August 14, 1915 



HOKTICULTUKE 



193 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS^ STOCK 



CONDUCTBD BY 



^^^>*>'%9^.r-aA^te^ 



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



by Mr. Farrell. Such ccmmnnlcatlons should Invariably be addressed to the office of HORTICULTDKE. 



"U t>Ib our toil, we ooebt to blame the coltare, not the soil." — Pope. 



Chrysanthemums 



Keep the chrysanthemums growing right along now. 

 Give plenty of fresh air day and night with an abun- 

 dance of water, syringing several times daily and wet- 

 ting down the walks. See that the plants are kept 

 •clean by spraying with some good insecticide and light 

 fumigations every ten days. Pi-om this out it will be 

 necessary to keep up a diligent fight against the black 



Mulching Mixture 



In preparing mulch make it rich. I would let it con- 

 •sist of two parts of well-decomposed cow manure to one 

 part of fibrous soil. Where you want to use bone meal 

 or other fertilizer this can be added at any time. Having 

 this mulch in good condition and in a handy place 

 under cover constitutes one of the first elements of suc- 

 cess in growing good flowers. Chop it quite fine and 

 make it up into a neat pile and let it stand for about 

 three weeks and then turn it over three or four times at 

 intervals of about every ten days, after which run it 

 through a f-inch screen and then store it away where 

 the rain and snow will not reach it. 



Roman Hyacinths 



Get the flats and pans together so that when the 

 bulbs arrive you will Ijo ;ill ready to care for them. 

 When planting see that they have proper drainage. Use 

 any good compost. See that the top of each bulb is 

 puslied down level with the soil, and the soil made mod- 

 erately firm. Give them a thorough watering and place 

 in the bulb cellar or outside. If outside see that they 

 are set level and covered with about 4 or 5 inches of soil. 

 If they become dry they will need some extra waterings. 



Poinsettias 



Lose no time now in getting in poinsettia cuttings. 



foinsettias can be jiropagated up to the first week in 

 September and make fair stock, but those that are rooted 

 about this time will lie better. Give good care when the 

 cuttings are placed iii sand, such as shading, watering 

 and spraying. The one point to remember is not to 

 let them flag. When rooted pot off into small pots 

 using a mixture of fibrous loam, leaf mold and enough 

 of sand to make it open. Keep rather clo.se and spray 

 often, with a fair amount of shade. After this keep • 

 them well up to the glass wliere they can liave full sun- 

 shine. When they get pot-bound shift into 3-inch pots 

 and plunge in ashes. 



Stock Geraniums 



See that geraniums are labeled true to name. Just 

 now when they are all blooming and at their best it is 

 well to see if any have not come true. It is an easy 

 matter at this date to label or tag any that are not true 

 to name. Mucli future annoyance can be saved now 

 but only an expert would be able to separate them after 

 the flower has gone. Geraniums left over can be made 

 into fine stock plants by giving them a shift into -5 or 

 (i-inch pots. These will be harder, shorter-pointed and 

 less liable to damp olf than field-grown stock. I tliink 

 the failure to get a greater number of geraniums into 

 flower by Decoration Day is in great part due to the 

 sappy condition of our fall cuttings, 'ttlien grown this 

 way, they being more under the control of the grower, he 

 can root practically every tip. 



Supply of Leaf Mold 



Every florist should lay in a good supply of leaf mold 

 before the bad weather sets in. Now is a good time to 

 get it. Leaf mold can be used in so many ways to good 

 advantage that the good grower should always have 

 a good amount on hand. 



Neit week: — Cyclamen; Bnuv.irdias; Mignonette: I'aijor White Narcissus; Propagating Geraniums; Housing Tender Stools. 



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