January 6, 1917 



HOETICULTURE 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK 



CONDCCTKD BY 



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Questions 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 oilice of HORTICULTURE. 



"If vain oar toll, wo onffht to bUuio the ealtaro, not the BotL" — Pope. 



Asparagus 



It will pay any florist to sow quite a batch of Aspara- 

 gus plumosus, A. Sprengeri, etc. The seed should be 

 sown now in pans within an inch of the top with sifted 

 loam and leaf mold in equal parts, with a little sand. 

 Press the material moderately firm and on this sow the 

 seed, covering them about three times their diameter 

 and again press the surface over. Place them in a tem- 

 perature of about 70 degrees at night and keep them 

 shaded until they come up when they can have all the 

 light. When they have attained a size large enough to 

 liandle they should be moved singly into small pots, using 

 fibrous loam, leaf mold and well-rotted cow mamire in 

 equal pai-ts and placed well up to the light and in a tem- 

 perature of 60 degrees. 



Chrysanthemums 



Stock plants of the older varieties should have care 

 to assure good stock. Plants cannot be expected to throw 

 healthy cuttings if they are hidden away from the sun- 

 light. Stock plants should be brought up to the light 

 at once, even if you have to throw something else out. 

 It may seem quite early to begin propagating, btit where 

 there is any intention to grow show blooms or plants 

 now is the time to begin. Again it is not at all unusual 

 for a new variety to be condemned the first year because 

 the buyer has propagated it late and to the utmost limit, 

 and the plants have not had a chance to prove them- 

 selves. Many cuttings are permanently weakened by be- 

 ing left in the sand and allowed to make a weak, atten- 

 uated growth and long spindly roots. As soon as the 

 cuttings have roots half an inch or so in length, get them 

 out right away and pot into soil with a temperature not 

 higlier than 50 degrees at night. 



Dracaena 



Plants pressed every now and then into service soon 

 lose their individual beauty and become shabby and use- 

 less even for this sort of work. Retail growers in whose 

 line of business decorating with plants plays a prom- 

 inent part, generally make free use of dracsenas. Cut 

 into pieces of from one to two inches long, the thickest 

 to be split lengthwise of the stems, the heaviest of the 

 roots to be treated in the same way, and all these pieces 

 to be strewn thinly over a liottom-warmed layer of pure 

 sand. If kept moderately but constantly moist and bot- 

 tom, heat does not give out before that time little plants 

 of lialf a finger's length will in 30 to 30 days work their 

 way up through the top covering. A hothouse propa- 

 gating case answers best, though a pretty warm corner 

 of the common propagating bench covered with spare 

 sa-shes will also do. Pot in two and a lialf or three incli 

 pots, using soil, leaf mold and sand in equal parts, and 

 place back in a warm house. 



Mignonette 



When the crop of spikes begins to show give them 

 some liquid manure twice a week. It helps to develop 

 the flower heads. Cut out any straggly or twiggy growth, 

 keep the plants nicely tied up and disbud from time to 

 time. Give the beds a good cleaning and then a top- 

 dressing of cow or sheep manure mixed with equal parts 

 of soil wdiicli will help the hungry surface roots to sus- 

 tain the plants in a vigorous gi'owth. To produce high- 

 grade spikes the temperature of about 45 degi'ees should 

 be kept during the night, as mignonette is a cool-blooded 

 annual. The constitutional vigor of the plants depends 

 to a great degree upon properly adjusted ventilation. 

 Bench-grown mignonette should now be showing up well 

 for this is the season when they produce the finest spikes 

 and will continue good up to April. Give good culture 

 from now on. It is well now to make a sowing in pots 

 which can be planted out in a violet liouse or any other 

 cool house in the spring. 



Roses in Pots 



All roses potted in November expected to be in bloom 

 for Easter, must now be started into growth. In a tem- 

 perature as low as between 40 and 45 degrees for about 

 ten days there is much gained in the starting of active 

 root fibres before the leaf buds show any appreciable 

 new life ; these roses want from about eleven to twelve 

 weeks from start to finish and nearly five weeks of this 

 for the development of the flower buds at their first ap- 

 pearance into open or opening bloom at the end of the 

 course. Sixty degrees should be the maximum heat for 

 Rambler roses, a few degrees less lieing preferal^le if 

 time permits. Hybrid roses will invariably reach a more 

 perfect finish in 55 degrees than in a temperature much 

 higher. It is best to afford the greater amount required 

 after the l}uds have formed, and five degrees higher dur- 

 ing the last stages in forcing usually suffice to make good 

 lost time. 



Reminders 



Any hydrangeas wanted for Easter should be brought 

 into gentle Warmth now. 



Propagate heliotropes, salvias, geraniums and other 

 l)edders at all convenient times. 



A sprinkling of soot and nitrate of soda on growing 

 Ijenches of smilax will improve their color. 



Keep the surface soil cultivated between the violets 

 and give occasional sprinkling of bone meal. 



Pot pelargoniums very firmly and place them in a light 

 house where the temperature runs about 55 degrees at 

 night. 



Cut back a few double petunias and place them in a 

 light and warm position so they will produce plenty of 

 cuttings. 



Next Week : 



-Asters for Insirle Flowering; Miscellaneous Crops; Potting and Care of Cattleyas; Stock Left Over; The Dahlia; 



Reminders. 



