February 6, 1916 



HORTIOULTUEE 



173 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



CONDUCTED BY 



'X/U(^tyl^-'yu<^M-<^ 



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

 by Mr. Rnzlcka. Such commnnlcatlons should InTarlably be addressed to the office of HOKTICULTUBE. 



Ventilation 



With the weather luisoasonably warm and dark, with 

 frequent showers and plenty of fog, the man who looks 

 after the ventilators wdll be up against a new problem 

 every day. The main thing is to try to keep the houses 

 cool during the dark days, never allowing them to go 

 over 68 in the daytime with 66 as the regular mark. If 

 possible a little steam should be turned in with a little 

 air on the houses. Witli the thermometer up to 65 out- 

 side it will be ratlicr difficult to keep the houses down 

 with steam turned on, so they wdll have to go without 

 unless the circulation is perfect in the steam pipes so 

 that they can be kept warm with only about half a pound 

 of steam in them. On clear days houses that have two 

 rows of ventilators, one on each side of the ridge, will 

 be much better off then the old style having only one 

 row of vents on the south side. With a good weather 

 vane to indicate the direction of the wind the vent^^ can 

 be opened on the north when the wind is south, and 

 should the day be very warm then open the vents on the 

 south side an inch for every six inches of air on 

 the north side. With the older houses it will be neces- 

 sary to open the ventilators even though the wind does 

 blow in, for if the vents were allowed to remain low- 

 enough to keep the wind from blowing in the tempera- 

 ture inside wotild run very high, thus making the plants 

 very soft and liable to mildew. The temperature at 

 night should not be much more than 64, and less if the 

 buds are getting small and the foliage on the plants soft 

 and weak. Avoid heavy feeding unless the plants are 

 growing very freely and then use liquid only once a 

 week until the weather changes for the better. 



Disbudding 



With the free growing varieties, such as Shawyer, 

 Ophelia, etc., it will be necessary to go over the plants 

 twice a week to see that they are properly disbudded 

 and that there are no side shoots left to take the sap 

 from the main buds. Once in a while on an extra strong 

 bottom break the crown bud will be deformed so that it 

 is best to take that off and allow the two side shoots to 

 come on. These will turn out good as a rule and will 

 cut extra and fancy. While disbudding it is well to sec 

 that all blind wood is attended to, for if the top leaf is 

 taken off down to a good eye while these blind shoots 

 are still young they will in most cases start in and grow 

 right on into a good bud. When cutting buds like this 

 be sure that they are cut away down to the first two good 

 eyes and not above the joint where the top leaf was 

 taken off the blind shoot. Tbc shorter the distance of 



hard wood between the buds and roots the better. While 

 disbudding it will be well to straighten out any shoots 

 that may have been knocked crooked while syringing, 

 also bend away all buds that may be touching the glass. 

 This work will not take very long to do, as it is very 

 simple and sliould be done in little time. 



Watering Young Stock 



With the cloudy days great care will have to be taken 

 not to get the young stock too wet. This applies 

 especially to cuttings just potted, for these take up very 

 little water and if they are kept too wet the roots are 

 likely to decay. Where a whole house is devoted to young 

 stock it will be best to use steam and open the vents, 

 thus airing the house freely. Steam with the ventilators 

 closed would make the air too warm and moist and this 

 would be apt to make the young cuttings damp off. If 

 it is necessary to water the young plants on a cloudy day 

 do it as early in the morning as possible, so that they 

 will have all the chance to dry off before night. Then 

 make sure that plenty of lime is blown into the air over 

 the walks at night, thus taking out a great deal of 

 moisture. Sometimes when the dark weather continues 

 for two weeks or more and the young stock remains wet 

 all the time it will be well to water the plants even 

 though they are wet. In doing this make sure to water 

 heavj', as the idea is to drive out all water in the pots 

 that may have become stale, and give the young plants 

 a chance to get some fresh water. If possible a little 

 lime water can be applied, which will sweeten up the soil 

 a good deal. 



Scraping Around Young Plants 



A good way to dry out a batch of young plants is to 

 go over them and scrape off all the green scum that may 

 have formed over the top of the soil. In doing this see 

 that only the very surface is taken, and that the soil is 

 left rough afterward. Also set all the .smaller plants to 

 the south of the bencli and all the larger and stronger 

 plants to the rear or north side if the houses run east 

 and west. Make sure that all the pots are set firmly 

 when thoy are moved over, so that there will be no air 

 under thuni. If they arc set loose they will dry out very 

 unevenly and mako a good deal of trouble for the man 

 who has to water tiieni. Also see tliat they are all set 

 level so that they will hold the proper amount of water. 

 If tliey are not level most of the water applied will run 

 off and then there will be some plants in the lot that 

 will always be dry, and soon they will become stunted 

 and it will be a hard job to start them goin<T n.rn.„ 



