20 



The Florists^ Review 



March 8, 1917. 



HOW TO INCREASE THE CUTS 



OF ROSES AND CARNATIONS IN OUR GREENHOUSES 



D 



IN a recent bulletin of the Illinois 

 AgiiLiiltural Experiment Station, 

 in a number of papers which I 

 have read before this association and 

 one before the American Carnation So- 

 ciety, I have advocated the use of acid 

 phosphate as a thoroughly safe and ef- 

 fective form of fertilizer for supplying 

 phosphorus to rose and carnation 

 plants. In no previous paper have I 

 been able to recommend acid phosphate 

 as superior to bone meal, although I 

 have been rather widely quoted to that 

 effect and a number of growers are try- 

 ing out acid phosphate in comparison 

 with bono meal. 



Acid Phosphate vs. Bone. 



In order to test out this point, two 

 sets, 144 rose plants in each, of the va- 

 rieties Richmond and Killaruey, are be- 

 ing grown during the present season, 

 one set being fertilized with acid phos- 

 phate at the rate of eighty pounds per 

 100 cubic feet of soil, the other with an 

 equal money value of bone meal, calcu- 

 lated to be 42.8 pounds per 100 cubic 

 feet on the basis of acid phosphate and 

 bone meal costing $15 and $28 per ton 

 respectively. Each of the fertilizers 

 costs more today, but the ratio of cost 

 of one to the other is about the same. 

 The plants are 2-year-old stock. I will 

 let the results speak for themselves. 

 Here is the effect of fertilizing with 

 bone meal and acid phosphate: 



Killurney Richmond 



Hone riios. Bone Phos. 



No. of plants 144 144 144 144 



Total flowers ...1.918 2.391 1,792 2,069 



Av. per plant 13.3 16.1 12.4 14.3 



The advantage in favor of acid phos- 

 phate is about two and one-half flowers 

 per plant, which I consider a rather re- 

 markable endorsement of acid phos- 

 phate, since the figures represent the 

 production onlv from September 1.5 to 

 December 18, 1910. 



The Illinois Agricultural Experiment 

 Station, if these figures are verified by 

 the results of the remainder of the year, 

 will be able to make a second recommen- 

 dation of practical importance to the 

 rose grower, viz., that with an equal in- 

 vestment for fertilizer, acid phosphate 

 will yield much the larger returns. 



Phosphatic Fertilizer for Carnations. 



In a discussion about a year ago, be- 

 fore the American Carnation Society, I 

 stated that no extensive experiments 

 had been published showing that phos- 

 phatic fertilizer would increase the crop 

 of carnations, but I believed on general 

 principles that it might well do so. I 

 am able to give you the results of ex- 

 periments with White Enchantress and 

 Champion, the figures being for flowers 

 picked from September 15 to December 

 18, 1916, with acid phosphate used at 

 the rate of eighty pounds per 100 cubic 

 feet of soil. 



At. per 

 Plants Total cut plant 

 White Enchantress — • 



With acid phoa 3.52 l.GiW) 4.7 



Without acitl phos 338 1,394 4.1 



Champion — 



With acid phos 350 2,26« d.Si 



Without acid phos 356 2.219 6.2 



A report by P. W. Muncie, Associate in Flori- 

 cultural Chemistry, Illinois Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station, to the Illinois State BUorists' Asso- 

 ciatio n, March 6, 1917. 



The increase with acid phosphate fer- 

 tilization is around one flower per two 

 plants, which appears more significant 

 when stated as an increase of 500 flowers 

 per each 1,000 plants in the bench. If 

 these results are borne out by the rest 

 of the experiment, I will consider the 

 point raised as settled in favor of fer- 

 tilization with acid phosphate, although 

 apparently carnations are not the heavy 

 feeders roses are, nor receive such 

 marked benefit by fertilization. 



Variability in Production. 



In studying the production of some 1,700 

 rose and 1,400 carnation plants during 

 the present year, some data of great in- 

 terest and fundamental importance to 

 florists have resulted. I will include 

 enough of them here for the sake of illus- 

 tration and comment on their signifi- 

 cance. The figures below are for the pro- 

 duction of flowers by Ophelia, Hoosier 

 Beauty, Killarney and White Killarney 

 plants from September 15 to December 

 18, 1916, each plant being considered 

 separately and arranged in the table ac- 

 cording to the number of flowers pro- 

 duced as indicated in the first column 

 at the left. 



