August 31, 1912 



HOETICULTUEE 



303 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



CONDCCTKD BT 



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QuestlODS by our readers In line with any of the topics presenttMl on this page will be cordially received and promptly answered 

 by Mr. Ruzleka. Such communications should Inrarlably be addressed to the office of HORTICXILTDRB. 



Red Spider 



Now is tlie time to go over your benches carefully and 

 make note of all spots where spider appears. The best 

 way is to tie a piece of cardboard to stake or wire at 

 such a place so that when syringing you can syringe these 

 spots more thoroughly than tlie plants that do not need 

 it so much. Unless you can rid your plants of spider 

 altogether you will have all sorts of trouble when the 

 dark days of the winter come. This applies especially 

 to Beauties, as other roses are less subject to spot and 

 Beauties are very apt to get it if syringed too often. 



If spider is bad in places spray with some good insecti- 

 cide advertised in HoRTiCULTrKE, making sure that the 

 spray reaches the under side of all leaves for here is 

 where Mr. Spider and his kin make their home or rather 

 would if they were left to themselves undisturbed by 

 the rose grower. With the hot dry weather the houses 

 can all be syringed very thoroughly without any danger 

 of getting them too wet, for the benches will drj' out very 

 rapidly in weather such as we have had lately. 



Old Plants 



Old ]ilants that have been cut down and replanted, or 

 left in the bench — as the case may be — must be carefully 

 looked after and by all means see that they do not receive 

 too mucli water before they have enough top to give the 

 roots plenty of work. If given too much water before 

 any top is formed the roots will decay and the plants all 

 die, and then no doubt "black rot" will be given credit 

 for all that ! When first beginning to water cut-down 

 plants that have been run on the dry side for quite some 

 time, water the ball of the plant only, gradually increas- 

 ing the circle as the roots spread. With Teas it is a 

 good idea to spray the plants over three or four times a 

 day, continuing this until the buds begin to show. This 

 syringing should of course be omitted on all cloudy or 

 rainy days, doing it only when the day is clear. 



Another great point is to make sure that the plants 

 are not too dry, for if very dry and syringed the foliage 

 will be badly scalded. This weakens the plants a good 

 deal, and must be avoided. A very quick syringing is 

 all that is necessary and there is no excuse whatever for 

 soaking the benches while syringing to help soften the 

 wood, to make the plants break more freely. 



Leaky Houses 



Many liouses have to wait until next season for their 

 coat of paint. There may be some pretty bad leaks in 

 such houses. These ought to be repaired even though 

 the house itself cannot be all puttied and painted. Dur- 

 ing a shower mark well all the bad leaks and as soon as 

 an opportunity to repair these presents itself, do so, for a 



continual drip, drip, drip, upon the bench does not agree 

 with any rose. There may also be places where the glass 

 is beginning to slide a little; mark all such spots and 

 repair, for, should a hea\7 windstorm come these loose 

 lights will surely blow out, taking or smashing others as 

 they go. 



Soil for Winter's Use 



This should be stored under cover or, if no cover is to 

 be had, heap it up in some easily accessible place where 

 it can be covered with either straw, manure, or leaves to 

 keep it from freezing. It is but little trouble to remove 

 the covering and have the soil unfrozen even though the 

 thennometer stands at zero. Prepare all your soil now. 

 Winter is no time to l)e digging around after soil and 

 trying to secure suitable mixtures for the different crops. 

 Soil can easily be mixed and heaped up now and then it 

 will always be on hand when wanted. 



Sometimes soil for ever so many different crops is 

 needed; it is then best to make separate heaps of the 

 different soils and then have a heap of well decayed cow 

 manure close at hand so that when a mixture of certain 

 proportion is wanted it can be easily made. 



Fomigating With Tobacco Stems 



The practice of fumigating with tobacco stems still 

 keeps up on many places although a large number of 

 growers have given this method up altogether. To those 

 who find it most convenient to use stems we think a 

 little note on the subject may be of interest. 



To begin with lie sure to liave the house down below 

 70 before attempting to fumigate. Fumigating when 

 the temperature is above 70 is dangerous and should 

 never be done unless absolutely necessary. The plants 

 sliould never be dry; for the foliage of dry plants will 

 bum much easier than if it had just been watered a 

 few hours before. After a little experience a grower 

 can easily determine just how dense the smoke should 

 be to give best results. Do not have the stems too wet. 

 It is best to sprinkle them a little in the morning if you 

 want to use them at night. The water will then grad- 

 ually soak into them leaving them uniformly .damp. In 

 burning the stems in the house be careful not to let the 

 stems bum with a flame for if this happens the smoke 

 will be too hot and unless your house is a high one, will 

 bum the foliage of the plants. 



Do not stand the pot in one place only. The house 

 will never fill properly and the hot smoke in one place 

 is none too good for the plants either. Take the pot to 

 one end and gradually bring it to the other end, filling 

 I lie house up as you go. It is not a very pleasant job, 

 to say the least, and I am sure that after doing it once 

 or twice, the growers will believe in starting with clean 

 plant? and keeping them clean. 



