172 



GARDENERS' ClIROMCLE 



time of the year to make any repairs that are needed. As 

 time jx?rmits. thorough cleaning should be given and fre- 

 quent dustings of lime under the benches which tends 

 to kee]) the atmosphere sweet, and also at the same time, 

 kill any slugs that are around. See that the pipes and 

 heating plant is in good repair, as very .soon — on wet 

 night.s — a little fire heat will be beneficial to counteract 

 dampness. 



The chrvsanthemunis now ;lemand considerabk' atten- 

 tion. Disbudding of side growths must not be neglected 

 on the single stem plants, as in a very short while they 

 would take the strength from the main stem. Feed them 

 liberally with plant food? in variety, a little at a time and 

 often is better than in large doses. Look out for the least 

 tendencv oi any plant tn turn yellow on the tijjs, and stop 

 giving plant food, until it regains a normal color, also 

 keep it on the dry side. Syringing the leaves with .Scotch 

 soot water adds to the lustre of the foliage. Stop pinching- 

 the bush plants about the first of August, and add a few 

 stakes to steadv them. After seeing the trellis trained 

 specimen plants at the New York Sliow last Fall, per- 

 sonally, I have no use for them, they are not a bit natural 

 looking. .\ well staked i>lant in my opinion preserves the 

 bush form far better, and is much more ])Ieasing m the 

 eye. Nice dwarf plants in eight-inch pans wl find very 

 useful around Christmas. Secure a good batch of cut- 

 tings by the end of July, which root outdoors in about 

 three weeks. Then pan a dozen cuttings of equal size 

 and even root action and set them close up to the glass. 

 They will llower about twelve inches high. There are 

 some varieties that never flower, rooted so late in the 

 season, but we have found the following answer the pur- 

 pose well : E. D. Godfrey, Gaza, Miss Isahelle, Jane 

 Inglis, Mrs. Buckingham, November Glow, Margaret 

 W'aite, William Lincoln. Wells' late pink. 



We have plants of .Allamanda, Ixora, Hoya, Stephann- 

 tis and Dipladenia in flower at the present time. A little 

 plant food will keep them growing well into the Fall. 

 They deserve the best of care as they make fine speci- 

 men plants. 



As .Achiir.enes and Ciloxinias pa:>s out oi flower, grad- 

 ually withhold water from them until they are rijiencd 

 off. .Select a dry. warm corner for them as Fall iip- 

 proaches for they will not stand cold even when dried off. 



Get the first lot of Free^ias started about the end of 

 July, Home rijjencd bulbs force better for Christmas than 

 those we buy in the seed stores. They like a good leafy, 

 .sandv SI i1 and may be left outdoors until they start. Then 

 if put on a shelf in a temperature around sixty degrees, 

 they will come in for Christmas. Secure cuttings of 

 Fuchsias during the last of July, Strong, soft tips m:ike 

 nice sjjecimens by next May, if kept growing all Winter, 

 and are most useful plants throughout the .Summer. 



The voung Cyclamen plants need close watching to have 

 good jjlants next Winter. fJive them a leafy, fibrous 

 loam, fairly rich. They seem to enjoy dried cow manure 

 in the com]X)st. with charcoal and sand to keej) it sweet 

 and open. Don't forget to get fresh seeds of Cyclamen 

 m August. S])ace them equally in a flat filled with fibery 

 loam, having plenty of leaves mixed through it and .idding 

 sand and charcoal to kee]) it o]K;n. They do nm need to 

 be disturbed until several leaves are formed. 



Sow early in .'\ugust seeds of Calendula, I)inior])botlie- 

 ca, Lui>ine Hartwegii, white and blue; Stocks and other 

 annuals that are suitable for Winter fli)wering. 



Lachenalia Nelsonii is a nice bulbous plant fi>r Winter 

 flowering. Start the bulbs in .\ugust, and leave ibcni nut- 

 doors until there is danger of frost. They look well in 

 either small pots or ten or twelve bulbs to an eight-inch 

 pan. 



