March 14, 1914 



HORTICULTURE 



S61 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK 



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QaaaUoiM by onr readers in line witb any of tbe toplca presented 

 by Mr. Farrell. Snob comoinnlcatluns should Inrarla 



on tbls page will be cordially received and prnmptly answered 

 hly be addressed to the office of HORTICULTURE. 



Care of Chrysantheums 



Get in whatever cuttings you need at once if you have 

 not yet done so and just as soon as the cuttings have 

 roots half an inch long get them out into soil so that 

 the future plant will not be handicapped at the start by 

 being weakened in the cutting bench. In potting young 

 stock from the cutting bench use no bone or artificial 

 fertilizer whatever in the soil, as it will only sour it. 

 Fresh loam with a third of rotted leaf mold will be an 

 ideal compost for a first potting. If leaf-mold cannot 

 be procured some decayed cow manure is perhaps the 

 next best thing. We must remember in handling the 

 young chrysanthemums that we are dealing with a plant 

 that is almost hardy and that an abundance of air is 

 very necessary as soon as the plants are sufficiently estab- 

 lished. Many modern establishments have a house with 

 side and top air where young chrysanthemums can be 

 kept down to any temperature desired. Do not leave the 

 cuttings in the sand a week after they should have been 

 potted. Get them out just as soon as you can into the 

 light and air. 



Care of Young Carnations 



Give attention to the propagating bench and see that 

 the cuttings ripen while they are rooting which will make 

 them stand lifting and potting better. This ripening 

 period should begin as soon as they start to shove out 

 the roots. Gradually give them a little more sun each 

 day until by the time they are ready to be potted they 

 will be able to stand full sun. Do not consider any good 

 soil good enough for carnations, but secure the best, 

 which is a fibrous sod from an old pasture that has been 

 stacked up all winter in alternate layers of sod and 

 cow manure in the proportion of one load of manure to 

 four of sod for heavy sod, and one to three for light. 

 If the soil is in any way sour, or deficient in lime, add a 

 sprinkling to each layer, also a sprinkling of soot enough 

 to make it black. As soon as the roots are one-half inch 

 long transplant at once as sand has no nutriment. Pot 

 into thumb pots or flat bo.xes. Press the soil firmly and 

 do not fill the pot too full, but be sure there is a little 

 loose soil on top to prevent baking. Give shade until 

 they will stand the sun well. 



Bulbous Stock for Easter 



All bulbous stock intended for the Easter trade will by 

 this time be furnished with abundant roots which will 

 allow any necessary forcing to have them right for 

 Easter. Much depends upon the weather. This class 

 of stock is, of course, better grown in a cool house, but 

 with a cold, dark spell, such as not infrequently occurs 

 near Easter some additional heat may be necessary. It 

 is not always easy to time the various species under this 

 head so as to be just right for Easter. In forcing these 

 bulbs at this season it is well to figure on from three to 

 five weeks. Tulips need about 70 degrees until the 

 bloom is developed and should then be gradually hard- 

 ened off in a cool house. For hyacinths, narcissi, etc., 

 from 55 to 60 degrees will be high enough, but these will 

 be better for a moderate amount of bottom heat. Of 



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



course a spell of hot weather will send these plants on 

 with a rush and it may be necessary to remove them to 

 a cold cellar to retard them. On the other hand, with 

 cold weather a removal to the greenhouse or a closing of 

 the frames to bottle up a little sunheat may be required. 



Hotbeds 



A line of hotbeds, or a whole block of them, proves 

 most serviceable on any place where small stock is to be 

 raised in quantity, be this for the general spring trade 

 or the replenishment of greenhouse and garden crops. 

 A well-firmed layer of fresh horse manure about 18 

 inches high, extending a foot or more beyond the space 

 enclosed by the frame; will generate enough heat to 

 defy belated cold spells and to last until all danger is 

 past. The later the hotbed is made the less fermenting 

 material is needed, and the more straw, hay or tree 

 leaves are mixed with the fresh manure the less intense 

 will be the heat, but the longer it will last. Three or 

 four inches of soil is enough for the raising of seedlings 

 or cuttings, and less if potted plants are to be placed in 

 the frame. This layer of earth should not be spread 

 until the first rank heat has escaped; at least seeds or 

 plants should not be put in until the heat has settled 

 down to a steadily held agreeable point. Should severe 

 cold set in right after the bed is set up, a covering of the 

 tightly closed sashes with hay or straw mats and all 

 around the frames will soon start the heat. This cover- 

 ing can then be dispensed with, unless very cold nights 

 and a low degree of heat under the sashes render its use 

 advisable. There are few kinds of seeds, bulbs, cuttings, 

 roots or small potted plants that could not be success- 

 fully started and raised in well-working hotbeds. 



Fancy-Leaved Caladiums 



The florists who have a good trade and a call for 

 something attractive in decorations should plant some 

 of the fine leaved caladiums. It is well to sort the 

 tubers into sizes first so each batch can be planted into 

 separate boxes. A good way to start them is to place 

 some crocks in flats and on this spread moss, on which 

 the tubers are placed quite close and covered with about 

 an inch of moss. These flats should be placed in a frame 

 on a bench where they have from 75 to 80 degrees bot- 

 tom heat. With careful attention as regards watering, 

 etc., they will soon make roots. When potting give them 

 a compost of fibrous loam, leaf mold, peat and sand. 

 Use pots just large enough to hold the roots comfortably. 

 Give them a night temperature of from 70 to 75 degrees 

 and keep the atmosphere rather humid. Watch the ven- 

 tilating so they will not get any cold draughts. 

 Sowing Cosmos 



If nice plants are wanted in 7 or 8-inch pots by next 

 fall sow cosmos seed now. To insure a crop of flowers 

 they should be grown in pots or boxes as they are gen- 

 erally injured by early frosts. Sow the seed in flats and 

 wlien they are large enough to handle, pot them into 

 small pots and keep shifting as they may require until 

 they are in their flowering size. 



Azaleas; Cannas; Carnations; Smllax; Orchids; Pansies. 



