March 10, 1917 



HORTICULTURE 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS^ STOCK 



CONDCCTKD BX 



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Questions by our readers in line with any of the topics presented on this page will be cordially received and oromotlv anawpred 

 by Mr. B'arrell. Such communications should Invarlibly be addressed to throXe of nORTICl^TDRE answered 

 "If vain our toil, we ouglit to blame the culture, not tlie soil." Papr. 



Cannas 



Theie are so iiiiiiiy \w\s aspirants every year that it is 

 hard to enumerate which ai'e the best, but there are some 

 suitable for all kinds of decoration. There ai'e some 

 dwarf ones, very fine for pot culture. Roots that Iiave 

 lieeu wintered over in a sound condition can now be 

 placed on a bench where the temperature runs from 60 

 to 65 degrees. Spread a few inches of sand or dampened 

 moss over the bottom, and in a short time every eye will 

 be distinctly developed and can then be divided with a 

 sharp knife into as many pieces as show a green growth. 

 Water with care until they begin to make good roots. 

 Pot these pieces into 3 and 4-inch pots and keep in a 

 warm moist atmosphere until they are well started when 

 they should be given full light. On all good days 

 syringe them freely and when they become crowded give 

 them a spacing so the light will reach all around them. 



Coelogyne cristata 



A common eri-or is in trying to force coelogynes in 

 too warm a temperature. Fifty to 55 at night will give 

 flowers of finer quality than when grown warmer. This 

 orchid is at its best during P'ebruary and March and is 

 one of the most useful as a florists' cut flower. Its cul- 

 ture is comparatively simple. Use plenty of drainage. 

 The best compost is fibrous peat and fresh sphagnum in 

 equal parts. After repotting keep them shaded and 

 rather moist until new roots are made. Give weak 

 manure about once a week during tlie season of growth. 

 Don't shade too heavily. 'J'hey should have a free cool 

 atinosi)here. with syringing o\er head once or twice a 

 day, never allowing tlieni to l)ecome dry at the roots in 

 their growing season. From this out they will need some 

 shade, but do not make it too heavy. ' On all good days 

 see that they have plenty of ventilation. 



Dahlias 



In working up a stock of gnod dahlias from cuttings, 

 the roots should be started into growth from the first 

 week in March and cuttings taken after April 15. Xearly 

 all the newer varieties tliat are worth raising grow 

 amazingly fast after being once started in any ordinary 

 greenhouse temperature. The roots are started in a 

 bench, or, if there is only a liniited number of them, in 

 boxes, planting them somewhat closely together in rich 

 soil. Give the fullest light and not lower than 55 

 degrees. When they have gi'own 3 or 4 inches the stout- 

 est and Virightest looking shoots should be taken for 

 cuttings. Place in a few inches of well firmed sand 

 with iDut little bottom heat. A dahlia cutting well 



Next Week — Azaleas; Care of Tarnations; Lily of the Valley in 



Remi 



calloused and beginning to emit roots will make better 

 headway than when left longer in the sand. These cut- 

 tings will be ready for pots in from two to three weeks. 



Early Sweet Peas for Outside 



Good varieties to sow are: white — Dorothy Ecktord. 

 and White Spencer; pink — Beatrice, Countess Spencer, 

 and Bridesmaid; lavender — Asta Ohn, Frank Dolby, and 

 Lady Grisel Hamilton; orange pink — Miss WiUmott and 

 Helen Lewis. Place six or eight seeds to a 4-in pot. 

 Do not keep these where they will have any ai^ificial 

 heat. The ideal place is a cold frame, where they will 

 have a natural start and will make fine stock to plant 

 out later. Sweet peas started this way at once will be 

 in flower from fifteen to twenty days ahead of those 

 sown in the open ground. Have the soil moist before 

 ])lacing the seeds in it, and then they will not need much 

 water until they come up. As they make top growth and 

 root gi'owth they will need lots of water. 



Hydrangeas for Memorial Day 



Plants started soon after the middle of March in a 

 cool house should be in fine shape for Memorial Day 

 trade. To be right for Memorial Day the buds should 

 now l)e well exposed and by the second week in May 

 they siiould show their rosy pink tint. The hydrangeas 

 sell better around the end of May than at any other 

 time of the year. Give good syringings on bright days 

 and continue until they show plenty of color. A week 

 before they are needed they should be gradually hard- 

 ened in the cooler quarters. Those that have fine 

 foliage and large flower heads should have manure water 

 twice a week until they show color. With the long 

 sunny days they will want plenty of water at the roots. 

 Give" pleiity of ventilation and give room Iietween the 

 plants every ten days. 



Reminders 



Seeds of Ardisia crenulata can be sown now and 

 grown on. 



Transplant thickly sown seedlings into other boxes 

 before tliey become too lanky and drawn. 



Seeds of mignonette, stocks and candytuft sown now 

 will amount to good plants by :Memorial Day. 



Start bulbs and corms or titbers of fancy-leaved cala- 

 diums, tidierous begonias, gloxinias and achimenes. 



Gardenias for planting in June should now be in 

 3-iuch pots and by .\pril they should Vie ready for an- 

 other shift. 



cold Storage; Flowers for Jleuiorial Kay; Sweet I'eas for Outside ; 

 nders. 



March 24 



Date of Special Flower Show 



AND 



Spring Trade Number 