Put in batches of Poinsettia cuttings as soon as they 

 are three inches long, U]} tfi the end of .August. 



Secure bulbs of Polyanthus Narcissi early as j;ossible ; 

 they force very early and fill in a ga]) when llowers are 

 scarce. P>esides the varieties, Pai>er White, Grandiflora 

 and Cirand Soleil d'Or, the variety Gloriosa is very pretty. 

 Some prefer it to Paper White, wdiich has been so popu- 

 lar for so many years. If an early tub]) is wanted for 

 forcing. Due Van Thol is about the first that will come. 



.See that hard wood plants are well watered, as now 

 they root freely and on bright days will dry out often. 

 Freciuent waterings exhaust the soil in the pots and stinui- 

 lation with li(|uid and other manures is necessary. 



Svringe the Camellias well when they need water but 

 do liot allow them to get into a wet, soggy condition as it 

 is certain death to the roots. Withhold plant food as 

 soon as the flower buds are set. 



Avoid overcrowding plants in the trojiical bouse. They 

 need ]>lcntv of room to develop their foliage which is the 

 chief beauty of one section of these plants, liy this time 

 of year the compost will be exhausted if they have been 

 rooting freely, and stimulation must be applied to keep 

 up an even growth until tlie end of the season. Thin out 

 all weak fronds from the center of the adiantum ferns, 

 giving tlie stronger fronds a chance for a luore free cir- 

 culation of air through them. The slug is an enemy that 

 will soon ruin a maindenbair fern and it requires close 

 watching to keep rid of it. Sprinkle the benches with 

 lime and [lut a dusting of dry, soft-coal soot around the in- 

 side of the rim of the receptacle. This method will gen- 

 erally take care of them, but it has to be done repeatedly. 



Have a 



d variety of various kinds of ferns and 



Selaginellas. There is nothing more decorative when a 

 group of plants is arranged than the various shades of 

 green of these plants. A well grown, individual specimen 

 of any one of them is always an attraction. The time was 

 when no greenhouse was complete, unkss an apartment 

 was set apart for a collection of ferns, and now there are 

 many species which we have not seen for years. Plants 

 in the greenhouse are getting well rooted, and will on 

 bright days, dry out much more often than early in the 

 sea.son. So watch them closely. Dendrohium tbyrsiflo- 

 rum. tensiflorum and l-"armeri will now be growing freely 

 ];iit do not overwaler until the new roots ajijiear. Some 

 of Dendrohium Wardianum and Primulinum will be fin- 

 ishing their growths and may be removed to a more airy 

 iiouse. Do not withliold water as long as the leaves are 

 green : diminishing it gradually as the leaves begin to get 

 yellow. Cologyne cristata needs jjlenty of water at this 

 stage of growth and frequent applications of weak liquid 

 manure will also help to strengthen the bulbs. 



Cattleva I'.owringiana as the new roots appear, will 

 also take more water. This Cattleya, however, will dn 

 with less water than many others of the same genus. It 

 is iietter nut to let the water lodge in the center of the 

 young growths. Lfelia autumnalis is slow at starting into 

 growth, but develops rapidly after it has made a start. 

 This L;elia likes ]>lenty of light and sbduld be only 

 slightly shaded from the strong sunshine. Weik 

 a])plications of manure water will lienelit nearly 

 all orchids after they begin making new rnots. itntil the 

 completion of growth. They do not like hard water and 

 I believe that the lack of using rain w.iler is more generally 

 the cause of non-success in orchid growing tli.an .my 

 other cause. 



.\s soon as melons show the least sign of ri])ening, stoj) 

 using any stimnlaiU or liipiid niamu'e in any torm. Those 

 that have set their fruits, and are in active giowth, will 

 take plenty of food. Peaches and nectarines that are clear 

 of fruit sboidd be given a good syringing every bright 

 daw Those ib;it are rijiening will have to be left alone un- 

 til llie fruit is picked. Pot fruit wdiich has had its crol^ 

 picked ma\- now l-e polled, if necessary. Uuli the ball 

 (C(:ii!iirit-(l (III />(;,;'(• 176) 



