60 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



tion regularly about once a week. When 

 the plants are out of bloom, throw them 

 on the rubbish pile as they are of no 

 further use. Cinerarias are not gener- 

 ally successful as window plants; they 

 are better suited to the greenhouse. 



Pots of flowering bulbs such as nar- 

 cissi, tulips and hyacinths should have 

 a plentiful supply of water when in 

 flower. When the flowers are faded, the 

 soil should not be allowed to dry out. 

 Stand the pots in a place where they can 

 still have some light and only a little 

 sunshine, and dry the soil gradually. 

 Wheii the foliage shows signs of decay 

 give the plant less and less. water until 

 the foliage has become quite yellow. In 

 spring, as soon as the ground is in proper 

 condition, the bulbs may be planted 

 outside in the border. Place a stake to 

 mark the spot where they are planted. 

 Do not disturb them when digging. 

 If left undisturbed for a year or two, 

 they will make a useful and permanent 

 addition to the border. Bulbs forced 

 into flower early in the season in pots, 

 are of little or no use for pot culture in 

 the second year. 



Freesias should not be dried off hastily. 

 After they are out of flower, give them 

 water less frequently until the foliage is 

 quite yellow, when water should be with- 

 held altogether. Keep them dry in the 

 pots until next season. 



Cannas for planting outside at the end 

 of May or early in June may be potted 

 late in March or early in April. 



Hydrangeas, oleanders and similar 

 plants can be brought to the light and 

 started into growth. Put them into 

 larger tubs if necessary. 



Old tuberous begonias can be started 

 into growth now. If the tubers have 

 been kept in the pots during the winter, 

 shake out the old soil and re-pot in good, 

 rich, loamy potting soil, mixed with a 

 small quantity of sand. Use plenty of 

 drainage, and water thoroughly after 

 potting. Water then should be given 

 sparingly until the plants have well 

 started into growth. 



Some flowering and foliage begonias, 

 including Rex varieties, can be potted. 

 Give good drainage, and water as 

 advised for tuberous begonias. The 

 soil, especially for the Rex variety, 

 should have about one-quarter leaf soil 

 added to that recommended for the 

 tuberous variety. Among the best 

 varieties for the window are Begonia 

 Thurston, B. Haageana and B. nivea, B. 

 fuchsioides, B. rubra and others. 



Cuttings of fuchsias, geraniums and 

 verbena will strike readily in sand if 

 vigorous young growth can be secured. 

 Begonia cuttings had better be left until 

 late in April before attempting to strike 

 them. 



Seeds of nasturtium for window boxes 



/ may be sown. Do not sow thickly, as 



; they do not transplant as easily as 



manv other varieties. Place two or 



three seeds in a three-inch pot. To 

 secure early flowers of mignonette, sow 

 8 or 10 seeds in same sized pots as men- 

 tioned for nasturtiums. A few pots of 

 petunias, verbenas, cosmos and lobelia 

 also should be sown, as they require to 

 be early to give good flowering results. 

 Antirrhinum and scabiosa seeds may be 

 sown in pots the end of the month. 



AMONG THB FRUIT TREES 



This is the best time of year for graft- 

 ing fruit trees. If you have an apple 

 tree that is not producing fruit that you 

 desire, it can be grafted with scions of 

 good varieties and they will bear in 

 three years. Grafting is interesting 

 work, and can be performed by an ama- 

 teur who will give the necessary atten- 

 tion to details. Have you ever seen 

 a fruit tree bearing a half-dozen varieties 

 or more ? If not, why not try the ex- 

 periment for the fun of the thing? Pro- 

 fessional orchardists cannot afford the 

 time for this work, but the amateur who 

 is gardening for much pleasure and little 

 profit can indulge in experimenting with 

 novelties of this kind. 



