November 2. 1912 



H K T I C U L T U E E 



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ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



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Questions by our readers in line with any of the topics presented on this page will be cordially received and promptly answered 

 by Mr. Ruzicka. Such communications should invariably be addressed to the office of HORTICULTURE. 



Liquid Manure atid Mulching 



Which one of the above is the better, largely depends 

 on the place, houses, benches, location, variety of roses 

 grown, and — last and most important of all — the grow- 

 ers themselves. We do not favor a very heavy mulch by 

 any means, and the way mulch is applied in some places 

 is a discredit to the managers, for a large portion of this 

 manure is wasted — waste pure and simple — for roses, 

 no matter how freely growing, will take only a certain 

 amount of nourishment and no more. The successful 

 growers know about how much this is and then they ap- 

 ply no more. Good cow manure is expensive, so the less 

 wasted the better. 



A very heavy mulch applied now is not a good idea by 

 any means. The fall is bound to have more or less dark 

 weather and with a heavy mulch on the benches you will 

 liave all sorts of trouble to dry out the soil. This espe- 

 cially applies to places where six or more inches of soil 

 were used. We would never recommend more than four 

 inches and, to go further, we grow extra good Beauties in 

 less. With six or seven inches of soil and an inch or 

 two of mulch on top of that, a man has something to 

 worry about, if a month of dark weather strikes his place. 



With us. for instance, where we have little soil in the 

 benclies (and that well prepared) and use only enough 

 mulch to afford protection to the roots, things are a 

 little different. Instead of using heavy mulching we 

 prefer to use a little liquid manure to supply all neces- 

 sary nourishment the plants may require. A little bone- 

 meal is also applied now and then: only a little at a time 

 and always just before watering. Before applying liquid 

 manure always make sure that all plants are plenty wet 

 enough. Better water them all with clear water first 

 and then apply just enough liquid manure to saturate 

 the soil. In watering with clear water, use plenty of 

 it and soak the benches thoroughly. We find we can 

 control the plants mucli easier with little soil, little 

 mulch and liquid manure. We go over the benches as 

 often as necessary and cover over the bare soil. Thus 

 the front row on front bench will at times receive a 

 mulch two or three times while the back bench in the 

 same house will receive only one mulch. This is the 

 only way to do, too, as mulch is consumed much quicker 

 along the front of the benches and the plants would 

 suffer if not mulched and the back rows again would 

 suffer if mulched, so there you are. 



With Killarneys. Eadiance and a few more of the 

 free growers we prefer liquid manure alone, using a 

 coarse mulch of one-half sod and one-half manure. 

 Mind now we did not say soil, but sodj soil would not be 



as appropriate. This mulch is applied about now and 

 the liquid manure is given the plants and plenty of it, 

 too. Of course when the plants are cutting heavily or 

 v.'hen buds begin to show color it is unwise to use liquid. 

 But if the plants are growing freely little harm can 

 result if liquid is properly applied. 



Green Fly 



We have not seen one for so long that we came near 

 almost forgetting that such a desperado exists. Watch 

 your plants closely and do not let Mr. Green Fly put in 

 an appearance for he delights in bringing on all his 

 cousins, etc., and once established they may cause you 

 some trouble, for law cannot compel them to move out. 

 There are many good insecticides in the market, some 

 of the best being advertised regularly in Horticulture, 

 that will make short work of greenfly and any other 

 insect. We find cyanide of potassium as good as any- 

 thing and very simple, although it has to be used with 

 great care. The amount to use depends largely on the 

 brand of cyanide you wish to use, the condition of the 

 growth and atmosphere. The best l)rand that has so 

 far come to our notice is the Merck 98 to 100 per cent, 

 pui'c. Two ounces of this in a tight house of about 

 42,000 cubic feet will destroy every green fly visible. 

 Of course no doubt atmospheric conditions have a good 

 dt'al to do with its effectiveness. A house is never so 

 air tight as it is when it is raining and that is the time 

 to use gas or to fumigate, providing of course the houses 

 are low enough, say 66 or so. Well experienced growers 

 who knew tlieir plants can often use gas or fumigate 

 when house stands 70 or a little more, but our advice is 

 never to attempt fumigation of any kind unless the house 

 is below 70 degrees F, and the lower it is the better. 



Disbudding 



Keep right after this all the time. Have regular 

 days each week for the men to do this and then it will 

 never be neglected. Those little side-shoots certainly do 

 take stiength away, so get rid of them. 



Regulating Temperature in Houses 



Sometimes it happens that even with the best of care 

 the houses will run up in temperature too high above the 

 normal mark. It is here where the skill of the grower 

 plays an important part. Do not become worried or 

 excited and lift the ventilators so that houses come down 

 at once, usually too low. Put a little air on and very 

 slowly increase this so that houses take at least an hour 

 to drop back to their normal temperature. Remember 

 sudden changes of temperature mean mildew. 



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