May 16. 1914 



HORTICULTURE 



731 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



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 by Mr. Ruzicka. Such communications should Invariably be addressed to the office of HORTICUUIUKJS.^ — — — -« 



Early Planting 



With some houses ahnost all cut off and prices not 

 very high, a bench of nice potted plants getting potbound 

 will often lead us to change the planting program, and 

 plant some of the houses early. This is not a bad idea 

 at all, especially on a good sized place where roses are 

 wanted nearly all the year round. In planting Beauties 

 early there is one thing that should be borne in mind 

 and that is if the plants produce a good deal of flower.^ 

 in the summer and early fall they may not flower as 

 freelj in the winter as they might when planted later. A 

 good deal depends on the weather, however, and that is 

 something beyond nur control. 



Selection of Plants 



lu selecting I'or planting get good stocky plants as 

 nearly alike in size and amount of growth. If you have 

 to use two sizes or various sizes, put the smaller plants 

 to the front of the benches and the larger and stronger 

 plants to the rear. This will give the .smaller plants 

 a better show, for they will be where there will be very 

 little danger of getting them too wet, and the stronger 

 ])lant8 will be where they will have a little more moisture 

 which they require. Sometimes we plant the front row 

 with three-inch stock, and get good results, but of course 

 the planta will naturally take a little longer to come up. 

 Do not make the mistake and set one small plant and 

 then one large one. This would ruin the whole house 

 iinleea jon had an expert at the hose and the growing 

 part. Keep the small plants by themselves and they will 

 do better. 



The First Watering 

 l^e first watering after ])lanting should be given the 

 whole bench, so as to settle the soil all over. Water thor- 

 oughly 80 that it will drip right through the benches, 

 thus making sure there are no dry spots. After that 

 only the ball of the plants should be watered until after 

 thej start, and then the circle watered can be increased 

 as fast as the plant grows. Make sure that they are 

 plenty wet enough when they are planted, as, if they are 

 planted dry, the center of the balls would remain quite 

 dry in spite of the soaking that the rest of the soil may 

 reeeiTe. 



Qeaning Before Filling the Benclies 



Be tore the benches are refilled see that they have been 

 washed out with the hose at a good pressure, and then 

 given a good coat of hot lime to which a little copper 

 sulphate has been added. This will help kill many of 

 the fungi that may be loitering around waiting for a 

 cliance to get at the roots or do some damage of that 

 kind. Do not try to dissolve the sulphate in any tin or 

 galvanized iron pail, for such would quickly get filled 

 with holes as the sulphate is very corrosive and will eat 

 its way right through if it is strong in solution. 

 Whitewashing 



This may seem so simple an operation that giving a 

 space to a few lines on the subject seems pure waste, and 

 yet there are several little things about it that are ver} 

 important, the first being good fresh lime, hot if possi- 

 ble, and the second being a good brush, and then a wet 

 bmch, or whatever is to be whitewashed. See that it is 

 soaked with the hose so that the water wets all the boards 

 and enters all the cracks and crevices. Then have your 

 lime quite thick, and you will be surprised at the amount 

 of work that one man can do when compared to the 

 man workmg on a dry bench. The wear on the brushes 

 will be quite a saving, for a brush used carefully on a 

 bench well sprinkled will last several seasons, and that is 

 good compared to having a man wear out a brush for 

 each house. See that the lime is put well into all the 

 corners, and that there are no places left uncovered on 

 the sides of the bench. Last of all, see that a good coat 

 is put on as this will not only cleanse the bench but will 

 help to ])rcserve it. 



Preparing the Soil 



Sod heaps that have already been turned over will be 

 in excehent condition to turn over once more, mixing a 

 little bonenieal all through, and then filling the benches 

 with this. If the manure in the sod is not very plenti- 

 ful it will l)e a good idea to mix in a little more. This 

 must be well decayed and short, free from straw and 

 (it her coarse material. We like to have plenty of manure 

 in the soil, more so for the early houses as the plants 

 then will have something to take hold of, and turn intd 

 stems and buds. We seldom bother going over the 

 benches with a trowel as the old ways called for, although 

 this method can be uesd to advantage at certain times. 



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