August 28, 1915 



HORTICULTURE 



277 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK 



CONDCCTKD B¥ 



^»^^%.9^.ri^^^z^ 



Qaestlomi by our readeri In line with ■nr of the topics preseoted on tbu page will be cordlaUT recelred and promptly auHwered 



bj Ur. Parrell. 



Such communications should Invariably be addressed to the office of HORTICULTURE. 

 ''If tkIb our toll, n-e oDKbt to blame the caltar«, not the sell." — Fcfi. 



Carnations 



Let the plants have tho benefit of a full circulation 

 of air all around. Keep the ventilators wide open and 

 if possible tlie dooi-s, e.s))e(ially on hot days. Suiiliizht 

 and fresh air are what the plants need before fire heat 

 touches them. C'uJtivatiiij;;, cleaning and watering are 

 the main things to be attended to now. You can overdo 

 the watering but not the other two. It is needless to 

 say that no weeds should ever be allowed to get estab- 

 lished among the j)Iants ; don't wait for them to come 

 nor neglect the removing of every bad leaf on the plants. 

 Give the soil a thorough snaking when it is in need of 

 it and don't repeat it until it dries out — not dust dry 

 for that would stunt the growth if repeated and be as 

 wrong as to continiiously keep it in a wet state. 



Chrysanthemums 



Make it a rule to look over the benches every morn- 

 ing and water where needed, but only where needed as 

 saturation all the time will work ruin now. Syringe 

 only in the morning now and on clear days, so that 

 before night fall all the superfluous water will have 

 time to dr)- up. Give attention to disbudding and 

 liquid feeding. Keep on feeding until the flowei-s 

 show color. If we run into a spell of damp and 

 rainy weather have a little heat run through the 

 pipes. Keep the plants clear of all by-growi:h, so the 

 full strength will be carried to the bloom. Keep them 

 clear of flv bv timclv fumigation done carefullv. 



Decorative Stock 



Now is a good time tn gn over your stock and see 

 what you are short of. Lay in a supply of Phoenix 

 Koebelenii, Areca lutescens, Cocos Weddclliana. Lat- 

 ania borbonica and Kentias, also ferns, Pandanus and 

 Aspidistra. Scan the advertisements in HoRTiruLTURE 

 and place your order early, ifoney invested in a good 

 stock of these and the half dozen other plants usually 



found at the retailers' always comes back with good in- 

 terest. Give the palm house a good cleaning, then fill 

 it up and make things attractive for the opening of an- 

 other season — the best one you ever had. Only by 

 carrying a good supply of salable stock can we expect 

 to do business. 



Marguerites 



Suitable cuttings are not procurable on marguerites 

 during the hot months but are now to be had and a 

 good batch should be placed in sand at once. These 

 can be grown into nice bushy plants in 6-inch or 7-inch 

 pots for spring sales. When rooted they can be potted 

 into i\ or 3-inch pots using any good rose or carnation 

 compost. When tliey will stand the sun place them in 

 the highest house. To keep them growing they mil 

 want a winter temjierature of from 50 to oh degrees 

 night. These should not be allowed to suffer from 

 want of a shift and be sure to give them a rich soil. If 

 your old plants were carried over in the field lift and 

 pot them during the present month. Be sure each has 

 a good liall attached and keep them well watered and 

 shaded for a few days until they cease wilting. In a 

 couple of weeks they will have to be housed. 



Bulb Stock for Winter 



To make bulb grouiug pay a careful study is abso- 

 lutely necessary to prevent waste of material. The 

 smaller retail grower depends to a large extent on the 

 Dutch bulbs to furnish him flowers during the first four 

 months of the year. Roman hyacinths and the paper- 

 whites are the next thing on the program to be planted 

 out for flowers from Christmas on. 



Stevia 



Do not leave it too late before lifting tiie stevia as the 

 least bit of frost will injure it. For a week after they 

 are lifted thev will want some shade and careful hand- 

 ling, but after this give them full light and in a cool 

 house as they do not like to be grown too warm. 



Next Week:— Cattleyas; Cinerarias for Easter; Freeslas; Tulips; Winter riowerlnp fJcrnnlurai; Watch Out fiT Kn.st. 



This popular climbing vine is too well known to our 

 readers to recjuire any detailed notes in connection with 

 the picture which adorns our title page this week. The 

 residence shown is that of Edward Harris, Weymouth, 

 Mass. The extent to which this Clematis varies when 

 raised as usual from seed is perhaps not generally 

 realized. Most are fragrant, but some have no fragrance, 

 some are purest white — others creamy, while they vary 



Clematis paniculata 



greatlv in size of individual flowers and in form of truss, 

 some being in long .scattered racemes — others almost 

 Hal heads. The most interesting fact, however, to be 

 remembered is the wide variation in the time of bloom- 

 ing of did'erenl plains, a dilTereiice of two or three 

 weeks lieing possible, and tiius it is easy to a.xsure cus- 

 tomers of a long extciiiled flowering period by classifying 

 nursery stock as early or late blooming. 



BOOM YOUR BUSINESS 



hy aJoertising tjour goods in the 



Horticmiltiuire 



Publicity among the kind of readers reached 

 by this paper is TUli SORT OF PUBLI- 

 CITY THAT PAYS. 



