August 12, 1916 



HORTICULTURE 



199 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK 



CONUOCIKD BT 



^^^%.9^.f)i.viU^ 



QuesUong by our readers In line with any of the topics presented on thlg page will be cordially 'e^'"*^ »°^P'S"P"' aniw.red 

 by Mr. Farrell. Such communications should Invariably be addressed to the office of HOKTICULTUKB. " 



"It vain oar toll, we ougrht to blmme the cnltnre, not the aolL" — Pope. 



Care of Poinsettias 



Loss of foliage on poinsettias is due to several causes, 

 such as too low a temperature, excessive feeding and too 

 much or too little moisture at the roots. Be sure to 

 give good drainage. If once tliey get water -logged, the 

 foliage will soon turn yellow. Plungiug the pots in 

 ashes is the best way to put an even amount of moisture 

 at the roots. If kept quite close to the glass, well ven- 

 tilated and watered carefully, they will not grow too 

 tall, nor will they lose their foliage. Grow in full sun, as 

 the least bit of shade makes them draw up. Give good 

 syringing every day which will help to keep them clean. 

 Spread fhem out from time to time so they will not be- 

 come crowded. Short stock for baskets, etc., can be 

 propagated up to the middle of September. 



Primulas 



Pick off any flowers which apjjear and do not allow 

 the plants to become pot-bound. There is more danger 

 of this occurring with the robust growing P. malaeoides 

 and P. Kewensis than with the more moderate sinensis, 

 stellata and obconica. Usually .5-inch and 6-inch pots 

 are suitable for obconica and sinensis. Give them a, com- 

 post of fibrous soil three parts, old cow manure two parts 

 and the same of leaf mold with a little sand. Watering 

 must be done once, twice or perliaps thrice a day, un- 

 less the pots are plunged, llie sashes should be removed 

 after four o'clock in"^ the afternoon — in fact, they are 

 not needed at all, except during heavy rains, so long as 

 lath shading are used and frost keeps away. The night 

 dews greatly benefit the plants and during hot days they 

 should be sprayed over several times. See that they do 

 not become crowded; give them iilenty of room. 



Mignonette for Midwinter 



A compost such as is used for carnations or chrysan- 

 themums will grow excellent mignonette. They can be 

 grown on either solid beds or raised benches. If on the 

 latter be sure they are not near the heating pipes below, 

 for mignonette loves a cool, moist bottom. If the soil 

 has been in tlie benches for some time and has been 

 scratched over two or three times to kill out weed seed- 

 lings, so much the better. It is important to have a 

 firsVclass strain of seed, such as is offered by a number 

 of the leading seedsmen. Sow the seed, several together, 

 in little batches fourteen or fifteen inches apart each 

 way. It is easy to thin out the bad ones later. Mignon- 

 ette must have" a cool house. 40 degrees at night should 

 be the winter minimum, and it wants all possible light 

 and plenty of water at the roots. The finest mignonette 



Npxt week — Cattleyas; Freesins; Lorraiiio Bcconias 



spikes are always produced in the coldest months, and 



February sees this plant at its best. 



Paper White Narcissi 



These are not mucli in demand while chrysanthemuma 

 are in season, but sell well later. But if the flowers are 

 all for home consumption it will be well to have a few 

 flats started each week, allowing large batches, of course, 

 for such occasions as Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

 Paper White bulbs are now coming to hand and though 

 they have often been in oversupply in the wholesale 

 flower markets, they are inexpensive, easy of culture, 

 can be flowered over a long period, and are, all in all, 

 among the most useful late fall and winter flowers for 

 the average country florist. Paper Whites do not re- 

 quii-e to be kept in the dark or covered with ashes, as 

 the bulk of bulbs do. They start to root and grow 

 quickly and can, if necessary, be had in flower before 

 November 1. They can be placed in a frame and left 

 out until the end of September, when they can be 

 brought in and forced into flower in a temperature of 55 

 to GO degrees. 



Preparing Soil 



The present is a good time to look to the turning over 

 and preparing of the soil to be used for benches, etc. 

 The compost should have been got together some time 

 ago, but should be turned over and well broken up now, 

 so as to be in readiness when wanted. It is necessary 

 that it be finely chopped so that the ingredients are 

 evenlv mixed. If barnyard manure was put in at the 

 time it was stacked up' nothing else will be necessary. 

 Bone meal or tankage — the latter a mixture of blood, 

 bone and the waste from slaughter houses, which is 

 dried and then finely ground up — we have found very 

 good for this purpose. Either of these, added to the 

 compost at the rate of about fifty pounds to the yard 

 of soil will make a good strong soil and also has the ad- 

 vantage of causing the compost to heat sufficiently. 



Reminders 



Stir the surface of carnation benches frequently. 



Feed all early chrysanthemums liberally until they 

 show color. 



Cuttings of Pandanus Veitchii and P. Sanderi will 

 root readily in a couple of weeks. 



In pruning pelargoniums head back to within a few 

 eyes of the old wood, but no farther. 



When transplanting mignonette from small pots see 

 that they are well soaked before planting. 



Nephrolepls; Plants for Cliristmns; Reminders. 



BOOM YOUR BUSINESS 



hy aJotriising your goods in the 



HorticMltMre 



Publicity among the kind of readers reached 

 by this paper is THE SORT OF PUBLI- 

 CITY THAT PAYS. 



