Treatment After Benching 



with the necessary sustenance to maintain their growth and mature the crop 

 of flowers. 



The most critical time in carnation culture is during the fall and early 

 winter months, when the natural tendency of plants is to cease growth and 

 to rest. During this period the greatest care must be taken in watering the 

 benches. The soil should be kept in a healthy, moist condition, but at no 

 period should it be over-watered. It may dry out at times so that the surface 

 appears quite dry, but this condition should not be allowed to continue any 

 great length of time, and under no circumstances should the soil be permitted 

 to become dry to the bottom of the bench, nor the plants to become wilted 

 or flagged from want of moisture. 



Ample provision should be made for draining all carnation benches, 

 whether the style of bench used be sub-irrigation or surface watering. If the 

 benches are not properly drained, serious damage may occur in case of over, 

 watering. Sometimes, when a carnation bench has been thoroughly watered, 

 after having been allowed to dry out a little to sweeten it up, the grower is 

 confronted with a spell of dark, stormy, chilly weather, and if he has no 

 means whereby to dry out this soil and remove the surplus moisture, his 

 plants will receive a check that will be decidedly harmful, and reduce the 

 value of his crop. Probably the most important part of the care of carna- 

 tions consists in proper watering in connection with proper ventilation. At 

 this period of the year the weather is constantly growing colder ; long spells 

 of dull, dismal weather will occur, and the grower will be constantly taxed 

 in order to keep his plants from receiving damage. A grower who thor- 

 oughly understands the watering of his plants, and who can do the work 

 properly, and with judgment, has mastered one of the most important secrets 

 of carnation growing. The art of watering plants is purely a matter of per- 

 sonal judgment. No definite rules for it can be laid down, as conditions 

 are constantly varying; the requirements of the soil under treatment must 

 be ascertained by the man who has immediate charge of the growing plants, 

 and this can be done only by practical experience and daily observation. 



Disbudding 



After the buds have set, and side shoots begin to elongate, disbudding 

 should commence promptly. All buds, except the terminal, should be re- 

 moved, unless that bud is deformed, in which case the terminal should be 

 taken out and the strongest lateral from the top of the shoot allowed to grow. 

 Disbudding should be commenced as soon as the first buds are fairly well 

 formed, and when the laterals are sufficiently well advanced, so that they 



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