November 13, 1915 



HORTICULTURE 



629 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK 



INDUCTED BY 



Questions by our readers In 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 HOBTICDLTURB. 



"If ndn oar toll, we onsht to blame the cnltnre, not the soU." — Pope. 



Ardisias 



These popular holiday plants should be kept from 50 

 to 55 degrees at night. If kept too warm and overhumid 

 they will make a premature growth of foliage which is 

 not wanted at this time. Turn the plants around fre- 

 quently so that the sun may reach them on all sides. To 

 develop the coloring of their berries, they require a 

 sunny house and abundant ventilation. Give them 

 plenty of room between so that the berries will have a 

 chance to color up. It is important to look carefully 

 to watering because when allowed to become too dry 

 or too wet at the roots the plants will soon show per- 

 manent injury. 



Callas 



These plants when gi-own in pots soon exhaust the 

 soil and should have some liquid manure once or twice 

 a week. Those growing in beds or benches will not 

 need feeding as yet but with the coming of spring when 

 the beds are full of roots mulching and feeding must 

 be resorted to. Fumigate with regularity for fly and 

 thrips for these are difficult pests to eradicate when they 

 have secured a firm foothold. Give a temperature of 

 not less than 60 degrees at night. Dampen down the 

 walks two or three times a day, especially when the 

 temperature goes up with the sun-heat, for callas de- 

 light in a moist growing atmosphere. Those that are 

 gi-owing in pots soon dry out now so give them plenty 

 of moisture at the roots. 



Crotons 



There is no excuse to have crotons overrun with mealy 

 bug, thrips and red spider. Use the hose on them with 

 proper force once or twice a week. To keep them sjtu- 

 metrical they should be turned around frequently. To 

 develop their coloring they should have as much sun- 

 light as they can possibly stand. Some varieties can 

 not bear as much sun as others, which peculiarity can 

 easily be noted and such plants given a little shade. 

 Crotons like lots of heat so see that the temperature 

 does not fall below 65 degrees at night with 10 to 15 

 degrees more with sunshine. If the plants are very 

 much potbound their color can be intensified and the 

 plants otherwise benefited by giving them some liquid 

 manure about once a week. Plants that have grown too 

 lanky or that are out of shape can be propagated by 

 mossing now as well as at any other time of the year. 



French Bulbs U«i{, 



Roman hyacinths and Paper White narcissus for early '*^^ V 

 cutting must now be placed in heat to have them come^T^Ni 

 in time for a trade not far off now. If the boxes are ^^.tiut 

 still in outside frames, in sheds or under the benches of 

 a cool greenhouse, thoy must now be brought forward 

 and the bulbs be gradually inured to a higher tem- 

 perature, letting them have 45 degrees for four or five 

 days, when real forcing may begin. But assuming that 

 the boxes and pots were brought into greenhouses di- 

 rectly from outdoor trenches, that an abundance of 

 roots were present at the time, and that these green- 

 houses, although styled cool could not be kept much be- 

 low 50 degrees, the growth of the bulbs will have ad- 

 vanced to such an extent that the flower buds will by 

 this time be plainly showing. If this be so actual 

 forcing may be said to have already begun, and in the 

 case of Roman hyacinths, a gradual rise to 65 degrees 

 will bring out the blooms in about fifteen days. 



Rhododendrons 



Rhododendrons for the past two seasons have sold 

 well especially at Easter. When received they can be 

 placed in soil in some root house or cool pit and the 

 roots kept moderately moist, wetting them as you did 

 the azaleas. When being potted they want a very porous 

 soil, such as two parts of fibrous loam, one part of leaf 

 mold and about half this quantity' of sand. Keep them 

 in a cool place, anywhere just above freezing. By Feb- 

 ruar}' bring them into a cool house where they can be 

 started up slowly. Be sure when ordering that you get 

 the varieties that are suitable for forcing and that they 

 are well set with buds. In February they can be 

 brought into a temperature of about 45 degrees at night 

 which can be increased to about 62 degrees at night. 

 At this stage they like a moist atmosphere and should 

 be freely syringed, but must be removed to a more airy 

 and a cooler house when their flowers begin to open. 



Storing Hydrangeas 



By this time hydrangeas should be well ripened up. 

 Take off any dead leaves and store the plants in some 

 place that is kept near the freezing point but not below 

 it, say a cool shed or pit at 35 to 40 degi-ees, but no 

 higher. Give them a look over now and again so they 

 will not become dust dry. They will have plenty of 

 time if brought in about the middle of January, as 

 Easter is the 23rd of April. 



Next Week:— Cattlcyas; Violets; Pot S>rergreeD8 for Winter; Primulas; Sowlnt; Fern Spores; StortnK Cannas, Dahlias, etc. 



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