346 



HORTICULTUBE 



April 12, 1919 



GREENHOUSE FERNS. 



Perhaps it is not saying too much 

 to say that there is no other class of 

 plants cultivated in greenhouses that 

 afford more pleasure the year round 

 than ferns. When healthy, they are 

 interesting and beautiful at all sea- 

 sons, and the gracefulness of their 

 fronds, combined with the various 

 shades of green exhibited by different 

 varieties, attract the attention of 

 many who take little notice of other 

 forms of vegetation, and so secure for 

 them an amount of admiration not ex- 

 ceeded by any other family. Their 

 adaptability to assist in meeting the 

 demand which at present exists for 

 decorative plants should procure for 

 them particular attention. 



When growing ferns for decorative 

 purposes, they require to be treated 

 somewhat differently to what would 

 be the case were they not intended to 

 undergo the vicissitudes to which they 

 will be exposed, in the dry atmosphere 

 of the rooms of a dwelling house. The 

 object which the grower should have 

 in view is to produce plants of as 

 hardy and robust a description as pos- 

 sible. To attain this, it is necessary 

 to grow them in as low a temperature 

 and with as little humidity in the at- 

 mosphere as is consistent with an 

 average development of the fronds. 



Plants intended for room decoration 

 should be grown in pots of such di- 

 mensions as will fit into vases, etc., 

 provided for this purpose. In gen- 

 eral, this causes the size of the pots 

 to be limited, in comparison to that 

 of the plants. A great many ferns re- 

 main healthy for a considerable time 

 under restrictive root room, providing 

 other conditions are favorable, and 

 their style of growth gives them an 

 advantage in adding a finish to a vase 

 or flower basket not surpassed by any 

 other class of plant. The restriction 

 of root room demands that the com- 

 post used should be of as good a kind 

 as possible and of a character suited 

 to maintain the plants in health. I 

 have found good fibry peat with a lib- 

 eral proportion of silver sand and 

 wood charcoal, broken about the size 

 of small peas, to be a good mixture in 

 which to grow them. No doubt some 

 sorts make stronger fronds when 

 sandy loam is used as compost, and 

 when the plants are intended for ex- 

 hibition, it is necessary for the fronds 

 to be as large as possible, but when 

 they are intended for the home a less 

 luxuriant development is desirable. 



Although ferns require a liberal sup- 

 ply of water to their roots, particular- 

 ly during the season when they are 

 making their growth, it is true that a 

 sloppy state of the compost is opposed 

 to their well-doing. If the soil be- 



comes sour, either through inefficient 

 drainage or over watering, they will 

 cease to thrive in proportion as the 

 evil exists. Over-watering is the most 

 common cause of the soil in flower 

 pots becoming sour, and in the case 

 of ferns it is frequent occurrence. 

 This arises from a rather prevalent 

 idea that as a class, they are not eas- 

 ily overdone in this matter, but, al- 

 though they delight in a liberal sup- 

 ply, it should never be given them un- 

 til the state of the soil warrants it. 

 It is indispensible to the successful 

 culture of ferns that the pots be prop- 

 erly drained in the first instance, and 

 that care be taken that nothing inter- 

 feres to prevent the drainage from 

 acting properly afterwards. 



Worms are often the cause of ob- 

 structing the drainage through filling 

 the interstices with their casts, caus- 

 ing the soil to become sour. When 

 peat and sand are the material used 

 as a compost, worms are not as 

 troublesome a£ when loam is used. As 

 soon as they are observed, means 

 should be taken for their speedy re- 

 moval. In the case of moderate size 

 and small plants, this may be effected 

 by turning the balls quickly out of the 

 pots on the palm of the left hand, and 

 with the right removing the intruders, 

 the ends of which are usually found 

 protruding from some part thereof. 

 When doing so, it will in some cases 

 be necessary to exercise a little pa- 

 tience, as unless they are gently dealt 

 with some of them will break in the 

 process of extraction, and the portion 

 left in the soil will have to remain un- 

 less the ball is broken and its removal 

 effected in that way. Watering the 

 plants occasionally with water heated 

 to 100 degrees is a means whereby 

 worms may be induced to come to the 

 surface, where they can be caught. 



In structures wholly devoted to the 

 growth of ferns, the desired amount 

 of atmospheric moisture should be 

 kept up by the evaporation from the 

 troughs of the hot water pipes and 

 sprinkling the paths and staging. As 

 a rule syringing the plants should not 

 be practiced. If, for the purpose of 

 keeping insects in subjection, it is 

 necessary to syringe particular plants, 

 they should be placed together in 

 some part of the house, so that when 

 undergoing the operation, others may 

 not suffer thereby. 



Shading is an important considera- 

 tion, and unless it is properly attend- 

 ed to one of their principal charms 

 will be lost, as shading from bright 

 sunshine is the means whereby the 

 beautiful tints of green are brought 

 out and preserved. All the Adiantums 

 (maidenhair ferns) with which we are 

 acquainted should not be exposed to 



the direct rays of the sun from the 

 first of February to the first of No- 

 vember, and the same applies to the 

 great majority of ferns grown under 

 glass. 



In a warm greenhouse (temperature 

 55 to 60) the following are good kinds 

 to grow — Adiantum cuneatum (maid- 

 enhair), decorum, pecotti, and gracil- 

 limum; asplenium, bulbiferum and 

 colensoi; aspidium tsussimense; 

 pteris serrulata, cristata and victoriae. 

 In the cool greenhouse (temperature 

 45 to 55 degrees), Adiantum aethiopi- 

 cum, crytomium, falcatum; nephro- 

 lepis, whitmani; pteris, scaberula; 

 microlepia, platyphilla. In a cold 

 greenhouse (no artificial heat), adian- 

 tum affine, crytonium fortunei, poly- 

 podium vulgari, canbricum; asplen- 

 ium fontanum and athyrum goringia- 

 num pictum. — B. C. Tillett, in the Ca- 

 nadian Florist. 



COMMERCIAL FLOWER GROWERS 

 OF CHICAGO 

 The organization of the growers of 

 flowers for commercial purposes has 

 been under way for some time, fol- 

 lowing naturally the organizations of 

 the retailers and the wholesalers. 

 After several preliminary meetings 

 the details have been perfected and 

 the following officers elected: Joseph 

 Kohout, Liberty ville, president; Peter 

 Pearson, vice-president; Otto H. Am- 

 ling, May wood, secretary; N. J. Wie- 

 tor, Chicago, treasurer; Walter A. 

 Amling, Maywood; Rudolph Ellsworth, 

 Downer's Grove; George J. Ball, Glen 

 Ellyn, executive board, and R. J. 

 Windier, membership. The society 

 will be known as the Commercial 

 Flower Growers of Chicago and takes 

 its place with an enthusiastic mem- 

 bership, prepared to work for the 

 best interests of the growers who fur- 

 nish the cut flowers and plants for 

 the greatest market of the world. 



The American Institute of the City 

 of New York and The American Dahlia 

 Society will hold an exhibition of 

 dahlias in the Engineering Society 

 Building, 25-33 West 39th Street, New 

 York City, on September 23rd to 25th. 

 1919. Also, The American Institute 

 and the Chrysanthemum Society of 

 America will hold an exhibition of 

 Chrysanthemums at the same place on 

 November 5th to 7th, 1919. 



Further information may be had 

 upon application to Wm. A. Eagleson, 

 Secretary, Board of Managers, 322-324 

 West 23rd Street, New York. 



"The power a man puts into saving 

 measures the power of the man in 

 everything he undertakes." — (Frank 

 A. Vanderlip.) Buy W. S. S. 



