July 6, 1912 



HORTICULTUKE 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS^ STOCK 



CONDUCTED BY 



r~i^ 



9>i.pA^^uU 



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 HORTICULTURE. 



Asparagus plumosos 



\\Tiere you mean to renew any of your beds do not 

 lose any time in getting them planted. They always do 

 better planted in solid beds. Give them a very rich 

 compost, a foot deep. Equal parts of turfy loam and 

 cow manure will not be a bit too rich, as they are very 

 greedy feeders. See that they have plenty of headroom 

 so you can cut long strings and give them enough of 

 room between the plants, as it pays in the end. Plants 

 that have been growing along without a check and are 

 now in 4-inch pots will make good stock to plant out. 

 They can be set from 15 to 18 inches apart between the 

 rows and from 12 to 15 inches in the rows. Give regu- 

 lar attention in watering and syringing. Place strings 

 just as soon as they assume the character of running. 

 Give your old established beds a rich mulch about 4 

 inches deep, with an occasional dose of liquid manure. 



Care of Asters 



To ensure a good crop of flowers asters will require 

 large quantities of water at the roots during any dry 

 spell. When you see the buds beginning to form devise 

 some means for getting the hose at them, for we are 

 very liable to have a prolonged drought as these plants 

 are coming into flower. Give your later asters a good 

 dusting of some high-grade fertilizer sown between the 

 rows, which will assist them materially. See that they 

 have frequent cultivation to keep them free of weeds 

 and the soil open and loose. Wliere the aster beetle is 

 troublesome syringe the plants with a teaspoonful of 

 paris green to a pail of water. This can be repeated 

 every ten days until they come into flower. 



Housing Carnations 



All good growers consider from now and up until the 

 middle of August the best time to house carnations. 

 Any time later than tliis is bound to be a loss in the crop 

 of flowers. Give your houses a thorough cleaning and 

 make provision for whitewashing the inside of all 

 benches, as lime is a germ destroyer and also helps to 

 preserve the wood. The first thing to do is to shade the 

 house with some material that will come off easily in 

 about ten days. Wlien lifting the plants from the field 

 see that they are protected from the sun and drying 

 winds by covering them up closely with something until 

 they are planted. Where you have plenty of good plants 

 select the best and most shapely. Make a hole just large 

 enougli to hold the roots nicely and bear in mind it is 

 always better to set the plants a little higher than they 

 were in the field as they are not so liable to have stem 

 rot. Give every plant a good firming as they always 

 start off better and in the long run will give better re- 

 sults. Wlien you have part of a bench planted it is well 

 to give them a good soaking around the ball so they will 

 not have time to flag. After the house is planted keep 

 them a little closer for about ten days and give them a 

 spraying two or three times a day. After this give 

 plenty of ventilation both night and day. 



This is the proper time to think about planting this 



Mr. Fanell's next notes wUl be on the following: Asparagus Sp 



the Fall; Repairing 



Mignonette for Winter 



highly appreciated winter plant. Where it is possible 

 give them solid benches but where this is not possible 

 they should have at least from 10 to 12 inches of soil to 

 grow on. Make the compost good and rich as they require 

 lots of food. The best soil to use is one that was taken 

 from an old pasture last fall and piled up over the 

 winter ; to two loads of tliis use one load of cow manure 

 and a good sprinkling of bone meal and turn this over 

 two or three times so they will be well mixed. When the 

 benches are filled make the surface nice and fine for the 

 seed. They should stand about 12 inches apart each 

 way. The best way is to draw lines lengthwise and cross- 

 \vise and the seed can be sown where the lines meet, using 

 four to six seed at every junction. Cover the seed lightly 

 and water with a fine rose until the soil around the seed 

 is well moistened. To prevent the soil from drying out 

 they can be covered with 4-inch pots until they begin 

 to come up. When the plants are showing their second 

 pair of leaves, thin to two plants and when they are good 

 and strong they can be thinned to one. Stir the surface 

 of the soil regularly and keep on plenty of ventilation 

 for it is a necessity in securing short-jointed growth. 

 Nepenthes 



Where these become too large and unsightly they can 

 be cut down and one or two-eye cuttings made of the 

 pieces of the stems. The best way to propagate these is 

 to place the end in the hole of the pot and fill the pot 

 with sphagnum moss and plunge the pots in a frame 

 where they can be kept close and moist. Sometimes it 

 takes them three or four months to root. Wlien they 

 are well rooted the pots can l^e broken and the plants 

 put in a crib with a mixture of fibrous peat and chopped 

 sphagnum. They should be hung up in a warm house 

 where the atmosphere is kept reeking with moisture. 

 Stocks for Winter Flowering 



These plants that were sown the last of May should be 

 kept growing by potting them up as they require it un- 

 til a five-inch pot is reached. Give them a rich compost ; 

 say to three loads of turfy loam add one load of well 

 decayed manure. It is better to pot them when quite 

 small. A 2 or 2i/2-inch pot is a good size to use and as 

 these become filled with roots they can be shifted into 

 4 or 5-inch pots. The best place to care for these plants 

 through the summer is in a frame where the sashes are 

 elevated 6 to 8 inches, which will afford at all times a 

 free circulation of air. In this abode they will do fine 

 until very late in the fall. It is a good plan to wait 

 until the buds can be distinguished before they are 

 planted out, for you can then tell the double flowered 

 ones by their stubby buds. The single ones can be known 

 by being more pointed. When planting them out in the 

 benches use any good compost such as will grow any 

 inside crop of flowers. They can be planted about a foot 

 apart each way and kept well watered. Ventilation is 

 one of the most important points in growing stocks suc- 

 cessfully so give them plenty of it. Give regular fumi- 

 gations to keep down the green fly. 



rengeri; Care of C'ypripedlums; Hollyhocks; Hydrangeas; Lilies for 

 and Outside Painting. 



