8o 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



April, 1909 



moist at the roots ; water should be 

 given them freely in hot dry weather. 



AFTER-CARE OF PLANTS 



The plants should be kept sprayed 

 or sprinkled overhead with water every 

 day during hot dry weather. The under- 

 side of the leaves especially should also 

 be sprinkled to prevent the attacks of the 

 red spider. The latter is a very small 

 minute pest that attacks the underside of 

 the leaves of these plants and is very in- 

 jurious to the plants if not checked. The 

 black aphis or black fly (small black in- 

 sect) are also troublesome to these 

 plants. A good hard spraying with cold 

 water or a spraying with a strong solu- 

 tion of tobacco water will keep down the 

 black fly. Start early in the application 

 of these remedies ; indeed, they are both 

 more effective as preventives rather than 

 remedies. 



Another insect pest that is very injuri- 

 ous to these- plants is a small brownish 

 fly-like bug called the "Tarnished Plant 

 Bug" {Lygus pretensis). This insect at- 

 tacks the extreme tips of the shoots and 

 prevents the development of the young 

 buds, leaving what is known as "blind 

 growth" that produces no flowers. By 

 examining the tips of the growth carefully 

 early in the morning during July and 

 August, this pest can be caught at its 

 work of destruction, but the plant lover 

 must be quick in his movements to catch 

 these quick moving pests as, on the first 

 alarm, they either drop down among 

 the foliage or fly away so quickly that 

 it is difficult to catch them, especially in 

 the middle of the day when the sun is 

 shining. Spraying the plants at night 

 with cold water and dusting the foliage, 

 especially the tips of the shoots when 

 damp, with tobacco dust, pyrethrum 

 powder, soft coal soot, wood ashes, or 

 even road dust will help to keep away 

 this destructive pest. This plant bug is 

 also very injurious to aster and dahlia 

 plants, attacking the tips of the young 

 growth and buds when the latter are very 

 small, in the same way as it does the 

 chrysanthemums. 



About the end of August the plants 

 should be dug up carefully and potted 

 into larger pots or tubs in rich soil. 

 Water the plants well and stand them in 

 the shade for a few days or a week after 

 potting, when they can be stood out in a 

 sunnier position. Sprinkle the foliage 

 every day when the weather is hot and 

 dry. Keep the plants out-of-doors as 

 long as the weather is nice. Take them 

 into the window before frost. Place 

 them in a sunny place, away from fire 

 heat. A cool temperature of about fifty- 

 five degrees suits these plants, as they 

 are almost hardy in their nature. Some 

 liquid manure may be given the plants at 

 any time during growth when required, 

 until the flowers start to color, not after 

 coloring commences. 



When the flower buds are about the 



size of peas, which will be about the end 

 of August until end of September, what 

 is known as the "disbudding" process 

 can take place, if only a few large flowers 

 are desired. The thinning or disbudding 

 is done by removing carefully with the 

 thumb and finger some of the smaller 

 buds on each shoot. This practice is not 

 very commonly used by amateur flower 

 growers, as it requires skill and experi- 

 ence to be successfully carried out. A 

 few of the smaller later buds can, how- 

 ever, often be removed to advantage. 



GROWING PLANTS IN POTS 



Instead of planting the plants out in 

 June as before mentioned, the plants can 

 be potted out into large pots and the pots 

 plunged or sunk to the rim in the 

 ground. This plan does away with the 

 trouble" of digging and potting the plants 

 at about the end of August, as the pot, 

 plant and all, can be lifted when ready 

 to take indoors. This plan also prevents 

 the check to the plant consequent on the 

 lifting and potting process. I do not ad- 

 vise growing the plants in pots in this 

 way, however, as unless they are well 

 cared for in the summer they do not 

 make as good plants as when planted 

 out in the ground. 



Some liquid fertilizer is beneficial to 



the plants if required during the summer, 

 but not after the flower buds commence 

 to show color. ■ 



CARE OF OLD PLANTS 



When the plants are through flower- ; 

 ing, cut the flower stems down close 

 to the ground. Stand the plants away 

 in a cool window, or in a basement or ": 

 cellar, in a temperature of about forty- ' 

 five degrees, for the winter. Give them . 

 sufficient water to keep the soil moist. In 

 the spring, start the plants into growth 

 and treat them as before recommended. 



