September 19, 1914 



HORTICULTURE 



417 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS^ STOCK 



CONDUCTED BY 



r~^ 



Spr. T''i^iAZ^ 



Qnestlons by our readers In line with any of the topics presented on this page will be cordially received and promptly answered 

 by Mr. Farrell. Such communications should invariably be addressed to the office of HORTICULTURE. 



Care of Mignonette 



Mignonette loves a cool and airy house where the 

 temperature can be kept near 45 degrees at night. Never 

 let mignonette sufEer for water at the roots. Watch out 

 for the green caterpillar a? they often lay a late batch 

 of eggs which are bound to cause trouble if not looked 

 after. Give the plants proper support so the young 

 shoots do not get all bent. When they are allowed to 

 grow crooked no support will put them into shape again. 

 Sideshoots should be carefully removed so the whole 

 strength will be thrown into the spike. Give them a 

 syringing on good days early in the morning. When the 

 spikes show well give liquid cow manure once a week. 

 These will enlarge the spikes and help the crop that is to 

 follow. 



Frcesias 



It is time to make a suceessional planting of freesias. 

 A great quantity of these is not wanted at any particu- 

 lar time but a succession should be kept up; 55 to 60 

 degrees at night will suit them and plenty of sunlight. 

 The freesia is worth a bench — such a bench as you would 

 use for carnations or mignonette. Four inches of soil is 

 enough. Plant one inch apart in rows, and the rows 

 four inches apart, a few hundred at once, and the same 

 ever}' month. The bulbs will start into growth quickly 

 after September and should have full light as soon as 

 the shoots appear above the soil. In planting freesias 

 we find that the long thin bulbs give far better results 

 than the thick, heavy ones usually sold. These long 

 bulbs are easily raised by sowing the small bulblets mod- 

 erately thick in flats, not cutting any flowers they 

 carry at all and letting them ripen off gradually on a 

 sunny shelf. 



Liquid Feeding for Chrysanthemums 



Wlien once beds are filled with roots you can com- 

 mence feeding the chrysantmemums. Liquid fertilizers 

 are easily applied and cover a wide range and in their 

 proper use is where the skill and care of the operator 

 counts for more than anything particularly in the use 

 of chemicals. Of the chemicals those most generally 

 used are nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammonia, 

 though potash in the form of muriates, nitrates and sul- 

 phates, is used more or less. The grower should take up 

 this feeding question more in detail in a few weeks, but 

 for the present with a mulch as recommended, our plant,'; 

 will do well enough and only an occasional very light 

 dose of any chemical should be given. One ounce to 

 four gallons of water is plenty strong enough to begin 

 with and it should always be l)orne in mind that lighter 

 and more frequent feedings are very much to be preferred 



to heavier doses. Cow manure and sheep manure are 

 always preferable to any chemicals. A half bushel of 

 the former or a peck of the latter to 40 or 50 gallons of 

 water makes an ideal liquid feeding for chrysanthe- 

 mums. 



Summer Flowering Bulbs 

 Acliimenes, gloxinias, gesneras, tuberous-rooted be- 

 gonias, etc., as they pass out of flower should have water 

 gradually withheld until they have had time to thor- 

 oughly ripen up. Place the bulbs in some dry corner of 

 a cool house where they will not be liable to get too 

 much water. Many bulbs are lost every year for the 

 want of proper care at the right time. If there is not 

 room in the houses they can be placed in a frame cov- 

 ered with sash and can stay until heavy frost makes it 

 dangerous for them to remain out any longer, when they 

 can be removed to a dry shed leaving the pots on their 

 sides. Later on shake them out and store in boxes where 

 the temperature does not fall below 50 degrees. 



Violets 



The amount of heat the violet house should have will 

 have to be determined by the character of the weather. 

 The main thing is that the temperature must not rise 

 above 45 degrees with fire heat. During the daytime, 

 even in cool weather, it will be necessary to withhold ar- 

 tificial heat and open all the ventilation possible. In 

 a warm atmosphere the leaves will push out veiy rai)idly 

 although scarcely any flowers will appear. Continued 

 warmth above the danger line mentioned is fatal to the 

 production of flowers. Another precaution to be ob- 

 served in growing violets under glass is to never water 

 them after 10 o'clock in the forenoon. The soil should 

 be well drained and kept only moist. In applying water 

 do not wet the entire bed unless it is dry all over. In 

 dry places involving only one plant, while the remainder 

 of the soil is still moi.st, the dry places should be watered 

 and the remainder of the bed left untouched. The violet 

 house should be fumigated once every ten days or two 

 weeks. If leaf spot appears pinch off all affected leaves 

 and then dust with dry Bordeaux mixture. Another 

 ?ood remedy is to syringe the plant« with a solution of 

 potassium sulphide iiiade liy one ounce of the sulphide to 

 a gallon of water. 



Salvia 



If you have not all ready lifted some of your dwarf 

 salvia, such as Zurich, you should lose no time in doing 

 so. Salvia Zurich comes much truer from cuttings than 

 from seed. These can be potted up into 5-inch pots 

 and grown on through the winter. Wliere given good 

 care thev will give one batch of cuttings after another. 





Mr. Farrell's next notes will be on the following: Gardenias: Cocos; Orchids; Perennials for Pots; Snapdragons; PropagatInK Sand. 



