Treatment of Young Carnation Stock 



time of potting. The shading should be removed as soon as the plants show 

 that they have a firm hold of the soil. However, in the late spring, when 

 the sun is exceptionally hot, the shading may be continued during the hot- 

 test part of very bright, sunshiny days, in order to prevent flagging, wilting 

 or the soil drying out too rapidly. 



Flats may be substituted for pots, and are largely used by many growers 

 who have not sufficient bench room to hold the number of plants they re- 

 quire in pots, as many more plants in flats than in pots can be carried upon 

 the same bench space. There are, however, many objections to flats, and of 

 late years the more experienced growers are gradually abandoning their use 

 and employing pots exclusively. 



Flats should be from two and a half to three inches deep, and may be 

 twenty-four inches long and from twelve to sixteen inches wide. A num- 

 ber of holes should be bored through the bottom, or the bottom should be 

 made of slats in order to provide for drainage. A perfectly tight flat which 

 provides for no drainage is dangerous, for the reason that the soil is liable 

 to be over-watered and become soured, and the growth of the plants checked. 

 Where this occurs the plants will turn a sickly, yellowish-green color. The 

 same thing will take place if the plants are over-watered in the pots or if 

 they are allowed to stand in pots or flats until they become root-bound and 

 the soil exhausted. The plants may be set in flats in rows two and a half to 

 three inches apart, and one and a half to two inches apart in the row, using 

 the same care not to plant too deeply as is recommended to be used in potting. 



Shifting 



After the young plants have been growing in the small pots from four 

 to six weeks the soil will become exhausted and so well filled with roots 

 that the plants will need more room and additional soil in which to expand 

 their root system and elaborate their growth. It will then be necessary to 

 shift into a larger pot, and this should be done as soon as the ball is well 

 filled with roots, and before any tendency to harden in the plant has been 

 developed. Probably many of the important failures in carnation growing 

 are due to improper treatment of young stock at this period. If a plant is 

 once thoroughly checked and hardened so that growth is entirely stopped 

 and the plant brought to an absolutely dormant condition, it will seldom, 

 if ever, be as good a plant as if it had been kept in a healthful, vigorous, 

 growing condition. It may give as large a crop of flowers, and in some in- 

 stances a larger one, especially if the plant has been seriously checked, as 

 after serious checks the plant will endeavor to perpetuate its species by the 



89 



