June 23, 1917 



HORTICULTURE 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK 



CONDUCTED BY 



^*^%.9f^.r-,i^A^^ 



Questions by our readers In line witb any of tbe topics presented on this page will be cordially received and promptly answered 

 by Mr. Farrell. Snch commnnicaUonB sbonld Invariably be addressed to the olHce of HOHTICDLTDRB. 

 "If Tain onr toll, we oafbt t« blain« tlie onltnre, not the tolL" — Pope. 



Antirrhinums for Next Winter 



Do not wait too late before starting. It is I'rom well 

 established plants that you will get the bloom in mid- 

 winter. It is time now to put in cuttings for stock for 

 benching in August or September. Cuttings can be 

 taken from now up to the end of July. These would 

 begin to flower in Decembei-. Pot them into 3^ inch 

 pots and shift along so as to not allow them to become 

 pot bound. It is very important not to let green fly 

 get a foothold; otherwise they will get stunted. Fumi- 

 gate moderate and often. Place them in a cold frame. 

 It is better not to pinch until the stem has reached a 

 medium height as you then will get better l>reaks. 



Cyclamen 



WTiere you are using the houses practically all the 

 year round luit would like to give them a thorough 

 cleaning and drying out, which, by the way is an ex- 

 cellent thing to do, make use of frames for the cycla- 

 men. Cyclamen should be placed as soon as jxjssible in 

 cold frames where they will grow much better than in 

 the greenhouse. Plunge the pots in fine coal ashes and 

 shade during the summer with lath or cloth which will 

 Iscep the plants cooler than when they are covered witli 

 glass that has been whitened. On hot days syringe over- 

 head two or three times. Stock- in 3-inch pots should 

 be shifted before they are potbound. A o-ood mixture 

 to use is well-decayed cow manure and well rotted 

 fibrous loam, three parts, leaf mold one part. Add 

 enough of sand and fine charcoal to give porosity and 

 sweetness. 



Mignonette 



Successive sowing from now until August will result 

 in a supply of flowering ]ilauts in pots from early in the 

 fall until the beginning of the new year. Seeds for the 

 principal crops are sovm in July and in *:ome places as 

 late as the last week of Ausrust. Thev do not like to lie 

 disturbed by shifting so sow a ]u'nch of seeds at once 

 in the pots in which the plants are to be flowered and 

 sold which can be 5 or fi inch pots, filling them but 

 three-fourths up with soil and adding the remainder 

 after the seedlings are somewhat strong and have been 

 thinned down to one or more of the sturdiest. One-half 

 manure, if it is old enough to be handled, added to the 

 soil to which a fair proportion of sand is added, is what 

 we use. Press it down finuly and let it liecome rather 

 dry at every watering. Keep in a cool house. 

 Miltonias 



Give a slight fumigation once a week and a dose of 

 weak liquid cow manure. Keep a sharp look out for 

 thrips and pay strict attention eenerallv to cleanliness 

 for at this season thrips do increase at an alarming 

 rate. They should be grown in an aiiT house. Do not 

 allow a direct draught to strike them but keep as free 

 a circulation of pure air as possible. When cultivated 

 under proper condition these orchids make a beautiful 



Begonias; Good Cultivation Essential; Marguerites for next 



shdw especially Miltoiiia vexillaria, whicli is one of the 

 uu)st valuable for sunniicr flowering. .\s the orchids go 

 out ol' flower they sliould Ik? reimtteil in osmunda fern 

 fiber and sphagnum moss. After potting only enough 

 w^ater should be supplied to keep the compost moist. 

 They should be supplied with more shade for at least 

 five weeks, after whicli they should have plenty of sun- 

 light tlirough lath or bamboo shading. 



Seasonable Repairs 



There is absolutely nothing to look forward to in two 

 months from now but work, more of it than we can at- 

 tend to perhaps, but don't overlook having clean houses. 

 There isn't a greenhouse that should not have at lea-st 

 a thorough cleaning out once a year. Don't put off 

 cleaning for any reason ; the present is the time to do 

 it. Give a general inspection as in jjainting, puttying 

 and other repairing. Repairing ventilators may be 

 necessar\'. Do it now^ and — by the way — be sure that 

 they are kept well oiled so that they run easily. Even 

 at the hottest time of the year, the flori.st always finds 

 plenty to do. It is hot work those torrid days but 

 cloths can be laid over the roof to make it more toler- 

 able. There is nothing worse than leaky and draught\- 

 houses when the fall and winter months come. 



IP^ Adiantum Farleyenie 



I would like to forward to Mr. Farrell the followinp; ques- 

 tion regarding tlie growing of Adiantum Farleyense and 

 which is the hest compost tor It. Does it require sand 

 mixed with compost or good heavy loam itself, and what 

 is the best temperature for same during the winter months? 

 Yours respecfuUy, 



N. J. «■ R- 



Would say the best compost for .\diantum Farleyense 

 is fibrous loam four iiarts. well decayed cow manure two 

 parts, leaf mold and shai-p sand one part each. This 

 adiantum beinc a stove species will require a tempera- 

 ture of from 65 to 70 de<rrees f^r a night heat and from 

 7.5 to 80 degrees durin? bright days; on dull days about 

 7? dearees will be all ricrht. Tn order to keep them 

 growing in good shaoe vou will have to dampen down 

 tbe house about three times a dav so as to produce plenty 

 of moisture in the air. Success depends to a great ex- 

 tent on the temperature, atmospheric moisture, and com- 

 post. Get these ri"lit and vou will not have much 

 trouble in growing Adiantum Farleyense. 

 Reminders 



Tn all spraying keeji well mider the leaves. It is 

 there that insects usually congregate. 



Clip the genistas into shape a little with tb(> sbear^ 

 before putting them out for the summer. 



Water Oncidium vaiicosum Rogersi ven' freely now 

 to strengthen the bidbs and forming flower spikes. 



N'othing is so refreshing to plants during hot .sum- 

 mer weather as frequent and free damping of floors and 

 stages to create a moist atmosphere. 



Winter; Propagating Ficus elastica; rolnsettlas; Reminders 



