For August, 1<)22 



23S 



The Greenhouse, Month to Month 



GEORGE F. STEWART 



IX late August and early Septeniljer. we are likely to 

 have hot humid days and cool nights. The green- 

 house man needs to be as wide-awake as ever, as at 

 this season fungous diseases of all kinds are likely to get a 

 foothold, and prevention is better than cure. Along the 

 Atlantic seaboard heavy fogs are bothersome, making the 

 atinosphere during the night quite damp. Every pre- 

 caution should be taken to have all foliage in the 

 greenhouse as dry as possible over night. 



Chrysanthemums on single stems will have to be care- 

 fully looked after as regards feeding, and keeping insects 

 in check. A careful study should be made of the proper 

 dates to take the best bud. Chrysanthemum specialists, 

 in their lists, generally give reliable information when 

 the_\' send out a new variety, and until one has his own 

 experience with the variety, their advice should be fol- 

 lowed. In the evening of the day after syringing, it is a 

 good plan to take the powder duster and put some air- 

 slacked lime in it to dust lightly under the foliage. In dull 

 or wet days, give a light dusting of flowers of sulphur 

 which will help to prevent mildew. Give the specimen 

 plants plenty of room and disbud as soon as the bud can 

 be handled. Stake or train them into position as soon 

 after setting as possible. Feed carefully ; we find the old 

 standard fertilizer, "Clay's," as safe any any, with water- 

 ings of cow manure water. 



Herbaceous calceolarias, as soon as the cool nights of 

 September arrive, will begin to grow vigorously. Move 

 them along into larger pots as they require them. A 

 compost of fibrous loam, leaf mold rather flaky, osmunda 

 fern root, well decayed barnyard manure and sand, in 

 equal parts with a sprinkling of charcoal, we find agrees 

 well with them. \Mien potted, keep them close up to the 

 glass and give all ventilation possible. Keep a light shade 

 over them until the end of September. Stock plants oi 

 the Stezvarlii type of Calceolaria should be overhauled 

 about the first of September. Remove all dead leaves and 

 shoots, and pot them in a compost as advised for the 

 herbaceous type. When a good soft growth is attained, 

 cuttings may be removed and inserted in sand. Hard 

 cuttings take a long time to root, while soft ones will root 

 in three weeks. The old stools will make fine large speci- 

 mens if potted along, and pinched several times during 

 the Winter. 



Never allow the cinerarias to become pot bound until 

 the desired size of flowering pot is reached. Pot them 

 in a fibrous loam, adding about a third of flaky leaves and 

 rotted manure, and a sprinkling of bone meal. We have 

 nice bushy plants by pinching out the -heart when they are 

 about six inches high. 



Move along Primula cliincnsis, obconica and stellata, 

 also malacoides. A late sowing of the last may be made 

 around the last of August. Primulas do very well in 

 loam similar to that applied for cinerarias. 



Do not neglect the carnations wdiich were planted 

 early. See that they are wired, tied, and kept clean. A 

 dusting of air-slaked lime over the surface of the bench 

 will be beneficial. Do not think, however, of applying any 

 plant food to them until the days are cooler. Stop all 

 pinching of the flower stems by the end of August. 



Shake out and pot up Calla lily bulbs in a rich soil to 



which bone meal has been added. Leave them outdoors 

 until there is danger of frost. Three to four bulbs to an 

 eight- or nine-inch pot is about the right number. Of 

 course, if bench space is available, better flowers are ob- 

 tained by bench culture. The finest flowers I have ever 

 seen were grown by a friend of mine on a solid bed. 



Bouvardias that have been planted out should be lifted 

 the last of August, or earl\- in September. Place them in 

 tne shade until they have become established. Sprav 

 overhead lightly two or three times a day. They should 

 be placed under cover by September 10. A fairly rich 

 loam in which plenty of flaky leaves have been incor- 

 porated, adding sand enough to keep porous, is excellent. 



A few of the late flowering cosmos may be lifted and 

 potted for flowering indoors. They make handsome 

 plants if they have been pinched one or twice. Choose 

 a day for lifting them when they are quite drv at the 

 roots so that they will transplant readily. 



Early in September pot up whatever Canterbury Bells, 

 Campanula medium, are required for early Spring flower- 

 ing. Give them a slight freezing before housing them. 



Buddlcia asiatica may be potted into eight-inch pots and 

 will make useful decorative plants during the Winter 

 months. If one has a cold pit, batches of this useful 

 plant may be had as late as the end of March. 



Continue to plant batches of freezias for succession. 

 The beautifully colored ones are best for late use. By 

 keeping them just above freezing point all Winter, we 

 can cut them as late as June. 



Tritonia are very useful also for Winter flowering. 

 About ten bulbs to a five-inch pot make nice plants. A 

 good sandy loam is what they enjoy. The varietv crocata 

 is the most common one to be had. 



Cut back show pelargoniums and when thev begin to 

 b/eak, shake part of the old soil ofl: and pot in a good 

 rich loam in smaller pots, .giving them a shift later on. 



Sow seeds of a good strain of mignonette for Winter 

 flowering ; also Calendula, Lupin Hartivegii varieties, 

 alba, Ceclestinus. ni'^rcsccHs, which make handsome spikes 

 for cutting" in Winter. Dimorphotheca aurantiaca and the 

 new hybrids are also attractive annuals for Winter flower- 

 ing and may be sown now. 



A sowing of stocks for Winter flowering should also 

 be made at this time ; also ^^'inter flowering sweet peas in 

 small pots. A place may be found for them after the 

 chrysanthemums are gone. 



All tender plants that are outdoors should be in a 

 position to be housed hurriedly if a frost threatens about 

 September 10 to 15, which is very likely to occur, about 

 that lime of the month. 



Geranium cuttings, also coleus and other bedding plants 

 should be secured by the last of August or early in 

 September. Get as firm a cutting as possible. Give them 

 a good watering when they are set in the sand, but do not 

 water again until the sand gets quite dry. More geranium 

 cuttings are lost by over-watering than by any other 

 means. 



Acacias and azaleas will be setting their flower buds, 

 also camellias. It is better to stop feeding' them with any- 

 thing other than a watering of soft coal soot water oc- 

 casionally to keep a healthy color on the foliage. Stimu- 

 lating hardwood plants after they have set their flower 



