March, 1909 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



55 



What Amateurs Can^Do in March 



MAKE preparation for next season's 

 work. A good start means a 

 good finish. Order seeds and 

 have them ready when sowing-tiijie 

 comes. 



Prune late flowering shrubs but leave 

 the early flowering ones until they have 

 bloomed. Hardy roses may be pruned 

 towards the end of the month. 



If not protected now, cover the border 

 plants and bulbs. The greatest danger 

 is from alternate thawing and freezing 

 in spring. If the ground is still frozen, 

 cover with some strawy manure held in 

 place by branches of trees. Remove the 

 covering as soon as danger of severe 

 frosts is past. 



FLOWERS INDOORS 



If you are growing your own bedding 

 plants, their propagation and potting will 



A Daj-Blooming Cereus 



At residence of Mr. J. T Rose. Brantford, Out, 



now be occupying your time. Strike in 

 sand, cuts of fuchsias, geraniums, ver- 

 benas and so forth. 



Sow seeds of nasturtiums for window 

 boxes. A few pots or boxes of petunias, 

 verbenas, cosmos, salvia and lobelia may 

 also be sown. Towards the end of the 

 month sow antirrhinum, scabiosa and 

 aster. Six to eight weeks before it is 

 time to start plants in the open is about 

 the right time to sow most seeds inside. 



Divide your cannas and pot them or 

 place on benches to start them into 

 growth. They will be fairly well ad- 

 vanced for planting out-doors about the 

 first of June. 



Bring hydrangeas, oleanders and sim- 

 ilar plants to the light. Re-pot geran- 

 iums, cyperus, ferns and other plants 

 required for summer decoration. Give the 



flowering bulbs plenty of water. The soil 

 must not .be allowed to dry out. 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN 



It is time to start the hot-bed. If your 

 sashes and frames are not in good order 

 make repairs at once. Read the article 

 on page 58 of this issue. 



You may have rhubarb earlier than 

 usual by placing a barrel or box, from 

 which the top and bottom have been re- 

 moved, over a clump of rhubarb in the 

 garden. 



WITH THE FRUITS 



This is the best time of the year to 

 graft fruit trees. Make the trees that are 

 now yielding poor fruit, produce the 

 variety that you most desire. 



Prune fruit bushes. Thin out all kinds 

 of fruit trees and head back the peach, 

 plum and pear. Prune and train the 

 grape vines. 



If you are not certain of the best thing 

 to do in regard to any garden operation, 

 take advantage of the question and an- 

 swer department of The Canadian Hor- 

 ticulturist. Enquiries are welcomed. 



Root Killing 



W. T. Macoon, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa 



Root killing is caused by the exposure 

 of roots to severe frost and by the alter- 

 nate thawing and freezing of the roots. 

 It is most prevalent in winters when 

 there is little or no snow. It is of very 

 uncommon occurrence in Manitoba and 

 the north-west provinces and in the 

 states of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and 

 Dakota. Roots are in many cases t;n- 

 derer than the tops and are killed when 

 the tops remain uninjured. As the soil 

 in the province of Quebec is usually 

 moist in the autumn and further drying 

 out is usually prevented by a covering 

 of snow, root-killing does not often 

 occur, there having only been three times 

 during the past twelve years when there 

 was such injury. This infrequency of 

 root-killing is, however, liable to make 

 fruit growers careless, and a time comes 

 when an orchard is just in its prime 

 when the trees are swept out by root- 

 killing to the owner's great disappoint- 

 ment and discouragement. What, then 

 are the preventives of root-killing? 



At the Central Experimental Farm, 

 Ottawa, many trees were root-killed in 

 the winter of 1895-6, a winter when there 

 was little snow. At that time cover 

 crops were not used to any extent and 

 the soil at the farm was bare. Since 

 that time great care has been taken to 

 have a cover crop in the orchard before 

 winter sets in. This cover crop in itself 

 protects the roots of the trees from dry- 

 ing-out and helps to hold the snow for 

 further protection. While the roots of 

 trees, in sod are protected by this sod 

 and may not be killed when those under 



cultivation are, it may happen that in 

 same cases the soil is so dry under the 

 sod that if there is no snow the roots 

 may yet be killed. The mulching of the 

 ground about trees with straw or manure 

 will also protect the roots from injury. 



Another reason why we have not been 

 troubled with root-killing during the 

 past twelve years at Ottawa is that prac- 

 tically all our trees have been since that 

 time grafted on crab apple roots, not on 

 Pyrus baccata, although some are on 

 this stock, but on the seedlings of 

 Martha, Transcendent, and other culti- 

 vated varieties. The apple seedlings 

 used by nurserymen for stock vary much 

 in hardiness. Every tree probably differs 

 more or less and some are undoubtedly 

 quite tender. The result is. that varieties 

 otherwise hardy, when grafted on these 

 roots fail. Seedlings of the crab apples 

 are much more likely to be hardy. If 

 some nurseryman would make a spec- 

 ialty of growing the apples suitable for 

 the province of Quebec on crab apple 

 stocks, he would in time sell a large 

 number of these trees. The advantage of 

 crab apple roots has been very marked 

 in the north-western states where trees 

 on ordinary apple stocks have been killed 

 out, while those in crab roots were 

 uninjured. 



The Culture o5 Orchids 



For the private gardener, the use of 

 baskets for orchids would give better re- 

 sults than earthen pots or pans. The 

 baskets allow the air to circulate freely 

 about the roots and prevents an over- 

 abundance of moisture. The most essen- 

 tial quality in orchid culture is an abun- 

 dance of fresh air. 



If the private greenhouse has ample 

 top ventilation, the ventilators should be 

 kept open at most all times in the sum- 

 mer months. Side ventilation may be 

 used, but top ventilation is preferable. 

 The former seems more apt to absorb 

 the moisture in the house which is a de- 

 cided requisite to the orchid. 



Orchids should receive an abundance 

 of light, but the strong rays directly 

 upon the plants might prove injurious. 

 For shade, some growers use shade roll- 

 ers on the outside of the glass or cheese- 

 cloth beneath the glass. If the outer 

 side of the glass is whitened with a com- 

 bination of white lead and kerosene oil, 

 the strong light will be prevented from 

 striking the plants and at the same time 

 they will receive sufficient good light. 



Orchids should be watered with care. 

 They require an abundance of water dur- 

 ing the growing period, but too much 

 should not be applied at one time as it 

 would tend to rot the roots. Readers of 

 The Canadian Horticulturist are 

 asked to tell their experiences in the cul- 

 ure of this beautiful flower. 



Make a water garden this spring. 



