October 2, 1915 



HORTICULTURE 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



CONDUCTED BY 



i^(iS(^-y^:J^-<^ 



Bllli Questions by our readers In line with any of the topics presented on this page will be .ordlally reeelTed and promptly answered 

 by Mr. Ruzlcka. Such communications should Invariably be addressed to tbe office of UORTICULI UKi!.. 



The Night Temperature 



As the days and iii,i;lit.- ,i;ro\v coldor it will he nec- 

 essary to lower the heal in the honses at night, until it 

 is down to the regular night temperature. Up to re- 

 cently the houses were hettcr off with the thermometers 

 up to 64 or 65 at night luit now it will be better to drop 

 it down to 62, espeeially for the varieties of roses that 

 are to be grown a little cooler than the rest. Keep air 

 on all night, even if this does mean a little more coal 

 burned. The plants will he much better off for it and 

 will make it up before the season is over. An inch of 

 air is about the least that the houses should have until 

 frost comes, and then it will be safe to put them down 

 to a crack unless it freezes quite hard, and then only 

 should the vents be closed altogether. 



Keeping Even Temperature 



If the lioiise was never tested for evenness of temper- 

 ature and the roses do not seem to gi-ow evenly, apply 

 this test at once. Place several thermometers at different 

 points, first making sure tliat these will all register the 

 same, and then see Just how the house does run. It 

 may be nece.-san- to cover pipes here and there, or else 

 uncover some on the extreme end, but it will pay to 

 see that the whole house nins as nearly even as it is 

 possible to get it. It is not the fault of the greenhouse 

 as a rule but of the conditions surrounding it. These 

 differ as much as one place does from another and 

 therefore each grower ha-; to study his own situation 

 before apjilying any reineily. If the houses suffer from 

 heavy winds on the north, a wind-break of some quick- 

 growing evergreen trees will prove very effective and 

 will help save a little coal in the winter, and at the 

 same time make the first liouse on the north run more 

 evenly. This windbreak should not be planted too close 

 to the liouses as it will make them run much hotter in 

 the summer, .\\oid much trees on the east and west, 

 as these will throw shade and that is not wanted, for 

 the sooner the sun hits the plants in the morning and 

 the longer at night the better for them. 



Tying 



Keep right aftei- this and I ly to get omt the plants 

 weekly and tie them up. it i- better to do this oftener 

 as it will not take very long, hut if the work is let go 

 for a while it will be quite a proposition to tie the plants 

 properly, especially if they are growing real good. Avoid 

 tying the shoots too tiglit to the stake. There is no 

 benefit in it and the chances are they will lose a good 

 many leaves if they are hunched too much. In tying 

 Beauties make sure that tlie slioots are on the same side 



of the wires on the l)ottom as well as on top. Should 

 they be tied on one side on the bottom and on the other 

 side on top trouble will be experienced should it hi- 

 necessary to heiid down the tall breaks later. Take care 

 to distribute the wood well, so that the plants get as 

 much light and sun as possible. Needless to say, when 

 tying to the wires tlie string should always be wrapped 

 around the wire once before tying the Icnot, otherwise 

 the shoots will slide from place to place when syringing, 

 and will likely come to harm. 



Picking Dead Leaves 



There should not be very many of these as yet, but 

 here and there there will be some. As soon as they are 

 knocked off they should be picked up as time will per- 

 mit. It is l)est to keep the benches clean until the sea- 

 son is half over at least, although the plants will do 

 better if they receive good care right up to replanting 

 time. This applies to plants that will be run another 

 year especially as they will do much better the second 

 year if they are properly cared for all through the first 

 season. It will not take very long to pick up all these 

 dead leaves, also watching for spot, and picking off any 

 diseased leaves that may be found. 



The Sod Heaps 



Although tlieic are a good many places where the sod 

 heap~j are not put up until spring it is much better to 

 have them up in tbe fall. The spring generally brings 

 a great deal of work and then too the sod is generally 

 soaked and much heavier to handle. Just now, the sod 

 is fairly dry and easily handled and if it lays over the 

 winter composted with good manure it will he in fine 

 condition for using next spring. Do not allow the men 

 to use shovels to load the sod. It is better for the roses 

 and better for the fitdd to plow it up and then pick up 

 what can be tak<'n with ihe fork. The sod shouhl not he 

 plowed deeply, three or four inches being plenty. If 

 done deeper it will take years to establish another turf 

 over the field, and this takes time and costs money. It 

 is best to u.se about half sod and half manure, as the 

 latter will decay rapidly and by spring will be just about 

 right, .\void piling tiie sod in layers too thick. It is 

 hest to use about six inches of each, with about a foot of 

 sod fen- the bottom layer. This method will insure the 

 leachings from the manure going through all the sod 

 and it will be far better for the roses than if the sod is 

 jiiled in layers a foot and a half to two feet thick. IE 

 this is done only some of the sod will have a cliance to 

 absorb liquids, and the result will he that the soil result- 

 ing will be very uneven in fertility, which will cause 

 trouble with the plants later. 



questionably cuts into the fresh flower and plant busi- 

 ness. But there is no industry known which has not 

 competition of some sort to struggle against. Every 

 one will not agree with its. we know, but it is our 

 belief that the undertaker, for instance, is fully as heavy 

 a handicap on the flower business as the artificial ma- 



terial dealer can possibly be. We have always felt that 

 it was very unfortunate for the future welfare of the 

 (lower trade in its younger days that so many of the 

 Horists establislied themselves adjacent to a cemetery 

 gate and adopted as Iheir almost universal style of sign- 

 board — "Wreaths, ('rosses, .Anchors, Bou(|Uets." 