The best way to graft scions into the 

 tops of fruit trees is by means of what 

 is called the "cleft graft." If the tree is 

 large, it is advisable to top-work each 

 year only a portion of the limbs so as 

 not to be too severe. Cut the branches 

 off squarely at a point where the diam- 

 eter is about one inch, and make the cut 

 clean, with no ragged edges. Split these 

 in the centre and insert the scions, usually 

 two, one on either side, so that the cam- 

 bium, or green layer just below the bark, 

 comes in contact with the cambium of 

 the limb being grafted. The limb, or 

 tree, being grafted is called the stock. 

 The scion is a portion or twig of the 

 variety that is being inserted upon this 

 stock. Coat the wounds with grafting 

 wax or waxed bandages so as to exclude 

 the air and the spores of disease and to 

 allow of rapid healing. 

 / Do not forget to prune your fruit 

 ,' trees, bushes and grape vines before too 

 I late. Apple trees should be well thinned 

 ' out so that the sun can gain access to 

 i the centre. Do not allow any limbs to 

 rub or cross. Pear and plum trees should 

 be shortened in at least about one-third 

 of last season's growth. Cherry trees 

 require very little pruning when once 

 well established. Peach trees should 

 be well pruned and headed back. ^^y 

 Grape vines require systematic prun- 

 ing each year. The method to follow 

 will depend upon the system of pruning 

 given the vine during the first two or 

 three years of its growth. One of the 

 main points to observe is to keep the 

 bearing wood as near the trunk as 

 possible. Thin out well, leaving only 

 about six or eight limbs to a vine, well 

 placed, each limb with no more than six 

 or seven buds. 



Most varieties of currants and goose- 

 berries produce fruit on wood that is at 



least two years old. For this reason, it 

 is advisable to practise a renewal system 

 of pruning. Each year remove two or 

 three of the oldest branches and allow a 

 similar number of new ones to take their 

 places. If these bushes have not been 

 pruned, do so as soon as possible, as 

 they burst into leaf very early in spring. 



PRUNING SHRUBS 



Most ornamental shrubs require very 

 little pruning. If overgrown, they may 

 be thinned out. If growing unshapely 

 the growth should be corrected. The 

 time to prune shrubs depends largely 

 upon the season of blooming. Early 

 flowering shrubs should be pruned only 

 after they have bloomed, as they pro- 

 duce their flowers on twigs that were 

 formed the previous season. Should 

 they be pruned now these twigs would 

 be removed and, as a result, few flowers 

 would appear. Prune when dormant 

 late flowering shrubs such as cornus, 

 mock orange, some spiraeas and honey- 

 suckle. Clematis Jacktnanni and so forth. 

 Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora should 

 be pruned in early spring to about six 

 inches of the old wood. 



IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



The material for a hotbed should be 

 in course of preparation. If the manure 

 is fresh from the stable throw it in a heap 

 for a week or 10 days. Turn it over 

 once during that time. A hotbed, even 

 if small, is useful in the home garden. 

 On another page is published directions 

 for making and operating. The informa- 

 tion given may be applied, with modifi- 

 cations, to the work of making a hotbed 

 at home. 



Do you want some early, home-grown 

 rhubarb? If so, place a barrel or box, 

 from which the top and bottom have .; 

 been removed, over a clump of the 

 earliest kind of rhubarb that you have 

 in the garden. Cover the top of the 

 barrel or box at night, and during cold 

 days. This will give you rhubarb a 

 week or more earlier than unprotected 

 roots will. Force asparagus similarly. 



THE OUTDOOR FLOWER GARDEN 



The trying time for plant life out of 

 -doors is spring. If you did not give 

 your border plants a mulching last fall, 

 there is still time to afford them some 

 protection against the disastrous effects 

 of alternate thawing and freezing. A 

 few fine boughs or tree trimmings with 

 a sprinkling of straw or long, strawy 

 manure amongst them, will make an 

 ideal spring protection. A heavy, close 

 covering is neither desirable nor neces- 

 sary. The covering should be over the 

 plants before the snow has thawed away 

 from them. 



Bulbs should not be uncovered until 

 danger of severe frosts is over. Re- 

 move the cover by degrees, as sudden 

 exposure to light and air, and perhaps 

 light frosts will likely injure the flower- 

 ing heads. 



