42 



The Florists' Review 



Dhscbmbbb 8, 1921 



This will help to keep the growth sturdv 

 and the stems strong. Keep the niglr 

 temperature as near oO degrees as pos 

 sible. Water rather sparingly until th> 

 growth hardens somewhat. You wil 

 find that it pays better to keep tin 

 plants sturdy through abundant ventila 

 tion, proper temperature and watering 

 than to dope them continually 



A. F. J. B. 



LACK OF LIGHT. 



Our eariiations are not doing well. 

 At the first cutting the flowers were 

 large, but the stems were weak. The 

 plants are beginning to get " grassy '- 

 and there are suckers along the stems, 

 with no signs of buds. Our house is not 

 so light as it might be. It is made of 

 hotbed sashes and 2x4 's. Why should 

 the carnations wither when they are 

 only ai)out half out? W. R. B.— la. 



Lack of light is probably the principal 

 cause of your troubles, although there 

 may be other contributing causes not dis- 

 closed by your letter. The weak stems 

 are, no doubt, due to insufficient light. 

 The grassy growth may be caused by 

 the same thing, but it may be due to 

 what we know as wild growth. In 

 either case, the buds will appear in 

 time, but it will take longer in your 

 dark house than it would in a light, 

 modern house. Your blooms failing to 

 open is probably due to thrips. Fumi- 

 gate or spray the plants regularly with 

 one of the nicotine preparations, start- 

 ing with semiweekly applications and 

 reducing to weekly applications after 

 you have them under control. Then 

 keep it up regularly, once each week. 



A. F. J. B. 



WEAK-STEMMED CARNATIONS. 



What causes carnations to have weak 

 stems? My carnations. Enchantress, 

 White Enchantress and Matchless, seem 

 to be stiff-stemmed until the flower 

 starts to open; then they wc;iken. I 

 never intend to allow the teiiijicrature to 

 run above 50 degrees at night, but, as we 

 have had some warm nights, the tcniiiera- 

 ture may have run up to about (5.5 or 

 70 degrees, with the ventilators open. 

 I grow the plants on solid soil, a saniide 

 of which has been sent. 1 had the same 

 trouble last year, but in tlie sjiriiig I 

 gave the ]ilants some com]>lete cjiriin- 

 tion fertilizer, which stiffened the plants 

 somewhat. A. .). L. — Mo. 



Your soil has suflicient body to pro- 

 duce good carnations, but it seems to 

 lack in humus. You do not state how 

 it was j)repared and it is surmised that 

 the soil may not be rich enough to pro- 

 duce a strong, sturdy growth. If you 

 planted early, you could have lu'lpeil 

 matters somewhat by the use of a light 

 mulch of half-rotted maiiun'. followed 

 with a few light doses of comi)lete ciirua- 

 tion fertilizers, ai)plied througli the fall 

 months. Always remember, though, 

 that it is impossible to make up for the 

 lack of a jiropcrly prejKired soil. 



If your jilants were benched late, 

 these weak stems are a natntal result. 

 The next crop will have more vigor, 

 provideil you water and ventilate prop- 

 erly. If you have some well rotte<l ma- 

 nure, apply just enough to cover the 

 soil. Then sprinkle on a L"j-inc-h pot- 



ful of bone to each row, halfway across 

 a 5-foot bench, and water it in. At this 

 time of the year, you should not apply 

 fertilizers wliich are rich in nitrogen, as 

 this has a tendency to soften the growth. 

 When the days get longer and the sun 

 stronger, you may safely begin to feed 

 with dried sheep manure and poultry 

 manure. A. F. .1. B. 



POTASH TO STIFFEN STEMS. 



My carnations in the greenhouse arc 

 blooming well, but they are too soft. I 

 have been told that potash will harden 

 them, but I do not know how much to 

 put on. The soil here is a good loam, 

 with one-fourth part of cow manure 

 that stoo<l in a compost heap two years. 

 Will you inform me as to how I may 

 stiffen these stems' A. L. H.^Cal. 



Any fertilizer that is rich in potash 

 will stiffen the stems of your carnations. 

