

':''.: ~- ■'■- 



20 



The Florists^ Review 



July 1, 1920 



PINCHING CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



Should chrysanthemum plants be 

 pinched to make them branch and be 

 stocky? L. E. B.— N. Y. 



You do not state whether the chrys- 

 anthemums are large-flowered varieties 

 or pompons, or for what purpose the^ 

 plants are intended. If it is your in- 

 tention to grow bush plants in pots, 

 pinching can be carried on until about 

 August 1 to keep the plants dwarf and 

 stocky. For bench growing for cut 

 blooms the shoots can be pinched back 

 until July 1. Then three of the strong- 

 est shoots should be allowed to go on 

 to produce the blooms and the rest re- 

 moved. Three blooms are all a plant 

 should be allowed to develop. The same 

 plan can also be followed with the 

 pompon varieties. Pinch back the 

 growth until July 1; then allow the 

 plant to develop four or five sprays of 

 flowers. M. P. 



MUMS FOR THANKSGIVINO. 



I should like some information regard- 

 ing chrysanthemums. Could you give 

 me the names of three good late varie- 

 ties to bloom at Thanksgiving and later, 

 in white, yellow and pink? I want to 

 grow two or three flowers per plant. 

 1 should like also to have the names of 

 three good pot mums in white, yellow 

 and pink, to grow in the field and pot 

 about September and bloom October 15 

 to November 1. I do not want Caprice, 

 as it blooms too late here. Is it true 

 that if white and pink dahlias are 

 planted in the same patch, the white get 

 pinkish? A. L. — Mo. 



The following varieties of chrysan- 

 themums arc the most largely grown for 

 late blooming: Pink and White Seide- 

 witz, Jeanne Nonin, Maud Dean, Ham- 

 burg Late Pink; Pink, White and Yel- 

 low Chadwick. The Pink and White 

 Seidewitz are perhaps m6re largely 

 grown than any others for the New 

 York market, although in some sections 

 of the country Chadwicks are the 

 standby for Thanksgiving and later. 



Eegarding the varieties for pots, 

 since Caprice is too late, the following 

 can be lifted from the field and potted 

 September 1: Belle Mauve, pink; 

 Source d'Or and Cranfordia in yellow, 

 and Alice Day in white. 



It is not true that planting pink and 

 white dahlias in the same bed or near 

 each other will cause the white varieties 

 to show pink. Like chrysanthemums or 

 any other flower of this type, when 

 dahlias get too old or are left on the 

 plants too long, a white variety will 

 show pink from age. This is possibly 

 the reason you heard that white varie- 

 ties turn pink when planted near pink 

 varieties. Fundamentally, white dah- 

 lias are white and pink dahlias are pink 

 and, no matter how near they are grown 

 together, one will not affect the other. 

 The only time that dahlias change in 

 color or type is when they are developed 

 from seed. This is the way new varie- 



ties are secured, by crossing the old va- 

 rieties and planting the seed produced 

 from this crossing. C. H. T. 



SNAPDRAGONS FOR EASTER. 



Will you kindly give me some infor- 

 mation on growing snapdragons under 

 glass for Easter forcing? 



W. C. S.— 111. 



in separate colors. There are also some 

 named sorts. Clear, bright pink is far 

 the best seller. A moderate call exists 

 for white, yellow and red. For Me- 

 morial day all bright colors are in great 

 demand. 



A temperature of 45 to 50 degrees at 

 night suits snapdragons. To prevent 

 rust, be careful to wet the foliage as lit- 

 tle as possible, particularly during dark 

 weather, and keep a moderately dry 

 atmosphere. Plants will grow well in 

 either raised benches or solid beds. For 

 midwinter flowering benches are pref- 

 erable. For spring, flowering beds 

 give the better results. Eun the plants 

 somewhat on the dry side during mid- 

 winter. As spring advances an occa- 

 sional dose of liquid manure or a sur- 

 face dressing of old manure will be 

 found stimulating. C. W. 



Easter is early in 1921. The date, I 

 believe, is March 27. Growers of lilies, 

 snapdragons and other crops have to 

 make preparations some time ahead 

 and in your case it would be advisable 

 to sow the seeds or take cuttings from 

 August 15 to September 10. Seedlings 

 possess the greater vigor and are freer 

 from rust and other diseases than cut- 

 tings. When the seedlings are of sufii- 

 cient size, prick off into flats; later pot 

 them off singly in 3-inch pots, let the 

 plants run up to flower and then pinch 

 back fairly close to the ground. Do 

 not pinch the growths while soft, or the 

 result will be weak breaks which will 

 flower little, if at all. This is an im- 

 jjortant point and one which many 

 have not yet grasped. 



Any good soil, such as mums, carna- 

 tions or roses will grow in, will answer 

 for snapdragons. You can use them as 

 a crop to follow mums, giving the soil 

 a top-dressing of well rotted manure, 

 sheep manure or bone. Plant 8x10 

 inches apart. I prefer to use plants of 

 the intermediate strain, which are of 

 medium height. These are obtainable 



SCALE ON FERNS. 



I appeal to you for advice on how to 

 fight the tiny white insects that are in- 

 festing my Boston and Eoosevelt ferns. 

 Some time ago I had similar trouble 

 and it was said to be scale, but I do not 

 think that this is scale. I am sending 

 you some infested leaves. What can I 

 do to rid the ferns of this pest? 



E. R. B.— Tex. 



The nephrolepis frond has been ex- 

 amined microscopically and shows 

 plainly th^ fern scale, Hemichionaspis 

 aspidistrse, the female insect being some- 

 what oval and yellowish brown in color, 

 while the male scale is white, elongated 

 in shape and with two lines down the 

 back. The males are produced in much 

 larger numbers than the females and are 

 the tiny white insects which are re- 

 ferred to. This insect is troublesome 

 to fern growers and difiicult to exter- 

 minate, but careful and continued 

 spraying with or dipping in tobacco ex- 

 tract will keep it within limits. 



W. H. T. 



SOIL FOR CARNATIONS. 



We intend to change our soil and re- 

 pair our benches. We shall put new soil 

 in the benches the first part of July and 

 our carnation plants will not be ready 

 for the benches until the first part of 

 August. If new soil is put in the 

 benches, is there any danger of the soil 

 being damaged in any way by not plant- 

 ing at once? Would it be best to keep 

 the soil slightly watered, or just to let 

 it dry out and when ready to plant to 

 water lightly? 



In building new benches, how much 

 space should we leave between the 

 boards on the bottom of the benches if 

 the lumber is a little damp and how 

 much if thoroughly dry, to allow for 

 proper drainage for carnations? 



S. B.— 111. 



You will make no mistake in filling 

 your benches any time you get ready 

 to do so. Level them off as though you 

 were going to plant immediately and 



then leave them until you are ready to 

 plant. If the soil has become quite 

 dry, water thoroughly three or four 

 days before you intend to plant and be 

 sure the soil is moist to the bottom. By 

 doing this you will be able to have the 

 soil in just the right state of moisture 

 to receive the plants, which should be 

 about the same as you like to have it 

 for potting. 



The distance between the bottom 

 boards depends somewhat on how you 

 fill your benches. The more space you 

 can leave between the boards the bet- 

 ter, as long as the soil does not fall 

 through the cracks. If you place a layer 

 of strawy manure over the bottom be- 

 fore filling in the soil, the cracks may 

 be anywhere from a half-inch to an 

 inch in width. We consider this laypr 

 of manure a good thing. By the time 

 the roots work" through the soil and 

 reach the bottom, the plants are in 

 shape to take up the little boost af- 

 forded by the manure. A, F. J. B. 



