February 13, 1915 



HORTICULTURE 



205 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS^ STOCK 



CONDCCTBD BY 



^i^^%.9^.r}MA£A^ 



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



by Mr. FarrelL Such communications should invariably be addressed to the office of HORTICULTURE. 



"If tbId our toil, we ought to blame the coltnre, not the goil." — Pope. 



Cannas from Seed 



Canrias from seed, if gi-own at once, can be flowered by 

 middle of summer. I know no better way of getting a 

 quick germination than by putting the seed to soak in 

 warm water for 24 hours ; then liolding the seed with a 

 pair of pincers, slice off a small piece of the hard cover- 

 ing. Sow in a flat of soil and cover with one-half inch 

 of sand and place where it will get a strong bottom heat. 

 Sowm simply as you would peas you may get 25 per 

 •cent of the seed to grow quickly ; the remainder may 

 come up at intervals. They will need plenty of strong 

 heat and when they are large enough to handle they can 

 be potted and grown in a warm house and shifted 

 until in 4 or 5-inch pots. About the middle of June 

 they can be jflanted out. 



Hardy Delphiniums 



Don't bother with any delphinium seed but last sum- 

 mer's crop; any that is more than a year old cannot be 

 •doiiended on, while we find over 90 per cent of the new 

 seed germinates. A good proportion of the plants 

 grown from seed sown now will give good spikes of flow- 

 ers next June and all of tliciii wnll furnish several spikes 

 more next fall. Transplant the little seedlings, giving 

 them about ? inches of space in flats. If possible pot 

 them into 3 inch pots about the middle of April or 

 transplant once more before they go into the field. Also 

 a nice stock of them will lie ready for the perennial 

 "borders of your customers this coming spring and if 

 they find out you have them for this purpose many will 

 lie sold. Delphinium forniosiini. the dark blue variety, 

 is as much used as ever and if you plant Delphinium 

 belladonna you will surely get a great variety of the 

 blue shaded. 



Mignonette 



AVhen the plants in a lied dI' mignonette show signs 

 ■of being exhausted after tiie first crop of llowcr spikes 

 has been cut it will pay the grower to induce them to 

 furnish aoother. This in the first place includes care 

 in watering. It is safer, especially when the first heavy 

 top growth lias just been cut off, to let the soil dry out 

 occasionally. to a rea.=onable degree than to keep it con- 

 stantly wet although the daily spraying should not be 

 omitted. Liquid manure is to be employed sparingly, 

 I)oth as to strength and frequency of application. A 

 warning woi-th heeding is as regards ventilation also at 

 this season. On all good days see that they have plenty 

 of air. They should never be given any higher tem- 

 perature than 48 degrees at night. For a day tempera- 

 ture they can be allowed to nin up to 60 to 65. Keep 

 the shoots disbudded; this will throw the whole strength 

 into the main spike. 



Next Week: — Dahlias; T-ily nf tlin Vnlliv . onliids: Siibtr 



Prepare for Easter 



It isn't always an exjiensive erica or rhododendron or 

 some other valuable ])lant that sells the best; such stock 

 as marguerites, geraniums, begonias, pansies, the gar- 

 den primroses, English daisies, forgetmenots, and quite 

 a number of others form most desirable Easter plants, 

 but a great deal depends on how they are presented. 

 Of the stock usually fouhd at the establislunent of a 

 retail grower, of value as Easter plauts might also be 

 mentioned primulas obconica and sinensis. Easter 

 lilie* should by this time be well imder way. Wliile 

 Queen Alexandra spiiea is fine, Gladstone is a splendid 

 v. bite and a good number of both can always be dis- 

 posed of. Azaleas, both the indica and mollis, are per- 

 haps as impoi-tant as any plants for Easter. Of the 

 bulbous stock, hyacinths, daffodils and tulips form of 

 course the most important items. Hardly four weeks 

 will be required to get them into bloom when brought 

 to the greenhouse from the cellar or outdoors where they 

 are at present. 



Propagating 



From now or the propagation of nearly all the lead- 

 ing kinds of gi'eenhouse plants from seeds and by cut- 

 tings, will demand the principal portion of our time, 

 foretliought and attention. To obviate a too frequent 

 repetition, when dealing separately with the various 

 plants, a brief description of ways and methods, as here 

 given, will serve the purpose. In taking cuttings, select 

 the healthiest and strongest, and in potting them after 

 they are rooted, reject every cripple or diseased one. If 

 done at that juncture, instead of later, much labor, time 

 and room are saved. Bottom heat accelerates propa- 

 gation anrl tliis is the time of tlie year when it can be 

 provided in a meai^ure regular and reliable. This is 

 also the time when atmospheric conditions under glass 

 are easiest controlled. Sand mu.st be clean. Avoid cut- 

 tings too hai-d, too sappy, or otherwise tmfit. Use the 

 finest silver sand, washed, sterilized or doctored. A 

 layer of three iiu-lics on a tile bottom is sufficient in the 

 btnch for cuttings unless too great a bottom heat pre- 

 vails, when a heavier layer will have to be employed. 



Verbenas 



Verbenas have always been a very satisfactoi-y i)lant 

 to grow. They are fine as to persistent flowering quiili- 

 ties. i\o\v is the time to work up some of this good 

 stock for future u.<e in beds, borders, boxes and vases. 

 Got some of the newer kinds in separate colors and 

 sow. If you baAc carried over some old plants give 

 them good position where they can have plenty of light. 



ipiral npddiug Stooli ; I'miinpnllne Vioiet.x: rieilotropes. 



