April 22, 1911 



HORTICULTURE 



597 



Seasonable Notes on Culture of 

 Florists* Stock 



CARE OF EVERGREENS IN POTS OR TUBS 



In our growing cities and towns there is an increasing 

 and continuous demand for evergreens in pots or tubs 

 for inside and outside decorations. The Sweet Bay — or 

 properly Laurus nobilis — is preeminently ahead of all 

 other evergreens for this purpose, but all such plants 

 as boxes, laurels, aucubas, hollies, and many other ever- 

 greens are also used. All these plants that have been 

 kept in a rather dark shed or house should be placed 

 outdoors now without delay, for if left too long inside 

 they scorch badly when placed in strong sunlight. Give 

 a top-dressing of loam and cow manure in equal quan- 

 tities, with a liberal sprinkling of fine bone. Eemove 

 as much of the old surface soil as possible and replace 

 with this mixture. Just before the new growth starts 

 they should have some judicious pruning and trimming, 

 to overcome any imperfections. Keep them freely 

 syringed and give them occasional liquid feeding. 



GLOXINIAS 



Tubers that were started early will now be coming 

 into flower. They should be given a light shade and so 

 situated that they will get a requisite amount of air 

 without cold draughts striking them. Plants that are 

 coming into bloom should have a temperature of 60 de- 

 grees at night with a rise of 10 degrees during the day, 

 but when the flowers are well opened they can be placed 

 in a house where the temperature is 10 degi'ees cooler. 

 This will make the foliage firmer and the flowers will 

 have a greater amount of durability. Be very careful 

 not to wet the foliage any more than is absolutely neces- 

 sary when watering, as they soon get scorched. Tubers 

 that have been kept back but are now starting up natu- 

 rally .should be potted up, using a mixture of two parts 

 leaf mold and one part fibrous loam and enough sand 

 to keep the whole open. Those seedlings that were 

 started in January should be of good size now for pot- 

 ting into 3-inch pots. Use a soil similar to the fore- 

 going. Shift as they may need it and treat them 

 throughout the season with shade, but give plenty of 

 light and moisture. 



LILIES FOR DECORATION DAT 



To have these lilies about right for Memorial Day 

 you should be able to see the flower buds distinctly a 

 full month before that date. You should be able to 

 judge now whether your plants are sufficiently early or 

 not. If the buds are not showing by this time I should 

 say give them more heat — say from 8 to 10 degrees 

 more. In order to have them right with the most of 

 us, it is more a matter of holding them back rather than 

 forcing. Those who have their lilies in a house by 

 themselves are better able to control the temperature 

 by the way of firing than those who only grow a few 

 hundred with other plants. Lilies that are very far ad- 

 vanced and open two weeks before the required date 

 can be kept in very fair shape if they are placed in some 

 cool shade or cellar, or, where this is not at hand a deep 

 frame that is shaded will do. See that the plants are 

 kept nicely staked or they will swing about with the 



syringing and frequently break off from the bulb. It is 

 important now not to overlook fumigating or spraying 

 with a solution of nicotine. It is always well to use these 

 weekly as a preventive. From now on soil in the pots 

 will be one mass of hungry roots, so it will be essential 

 to give them a constant supply of water and occasional 

 liquid manure. 



ODONTOGLOSSUMS 



Now that the hot weather will soon be with us the 

 culture of the orcliid becomes very difficult. Giving 

 conditions such as prevail in their native habitation 

 where a maximum of 65 degrees is very rarely exceeded, 

 cultivators are now having much better success than a 

 decade ago for tliey have broken away from the old way 

 of keeping them in a north house from start to finish. 

 Some of the best growers now give them a sunny house 

 from the middle of October until now, which helps to 

 harden up the foliage and leaves them in a condition 



ODONTOGLOSSUMS, MiLTONIAS AND OdONTIODAS 

 In Stuart Low & Co.'s Orcbld Houses. 



better to stand our hot summer. They should be moved 

 before the arrival of warm nights to a house of north- 

 ern exposure that has elevated rolling shades about 20 

 inches above the glass, as this admits an abundance of 

 air, which helps to keep the house cooler. Now that 

 the flowering season is nearly over with odontoglossums 

 any that need resurfacing or potting should have atten- 

 tion. Use some sphagnum moss and chopped fern fibre 

 for the compost. Give them a judicious syringing over- 

 head once a day and always allow a free ventilation, as 

 tliis is very essential at all times with these orchids. 

 The crispum section require quite a supply of water at 

 the roots during all seasons, but the grande section do 

 not need so much water at the roots, but should be 

 allowed to dry out frequently. 



Mr. Farrell's next notes will be on the following: Campanulas 

 for next Easter; Pompon Chrysanthemums; Azaleas; Compost; Hy- 

 drangeas; Ferns; Polnsettlas; Smllax. 



