Grooving Plants for Christmas Use 



PLANTS that are required to bloom 

 through the hoHdays should now be 

 well under way. Any that are at all 

 backward should be lefttocomealongand 

 furniish flowers later, as any attempt to 

 force them with only a little over three 

 weeks to Christmas would result in fail- 

 ure. Strict attention should be paid to 

 the temperature and watering, whether 

 the plants are growing in a greenhouse 

 or in the living-room. 



In order to have Primula Obconica at 

 its best for Christmas, the plants should 

 have a light, sunny position, with a tem- 

 perature of 50 degrees at night. If 

 grown in a greenhouse, place them as 

 near the glass as possible. If you have 

 a number of small plants that are not 

 likely to please you, put them together 

 in large pans, taking care to have each 

 pan a distinct shade. If the pans are 

 made up now they will be established 

 before the holidays, and no doubt give 

 you more satisfaction than a lot of small 

 pots would. 



The next three weeks in a tempera- 

 ture of from 50 to 55 degrees at night 

 will bring Primula Sinensis along in fine 

 condition. The scarlet shades seem to 

 bloom somewhat earlier than do the 

 white and pink, but do not worry if 

 there are a few laggards ; they will be 

 found very useful during the early weeks 

 of the New Year. If any plants are pot- 

 bound, a pinch of some highly concen- 

 trated fertilizer is to be preferred to re- 

 potting, which would cause them to de- 

 velop new roots instead of flowers. 



Cyclamen should have their flower 

 stems well above the foliage by this time, 

 and many of them will havt tl.eir flowers 

 well developed. A light, sunny position 

 suits them best, with a temperature of 

 50 to 52 degrees at night. Do not at- 

 tempt to force these subjects, as they 

 resent a high temperature. Applications 

 of diluted liquid manure, soot water, and 

 an occasional dose of clean lime water 

 are very beneficial. 



There are few more popular Christmas 

 plants than the azalea, particularly the 

 brighter-colored ones. Any that are in- 

 tended for Christmas will have been in 

 a warm room or in the warm end of the 

 greenhouse for some time now. If a few 

 of the flowers are now expanded, and the 

 majority of the buds show in color, they 

 are just right. Any that are not so Tar 

 advanced should have a temperature of 

 at least 65 at night to bring them along. 

 Spraying freely and watering with luke- 

 warm water will help them considerably. 

 Any young growths that appear as a 

 -''.suit of forcing should be rubbed off, 

 as they check the development of the 

 flower buds. When nicely in flower, re- 

 move them to cooler quarters, but do not 



Henry Gibson, Staatsburg 



let the change be too sudden so as to 

 cause wilting. 



POINSETTIA8 



The brUliant scarlet poinsettias are 

 among the most desirable Christmas 

 plants. The bracts of these should now 

 be fairly well developed, when a tem- 

 perature of from 60 to 65 degrees at 

 night will bring them along in fine shape. 

 .A.ny that have the bracts fully expanded 

 can readily be held for a week or two, 

 but do not, however, put them into a 

 really cool house, or the results will be 

 disastrous. They will stand 50 degrees 

 at night without any ill effects. 



The greatest drawback to poinsettias 

 is the falling of the bottom foliage. This 

 is invariably the result of careless water- 

 ing more than anything else. If you 

 want to have stems clothed to the bottom 

 with foliage, pay the strictest attention 

 to watering. Avoid cold draughts and 

 low temperatures. 



There is frequently trouble in keeping 



poinsettias plump when cut. If cut an<f 

 put into cold water, wilting follows just 

 the same as if they had been left out of 

 water. This difficulty is overcome by 

 dipping the cut ends immediately after 

 cutting in water that is boiling or nearly 

 so. 



There is nothing that gives such a 

 touch of Christmas to the living-room as 

 the berried plants, Solanums and Christ- 

 mas peppers. The Solanums can easily 

 be brought along by cool treatment with 

 plenty of water, but the peppers want 

 warmer treatment. Any that are back- 

 ward should have a warm, sunny posi- 

 tion to color up the berries. 



Christmas lilies must now have the 

 buds starting to open. Then in a tem- 

 perature of 60 to 65 degrees at night 

 they will be all right. These cold stor- 

 age lilies which are found at this sea- 

 son, do not make good pot plants, as 

 they lack the vigor of the newly-imported 

 bulbs, and they produce a smaller num- 



This Fir»t Prize Mantel Decoration at the Ontario Horticultural Exhibition 



Arranged by 8. A. Froat. Toronto- 



