212 



GARDENERS' CHROMCLE 



space for developing their foliage. Top dressings with 

 dustings of Clay's fertilizer and soft coal soot alternately 

 will give rich color to the foliage and stimulate growth. 

 See that they are shaded from the sun. Crotons, how- 

 ever, will take a very light shade. 



Adiantum ferns should be gone over and all weak 

 fronds removed to admit a free circulation of air through 

 the foliage. Keep a sharp lookout for slugs as in no time 

 they will raiii a plant. Dust between the pots with air- 

 slaked lime occasionally, and this will take care of them. 

 Sprinkle the top of the soil with soft coal soot which will 

 take care of any that may have gone into the pot. 



Have a good l>atch of Boston ferns for Fall and Winter 

 use, also some of the better sports. The best way to keep 

 up stock of them is to plant a few out on a bench in a 

 light leafy soil. Many of the other ferns such as Daval- 

 lias are very decorative. D. fijiciisis and Moorcana make 

 noble specimens. The elegant little variety Tycnnamiii 

 is also worth a place in any collection. Gleichenias make 

 handsome specimens and also Cibotiums and polypodiums. 

 These plants all grow well in compost of good fibrous 

 loam and flaky leaves with sand enough to keep porous. 



Keep propagating poinsettia cuttings up to the end of 

 August in dwarf pans for Christmas. Dipladenias are 

 now flowering freely and to keep them in good condition 

 will take stimulating with manure water. We find that 

 cow manure, Cky's fertilizer and soft coal soot alternately 

 once a week agrees well with them. Pinch the shoots 

 immediately ahead of the flower stems. We find that by 

 so doing, it will make any shoot that seems to be standing 

 still start away and catch up to flowering along with the 

 others. The vigor is apt to run to the shoots near the 

 top of the plant unless they are pinched. 



Keep plenty of moisture around the benches and floors 

 where the orchids are grown and look out for slugs. In- 

 sect pests nuist also be hunted for all the time. Thrips 

 are liable to get a foothold on miltonias and odontoglos- 

 sums unless they are dipped or sponged occasionally. 

 Keep plenty of moisture at the roots of the cattleyas until 

 they have finished their growths. Dendrobiums are also 

 growing freely. They need only a very lig;ht shade and 

 must alsf) have plenty of water and stimulating with weak 

 hen manure water. Give calanthes plenty of heat and 

 water until the new bulb is finished, and feed them freely. 

 Always keep a crack of air on, as I think it prevents leaf 

 spot. Grape thinning should be finished, and the work 

 will now be largely routine, pinching laterals and attend- 

 ing to watering and airing, .'-^top syringing as soon as 

 signs of coloring are detected: also see that thev have 

 enough water to carry them over the ripening period, as 

 too much water is liable to give cracked berries. 



-Melons niav still be j)lanted for a succession cro]) where 

 room is available. 



Pot fruit that has fruited can now be repotted. Try 

 and get them into the same size of pot or tub if ])ossible. 

 The roots may be reduced by loosening around the ball 

 and any of the strong ones cut back. L'se a good strong 

 loam and pot firmly. Syringe frequently to keep the 

 shoots from flagging. The object is to get good root 

 action before the leaves fall. 



Runners of .strawberries should be secured as early as 

 possible by those who intend to force them during the 

 Winter. Pot them in 2^-inch ix)ts as soon as good 

 strong crowns can be secured with a few roots on theiu. 

 Keep them fairly close in a frame until they get estab- 

 lished. A light shade will be necessary to |)revent wilt- 

 ing. Gradually give more air as they establish them- 

 selves. In two weeks they ought to be fit to pot along 

 into 3^-inch pots, and then as quickly as i)ossible into 

 their fruiting pots. Marshall, Wni. Pelt and Nick Ohmer 

 iire excellent forcing varieties. 



The ijest ad\ice for the hot months is look out for 

 watering and shading and insect pests and stimulate 

 plants that are root bound'^ until they show signs of 

 flowering. 



SPECIMEN POINSETTIAS 



John S. Doig 



'T'HE illustration is of two specimen poinsettias which 

 are six feet, nine inches in height. The heads 

 measure seventeen inches across from tip to tip of bracts. 

 These plants were grown on from last year, 1920 stock, 

 and were started up in the usual manner ; first shaken 

 out of ihe old soil ;md repotted in five-inch pots with a 



Tivo sl^ecinicn poinsettias. 



mixture of good fibrous loam, cow manure, and bone 

 meal. After having become well rooted in the five-inch 

 pots, they were then repotted into seven-inch pots, from 

 which they developed into the specimens as pictured. 

 They kept their foliage well, five of them making a hand- 

 some showing when cut and ])laced in a large vase, with 

 lliipliorbia .hicqitinuctlora which kept in good shape for 

 ten days in a room with a temperature ranging from 

 sixty-five to seventy-five degrees. The ])lants held their 

 shape very well in the same room for three weeks, after 

 which they u ere cut and used as cut flowers. 

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I A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF | 

 I Trees, Shrubs. Vines and | 



I Herbaceous Perennials | 



I By JOHN KIRKEGAARD j 



f Formerly Assistant to Director of tho Royal Botanical Gardens. i 



g Copenhagen, Denmark. Latterly Twenty Years ii 



§ in American Forestry and Botanical Work ^ 



i Illustrations in Sepia. Planting Plans. 410 page*. | 



8vo. Beautifully bound in cloth. Price $2.50 net. | 



J Mailing price $2.71. | 



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3 title (,l th.' I k rill'; I1AKI3Y AND ORNAMENT.M, VA- a 



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J M E.MT. I 



? THE CHRONICLE PRESS, INC. I 



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