January 22, 1916 



HOETICULTUEE 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK 



CONDUCTED BY 



^■»^^.9^.T'ayyu^ 



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



by Mr. Farrell. Such communications should InTarlably be addressed to the office of HOHTICULTUBE. 



' "If Tain oor toll, we ought to blame the culture, not the 8oil." — Pope. 



Acacias 



As Easter is so late this year acacias intended for thai 

 occasion must be kept as cool as possible ; anywhere above 

 the freezing point or about 35 to 40 degi'ees at night 

 will do. During the day give plenty of ventilation. See 

 that they do not dry out at the roots and on all good 

 days give a good syringing overhead. Before the young 

 growths start take off a batch of cuttings and place them 

 in sand in a cool propagating bouse. The majority will 

 root and if kept growing on, as is easly done, plants 

 equal in quality to any you can buy will be produced. 

 When rooted pot tip into 2 or 2| inch pots using a mix- 

 ture of loam, fibrous peat and sand in equal parts. 



Ditnorphotheca aurantiaca 



This is an extremely showy annual from South Africa. 

 It belongs to the daisy family, so will grow where other 

 daisies grow. Now is a good time to sow three or four 

 seeds in a three-inch pot using comjiost of leaf mold and 

 sand in equal parts in a temperature of 60 degrees. 

 When they come up place where they will have full 

 sun and from 45 to 50 degrees. They do fine wheu 

 planted out in a bench. The flower is rich golden orange 

 with a black -center. It is commonly called the orange 

 daisy and South African daisy. The plants will flower 

 within ten weeks from seed sowing and continue to 

 bloom for several weeks. The flowers close on dark 

 days and at night, but, after being picked thirty-six 

 hours and in a warm room, they will remain open. 



Ferns 



.\'ow is a good time to sow spores. Use a porous soil 

 with good drainage. Cover witli a glass and keep shad- 

 ed until growth appears. Keep the soil moist by sink- 

 ing the pans up to the rim in a tub of water when tliey 

 need water. Place well up to the glass. When they have 

 made growth enough they should be pricked out in 

 a new compost. A good compost for the little ferns is 

 fresli loam two parts, leaf mold and sandy peat, one part. 

 For 4-inch pots a lieavier soil should be used. Ferns do 

 not like to be potted too firm. After potting a reason- 

 able amount of atmospheric jnnnidity should be kept 

 up, but never to the extent to cau.se dripping moisture 

 on the plants. A temperature as near as possible to 



Next Week: — Carnation Cuttings; Chrysanthemums; Odontogloss 



GO degrees with a^liglit rise througli the mid-day hours 

 will do for mixed varieties but, of course, to have them 

 good the treatment as regards temjierature, moisture 

 and soil must differ as to varieties. 



Grevillea robusta •OT^ 



Now is a good time to sow some seed of this very ^*< 

 useful plant. Sow in a little bottom heat and they will 

 germinate quickly. They can be placed in a tempera- 

 ture of about 60 degi'ees at night. Keep shaded and 

 moist until thej' begin to show, when tliey should be 

 given full sun. When large enough they should be 

 jjotted into 3 or 2^-inch pots. When established they 

 will grow fast enough in a temperature of 55 degrees 

 at night. Wlien large enough they can be sliifted into 

 3 or 4-ineli pots. Grevillea robusta or "Silk Oak" is 

 a most useful ])lant for the retail grower to have. 



Maurandias and Thunbergias 



When the spring tiuie comes we florists ufteii find 

 ourselves short for trailing plants to fill baskets, vases, 

 window boxes, etc. Now is the time to give these at- 

 tention so as to be well supplied when spring arrives. 

 The trailing lobelias, maurandia and thuubergia are all 

 beautiful when well grown and should be found at every 

 retail grower's establishment. The maurandia and thuu- 

 bergia should be sown at once. Only fresh seed of the 

 latter is of any account, and no bottom heat nor other 

 encouragement will make old seed germinate. Seedlings 

 of either want a warm house and when they are allowed 

 to become stunted in a cold house, you have a hard time 

 to get them into shape again. A house where the tem- 

 perature stands at about 60 degrees at night will grow 

 them along all right. They should be sown in pans in 

 a mixture of equal parts of soil, leaf mold and sand. 

 Keep shaded until they show signs of coming up when 

 they should have full liuht. 



Feverfew for Memorial Day 



Now is a good time to put in some cuttings of the 

 double feverfew. They will root fine in a modeiately 

 warm propagating bed. Wlieri rooted they can be pot- 

 ted into 3-inch pots and as these pots become well filled 

 with roots they can be ])lanted in a bencli where the 

 temperature does not run higher than 48 degrees at 

 night, 

 ums; Preparations for Kaster; Stock Left Over; Solanum Cuttings. 



BOOM YOUR BUSINESS 



hy aJveriising your goods in the 



HorticMltuire 



Publicity among the kind of readers reached 

 by this paper is THE SORT OF PUBLI- 

 CITY THAT PAYS. 