 Sprinkle a handful on the soil in each 

 row and scratch it in slightly before 

 watering. Give the plants abundant 

 ventilation on all favorable occasions. 



CARNATIONS IN GERMANY. 



Progress in carnation culture ii 

 foreign countries is always measured ii 

 terms of the American growers' prod 

 uct. Thus it is that in a recent lettci 

 Otto Bellinger, grower for Curt Moll, 

 at Borgsdorf, Germany, writes on Ui\> 

 subject as follows: "We grow carna 

 tions better than ever before. We are 

 growing most of our stock inside ami 

 we have had good results. We still 

 have Enchantress Supreme as our best 

 variety and this makes wonderful 

 growth. White Enchantress is now our 

 finest white. White Wonder and many 

 other new varieties are growing, but 

 not quite so strongly. We have a 

 good stock of Mrs. Ward. Beacon is 

 also of fine quality. In dark red we 

 have Carola and British Triumph, a 

 variety from Carl Engelmann, of Saf- 

 fron Walden, England. Besides, we 

 grow, in the perpetual Malmaison type, 

 Raphael and Marius, large flowers of 

 good habit. Despite the trouble in 

 our country, we always have a good 

 market for first-class flowers." 



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TAME OR WILD 



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LOBELIA CARDINALIS. 



Its Native Environinent. 



This beautiful and rare North Amer- 

 ican wild flower grows native only in 

 restricted areas and is but little known 

 and seldom cultivated in giirdeus or 

 I)arks. 



In its native habitat it is founcl grow- 

 ing most profusely on the narrow strip 

 of soil between low and high water 

 marks on the margins of streams and 

 lagoons. Its seeds are small and light, 

 and are diffused chiefly by floating or 

 by being carried upon the water of the 

 stream adjacent to which it grows. Dur- 

 ing ])erio(ls of flood its seeds are cast 

 upon higher grounds and the plants are 

 often found growing native on the 

 higher river bottom lands, in full and 

 ojien sunlight and in dense shade of 

 lofty trees alike. 



Lobelia cardinalis is one of the easiest 

 wild flowers to naturalize by sowing the 

 s<'eds. Although it is found in its na- 

 tive state growing upon cold, wet soils, 

 its seeds germinate only at the ap- 

 jiroach of warm weather, and the seeds 

 should be sown for naturalization upoi\ 

 the strip of soil between the high and 

 low water marks along streams, lagoons 

 and wet swales, selecting those spots 

 most free from growths of weeds and 

 grasses. If the soil is wet, no covering 

 of the seeds is essential. Many of the 

 large public i)arks adjacent to cities iif- 

 ford the natural growing grounds for 

 Lobeli;i cardinalis and all that is need- 



ed to have this beautiful cardinal fldJwer 

 growing in such parks in profusion is to 

 sow the seeds at the proper time. 



Garden Cultivation. 



In garden cultivation, the seeds can 

 be sown in flats and given warmth in 

 the house or in the open ground of the 

 garden. The soil should be made fine 

 and pressed firmly. The seeils should be 

 sown on the surface and not covered, 

 but kept wet until they germinate. As 

 soon as the seeds are sown, the best cov- 

 ering is fresh wet sj)hagnum moss and 

 this covering must be kept over the 

 seeds until germination is well begun. 

 If this moss is not to be h.ad, wet blot 

 ting j)aper or wet newspaper can be 

 used, if kept continually wet. As soon 

 as the seeds have started to germinate, 

 remove the covering and keep the mi- 

 nute seedlings shatleil for a f(>w days 

 with newspajiers raiseil above them tw^ 

 to three inches. As soon as large enough, 

 trans{ilant the seedlings to their perma 

 nent positions and do not let them sut 

 fer from drought. 



Lobelia cardinalis usually sends up a 

 single flower stalk or spikej often to the 

 height of three feet. Its inflorescence is 

 on the upper portion of the stalk, aver- 

 aging one-third of its total height. Its 

 flowers o])en first at the lower portion 

 of the flowering part and, as its inflor- 

 escence is ascending, the first and lower 

 flowers fade and form round seed pods 

 or balls about one-half inch in diame 

 ter. Each well-developed flower stalk 

 is prolific in seecj. A. H. Lake. 



