14 



The Florists' Review 



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Jdnb 29, 1916. 



Queen Victoria, Solfatare, Golden 

 Harvest and Marie Lemoine. 



MoBt of the foregoing varieties are 



suitable for cut flowers and the list 

 comprises early-blooming, midseason. 

 and late varieties. 



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SEASONABLE m 

 M SUGGESTIONS 



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Gardenias. 



The last part of June or first part of 

 July is a good time to plant gardenias 

 in benches for winter flowering. This 

 is one of the most uncertain crops we 

 have and even those classed as experts 

 in the culture of gardenias have their 

 failures. Last winter some of the larg- 

 est specialists lost practically all their 

 early buds and received next to nothing 

 from their houses until late in the win- 

 ter. On the other hand, I have in mind 

 one or two smaller growers, compara- 

 tively new in the gardenia growing 

 business, who had fine midwinter cuts. 

 Gardenias may be grown in pots, 

 benches or solid beds. The first two 

 methods are recommended to small 

 growers. Grown in pots or raised 

 benches, the roots are under better con- 

 trol and there is more probability of 

 preventing the yellows and bud droop- 



Use a coarse compost consisting of 

 three parts of fibrous loam, one part 

 well decayed and dried cow manure and 

 one part leaves, only partly decayed; 

 also some coarse sand and broken char- 

 coal. A depth of five inches is ample 

 and the rows may be twenty-four inches 

 apart, allowing fifteen to eighteen 

 inches between the plants in the rows. 

 When planted, merely water the soil 

 around each plant for some time. There 

 is no need to soak the whole bench 

 until the roots are running actively 

 through it. If hot water pipes run 

 under the benches to give a little bot- 

 tom heat in winter, all the better, but 

 heating pipes under the benches are 

 not a necessity. Gardenias need warm 

 treatment. At this season 65 to 70 de- 

 grees as a minimum is suitable. The 

 spray nozzle must be used to keep 

 mealy bug in check or the plants will 

 soon be smothered with it. 



Cinerarias. 



Sow cineraria seeds now if plants are 

 wanted for early flowering. The large- 

 flowered type comes in earlier than the 

 stellata forms, but the latter, while they 

 bloom a little later and grow taller, are 

 more decorative. Cinerarias will do 

 vastly better in coldframes until at 

 least the middle of October, and if suit- 

 able protection is afforded there is no 

 trouble in holding them in such quar- 

 ters until Christmas. 



Pruning Flowering Shrubs. 



With few exceptions the flowering 

 shrubs should be pruned as soon as they 

 have finished blooming. At this time any 

 dead, weak or straggling shoots can 

 be removed and the plants given a more 

 presentable appearance. If pruning is 

 done now, the shrubs still will have 

 time to make new wood for flowering 

 next season. Among shrubs which can 

 be pruned now are lilacs, loniceras. 



spiraeas, weigelas, viburnums, forsythias, 

 halesias, philadelphus and exochordas. 

 While speaking of pruning, it is well 

 to note that all faded flowers should be 

 removed from lilacs, rhododendrons, 

 azaleas and kalmias. If they are left 

 on, the plants will be much weakened. 



Propagating Flowering Shrubs. 



While many of the flowering shrubs 

 can be easily propagated from ripened 

 wood, the majority of them are easily 

 increased at this season from cuttings 

 of half-ripened wood. Short cuttings 

 with two or three eyes should be used. 

 If only a small number are needed they 

 can go in flats or square pans of sandy 

 soil. Be sure that the cuttings are 

 dipped in cold water that has not been 



allowed to stand for any considerabls 

 time. It does not take much to dis- 

 color the foliage on cuttings in midsum- 

 mer. When inserted, whether directly 

 in the frame or in flats, the cuttings 

 will need frequent light syringings, an.l 

 they must be kept tolerably close. All 

 ventilation may be removed by 3 o 'clock 

 in the afternoon. As the cuttings 

 callous, air a little more freely, and still 

 further increase it as they root. Be 

 sure that they are always shaded from 

 the sun while rooting. There is no good 

 reason why country florists should not 

 propagate both deciduous shrubs and 

 evergreens, provided they have suitable 

 coldframes and land on which to plant 

 out the stock when it has rooted. 



Cultivation. 



Whether we have frequent rains or 

 continued dry weather, the hoe or culti- 

 vator must be kept constantly at work. 

 Eains bake the surface of the soil and 

 plants make poor growth if the soil is 

 not stirred as soon as it can be worked. 

 On the other hand, in periods of drought 

 it is really astonishing how long plants 

 will go without water if the soil is re- 

 peatedly stirred and a good dust mulch 

 held about the plants. Every plant in 

 the garden will respond to persistent 

 tickling of the soil about it; therefore 

 ply the cultivator persistently. 



SCALE ON FEBNS. 



Will you tell me what to do with my 

 ferns, a frond of which I am enclos- 

 ing? You will see that the sample 

 frond is covered with insects. These 

 are so numerous that they kill the 

 ferns. I know of no other remedy ex- 

 cept to dip the plants in some sort of 

 solution. Please let' me know what to 

 do. F. G. E. — Ohio. 



The fern frond was infested with the 

 scale which is so common on Boston 

 ferns and other varieties of nephrol- 

 epis. ^11 fronds that are in that con- 

 dition would better be cut off and 

 burned. Then the plants should be 

 dipped in either a solution of tobacco 

 extract or nicotine. The solution of 

 tobacco extract may be used in the pro- 

 portion of one part to fifty of water; 

 the nicotine, one part to 400 of water. 



W. H. T. 



ADIANTUM FOE CUTTING. 



What kind of adiantum is most suit- 

 able for cutting? What size of plants 

 should one bench now to cut from this 

 fall and winter? Should the soil be 

 rich and light? Is Bailey's cyclopedia 

 worth while to a florist? 



T. K.— Kan. 



Adiantum cuneatum, or a variety of 

 that fern, is more largely grown for 

 cutting than any other species. Some 

 growers prefer the original type of A. 



cuneatum, while others prefer A. Boen- 

 beckii, Or the newer kind, A. Califor- 

 nicum. If your market requires larger 

 and stiffer fronds than those produced 

 by the foregoing, we would suggest A.- 

 Groweanum or A. hybridum, both of 

 which are good for cutting. 



Strong plants from 3-inch pots are 

 the best for planting, and these should 

 be benched as soon as possible. A good 

 rose soil will answer the purpose, but 

 do not use fresh manure in the compost. 

 Some spent manure from an old hotbed 

 or some dry cow manure is a good fer- 

 tilizer. 



Bailey's Standard Cyclopedia of Hor- 

 ticulture is the latest American refer- 

 ence work of its class, and is well worth 

 while to anyone desiring correct infor- 

 mation. W. H. T. 



STICKY SUBSTANCE ON FEENS. 



Can you give me any information 

 regarding Boston ferns or other ferns 

 that have or produce a transparent 

 sticky substance on the fronds? Some- 

 times this substance drops to the floor. 

 Is it caused by some insect? One of 

 my ferns was covered with scale, and 

 although I treated it with a nicotine 

 extract the substance became heavier. 

 Is there a remedy for it? I am enclos- 

 ing one of the diseased fronds. Is cas- 

 tor oil a good fertilizer for ferns? 



S. L.— Wis. 



A careful examination of the fern 

 frond in question does not show any in- 