VARIETIES FOR HOME CULTTRK 



The following list gives a few good 

 varieties for pot culture for the window : 

 Glory of the Pacific, pale pink ; Dr. En- 

 guehard, rose pink; Miss Minnie Bailey, 

 pink; George S. Kalb, white; Ivory, 

 white; Pink Ivory; Major Bonaffon, yel- 

 low ; Robert Halliday, yellow ; Nellie 

 Pocket, creamy white; Intensity, dark 

 crimson. 



Pompons. — Snowdrop, white; Diana, 

 white; Dupont, yellow; Klondike, yel- 

 low; Alena, pale pink; Ladysmith, pale 

 pink; Mizpah, rose red; Julia Lagraverc, 

 deep red. The pompons are specially 

 suited for pot culture, being of a bushy 

 habit and very free flowering. 



Lawn and Garden Hints for Amateurs 



MANY gardens are the same every 

 year. Why not have a greater 

 variety? Try some new things 

 this spring. In the vegetable garden, 

 grow bush lima beans. Swiss chard is 

 much better than ordinary beet leaves 

 for "greens," and it produces much more 

 top. Plant some Brussels sprouts. Try 

 some cos lettuce. Kohl-rabi is excellent 

 if used before it gets too old. Dande- 

 lions may be grown in the garden from 

 seed. Among other vegetable and salad 

 crops not commonly grown are endive, 

 Chinese mustard and cress. 



If your asparagus bed was covered 

 last fall with manure, remove the cover- 

 ing and fork the soil lightly. Do this as 

 soon as the frost is out of the ground. 

 An asparagus bed is not difficult to start. 

 It may be grown from seed or young 

 plants. 



As soon as the soil can be worked, sow 

 seeds of onions, leeks, peas, spinach, let- 

 tuce, parsnips and parsley. As parsnips 

 and parsley seeds often take from four 

 to five weeks to germinate, it is a good 

 plan to sow a few seeds of lettuce with 

 them to mark the rows. Sow early rad- 

 ish as soon as possible. Later in the 

 month, sow beans, beets, carrots, salsify. 

 It is strange that more salsify is not 

 grown in our kitchen gardens. Cabbage 

 grown from seed in the hotbed last 

 month may be transplanted by the first 

 of May. 



WITH THE FRUITS 



Remove the mulch from the strawberry 



bed. Currants and gooseberry bushes 

 may be planted as soon as ground is fit. 



Finish pruning the small fruit bushes 

 and trees. Remove any dried plums and 

 peaches that may still be hanging on the 

 trees. Spray all fruit trees and bushes 

 with Bordeaux mixture and Paris green. 



THE FLOWER GARDEN 



If you have not yet made a hotbed, 

 do it now. Petunias, phlox, asters and 

 other annuals may be started in it. If 

 you have not the facilities for making a 

 hotbed, these seeds may be started in 

 shallow boxes in a sunny window of the 

 house. Sow small seeds very shallow, 

 merely pressing the finest of them into 

 the soil with a piece of board or glass. 

 Large seeds may be planted more deep- 

 ly. A general rule is to plant these 

 seeds three or four times the diameter of 

 the seed. Annuals that are started inside 

 should be transplanted when the second 

 pair of seed leaves are in course of de- 

 velopment. 



As soon as the soil is dry enough out- 

 doors, sow seeds of mignonette, wall- 

 flowers, snapdragon, sweet peas and so 

 forth. Do not sow nasturtium seeds un- 

 til next month. 



In boxes of sand in the hotbed or 

 house, strike cuttings of coleus, agera- 

 tum, geranium and lobelia. As soon as 

 rooted, put them in small pots, water 

 them and shade for a few days until they 

 start growth again. 



Divide the roots of cannas and dahlias. 

 Plant or transplant perennials such as 



