September 26, 1914 



HORTICULTURE 



449 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK 



CONDUCTED BY 



^^/^%.p1 . ^OA^lO/ 



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

 by Mr. Farrell. Sucb communications should Invariably be addressed to the office of HOKTICULTDKE. 



Care of Gardenias 



As the days get shorter and the nights much cooler 

 give ventilation with care so as not to give these plants a 

 check. It will pay to run quite a bit of artificial heat 

 through the gardenia house from this out. By this time 

 they should have made a good many roots so will need a 

 nice top-dressing of well rotted cow manure one part 

 and new soil two parts, applied about half an inch thick, 

 and repeated from time to time as necessary. During 

 all good days they should be syringed early in the morn- 

 ing. It must be remembered that gardenias want lots 

 of heat with a good amount of atmospheric moisture. 

 For a night temperature give 68 to 70 degrees. 



CckIos Palms 



There is nothing To beat Cocos Weddeleana for the 

 center of fern dishes. They are rather hard to grow, and 

 there are very few palms that need so careful watering. 

 They make roots slower than most palms and overwater- 

 ing must be carefully avoided. These palms like a warm 

 humid house, the night temperature never falling below 

 68, while 70 degrees would be better. Day temperature 

 can run up to 85 or 90 degrees when sunny. Do not 

 keep a too thick shade on the glass and be careful with 

 ventilation, giving just a little at a time and reduce grad- 

 ually the same way. 



Orchids 



Phalaenopses are warm blooded subjects so will not 

 bear a cool temperature at any time and will take quite 

 a brisk heat from this out. The night temperature 

 should never fall below 65 degrees, and 70 would be still 

 better. The day temperature should be kept at from 75 

 to 85 degrees with sunshines; during dull weather, about 

 eight or ten degrees over the night temperature will do 

 Keep making the shade lighter until December when 

 they should stand the full sun. They will need some 

 shade by the end of January again. The atmosphere of 

 the house should have a nice amount of moisture, but be 



Mr. Karrell's next notes wiU lie on the following: Care of Ad 



Shrubs for Forcing ; R 



careful and do not over-do this as it makes very soft 

 growth. Give ventilation on all good days, avoiding lihkaw* 

 cold drafts. ^^W VOUK 



Perennials for Pots hutanicau 



There are quite a few florists who can handle hardy UAKUUot' 

 perennials in pots for spring sales. You can divide or 

 transplant seedlings now anytime. Pot up a good batch 

 of each which will be ready for early spring sales. Do 

 not put them in too large pots as they are only intended 

 to last in pots until the spring. Pot firmly and give a 

 good watering so as to soak entirely through the soil in 

 the pot. They will become well re-established before the 

 severe freezing weather sets in. They can then be placed 

 in a cold frame, plunged up to the rims so the frost will 

 not break the pots. During very hard weather they will 

 need some protection on the sashes. 



Snapdragons 



Of easy culture, and fairly profitable at that, are the 

 improved strains of Antirrhinum. As a crop to follow 

 chrysanthemums they possess merit which many other 

 kinds of stock, expressly grown for the purpose, lack. 

 A radical renewing of the soil is not required, nor any 

 great or thorough going preparation of that in which 

 the chrysanthemums were grown. Plants should now be 

 in four or five-inch pots, quite bushy, and ready to bloom. 

 All such flowers at show now must be nipped off. In 

 benching this stock, care must be taken of the new 

 ^owth which i« now beginning to ajipear above ground, 

 and which after being transplanted into the bench, will 

 push its way up to the light astonishingly fast. 

 Propagating Sand 



Now is the time to procure and place under cover some 

 sharp sand for propagating purpose. Every florist has a 

 certain amount of propagating to do and will need good 

 clean sand. Do not attempt to use sand left over from 

 the last propagation as it always harbors fungus that are 

 fatal to all cuttings. 



iantums; Cvclainen for the Holidays; Poinsettias; Carnations; 

 esting Fancy Caladiuins. 



Ceanothus 



I shall only niontinn in the following paragraphs 

 those varieties of Ceanothus wliich are considered as 

 worth while to the ornamental planter. Doubtless I 

 will neglect some which my reader will think fully as 

 suitable, and for such omissions I crave pardon. 



The Ceanothuses belong to the Ehamnacere and are 

 ornamental shrubs which produce profuse white, blue or 

 pink flowers in terminal panicles. The following varie- 

 ties are hardy in New England: C. americanus, C. 

 ovatus and C. Fendleri. Of the first mentioned there 

 4ire several garden varieties but most of these are only 

 lialf hardv "and even when protected cannot be relied 

 aipon. 



One of the advantages of the Ceanothus is in its 

 late-flowering habit which renders them especially valu- 

 able. Ceanothus americanus has been recommended for 

 use as a low hedge, as it never gets beyond bounds and 



looks well at all seasons. The leaves appear early in 

 spring and the plant is soon covered with a profusion of 

 feathery blossoms. When the leaves have fallen the 

 erect red stems are still handsome. In the north the 

 vouno- (growth is sometimes killed back but at most only 

 one shearing of the plant is necessary. Growni as a 

 specimen or in mass planting C. americanus will attain 

 a heio-ht of 3 feet, and is a rather compact-growing plant. 

 It* flowers are crowded in dense panicles on the end of 

 the branchlets and appear during July, Augiist and Sep- 

 tember. It is a native of dry woods from Canada to 

 South Carolina and Texas. ,, , ^, _. , 



C ovatus is generally smaller than the iireceding and 

 is found on rocks from Vermont to Minnesota. Ihis 

 nlant is not so valuable for ornamental planting as the 

 preceding variety. C. Fendleri is a ^vestern variety 

 coming from the high altitudes of South Dakota, W- 

 omin- New Mexico and Arizona. It forms a nice little 



