December 7, 1912 



HORTICULTURE 



773 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK 



CONDUCTED BY 



Wyy„%^ . ^OA^U^ 



Questions by our readers in line witli any of the topics presented on this page will be onrdially received and promtply answered 

 by Mr. Farrell. Such commuiiiiatinns should invariably be addressed to the office' of HORTICULTURE. 



Christmas Foliage Plants 



Now is the time to begin preparations, in order to 

 have a full share of the Christmas trade in foliage plants. 

 Look over your stock and where you have not enough 

 get them without delay. (See Buyers' Directory in this 

 paper. — Ed.) 



Now a word about cleanliness. The sending out or 

 placing on view for sale plants infested with insects is 

 to be deplored. Before the rush starts get busy and 

 give all your foliage plants a thorough good cleaning, 

 with some good insecticide such as Aphine or Lemon Oil. 

 Wash all the dirt and green scum from the pots. Keep 

 the syringe agoing from this out and it will help to 

 keep your plants clean and fresh looking. 



Fancy Pelargoniums 



These plants can be given a house where the tem- 

 perature runs anywhere from 45 to 50 degrees at night 

 with usual rise during the day time with sun heat. 

 These plants like a dry atmosphere so keep the house in 

 this state if you want them to do well. When the plants 

 have filled their pots with roots they can be given a 

 shift. Those that were struck in September will re- 

 quire now or before long a 4-inch pot. Use a compost of 

 fibrous loam three parts and well rotted manure one 

 part. Plave the mixture somewhat roughly broken up 

 and give plenty of drainage as the water will need to 

 pass ofi' freely for them to do well. Be very careful 

 when giving these plants water from now on and do not 

 apply water until the soil is quite dry as they will not 

 bear a wet state of the soil. Give them uniform venti- 

 lation whenever possible, but shield against any drafts of 

 cold frosty air. Guard against the green fly plague by 

 subjecting them to the fumes of tobacco smoke regu- 

 larly once a week. 



Decorative Ferns 



We are now coming to a season when we should watch 

 light, airing, watering and temperature to bring ferns 

 through the winter in good shape. From now and up 

 to the middle of February all ferns generally used by 

 the florist will stand full sun. They will require very 

 skillful watering now that the shortest and darkest days 

 are with us again. As a rule from this out wait until 

 they show a slight dryness at the root and then give 

 them enough of water so it will run through the bot- 

 tom of the pot. Handle the ventilation so as to give 

 them a proper amount of fresh air without chilling 

 draughts. Ferns always like a certain amount of at- 

 mospheric moisture through the house, but extremes 

 either way should not be allowed. For intermediate 

 ferns, i. e., those that require a medium temperature, 55 

 to 60 degrees will do, while those that require warm or 

 stone heat should be given from 60 to 65 degrees at 

 night. 



Mr. Farrell's next notes will be on the following: Christmas Azaleas; 



Keeping Cliristmas Green 



Tea and Hybrid Tea Roses 



Now is the time to dig up and pot a good batch of 

 these roses for next spring's sales. Where you have not 

 any stock you should invest in a few hundred as there 

 is certainly an increasing demand for Hybrid Teas. These 

 are good roses to handle for they are bound to give satis- 

 faction by their free-blooming qualities. Pot into 5, 6 

 or 7-inch pots according to the size of the plants and 

 give sufficient drainage and pot firmly. A good place to 

 keep these roses is in a deep cold frame where they can 

 be properly protected against hard frost or a very cool 

 house will also answer very nicely. The white and pink 

 iVEaman Cochet; Catherine Mermet, another good pink; 

 Etoile de Lyon, yellow; Marie Van Houtte, creamy 

 white; Duchesse de Brabant, pink, are all splendid Teas. 

 In the Hybrid Tea class Mme. Caroline Testout, and 

 Madame Abel Chatenay are fine pinks ; Kaiserin Augusta 

 Victoria, white ; Gruss an Teplitz, a gi-and red, and there 

 are many more. 



Manetti Stock * 



Now is the time to think of your Manetti stock for 

 next year's roses. You should procure them as soon as 

 you can get them. When they arrive unpack and heel 

 in some cool shed or cellar where they will be clear of 

 frost. While heeling them in it is a good plan to pick 

 out all those that show signs of growth and lay them to 

 one side; these should be potted up as soon as possible. 

 When you have come to potting use either 3 or 3V2-iiich 

 pots, and any good rose soil for compost. ' Firm the 

 soil well all around the pot, never leaving them in a 

 loose condition or you will find trouble later on. Give 

 a thorough watering and place in a cool house that runs 

 anywhere from 40 to 50 degrees at night. Keep the 

 tops well syringed daily to bring the wood and eyes to 

 their plump condition which is essential to success. 

 Grafting can be started just as soon as they have made 

 good root action with a little top growth. 



Rhododendrons for Forcing 



These plants when forced come in very serviceable to 

 the florist for spring trade. Now is a good time to get 

 a batch of the newly imported plants and pot them up. 

 It is always better to dip their balls in a tub of water 

 so they will hav€ a chance to get well wet through for 

 there is nothing worse than to pot them with a dry ball 

 of roots. They gi'ow and flower well in a compost of 

 two parts fibrous loam to one of leaf mold with some 

 sand intermixed. Give good drainage and pack the 

 compost firmly around the old ball. These plants want 

 to be kept cool until January so give them a cool pit or 

 house that is just clear of frost, but where you have not 

 these conveniences a deep frame will answer very well. 

 See that they are always kept moist at the roots. 



Polnsettlas; "Made Up" Plants; Flowering Plants for Christmas; 

 s; Freesias for Easter. 



