June 2, 1917 



HORTICULTURE 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLoiiTS' STOCK 



CONDUCTED BY 



"If vuln uur toil, we <nisht t« blame the cnltnre, not the aaMr—Pope. 



Care of Adiantum 



Plants from 2^ or 3-iucli pots will make fine stock to 

 plant. Do not crowd them but give at least IS inches 

 between plants each way. A temperature- of at least 

 60 degrees at night, a rich compost of raw fibrous soil, 

 three parts, well-rotted cow manure and leaf mold one 

 part each, and some sand, with ample drainage, are the 

 first essentials for adiantum growing. Water carefully 

 at first; just around the plants will do. Keep the soil 

 between the plants freely cultivated and clear of weeds. 

 They will now require quite a heavy shade tmd as 

 autumn comes gradually redut-c it so that by the end 

 of September they will be havinj;- full sun. Now is a 

 good time to break up old plants suid pot into 3-inch 

 pots. Keep rather close and shaded imtil they begin to 

 make new roots, when they can be given the same care 

 as above recommended. 



Vandas 



Give ventilation even wlien there is a spell of wet 

 and cheerless weather, even if you have to apply a 

 little fire heat. Apply frequent light sprayings over- 

 head. The temperature should be kept at from 60 to 

 65 degrees during the night with a gradual increase of 

 10 to 15 degi-ees during sunshine. Now that evapora- 

 tion is great, during wann, sunny days the atmosphere 

 should be kept moist by damping the benches and walks 

 freely two or three times a day. From now until the 

 fall they should be watered liberally at the roots and 

 should at no time remain dry for any length of time. 

 It is a mistake to keep them too heavily shaded ; all thev 

 want is protection from direct sunshine. 



Baby Ramblers 



Young stock from 3 or 4-inch pots can be shifted 

 along from pot to pot as becomes necessaiy to keep them 

 growing. They do well in a rich well-composted soil, 

 say about three parts of sods to two parts of manure and 

 a little bone at tlie last shift. WHien growing fast they 

 will need plenty of water and syringing once or twice a 

 day. The baby rambler roses make fine pot plants for 

 the E'aster trade and will sell fast in all stages of 

 growtli. To have Inishy. vigorous plants for next sea- 

 son's trade, it is time now to make a start. I have 

 found that those grown in iiots all summer are much 

 easier to manage and give greater satisfaction when 

 forced than those that are grown in the field. When 

 )ilanted in a field let them have the best kind of soil in a 

 freely exposed situation, cultivate well and pot up in 

 October, so they may have time to make new roots be- 

 fore the cold weather sets in. 



Dieffenbachias 



Syringe regularly once or twice a day and give them 

 abundance of water at the roots. A high degree of 

 moisture shoud be maintained from this out. When the 

 desired size pot is reached they can be kept in good con- 

 dition by the use of manure-water once a week during 

 the summer. These plants require plenty of heat and 

 moisture. Increase the night temperature now to 70 de- 

 grees. They like a daily syringing overhead through 

 their growing season. They can not be kept too near 

 the glass, if not absolutely touching it, but must be 

 protected from the sun with a thin shade, or the leaves 

 will lose their healthy color and also may burn. They 

 like plenty of atmosphei'ic moisture so do not curb on 

 this during the summer. Always give them plenty of 

 room. 



Plants for Stock 



Do not wait until there is nothing but a few cast-ofE 

 plants before selecting what you may need for stock. It 

 is well now to set aside a good number of stock plants 

 to propagate from next fall and winter, such as 

 alDutilons, aealyphas, achyranthes, ageratums, alter- 

 nantheras, begonias, cannas, coleus, fuchsias, ger- 

 aniums, salvias, verbenas, petunias and many others. 

 Give them a shift where they may need it and remove 

 them to a bench by themselves, so they wiU not be scat- 

 tered about. It is essential to take proper care of thi.s 

 stock which will be needed for furnishing cuttings for 

 another season. During the summer these can be 

 planted out in some piece of rich ground where they 

 will produce lots of cuttings by the end of August .and 

 if necessaij they can be lifted before the middle of 

 September and housed 



Reminders 



Next week — Eiioharis Aniazonirii ; Gjirdenins; 



Keep Phoenix Roebelenii and similar palms away 

 from the walks where they are constantly being nibbed 

 by passers by. 



Spray the young smilax regularly and keep insects 

 in check and "let it make a good bottom before starting 

 up the strings. 



Keep after violet planting inside until finished and 

 do not allow the plants to be about after being taken 

 out of boxes or pots. 



Plan for any changes in and additions to greenhouses. 

 Heating arrangements should be completed and the 

 materials ordered without delay. 



Lilies; Resting Callas ; Sweet Peas; Reminders. 



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