January 31, 1914 



HOETICULTUEB 



141 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK 



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Qoestlons 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. 



Gate of Violets 



Plenty of air on all clear days is especially necessary 

 for violets. No set rule can be laid down, only bear 

 in mind to give all the air possible. During all mild 

 weather it is always better to lower the fires during the 

 day, lest the temperature should run too high, which 

 would soon lower the quality of the bloom as well as 

 shorten the season. It is much safer to run the house 

 too low than too high. Another thing, if you do not 

 watch them closely it is easy for the aphis, both green 

 and black, to get a start before you notice it, so fumi- 

 gate often. 



Christmas Solanums 



This is the proper time to sow the seeds of Christmas 

 peppers and Jerusalem cherries. The former, also 

 called celestial peppers, can easily be grown into, sturdy, 

 well-fruited bushes in 5 and 6-inch pots by next Christ- 

 mas. The seeds are sown in flats and in a rose house 

 temperature they soon grow up to good sized seedlings 

 requiring %\ or 3-inch pots in their first shift and a 4- 

 inch pot for tlie next. In this they should be allowed to 

 become firmly established before planting them out in 

 the field. Single plants in a thoroughly root-bound con- 

 dition when set out in the spring stand the lifting in 

 the fall much better than any not so compactly rooted. 

 The value of celestial peppers is greatly enhanced by 

 frequent short shifts when grown under pot culture, but 

 do not make the error of using a pot one or two sizes too 

 large. Give them about 60 degrees at night. 



Cfotons 



Crotons are extremely nice and useful plants, when 

 well grown. To handle these plants is no easy work. 

 They require continued watchfulness in ventilation, at- 

 mospheric moisture, watering, temperature and cleanli- 

 ness. Great care in ventilation will now be needed to 

 equalize as far as possible the temperature inside. Dur- 

 ing sunshine it can run up to 78 degrees and at night 

 stay at or about 68 degrees. Keep them sprayed on all 

 good days and damp down the house two or three times 

 _a day for they like a superabundance of moisture in the 

 air all the time. On the other hand, never let it ap- 

 proach a point siaggestive of humid stagnancy. Cuttings 

 root readily in a pretty warm propagating bed, but do 

 not take to the soil so readily after being potted up, un- 

 less a brisk bottom heat is again employed in connection 

 with hot Jiouse conditions. Even after their second 

 shift into three-inch pots the combination of bottom 

 heat and fairly warm quarters is by no means to be 

 despised. 



Gardenias 



The propagation of gardenias is only successful where 

 a somewhat high degree of heat combined with a rather 



close and congenially moist atmosphere can be steadily 

 maintained. During midwinter a rightly placed and 

 carefully attended indoor propagating case comes near- 

 est to giving full satisfaction. Cuttings should have a 

 bottom heat of 75 to 85 degrees, with top heat 10 degrees 

 lower. Keep the sand moist and warm and give them 

 a spray every morning. Keep shaded and rather close 

 until they are rooted. Wlien their roots are about half 

 an inch long pot them up. Good soil for these is one- 

 half leaf-mold, one-fourth ordinary good soddy loam, and 

 the remainder sharp sand. 



Orchids 

 Orchids will be benefitted by a little shade before the 

 middle of February. Wliere conditions make it possible 

 this shading should only be given about an hour and a 

 half before noon and the same after noon. The ideal 

 orchid shade — and one that should be exclusively used 

 whenever possible— is one of either lath blinds or cloth, 

 the former being the best as they break the direct rays of 

 the sun. When applying shade as a paint on the glass 

 always avoid overdoing it. Just streak the glass so as to 

 produce a light cloud-like efEect. Keep the houses fairly 

 well damped down so as to keep the atmosphere in a 

 moist condition. From this out the plants will require 

 ' more water. Those that are not in flower should have a 

 syringe every morning and be given some ventilation. 



Starting Lobelias 



Start a good batch of lobelias now Double lobelias — 

 stock plants — will soon be covered with a fine lot of cut- 

 tings. These can be taken off and placed with carnation 

 or chrysanthemum cuttings. Sow some seed of the 

 trailing varieties now and they will come in handy. 



Foliage Plants 



The end of January and up to the end of February 

 is an excellent time in which to do any necessary over- 

 hauling among the pandanus, crotons, dracaenas, 

 marantas, and other foliage plants. The bulk of these 

 need an annual potting or surface dressings. Frequent- 

 ly plants can be shaken out of the pots, the balls picked 

 over, fresh drainage given and some new surface soil 

 and the same pots will do for another year. Nearly 

 all do well in a compost containing some fern fibre or 

 peat in addition to loam, but this is not really necessary. 

 Marantas like some peat, as do authuriums such as 

 Andreanum and colored varieties like Veitchii, but cro- 

 tons and draeosnas do well in pure loam with a little 

 old manure and sand added. It' will be necessary to 

 give a light sliading to some of the colored-leaved 

 plants now to prevent scorching. Be sure to make it 

 light, however, as we are still likely to get considerable 

 dark weather. The young stock rooted during the pres- 

 ent winter should have the benefit of some bottom heat 

 and be kept freely syringed on all good days. 



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



Abutilons; Calceolarias; 

 Seeds to Sow Now. 



Caie of Mignonette; Pelargoniums; Sowing Agters; 



