March 3, 1917 



HORTICULTUEE 



269 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



CONDUCTED BY 



cSi^^y^cA^ 



liUestlons by our readers in line with any of the topics presented on tliis page will be cordially received and promptly answered 

 by Mr. Rnzlcka. Such communications should Invarlibl.v be addressed to the office of HORXICDI/rUBB. 



The Easter Crop 



All roses tluil will liu in for Eastur will now 

 l)e showing lnuls. Some of the very doulile varie- 

 ties sueh as Moik. Seott Key, etc., will have to 

 l)e about the size of a pra. To help these along 

 there is iiotliiiig lielter than liijuid manure, pro- 

 viding the plants have had plenty of bone and 

 tankage right along, and also that they are jsroperly 

 mulched. The liquid manure applied can lie very 

 strong if the plants are in any kind of shape. The 

 only thing is to see that they are not too dry when the 

 liquid is applied. It is much better to water with clear 

 water first, and then follow with the liquid, applying 

 enough to nicely saturate the soil in the benches witliout 

 running much of it through. Of eourse if the plants are 

 in good condition to receive the liquid manure direct, it 

 is cheaper to apjily sanu' this way. in whicji ease it should 

 be used more freely, allowing it to drip through tlie 

 benches. It will also be necessary to see that the plants 

 are kept tied in order that there may not be any crooked 

 stems which would decrease the value of the cut lilooms; 

 in fact some of the cut roses would be worthless on this 

 account. If time will not permit tying them all 

 thoroughly, go through and tie all that need it real badly. 

 also branches hanging down and so on. Pay all the 

 attention to the ventilators that is necessary in order 

 that the growth on the cro)) will be kept clean from 

 mildew, and the roses cut later will be liardy and hold up 

 well. If the plants are not cutting, do not run the 

 houses too cool. 62 to 6-1 will be perfectly safe in mild 

 weather, and they will grow all the more freely. Keep 

 a little air on all mild nights so tliat the atmos])here will 

 be clear and sweet instead of that dead smoky air that 

 sometimes creeps in or rather forms in the houses. Do 

 not apply chemicals to the benches, as a large percentage 

 of the buds will come deformed and almost unsalable. 

 Care for the Green.'* 



Perhaps these have been a little neglected witii the 

 rush of potting and propagating; now, howev€r, with 

 Piaster coming on, it will ])ay to look over all the cross 

 hou.ses and see what can be done to speed the greens up 

 a little more. If they need mulching, apply horse 

 manure. It is much better for them than the cow 

 manure. Smilax and asparagus can be given a little 

 nitrate once in a while too, and soot, which will give a 

 very good color. 'Hie temjjeiature can be kept up near 

 seventy all the time until just before tlie crop is ready 

 for the market when it can he dropped down to fifty or 

 less in order to harden the greens. If the soil appears 

 to be sour a little lime will not hurt. Apply this as 

 carefully as the lime is applied to the rose benches, foi' 

 as the saying goes "if the job is worth doing at all, it is 

 worth doing well." Do not neglect to string all the 

 smilax on time, and if your market calls for strings with 

 asparagus, see that these are put on in time. Often a. 

 crop will be set behind two weeks or more just because 

 the strings were not there when they were needed. It 

 is now time too. to set some seed stai+ed for next 



,-ca.-:nr,- \iiung plants. If then; are real old plants in 

 the houses throw them out. They never produce th.' 

 sturt' that the young jilants will, and what they do pro- 

 duce is bound to be long, which in most cases is not 

 wanted. Young [ilants will produce a large number of 

 short ferny fronds, and these as a rule sell well in the 

 market. Figure on setting the plants (|uite close to- 

 gether — say eight i)y six. This will gi\e them plenty 

 of room, for the fronds will likely be cut as fast as they 

 are ready and the amount taken in for a .square foot this 

 way will be far greater than if they are planted much 

 fiirtlu'r apart. For liest results get northern greenhouse- 

 grown seed, making sure to get the plumosus nanus, not 

 merely the plumosa. The same with smila.x ; the first 

 cost may be a little more than for cheaiier seed but it 

 will come back and more on the returns in the long run. 

 Use liquid manure even more freely than it is used in the 

 rose houses, being careful not to wet the foliage of either 

 >mila.x or asparagus as this would smell badly when cut 

 should it be directly after watering, and it is liable to 

 discolor. When cutting greens for market give good 

 c(nint. and [nit in only good stuff. You may get away 

 with ])oor stufl' in the bunches once or twice but yon 

 will lose in the long run. 



The Flower Shows 



Be sure to attend these, even if you have to run i-ight 

 tlirough without stopping for any length of time. Send 

 as many of your growers as possible too. All hands \\ ill 

 come back with a new interest in their work, and with 

 something to talk about besides hard times. There will 

 lie many new roses, as well as other new flow'ers of all 

 sorts shown and it is well to know about all these, the 

 new houses being built, new boilers and all the different 

 things in our line too numerous to mention. Exhibit if 

 you can. You will then see how your product looks side 

 by side with that of your fellow florists, and you jnay 

 be surprised to find things about your stuff which you 

 never noticed before. Go to the flower show. 

 Manure for the Late Mulches 



Keep the manure coming in all the time, unless there 

 is a certainty of getting it when you want it. To our 

 knowledge this is not a simple matter here in the East. 

 Western places perhaps have better supjilies. Store it as 

 best, which should be in a covered shed if possible with 

 a concrete floor, drained into a tank. Turn the manure 

 over as often as time will permit and see that it is kept 

 wet enough so that it will not bum, for manure that is 

 Imrned is nowhere near as valuable as properly cared-for 

 manure. The plants will easily take a mulch early in 

 .Tune if they are to be run into July, and the roses that 

 will be cut will more than pay for the extra manure and 

 labor. If there is no other way to store the manure |nit 

 it on top of some low sod heap so that if there is any 

 leaching the sod underneath will take it all up and there 

 will be no liquids wasted. It is the liquid that is most 

 \ alualde as ])lant food, and if this is allowed to run away 

 with surface water or soak into the ground when' the 

 manure is stored, it will be a big loss to the grower 



