May 27, 1911 



HOKTICUUTURE 



779 



Seasonable Notes on Culture of 

 Florists^ Stock 



ALLAJIANDAS 



These plants are favorites for flowering in pots 

 during the summer months, and make good subjects 

 when well grown for table centerpieces. As these plants 

 liloom for months they are very adaptable for cutting 

 purposes. If plants were started in a brisk heat the 

 early part of April they should now begin to show 

 flower. At this period they will need abundance of 

 water — likely two or three times a day. Grow them in 

 full sun and as the pots fill with roots, give liquid 

 manure once or twice a week. Continue the use of 

 the syringe every clear day and give more air as 

 summer advances. If you want to work up a nice lot 

 of stock they are easily propagated from cuttings of 

 green wood. Place these where they can have a little 

 bottom heat in a propagating bench, or use some 

 small pots that are filled with equal parts of sand 

 and leaf mold and plunge in the cutting bench and 

 keep shaded until they are rooted. These young plants 

 can be shifted into larger pots whenever the condition 

 of the roots may require it. Increase the substance 

 of the soil in later shifts to a good fibrous loam with 

 about a fourth well-rooted cow manure, and add a 

 moderate sprinkling of sand to the mixture. They 

 should be grown on and pinched at least twice during 

 their first season's growth. They should be dried 

 slowly, starting in September and finishing up in 

 October. 



GEILiXIUMS 



The proper lime to make a start on geranium stock 

 for ne.xt season is just now. Pick out some of the 

 varieties and place them aside to plant out for future 

 propagation so as to have stock that will give a lot of 

 good cuttings by end of August and through September. 

 Give them a good sunny place in good soil, and leave 

 at least eighteen inches between the plants, for if 

 planted too close they will make a mass of foliage with 

 soft and drawn-up stems which makes poor material 

 for propagation. If the season is very dry, give them a 

 soaking of water now and then, and keep tJiem thor- 

 oughly cultivated all summer. As the flowers are de- 

 veloping into full bloom they should he picked off. 



GROWING CARNATIONS INDOORS 



Those who wish to try this method should get their 

 carnations planted out on the benches as soon after 

 Decoration Day as possible. To have success with in- 

 door culture only plant out good, stocky plants that 

 were propagated by the middle of January, and grown 

 on to 4-in. pot size without a check. Great care must 

 be used after planting in regard to watering. The soil, 

 if watered too freely for the first month is likely to get 

 soured, but when they get a good hold of the soil they 

 should be watered thoroughly, otherwise the plants will 

 become hard and woody, and will fail to break away 

 freely. Give frequent syringings which will encourage 

 good growth and also help to keep down red spider, 

 which often becomes troublesome. Give both day and 

 night full ventilation, for they are truly air loving sub- 

 jects. As soon as the shoots begin to elongate so as to 

 show the stem between the leaves, the tops should be 



pinched off, leaving three or four joints. Don't pinch 

 oif all the tops at once and then leave two or three 

 weeks before pinching them again, but go over them 

 every week and top just the longest ones, which will 

 ensure a more even growth with a less tendency towards 

 cropping. See that the benches are frequently culti- 

 vated during the summer. The dreaded stem-rot is 

 reduced to a minimum by this method. 



PLANTING OUT GARDENIAS 



Now that the time for planting out these plants is 

 here we must look to our soil, for much of the success 

 in growing gardenias can be traced to the compost used. 

 Tliis should be of fibrous loam, two-thirds, and a third 

 of old cow manure. Add to this mixture some coarse 

 sand and charcoal so as to make sufficiently porous for 

 the water to pass off readily. Plants that are nicely 

 rooted in either 3 or -t-inch pots will make fine stock 

 for benches. See that there is good drainage in your 

 benches before the soil is put in. The plants can be 

 set from 18 to 20 inches apart' between the rows and 

 about 16 inches apart in the rows. Just merely water 

 around each plant until the roots begin to run through 

 the bed, when they will need a plentiful supply of 

 water. Give them a good syringing every good day for 

 it helps to keep them free of insects, especially mealy 

 bug, which if allowed to get a foothold, will give an 

 unlimited amount of trouble. 



SINGLE-STEM CHRYSANTHEMUMS- 



Where the idea is to grow single-stem chrysanthe- 

 mums in pots there is no better time than from now 

 up to the first week in June to put in cuttings for 

 6-inch pots. It is advisable to change the sand for 

 this batch of cuttings so as to avoid as much as possible 

 the cutting-bench fungus. Never let the cuttings show 

 sings of wilting either from want of moisture or 

 proper shade until rooted. When rooted, pot up into 

 3%-inch pots and thence into -t-inch, and finally to 

 their last shift — a 6-inch pot. Never permit the plants 

 to become too potliound until the last shift is reached. 

 For the last shift use a rich compost. At least one- 

 third of the bulk of soil should be of well rotted cow 

 manure and good sprinltling of bone dust. The best 

 place to grow these plants during the summer is on a 

 bench where there is side ventilation which can be kept 

 open day and night. Make it a practice to syringe 

 several times a day. 



SUMMER CARE OF TRIMULAS 



A coldframe that can be made to face either north 

 or east is the best place for all such winter-flowering 

 primulas as Kewensis, sinensis and obconica. Place a 

 coating of fine coal ashes at least three or four inches 

 thick so the pots can be partially plunged. Shade dur- 

 ing the summer with lath or cloth, which will keep the 

 plants cooler than when they are covered with glass that 

 has been whitened. Stock that is in 3-inch pots should 

 be potted up before they are potbound. A good mixture 

 to use is well rotted fibrous loam, three parts, leaf 

 mold and well decayed cow manure one part each. Add 

 enough of sand and fine charcoal to give porosity and 

 sweetness to the whole. 



Mr, FarreU's next notes will be on tlie following: Violets, Cro- 

 tons. Marguerites, Masdevalias, Raising Perennials, Sweet Peas.. 



