ANNUAL REPORT, 1937 77 



as to nomenclature; (3) type species have been given horticultural names for the 

 purpose of popularizing them commercially; (4) a few of the spring flowering 

 species, namely subcaeruleus, alpinus and purdomi, can be forced during the 

 winter under glass and may prove to be a profitable crop for the florist. 



Data have been recorded as to the flowering date and duration of bloom, habit 

 of growth, diameter of flower, and color of rays. Ridgway's Color Standards and 

 Color Nomenclature has been used in identifying and designating the colors. 



A list of recommended varieties for nurserymen to propagate and for gardeners 

 to grow has been prepared. 



At the request of the American Joint Committee on Horticultural Nomen- 

 clature the investigator has revised the list of Asters for the 1938 edition of Stand- 

 ardized Plant Names. 



Transplanting and Packaging of Hardy Plant Materials. (George Graves' 

 VValtham.) Seedlings of superior strains of hybrid Delphiniums, sown in two-inch 

 pots in August 1936, transferred to tin pots of 3.6-quart capacity and eight-inch 

 porous clay pots in October, and then carried over winter in a cold greenhouse 

 (40°-45° F.), became thoroughly established in the containers, made little winter 

 top-growth, and in late April or May (depending on individual vigor) were mer- 

 chantable plants, each with one or more normal flower spikes. When planted in 

 the field after first flowering, a heavier second and, in some cases, a third flowering 

 took place. In this single test the impervious containers required less attention 

 in winter and gave plants of more uniform growth. 



Dormant field buds of Hybrid Tea Roses, potted in tins and clay pots in late 

 November and carried over winter plunged in cold frames, made up into salable 

 plants by midsummer. This preliminary trial in frames showed greater economy 

 and more uniform results than did wintering the buds in a temperate general- 

 purpose greenhouse without thought to the specific cultural requirements of the 

 rose or to breaking of dormancy. 



No growth differences were noticeable between checks and treatments on a 

 test of spring-planted Taxus media var. Hicksii when colloidal waxes were ap- 

 plied to foliage and branches after receipt bare-rooted from another state. 



Plants of some of the newer varieties of apples on Mailing type stocks Nos. 1 

 and 4 which are being trained in eight-inch pots this year showed the characteristic 

 influence of dwarfing understocks in that they did not put on late growth as in 

 their first year after potting. 



Plants now being grown to test locally produced forcing Lilacs in the winter 

 of 1938-39 withstood the shock of potting in full leaf in early September, thus 

 confirming the practice of handling field Lilacs in early autumn. 



Clonal Apple Investigation. (George Graves, Waltham.) Preliminary efforts 

 to build up a stock of plants for study is yielding a mixed assemblage of layers, 

 sucker plants, vertically placed root cuttings which have regenerated top and roots, 

 independently rooted etiolated shoots from horizontally placed root pieces and, 

 in the case of one seedling of ornamental use, a few hardwood cuttings. These 

 various sorts of plants are being produced entirely in the open field and without 

 recourse to the application of auxin. 



Preliminary comparison of results of these well-understood field methods 

 of increase (from the point of view of the desirable properties of a satisfactory 

 understock) indicates favorable promise on the part of etiolated shoots from 

 horizontally placed root pieces. 



Study of Hardy Ornamental Plant Material. (George Graves and Harold S. 

 Tiffany, Waltham.) Of the 1340 species and varieties under observation at the 

 beginning of the year, 128 were lost through death or through discard because of 



