IRISH GARDENING 



"5 



The Culture of Cyclamen. 



By A. Campbell, Gardener to Lord Ardilaun. 

 St. Anne's, Clontarf. 



Cyclamen, so largely used for pot cultivation, 

 are almost confined to seedlings of Cyclamen 

 persicum. So vast has been the improvement 

 hi size, colour, and freedom of blooming that 

 the old variety is scarcely recognisable. 



Their cultural treatment has also been 

 changed ; they are now stimulated into quick 

 growth by having more warmth from the time 

 the seeds are sown until they reach the flowering 

 stage than was formerly recommended ; the 

 best results can now be obtained from plants of 

 from 15 to 18 months old. 



Culture. — Seeds can be sown according to 

 the time the plants are required to be in bloom. 

 If for autumn and winter flowering, they should 

 be sown in August of the previous year in clean 

 pans; with ample drainage, filled with a mixture 

 of good fibrous loam, leaf-mould and silver sand : 

 the surface should be made smooth, and watered 

 some time before placing seeds on it ; the seeds 

 should be placed one inch apart ; cover them 

 with finely-sifted compost to a depth of ^ inch, 

 water with a fine rose-can, and cover the pans 

 with glass or paper, so as to prevent evaporation, 

 then place the pans where they will have a 

 temperature of 60°, When the little plants 

 appear remove the glass or paper covering, 

 and place the pans near the glass, shade from 

 bright sun, keep moist by spraying lightly 

 morning and evening. For the winter a suitable 

 temperature is from 50° to 55°. When the 

 plants have made three leaves place them singly 

 in small pots, using the same compost as 

 formerly. Stand the pots on a moist bottom 

 near the glass, and dispense with shading as 

 the sun decreases in power. They must be kept 

 steadily growing, so that by the end of March 

 they will require moving into three-inch pots ; 

 add a little dried mellow cow manure, crushed 

 brick or broken crocks to the compost at this 

 move ; keep up a temperature of 55° by night, 

 and a proportionately higher one by day. 

 Shade from bright sun. but let them have the 

 evening and morning light. Care must be taken 

 at all times that they do not suffer for want of 

 water, at the roots ; the atmosphere must be 

 kept moist, and also the material on which the 

 pots rest. Spray them over with the syringe 

 both morning and evening to prevent them 

 being attacked by red spider. When they 

 have well filled their pots with roots transfer 

 them into 5-inch size and keep growing 

 as hitherto, and admit air, but avoid draughts. 

 By the end of June many of the stronger plants 

 will require 7 or 8-inch pots, use the same com- 

 post as formerly, but much rougher. Allow 

 them the same treatment and keep them growing 



freely until September, when they should have 

 more air, and withhold moisture from their 

 foliage. In October they can be moved to their 

 flowering quarters, where a dry, clear atmosphere 

 and a temperature of about 50° should be 

 maintained, when they will amply repay all the 

 care bestowed on them. 



The Rose Nurseries 

 North. 



of the 



I low much Ireland owes to her Rose nurseries 

 it would be hard to say. The output of plants 

 annually must be enormous, and viewed as an 

 industry the nation has reason to be proud of the 

 success achieved by its sons. But few of 1 lie 

 honours annually offered for Koses fail to find 

 their way to Ireland, and even foreign countries 

 have ere now been forced to express their ad- 

 miration and appreciation of Irish Roses, in the 

 shape of the highest awards they had it in their 

 power to confer. This is a striking testimony 

 to the energy and skill of the Irish trade growers, 

 and judging from recent successes there is little 

 to fear while the present race of growers are 

 entrusted with the duty of maintaining Irish 

 prestige. 



During the first week of July it was a privilege 

 to spend a few days among the Hoses in the 

 north. Our first visit was to Mr. M Gredy's 

 Royal Nurseries, Portadown. We were fortunate 

 in having Mr. M'Gredy himself as our guide, and 

 to spend a few hours with him among his Roses, 

 many of them his own raising, is a treat of no 

 mean kind. 



Our first hint of the magnitude of the Rose 

 industry was a huge house of plants in pots, each 

 carrying several seed vessels, some just beginning 

 to ripen. The crop of seed this year will he 

 enormous. Planted against the end of 1 his 

 house Mr. M*Gredy proudly showed us a line 

 plant hearing hundreds of " hips " — a plant which 

 lias produced some of the finest Portadown 

 Hybrids. It was a seedling from La France, and 

 is itself a line Rose, which, however, Mr. M'Gredy 

 meanwhile retains as a producer of further 

 novelties. In succession we were shown a house 

 containing thousands of seed pots, and another 

 house of seedlings in flower, many of them yet 

 to be tested thoroughly. From these early 

 stages we passed to the fields, where thousands 

 of tried and untried varieties engaged our atten- 

 tion for several hours. This year the plants are 

 flowering later than usual at Portadown. hut 

 from what we saw of the thousands of seedlings 

 in flower and bud. the Royal Nurseries will give 

 a good account of themselves at the later shows. 

 A feature of Mr. M'Gredy's later seedlings is the 

 number of dark-red Hybrid Teas which are 

 coining on. This will lie appreciated by growers 

 who have long wanted good, early and continuous 

 flowering dark Roses. Passing from the seedlings 

 we enjoyed looking over the line stocks of recent 

 varieties which have made Portadown famous. 

 Last year no fewer than four gold medals and live 

 silver gilt medals were awarded to Mr. M'Gredy's 

 Roses. His success with British Queen, the 

 finest white Rose yet raised, is fresh in our minds, 

 and there are other line things to come. A few 

 of his recent novelties are Lady Mary Ward, 

 Old Gold, Mrs. F. W. Vanderbilt. Mrs. Edith 

 Part, Colleen, Mrs. C. E. Pearson, Earl of Gosford, 

 Mrs. Muir MKean, and Mrs. Wallace H. Rowe. 



