April 22, 1916 



HOBTICULTUBE 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS^ STOCK 



CONDUCTED BY 



^^^^%.9^.TkA-xa/' 



Questions by our readers In line with any of the topics presented on this pnee will be co'dlnlly reeelTed and promptly answered 



by Mr. Farrell. Such communtciitlous should Invarhilily he addressed to the otlice of UORTICULTUUE. 



"If %'ain our t«»il, we ouKht to blame the culture, not the soil." — I^ope. 



Begonia Gloire de Lorraine 



Cultural encouragement now before the heat of sum- 

 mer interferes will tell plainly on the stock in the early 

 autumn and whatever degree of size and vigor is now 

 imparted by special good treatment is a permanent gain, 

 while any neglect at this season cannot be made good at 

 any time later on. The early propagated stock should 

 now be far enough advanced to require 4-inch pots. For 

 compost use three parts turfy loam, two parts sand and 

 one part very old manure. Give careful watering. 

 Pinch out the points to make them stocky. Thrifty 

 little plants from leaf sets and still in their first pots, 

 should be transplanted before they become root-bound. 

 Place in a temperature of from 55 to 60 degrees at 

 night and ventilate freely. They will need some shade 

 from this out to keep the leaves from burning. Give 

 light fumigations every ten days to keep them clean 

 from fly. Wliere you can plunge the pots they will 

 grow along better. 



Bedding Plants 



Pricking out and potting seedlings and cuttings will 

 now take up a good deal of nur time. Seedling annuals, 

 particularly asters, will need to be transplanted into 

 other flats, one inch apart, and when doing this do nut 

 forget to insert the little plants down to the seed leaf in 

 the new soil. The big Caladium esculentums started in 

 flats weeks ago are already wanting a 5-inch pot. The 

 cannas in fiats are now five or six inches high. They 

 must be lifted and potted at once. A 4-inch pot is large 

 enough to make a good bedding plant. Geraniums that 

 were shifted into 4-inch pots three or four weeks ago 

 will be much in need of spacing. Propagation of bed- 

 ding stock by cuttings and seed should have attention. 

 -Vs they become well established they can be removed to 

 frames. 



Dahlias 



Where small lots are grown, spades or trowels can 

 be used for planting. The land should previously have 

 been well manured and thoroughly cultivated. We like 

 to use a stout stake to each plant, but the largest grow- 

 ers by planting closer and pinching the plants after they 

 have made two or three pairs of leaves, to give a stocky, 

 branching habit, dispense wdth the use of supports. In 

 planting dahlias always lay the roots down flat; a com- 

 mon error is to stand them straight up. Allow four or 

 five feet between the rows where liorse cultivation is to 

 be given, and keep stirring the soil on every possible 

 occasion. It is astonishing what a prolonged drought 

 dahlias will stand if a nice, loose mulch of earth is con- 



Next Week: Tare of Orchids; r,.Trdpnlas; Pot Eve 



stantly kept on the surface. The sunniest possible lo- 

 cation suits dahlias. A ring of soot and lime around 

 each plant will help to ward off attacks of cutworms, 

 and will provide a little food for the plants. If the 

 weather becomes dry they should have some water at 

 the roots. 



Memorial Day Lilies 

 Most florists have quite a sale for lilies at Memorial 

 Day. Those intended for that date should be grown 

 cool at the present time; about 55 degrees at night will 

 do. It is a hard proposition to hold lilies back if they 

 have been allowed to advance too much up to now. 

 Place them where they can have plenty of ventilation, 

 with a good syringing on bright days. Be very careful 

 not to let lilies dry out, as they axe very liable to do at 

 this time of the year. Keep them clean of the aphis 

 by a weekly fumigation. They will stand plenty of 

 liquid feeding now and up to where they begin to show 

 color. Ten days before they are wanted, when the flow- 

 ers are fairly well expanded they should be kept in some 

 cool place as a cellar or cool shed to gain substance and 

 finish to the flowers. Lilies that have their buds just 

 peeping by the end of April will be about right 

 for Decoration Day. 



Orchids 



Now when most orchids are in active gi'owth, liquid 

 stimulants will be a great help to them. Such as cal- 

 anthes, cymbidiums, cypripediums, phaius, pleiones, 

 sobralias, thunias and others are benefited by feeding 

 provided they have plenty of strong roots. All terrestrial 

 orchids like an occasional weak dose of manure water 

 in their growing season. The Cookson formula is very 

 good. It can be made by mixing three ounces of potas- 

 sium nitrate and two ounces of ammonium phosphate in 

 a three gallon jar. When feeding orchids use one ounce 

 of this solution to a gallon of water but all this feed- 

 ing must be done with great care or hann will result. 

 Give weak applications, say at intervals of about ten 

 or twelve days. Be sure that the compost is not dry 

 when apphnng any liquid stimulants. 



After Easter 



After Easter our crowded houses will be relieved and 

 we shall be in a bolter condition to move whatever 

 plants may need more heat or less heat to different 

 houses. There will be more time now to care for late 

 spring stock, which in most cases is waiting to be potted 

 or pricked out. During the next month we shall find 

 plenty to do in the case of coleus, geraniums, carna- 

 tions, cannas, chrysanthemums, etc. 



rgrccns; Polnscttins : Prlniiilas: T.ate PropaRatlons. 



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Horticunltare 



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