No. of 



flowers 



I)er 



plant 



1 



*> 



3 

 4 



(i 

 7 

 N 

 it 

 10 

 11 

 12 

 13 

 14 

 I.-. 

 l*i 

 17 

 IS 

 19 

 2(1 

 21 

 *>•> 



2.S 

 24 



Number of plants producing flowers 

 as indicated to left 



Hoosier White 



Ophelia Heauty Killarney Killarney 



3 

 12 



ir> 



21 

 2.") 

 18 

 21 

 10 

 11 



4 

 11 

 16 

 I', 

 12 

 19 

 l.-i 

 IS 

 1.-. 

 13 

 1 

 1 



1 

 7 

 7 



14 



15 



16 



18 



12 



9 



7 



7 



7 



10 



4 



1 



3 



4 

 4 



4 



6 



13 



8 



18 



16 



13 



9 



12 



14 



6 



6 



26 .. 1 



After discarding that portion of the 

 column in each case which contains less 

 than ten plants, there remains a portion 

 near the center where the production 

 varies as much as 100 per cent. Thus, 

 with Ophelia, thirteen plants produced 

 sixteen flowers, while eleven plants pro- 

 duced only eight flowers. If it were 

 possible to raise the average production 

 from the level of eight to that of sixteen, 

 an increase in production of 100 per cent 

 would result, and that without further 

 investment for greenhouses or labor. 

 Since an increase of twenty per cent 

 by the use of a fertilizer is considered 

 large, the importance of the question 

 relative to those relating to the use of 

 fertilizers is apparent. 



Causes of Variability. 



Possible causes of this variability are 

 (1) relative location on the bench with 



respect to illumination, drying out, or 

 temperature, (2) imperfections or poor 

 quality of Manetti stock, although some 

 results obtained previously on own-root 

 stock showed me that this cannot be 

 the sole cause, (3) variable vigor and 

 productiveness of plants due to condi- 

 tions of growth previous to their being 

 set in the bench, and (4) variability of 

 vigor and productiveness in the plants 

 from which the scions of these plants 

 were taken. This seems to me to be the 

 fundamental question — whether plants 

 obtained by the growth of scions from 

 high -producing plants will themselves 

 be high producers in comparison with 

 those plants whose parents, if I may thus 

 loosely term them, were low producers; 

 and so fundamental and practical a 

 question is it that you may expect re- 

 sults to be reported to some future meet- 

 ing on this subject. Carnations show a 

 similar variability and what I have said 

 above for roses applies to them also, 

 with the exception, of course, of the pos- 

 sible influence of Manetti roots. 



A bulletin from the Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station which has 

 just come from the press, on "The Use 

 of Commercial Fertilizers for Eoses," 

 embodies the information contained in 

 my report of March 7, 1917, with prac- 

 tical suggestions to florists. This report 

 contains further experiments along the 

 same line and uncovers a new line of 

 promise in the study of variability of 

 production by roses and carnations. 



DISEASE DUE TO NEMATODES. 



Its Increasing Prevalence. 



Greenhouse men in the northeast, par- 

 ticularly in the New England states 

 and in New York, Pennsylvania and 

 New Jersey, are experiencing consider- 

 able losses as a result of the occurrence 

 and continued spread of a little known 

 disease. The malady is due to nema- 

 todes, or eelworms, one or more species 

 of aphelenchus, which have been found 

 in this country infecting violets, straw- 

 berries, a number of varieties of be- 

 gonias and many species of ferns. In 

 Europe, where it has been known for 

 many years, the disease has been re- 

 ported as attacking forty-eight different 

 species of plants. 



On ferns, begonias and other plants 

 the trouble affects the leaves, causing 

 them to become discolored — usually 

 brown — in definite areas, which may in- 

 crease so as to include the entire leaf. 

 It may also produce on strawberries and 

 violets a slight swelling and distortion 

 of the buds, crowns and leaves. Dis- 

 eased plants may be killed or their mar- 

 ket value, quality and appearance may 

 be impaired. 



The cause of the disease, thread-like 

 nematodes, from one-thirtieth to one- 

 fiftieth of an inch in length, can be seen 

 with slight magnification when a small 

 piece of infected leaf or tissue is teased 

 apart in a few drops of water on glass. 



