plowed in, before 

 planting, also a good application of wood ash and bone. 



I CARE OF ORCHins 



Give Cypripedium insigne a place where they can be 

 kept cool. A house with a northern aspect is the best 

 place — one that can be well ventilated according to the 

 condition of the weather outside. Water should be ap- 

 plied to the roots whenever the compost appears dry, and 

 the plants syringed overhead at least once a day in 

 bright weather. Where you have not a north house a cold 

 frame, after M?iy 20, will make an excellent place. They 

 make a stockier and better growth than when kept in a 

 house where they are always a considerable distance from 

 the glass. The many forms of dendrobiums will soon 

 finish fiowering, at which time any rebasketing or re- 

 potting should be done. Some plants probably will not 

 require to be disturbed, but will be benefited by a sur- 

 face dressing of equal parts of sphagnum moss and fern. 

 Give them a place in some wami house where a little 

 shade can be given, and keep up an abundance of 

 moisture from now on. Attend carefully to ventilation 

 so as to admit a gentle circulation of fresh air. Dendro- 

 biums that are just starting into growth will need very 

 careful watering, but as the growing season advances 

 they will take frequent applications. 



CYCLAMEN 



Seedlings of this plant that are still in flats should 

 have attention in the way of potting. Use either "Ji/o or 

 3-inch pots, give them a compost of two parts fibrous 

 loam, leaf mould two parts, with rotted cow manure one 

 part, and add some sand to make it porous. Pass the 

 whole through a screen. After they have been potted 

 give them an average night temperature of from .53 to 56 

 degrees and from 65 to 70 degrees in the daytime. Never 

 keep the plants in a close air, or they will become drawn 

 and weak. Give all the air possible, avoiding cold drafts. 

 Cyclamen succeeds best where extremes of temperature 

 are avoided. Shift whenever the pots are fairly well 

 filled with roots as they are liable to suSer from getting 

 potbound. Let the plants dry out fairly well before 

 watering; this will keep the soil sweet. The sun is now 

 getting strong so a light shade is necessary, but don't, 

 make it too dense. Space the plants about every two 

 weeks, always giving them plenty of room. Give them 



a ii\n-av every dav once or twice and fumigate once a week 



faithfully. 



GLADIOLUS 



Now is the time to plant out a batch of gladioli. This 

 can be repeated until the end of June for a succession. 

 By planting the bulbs at an interval of about two weeks 

 you can secure a long season of these fine flowers. Any 

 ground that was well-manured last fall will do as they 

 are not exacting in their demands as to soil. Plant where 

 they will be exposed to full sun in rows sufficiently wide 

 to make cultivation easy. For large corms plant 2 or 3 

 inches apart in the rows and about 4 or 5 inches deep. 

 During limited rainfall they should be watered at inter- 

 vals quite profusely. Give them a mulch in very hot 

 weather so as to keep the soil cool. 



PEONIES 



Herbaceous paeonies have so greatly improved of late 

 years that now they are indispensable for spring and 

 summer flowering. Now is a good time to make beds or 

 borders. In order to have peonies that will produce flow- 

 ers of good size and color the soil should be trenched to 

 the depth of 18 to 24 inches and plenty of cow manure 

 incorporated through it. When planting in the fleld 

 with the intention of digging up the clumps and dividing 

 for sale they should be planted 2i/^ or 3 feet apart both 

 ways, but when planting for cut flowers leave them at 

 least four feet apart each way, covering the crowns with 

 3 or 4 inches of soil. If you are dividing old climips for 

 new plantations leave 4 or 5 good eyes, and they will soon 

 regain a firm hold in tlieir new quarters and by fall will 

 be. nice clumps. Old plantations yielding good crops of 

 flowers annually should have a good top-dressing of 

 manure and this forked into the soil. If the weather be- 

 comes dry while the buds are forming and the flowers 

 coloring they should have a liberal supply of water. By 

 the end of this month give them an application of some 

 quick working fertilizer; it will materially improve both 

 stem and bloom. I think for this purpose dried blood or 

 nitrate of soda are good. 



TUBEROUS-EOOTED BEGONIAS 



Tubers that are not already started for bedding pur- 

 poses had better be as soon as possible. They do well in 

 partial shade. To start them place about an inch of sand 

 and leaf mold in equal parts on the bottom of a flat and 

 on this place the tubers about half an inch apart and 

 then cover them over with about an inch of the compost. 

 Give them a place in a house where they can have some 

 bottom heat and atmospheric temperature of from 65 to 

 70 degrees. In two or three weeks when the young leaves 

 show they will have made a flne lot of roots and will then 

 be ready" for 4 or 5-inch pots. A good compost is three 

 parts good loam, one part well-rotted cow manure, and 

 enough of sand to make the whole porous. When the 

 roots have taken a fresh hold in their pots they will want 

 a cooler temperature, say about 60 degrees. They will 

 now grow fast and will have to be shaded slightly from 

 the sun in the middle of the day. If you have a mild hot 

 bed you can plunge the pots in it and by the middle of 

 May the glass can be removed which will harden them to 

 weather and sun. Seedlings that are just touching one 

 another should be potted into 2-inch pots and grown on. 





Mr. Farrell's next notes wiU be on the foUovving: Annuals j 

 Bougiiinvilleas : rrinmlas; Ramblers for Next Bastei- ;. Steph'anotis ; 

 Swainsona. . 



