26o 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



November, 1911 



compact the soil firmly with the foot. 



When planting roses cut off any in- 

 jured parts of roots and cut back the tops 

 to from three to seven inches above 

 ground. The second year prune in the 

 spring as soon as the buds begin to 

 show. If you want good roses cut them 

 ruthlessly down to within a few inches 

 of the ground and just above an outside 

 bud, as inside buds will spoil the sym- 

 metry of the plant and not let the sun 

 and air into the centre of the plant. The 

 weaker the plant the harder it should 

 be pruned. 



Climbing roses need little pru/ning, 

 except to cut off the dead wood. After 

 a main shoot of these climbers has 



bloomed for say two seasons, it is ad- 

 visable to cut it off close to the main 

 root immediately after it has bloomed, 

 so that a new shoot or two will be grown 

 to take its place with fresh flowering 

 wood to give the next season's flowers. 

 Each variety should have a good, per- 

 manent label of wood painted white and 

 the name legibly written with an indel- 

 Tble pencil and wired with good copper 

 wire, and it will last for years. An ordi- 

 nary wood label with ordinary wire will 

 become weather-worn in one season, and 

 the wire will rust off during the winter, 

 and unless you have a plan of your rose 

 bed you are at a loss to know what your 

 roses are the next spring. 



Growing Bulbs in Fibre 



John Gall 



AS large numbers of flower lovers are 

 practically unable to procure suit- 

 able soil for the planting of bulbs 

 in pots, a few articles regarding the new 

 method, known as "culture in prepared 

 fibre," may be of considerable interest to 

 dwellers in towns and Qthers. This meth- 

 od, if carefully managed, gives excellent 

 results, and as there is nothing difficult 

 about it, every one may give it a trial. 

 Any kind of bowl or dish will suit, pro- 

 viding it is not less than three or four 

 inches deep. In mostly all seed stores 

 may be purchased vessels made spec- 

 ially for this method of culture, and the 

 prepared fibre may be got at the same 

 place. 



PEE PARING THE FIBRE 



It is often found that the fibre has got 

 into rather a lumpy state, so it should 

 be pulled or rubbed with the hands so as 

 to get it into a nicely usable form. After 

 the mass has been thus prepared, take a 

 fine-rosed watering pan and sprinkle 

 lightly with water; then mix with the 

 hands, and if necessary add a little more 

 water. What is to be aimed at is to get 

 the fibre just nicely moist, but not soak- 

 ing wet. This is of the very greatest 

 importance, so if by any chance the ma- 

 terial is made too wet spread it out for 

 a day or so to dry somewhat. 



PLANTING THE BULBS 



Having got the fibre in proper shape, 

 fill the bowls or other dishes to about an 

 inch and a half from the tops, and then 

 gently press the bulbs into this, but on 

 no account make the material hard by 

 unduly pressing it with the fingers. Fill 

 in a little more of the fibre, so as just to 

 cover the tops of the bulbs, leaving of 

 course, a little space for watering. A few 

 smart taps on the table will settle the 

 material nicely around the bulbs without 

 the necessity of pressing much with the 

 fingers. If the potting material is in a 

 nicely moist state, as described above, 

 then no water should be given. 



The bowls should be placed in a per- 



, Weston 



fectly dark but rather airy place. Those 

 having a garden could set the bulbs out- 

 side and cover them over with sand, and 

 when so treated no further attention will 

 be necessary for about six weeks in the 

 case of tulips, hyacinths and crocuses, 

 and twelve weeks in the case of daffo- 

 dils. If kept indoors the dishes must be 

 examined about once a week, so as to 

 ascertain the condition of the potting 

 material. If it appears to be getting dry 

 give a little water, but do not soak it. 

 If at any time it should chance that too 

 much water has been given, tilt the dish 

 gently, holding one hand over the mouth 

 to prevent the bulbs from falling out, 

 and so allow all the surplus moisture 

 to escape. 



If these few simple details be followed 

 success is almost certain. The chief 

 point to bear in mind is to keep the fibre 

 just nicely moist from the time of pot- 

 ting until the flowers fade. 



SUITABLE BULBS 



While the bulk of bulbs will succeed 

 partially, there are a few that give very 

 best results if fair treatment is meted 

 out. The following may be relied on and 

 should be used by the beginner until he 

 sees how he succeeds : 



Hyacinths — White Roman, Schotel, 

 L 'Innocence, Jacques, and any of the 

 miniature varieties fancied. 



Tulips — Vermilion, Prince of Austria, 

 Yellow Prince and Brilliant. 



Daffodils — Sir Watkin, Empress, 

 Queen of Spain, Emperor and Henry 

 Irving. 



Crocuses — Sir Walter Scott, May and 

 John Bright. 



Early potting gives best results, and 

 I would advise that all be got in not later 

 than the third week in November. 



Sweet Pea Culture 



W. T. Macoun, C. E. F., Ottawa. 



The Sweet Pea is the most popular 

 annual grown at Ottawa. Its popular- 

 ity is well merited for it possesses mo^t 

 of the qualities which are desirable in 

 flower — grace of form, delicacy and vri 

 iety of coloring, long stem for cuttin^ 

 and a profusion of bloom from early 

 summer until late autumn. 



The soil should be prepared for sweet 

 peas in the autumn to obtain the best 

 results. Soils dug in the spring with 

 the seed sown immediately, in man 

 cases remain loose when there is n< 

 much rain during the spring, months, an<l 

 they dry out much easier than they would 

 if they were more compact. My advi' 

 would be to prepare the soil for sw( . 

 f)eas in the autumn, thoroughly spadin;,' 

 a trench about two feet wide and a foot 

 deep, and working through it some well 

 rotted manure. This soil w'ill become 

 thoroughly pulverized by the frost of 

 winter and by planting time in .spring 

 will settle down sufficiently to make a 

 fairly compact, though by no means 

 hard, bed. 



Of almost equal importance to a cool 

 soil is abundance of sunlight. Sweet 

 peas do not do well in shade, and just in 

 proportion to the amount of sunlight the 

 plants receive so will be the success, all 

 other things being equal. 



The sweet pea requires moisture and 

 coolness in order to develop a good 

 root system and a good root system 

 means good plants and good flowers. 

 Therefore, where it is possible a site for 

 sweet peas should be chosen where the 

 soil is naturally cool.. A natural cool 

 soil is usually one where there is a con- 

 stant supply of moisture during the sum- 

 mer months. No amount of surface wat- 

 ering can make up for the lack of a cool 

 soil, although good results are obtain- 

 ed by artificial watering even in dry, 

 warm soils. While the soil should be 

 cool and retentive of moisture it should 

 be well drained as sweet peas like most 

 garden flowers will not thrive in water- 

 soaked ground. 



Sweet peas do not require as rich soil 

 as is generally supposed. The sweet pea 

 belongs to the family of plants known 

 as the leguminosae, which are noted for 

 the vigorous growth they make on land 

 which is what is known as light soil. 

 Clover, beans and garden peas are all of 

 this nature. They obtain much of their 

 nitrogen from the arr, hence highly nit- 

 rogenous soils are not necessary for 

 sweet peas. 



Roses are particularly impatient of 

 stagnant water about their roots, and 

 no manner of treatment will ensure suc- 

 cess till the ground is thoroughly 

 drained. 



No gardener can dispense with the use- 

 ful hoe in his endeavor to keep down 

 the weeds and to loosen the surface of the 

 soil, especially when heavy rains pack 

 the ground. — H. M. Speechly, Pilot 

 Mound, Man. 



