May 8, 1915 



HOKTICULTUEE 



619 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS^ STOCK 



CONDCCTBD BY 



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QoestloDB by our readers In lice 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 HOKTICULTDRE. 



"It vain our toil, we onsht to blame the cnltare, not the soil." — Pope. 



Chrysanthemums 



It will be necessaiy to keep the cuttings well soaked 

 for the first two weeks. In bright weather several damp- 

 ings overhead will be required to keep them plump and 

 no good gi'ower ever wants to see stock in the cutting 

 bench with a flaggy look. A temperature of 50 degrees 

 is high enough for the cuttings to root in. They should 

 not remain too long in the sand but be potted up as 

 soon as rooted. A turfy loam thoroughly mixed with 

 one-third well-rotted cow manure and a sprinkling of 

 bone is a good compost to use. Be careful after potting 

 not to ovenvater and as they get well rooted never allow 

 them to lack water. For the gi'owing of exhibition 

 blooms the plants should never be allowed to get pot- 

 bound. As soon as the pots are well filled with roots 

 repot into 3-irtch and on up into 8 or 9-inch pots. Plants 

 intended for exhibition should now be growing rapidly 

 and must liave every attention in the way of watering, 

 ventilation, pincliing and tying up. Look out carefully 

 for aphis and fumigate regularly. 



Planting Gladioli 



A succession of plantings can be made from now on 

 until the end of June. Plant them in rows from 2 to 

 3 feet apart leaving about 3 to 4 inches between the 

 bulbs in the rows. They should be set at least four 

 inches deep. By planting the bulbs at intervals of about 

 two weeks we seciu'e a long season. See that the soil is 

 worked deep and that there is plenty of well decayed 

 manure mixed into it. When they show above the 

 gi'ound keep the cultivator going every week until they 

 have reached a height of about 8 inches. During limited 

 rainfall they should be watered at intervals quite pro- 

 fusely. It would be well to sort the conns over and 

 plant all the small ones at first planting leaving the 

 largest for the last. Just before the last cultivation 

 give some quick acting fertilizer between the rows. It 

 can be put on at the rate of three or four hundred 

 pounds per acre. 



Planting Out Carnations 



The weather and the nature of the soil should be the 

 guide in the difFcveiit sections of the country for the 

 right time for [ilaiiting. Set them anywhere from 15 

 inches up to 2 feet apart. Where the gi-ovver has only 

 a few thousand the fonner distance will do as he can 

 use the hand cultivator both ways, but where there is 

 larger number 2^ feet apart each way will allow the 

 horse CTiltivator exclusively, which will save three- 

 fourths of the time in talking care of them. Each 

 grower will have to judge for himself which is best. A 

 dark or cloudy day is the best, but where there are many 

 thousand to plant any day must do. See that the plants 

 are thoroughly soaked tlu-ough beforehand. Don't for- 

 get the oft-repeated warning to have every i)lant prop- 



erly firmed for this is an absolute necessity. Do not 

 plant either too deep or too shallow, but at the same 

 depth that they stood in the pots or flats. For this 

 locality from now up to the 30th of May is a good 

 time to plant. 



Peonies 



To have peonies that will produce flowers of good 

 size and color the soil should be trenched to the depth 

 of IS to 24 inches and plenty of cow manuje incor- 

 porated through it. They require a soil that has been 

 enriched with plenty of rotted manure, bone dust and 

 wood ashes. Select an open and sunny situation, far 

 away fi'om the food robbing roots of trees or large 

 shrubs. See that each plant has enough room when they 

 are full grown. Wlien planting in the field with the 

 intention of digging up the clumps and dividing for 

 sale they should be planted 3^ or 3 feet apart both 

 ways, but when planting for cut flowers leave them 

 at least 4 feet apart each way, covering the crowns 

 with 3 or 4 inches of soil. Old plantations yielding 

 good crops of flowers annually should have a top-dress- 

 ing of manure forked into the soil. If the weather 

 becomes dry while the buds are forming and the flow- 

 ers coloring they should have a liberal supply of water. 

 Herbaceous peonies have so greatly improved of late 

 years that now they are indispensable for spring and* 

 summer flowering. 



Stocks for Winter Flowering 



If sown now they will come in early and with another 

 sowing in about four weeks you will have flowers all 

 winter. They should be sown now in pans or shallow 

 flats of light soil. Use plenty of sand in it as there 

 is then less liability of the seedlings damping off. For 

 the first couple of inches of soil it is well to make a 

 light mixture, say leaf mold and soil in equal parts with 

 a little sand. Do not sow too thickly. Keep shaded 

 and moist until they begin to germinate when they 

 should have fall light and sun. When they are large 

 enough to handle they can be potted off into small pots 

 and placed in frames binder elevated sashes to afford a 

 free circulation of air. Give these plants a situation 

 with sufficient space to enable the air and light to reach 

 all the foliage. Water can be more freely applied from 

 this time on. Fumigate often so as to keep green fly 

 in check. When the plants have filled these pots with 

 roots they should be shifted into 4 or 5-inch pots and 

 kept in frames until late fall. 



Starting Cultivating 



As the different plants are set out start with the culti- 

 vator using it at least once a week. It will help to keep 

 down weeds and leave the ground in a nice open condi- 

 tion. Stirring the ground in dry weather or after rains 

 is peculiarly beneficial to all crops. 



Next Week : — Asters ; 



Care of Young Primulas; Hardy Stock tor Late Spring Sales; Orchids; Ramblers for Memorial Day: 



Watering Stock. 



