February 17, 1917 



HORTICULTURE 



■201 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS^ STOCK 



COMDUCTBD BT 



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

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

 ■*If vain our toil, we ought to blame tlie culture, not the soil." — Pope. 



Calceolarias 



Green tiy i.s very partial to calceolarias. Slight fuiui- 

 gatioii repeated often will tend to keep them in cheek. 

 As the flower spikes push up they will need some wire 

 stakes for support. They should now have a shade of 

 some kind during the bright hours. Give them some 

 cow or sheep manure water, once or twice a week, just 

 as soon as the pots are filled with roots. Keep the 

 night temperature as near fo degrees as possible and 

 be very careful in watering, avoiding e.xtremes either 

 way. Give them plenty of ventilation, but see that they 

 are not swept by cold draughts. Set the pots on a 

 moist bottom, and keep it so by syringing between pots. 

 Do not crowd these plants but give plenty of r(x)in. 

 Candytuft for Memorial Day 



Candytuft will not stand any coddling and does 

 better in a night temperature of 45 degrees than at 

 50. If your plants seem at all late you can run them a 

 little warmer as the flowers open. This is a very good 

 crop to grow for Memorial Day trade. For that date 

 it should be sown no later than the 30th of February. 

 If there are not empty benches in February the best 

 plan is to sow in 3-inch pots. Put half a dozen seeds 

 in a pot and thin out to three. You can also sow in 

 flats of light soil, but great care must be taken to pot off 

 in good season, as candytuft seedlings do not trans- 

 plant as easily as some other annuals. Place the pots 

 or flats on a shelf or bench in a moderately cool and 

 well aired house, with a temperature of not more than 

 48 degrees at night. If vacant beds or beiiclies are 

 at disposal, sow it in rows 12 to 15 inches .apart and 

 rather thinly. Do not leave more than three or four 

 good seedlings to the square foot. Keep moist at the 

 roots, with a good syringing on all good days. 

 Cyclamen 



.Give a moderate amount of air daily wlienever jios- 

 sible and keep the atmosphere rather moist on bright 

 days and they will need some shading as the sun be- 

 comes stronger for three or fonr hours of the hottest 

 part of the day. Through all their season of growth 

 they should never lack water at the roots. Shift before 

 they become pot-liound, and so on until they have 

 reached their flowering size. Seedlings that were sown 

 in the fall should now be ready for 2^-inch pots. Place 

 them near the glass in an average minimum temper- 

 ature of 55 degTees at night with 10 to 15 degi'ees higher 

 during sunshine. Give syringing proper attention so 

 you can keep thrips and red spider in check. A light 

 ■weekly fumigation will helji to keep them clean. A 

 good compost to use is sifted fibrous loam three parts, 

 leaf mold, two parts, and well rotted cow manure one 

 part, with a little sand. 



Fancy-Leaved Caladiums 



•First, Sort all the available tulici-s into sizes, planting 

 each size in a box separate. Put some moss in the bot- 

 tom of the box and then lay the tubers close to one 



Next Week: — Cnmi)o.st: Habrothamnus ; Lilies for 



another, as their stay in these boxes should be short. 

 Place aljout three-quarters of au inch of moss over the - 

 tubers and then set in a frame over the pipes, where aK^t^- 

 temperature of from 70 to 75 degrees can be main- 

 tained. When they have made a nice lot of roots they 

 should be jiotted into the smallest-sized pots that will 

 hold them comfortably. Use a compost of two parts 

 leaf-mold with equal proportions of peat and sand. 

 Until the roots have made some progress, watering 

 should be done very carefully. For. subsequent shifts 

 use fibrous loam peat and leaf-mold in equal parts, with 

 the addition of some well-rotted cow manure and sand. 

 These plants like a temperature not lower than G5. 



Gladioli 



The first planting of the large-bulbed varieties can 

 now be done and do not omit a good number of that 

 inexpensive, but excellent scarlet variety, Brenchley- 

 ensis. in addition to America, Augusta and Mrs. F. 

 King. For a good Memorial Day crop gladioli should 

 be planted now in benches. The market for these is 

 usually good in .\pril and May, and fairly good in June, 

 and there is not much likelihood of spikes being wasted 

 even though a good many of tlieni flower before and 

 after Memorial Day. Of course, so much depends on 

 climatic conditions that it is not easy to hit the date 

 just right witli this crop. Do not use any fresh manure 

 which will come in contact with the bulbs. If you 

 have no old manure, try fine bone and pulverized sheep 

 manure, iiicor]iorating this well with soil. Again, the 

 Ijulbs do not flower at one time, which is generally an 

 ad\'aiitage. They do well in from 50 to 55 flt night. 



Propagation of Rubbers 



In answer to a subscriber who inipiires about mossing 

 rublier plants you can moss them any time from now 

 and up to May with success. With a temperature of 

 65 to 70, and" a close moist atmosphere they should 

 begin to root through the moss in four to six weeks. 

 After you havte mossed the stems place a stake to 

 each one and tie above the moss and below it. The moss 

 should be kept moist all the time. It is always better 

 to keep the rubbers quite diy at the roots while mossing 

 is ooing on. When the roots ionic through the moss 

 the'^cutting can be cut off, potted and kept shaded in a 

 moist atmosphere. 



Reminders 



See that no frost reaches tlie lionse where azaleas are 

 being kept back for Easter. 



Keep Gladiolus Colyillei and others of this section 

 cool, as they then produce better flowers. 



Allow tuberous rooted begonias to come along in a 

 moderate temperature, as they do 1)etter for it. 



Keep the cutting benches free from dead or dying 

 cuttinos. If it is seen that a few cuttings have missed 

 pull them out without disturbing the sand. 



Easter: Making Ilot-P.eds: Orchids: Reminders. 



