July 11, 1914 



HOKTICULTURE 



37 



NOTES OF CULTURE OF FLORISTS^ STOCK 



CONDUCTED BY 



iV 



p..pa/iAiU 



Questions by our readers in Hue with any of the topics presented oa this page will be cordially received and promptly answered 

 by Mr. Farrell. SucU communications should invariably be addressed to tlie office of HORTICULTURE. 



Callas 



To flower well during the early winter callas should 

 be started now. Any that are soft and flabby, or show 

 spots of mouldy decay and perhaps have already started 

 a thin, spindly bit of growth should be discarded. New 

 roots are cheai) enough and most growers use none but 

 fresh roots every year. Shake off all the old soil and pot 

 up into 6 or 7 inch pots. Give them a compost of three 

 parts of fibrous loam to one of well decomposed cow 

 manure and a good dash of bone meal. After the bulbs 

 are potted they should be stood outdoors in a frame on 

 coal ashes. Callas, although mighty thirsty when doing 

 their best, are not aquatic plants and overwatering is 

 possible and harmful, too, so care should be exercised in 

 watering at this stage as they make roots rather slowly 

 and are very likely to receive too much water. Too dry 

 or too much soaked — one is as bad as the other. The 

 most spotless and most substantial blooms on strongest 

 stalks are grown in a temperature of 58 to 60 degrees. 



Care of Gardenias 



Gardenias that were benched early in June will now 

 be advancing very rapidly and must have every encour- 

 agement to promote a quick and sturdy growth. On all 

 favorable opportunities ■ give them ventilation without 

 allowing dii-ect or cold drafts to strike them. A little 

 fire heat should be given, just enough to slightly warm 

 the pipes and you will be able to keep a chink of air on 

 all the time. Examine the beds each day so there will 

 be neither dry spots nor places showing a saturated con- 

 dition both of which are very detrimental. Damping 

 down will now be necessary two or three times a day. 

 While the gardenia delights in a high temperature, great 

 care should be taken on all suitable occasions, to secure 

 a gentle circulation of fresh air. Give them a dusting 

 of very fine bone first over the surface, and then a light 

 mulch of well rotted cow manure. A good syringing of 

 water helps to keep down insect pest. 



Geraniums 



The regular winter-blooming geraniums, being grown 

 in pots should have the strong leading shoots pinched as 

 they show any tendency to "run away"; also keep all 

 flower spikes picked off. They like a freely ventilated 

 house. In a musty, ill-ventilated one they will develop 

 bacteria. Dead, decaying leaves and weeds should be re- 

 moved and the plants frequently spread out while grow- 

 ing. They should not be allowed to get potbound be- 

 tween shifts and if they show starvation in their bloom- 

 ing pots, a dusting of fine bone or other fertilizer on 

 the surface or weak nitrate of soda water, will tone them 

 up. Avoid the use of liquid manures. These only pro- 



mote a soft growth at the expense of flowers. Give the 

 plants an occasional spraying overhead. It wiU be quite 

 a number of weeks before it will be safe to start the 

 propagation of geraniums. The plants, however, can be 

 looked over in the field and any rogues marked. Many 

 florists plant beds of geraniums about the approaches to 

 their greenhouses. It must be remembered that gerani- 

 ums must have full sun all the time. 



Rambler Roses 



Kamblers that were started from dormant plants in 

 April and have made a long, stout growth can, at the 

 end of this month, be put outside. Do not set them on 

 any material that they can root into or they wiU keep on 

 growing, which you do not want. To nicely ripen the 

 canes they have made, set them on boards, but surround 

 the pots with leaves or litter, or some material to keep 

 the sun from drying them out continuously, for the pots 

 are very full of roots. Don't shift them either; reserve 

 that until you begin to start them into growth next Jan- 

 uary, when they need something for their new active 

 roots. Keep them watered for a long time yet, as the 

 buds they are now making are what will give the trusses 

 of bloom for next Easter. A drying out now not only 

 interferes with a nice, uniform setting of future flow- 

 ering growth all along the canes, but it tends to ripen off 

 the wood altogether too soon. It will be time to gradu- 

 ally let up in watering when the progress of ripening has 

 started to show itself. 



Planning For Next Winter 



The proper time for making a fresh start in the grow- 

 ing of plant stock for the coming season is just now. 

 For the carnations use the best houses you have; they 

 need all the sun and light during the winter months if 

 you expect them to grow into money. Sweet peas, snap- 

 dragons, stocks, pausies and lilies all form excellent ma- 

 terial to follow chrysanthemums or take the place of 

 carnations if any of them fail to do well. Bulb stock 

 for cutting, such as tulips and narcissi are of great im- 

 portance to most of us. Poinsettias, if you can keep the 

 house they are in at 60 degrees and over next Novem- 

 ber are another standby. And so is mignonette, which 

 can be grown in the house in which are Princess of 

 Wales violets. 



Solanums 



Plants in the field, from now and up to the first week 

 in September, will he making their growth. Keep the 

 ground well cultivated every week. Go over the plants 

 and pinch them back regularly and where the weather 

 continues dry they will be better for some water so as 

 not to become stunted. 



Mr. Farrell's next notes will bp on the following: Chrysanthemums: Nenhrolepis: Orchids; Cold Storage Lilies; Sweet Peas; 



Eepairinj; Boilers and Piping. 



BOOM YOUR Bl'SINESS 



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