July 1, 1911 



HORTICULTURE 



Seasonable Notes of Culture on 

 Florists' Stock 



CYCLAMEN 



If you have not your cyclamens in frames you should 

 lose no time in placing them there, as' there can be no 

 better place for these plants until the end of Septem- 

 ber. You can fix your sashes on a temporary frame- 

 work about six inches above their right elevation. Avoid 

 placing any heavy shade over the plants for it only 

 causes them to make a soft and spindly growth. It is 

 better to provide lath shading which can be placed over 

 the sashes and allows an indirect solar influence which 

 will keep them in good stocky state. Spray about once 

 a week with some form of nicotine extract to keep down 

 thrips which I think is better than fumigating. Give a 

 light overhead spraying two or three times a day during 

 these hot days. If possible have the soil sterilized for 

 the last shifts for it will help to keep down attacks of 

 the mite. Be careful that they do not become pot- 

 bound. Also give very careful watering and occasional 

 spreading out as the plants begin to crowd one another. 



CARE OF ORCHIDS 



Such species of cattleyas as labiata, Trianae, Schrcederae 

 and many others will now be in active growth and 

 should have a generous supply of water at the roots. 

 Give them a light syringing overhead once or twice a 

 day. While the warm nights continue leave a few inches 

 of air on the top ventilators to prevent too much mois- 

 ture in the atmosphere for the majority of cattleyas do 

 not like too much humidity. As new growth begins to 

 mature the quantity of water should be decreased grad- 

 ually until only enough is given to keep the plants from 

 shriveling. Syringing will in most cases almost ac- 

 complish this. Give Ccelogyne cristata a cool moist 

 and lightly-shaded position. This is an air-loving sub- 

 ject so admit plenty of fresh air at all times now. They 

 will need plenty of water at the roots during their 

 growth. It will be found very beneficial to apply ma- 

 nure water in a weak form at first once a week so as to 

 have good well-matured bulbs, which will mean a good 

 lot of flowers next winter. In sunny weather syringe at 

 least once a day for insect pests. Look over the plants 

 often for scale. Never forget that cleanliness is one of 

 the great points in the growing of orchids. 



FERNS FOR DISHES 



Where you have a lot of young ferns of good size in 

 flats you should pot them up into 2-inch pots, using any 

 good ordinary potting soil to which leaf mold and sand 

 has been added to make it porous. Place them where 

 a couple of inches of sand or coal ashes can be spread 

 on a bench, so that they will not be continually drying 

 out. Plunge the pots up to the rims and shade the house, 

 but not too heavily as fern- require as much light as 

 can be given to them, exclusive of the scorching sun's 

 rays. Maintaining a free circulation of air, keeping 

 the atmosphere as cool and as moist as possible as they 

 like the air heavily charged with moisture. Examine 

 the plants morning and afternoon, for if allowed to 



suffer from drought at the roots great injury will be 

 inflicted on your young stock. By giving them a little 

 care during the summer months you will have stock far 

 enough advanced by October and up to the last of 

 December to meet the demand after the first real 

 good killing frost which makes flowers scarce < mi side. 

 A greal variety of ferns can be used for small ferneries. 

 A f<-\\ good ones are Aspidium tsussimense, Davallia 

 stricta, Xephrodium hirtipes, Microlepia hispida, Onv- 

 chium japonicum, Pteris cretica Mayii, P. eretica albo- 

 lineata, 1'. Ouvardi, P. serrulata cristata, Cyrtomium 

 falcatuni. 



GERANIUMS FOR WINTER FLOWERING 



Give these plants shifts until you have them in their 

 flowering sizes, either 5 or 6-inch pots. Pinch the tops 

 out so they will grow into compact shape. A good 

 compost is three parts of good loam and one part of 

 well-decayed manure, Grow them along in a light 

 house, picking off all the flower trusses during the sum- 

 mer. Ventilation is one of the most important points in 

 growing geraniums successfully and all the air possible 

 should be allowed until the cool weather arrives when 

 they should have a night, temperature of about 55 

 degrees to make them flower freely. 



MIGNONETTE 



If this crop is wanted for early winter the seed should 

 be sown now where it is expected to bloom. The beds 

 should be from 8 to 10 inches deep. Mignonette likes 

 a rich compost — say one load of cow manure to three of 

 sod that was taken from a pasture lot last fall and 

 heaped up. After the benches have been filled and the 

 top surface made fine, draw crosswise and also length- 

 wise of the beds straight lines twelve inches apart each 

 way, then sow the seeds where the lines cross, placing 

 four or six seeds at each junction. After the seed is 

 sown and covered water with a fine rose to settle the 

 soil around the seeds. When the plants are up and 

 showing their second pair of leaves, thin to the strong- 

 est plant. It is very important to keep them tied up and 

 there are several ways of doing this. All the air should 

 be left on the house until you think there is danger of 

 frost. When the cool weather comes run your temper- 

 ature anywhere from 45 to 48 degrees at night. Keep a 

 watch out for the cabbage worm and when first seen 

 dust with Slug Shot, for if not kept in check they will 

 soon eat up your plants. 



NEPHROLEPIS 



These ferns should not be too heavily shaded; give 

 only just enough to break the direct rays of the sun 

 when it is powerful for it is of great importance that 

 they have light in the fullest measure if you want stock 

 of good substance. Plants will now advance very rapidly, 

 and in all weathers these ferns must have every encour- 

 agement to promote a good stocky growth, by giving lib- 

 eral supplies of water at the roots, and by keeping mois- 

 ture in the air by clamping down the paths and under 

 the benches frequently. Give proper ventilation to 

 secure a nice gentle circulation of fresh air through your 

 house. Where these ferns were planted in the spring 

 for stock they should now be making an abundance of 

 nice runners that can be potted up and grown on. 



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

 Sprengeri; Annuals for Late Cutting; Compost for Bulbs; Care of 

 Young Roses; Freesias; Lilies for Fall. 



