May 9, 1914 



HORTICULTUEE 



693 



NOTES ON CULTURE OF FLORISTS' STOCK 



CONDUCTED BT 



h/y^%9>i. Pa^AzU 



I 



Questisns by our readers In line with any of tlie topics presented en thla page will be cordially received and promptly answered 

 by Mr. Farrell. Such communications should Invariably be addressed to the office of HOKTICULilUiUii. 



Bedding Plants 



Geraniums, verbenas, fibrous begonias, fuchsias, ager- 

 atums, petunias, Drummondi phlox, salvias and other 

 sorts will now be as well, or better, in frames as in the 

 houses. If plunged a little, all the better, as they will 

 then need less water. On hot days the sashes can be 

 removed entirely, but it will be unwise to leave them un- 

 covered over night or to expose them to soaking rains. 

 All the more tender stock such as coleus, alternantheras, 

 eannas, heliotropes and others will still be better off in 

 the houses but should be gradually hardened. Late- 

 sown seedlings grow faster now and the work of prick- 

 ing out or potting will occupy a lot of time. Small 

 pots dry out rapidly and it will be necessary on bright 

 days to look after the water several times. Never allow 

 plants to wilt if it can be avoided. 



Cinerarias 



Cinerarias for next Christmas should now be sown. 

 Sow the seeds thinly in pans of light sandy soil, using 

 more leaf-mold than loam. Water and cover the pans 

 with a sheet of glass, over which lay some paper to keep 

 out the sun. A north house or coldframe is suitable 

 for germinating the seeds. They must not be coddled 

 at any stage of their growth, although they can be kept 

 fairly close until the seeds germinate. Watch care- 

 fully that the soil does not dry out; also avoid anything 

 like a close atmosphere. As soon as the little plants 

 have made their second leaves, pot off or prick singly 

 and keep them in a shaded frame, moderately close for 

 a few days. In selecting seedlings do not discard the 

 weak ones, as these are usually the finest varieties. The 

 more vigorous ones are likely to be principally blues. 

 In shading cinerarias avoid placing anything of a heavy 

 nature on the glass. This only makes the plant weaker. 

 Movable shading is far the best. 



Memorial Day Trade 



About every florist has a host of orders for bouquets 

 for this occasion and there is a large variety of flowers 

 that can be used. Crops of ten-week stocks, double fever- 

 fews, snapdragons, gladioli, larkspurs, candytuft, astilbe 

 and lilies all want careful watching. All of the more 

 common greenhouse and bedding plants are in demand 

 for the decoration of graves and cemetery lots; also pot 

 grown flowering plants generally are in big demand as 

 are hardy evergreen creeping and trailing plants such 

 as English ivy, euonymus, etc. Large numbers of lo- 

 belias, phlox, verbenas, torenias and similar flowering 

 plants of low growth are called for. i 



Mr. Farrell's next notes will be on the following: Amaryllis; Growing Aquatics; Planting Gardenias; Scrwing Perennials; Stocks 



for Winter Flowering; Stock Plants. 



Orchids 



It will soon be time to overhaul the phalaenopses. As 

 these handsome orchids pass out of flower, rebasketing 

 or repanniug will need attention. I prefer deep, circu- 

 lar baskets. These will carry plants for several years, 

 and an annual top-dressing of fresh sphagnum will be 

 all that is needed. Phalaenopses grow well in a com- 

 post of sphagnum and fern fiber. If they are grown in 

 deep, cylindrical baskets and the wood is much covered 

 with active roots, it is unwise to attempt to clear these 

 away as many roots are sure to be injured. A far better 

 plan is to place the receptacles in larger ones, filling up 

 any intervening space with crocks and charcoal and 

 covering the surface with growing sphagnum. They 

 want a warm, moist house and anything like direct air 

 current must be avoided. Phalaenopses come from a 

 much warmer part of the globe than cattleyas and en- 

 joy a warm, moist atmosphere, but air, especially from 

 the bottom, should always be afforded with the tempera- 

 ture over 72 degrees. Avoid a dry atmosphere and there 

 will be practical freedom from the attacks of spider and 

 thrips. 



Planting Dahlia 



The dahlia does well in any fertile soil, but its prefer- 

 ence seems to be for a rich, deep, moist, sandy loam. It 

 should be planted about the middle to the last of May. 

 It requires warmth to start it into growth. Conse- 

 quently there is nothing to be gained by early planting. 

 The dahlia should be planted so as to permit of easy 

 passage between the plants, as the bushes are very brittle 

 and a touch often will cause great branches to break 

 down. A single row will permit of as close planting as 

 two feet in the row, but rows should be at least five or 

 six feet apart. Planting depth should be about five 

 inches. Frequent and shallow cultivation is essential 

 and when the weather becomes dry you can give weekly 

 waterings. It is always well to plant a batch where 

 the water is handy as these can be forced in ahead of 

 the others. If there is any one requirement for dahlia 

 success, it is plenty of moisture from now on and 

 through the bloohiing season. 



Sowing Annuals for Outside 



Now is the time to make a good sowing of annuals 

 such as ageratum, sweet alyssum, calendulas, calliopsis, 

 delphiniums, lupines, giant candytuft, schizanthus, shir- 

 ley poppies, gypsophila, mignonette, etc. Before sowing 

 make sure that the soil is well pulverized. Wlien they 

 are large enough they can be thinned out so as not to 

 crowd one another. 



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