34 



The Florists^ Review 



NOVIMBBR 17, 1921 



trimmed with some fresh blooms. The 

 foreign countries represented at the 

 Capitol sent dozens of tokens, innumer- 

 able organizations in all parts of the 

 country contributed, and altogether 

 there was an immense showing of 

 florists' work. 



The photograph reproduced on page 

 35 shows the flowers grouped before 

 the platform in the amphitheater at Ar- 

 lington cemetery. The cofSn of the un- 

 known soldier is conspicuous, as is also 

 President Harding, in the act of deliv- 

 ering his address. 



ULIES FBOM SCAI.es. 



Would you kindly give us some ad- 

 vice about Easter lilies? The first week 

 in September I planted two flats of 

 scales from Lilium Harrisii. I placed 

 the flats under a greenhouse bench and 

 now the young shoots have started to 

 come through the soil like small blades 

 of grass. I have read the articles on 

 lilies which appeared in The Review 

 September 1 and 8, but these articles 

 do not mention anything about the 

 treatment after growth begins. 



I notice that on some of the scales 

 two to four tiny bulblets have formed, 



which have commenced to grow. Should 

 they be split up and potted and treated 

 as though they were grown from seed? 

 Will it be necessary for me to keep them 

 in the greenhouse through the winter t 

 Any information you may give me will 

 be appreciated. A. P. — Minn. 



Probably the best thing to do with 

 your Lilium longiflorum scales is to 

 leave them in the flats where they are 

 until about February 1. They can then 

 be potted off into 2-inch pots and held 

 this way until the weather is moderate 

 enough in the spring, when they can be 

 set in the open ground six to seven 

 inches apart each way. Your spring is 

 rather late, though, and it may be neces- 

 sary to shift to larger pots, but probably 

 not. If well handled, some of them may 

 throw up flowering stems next July or 

 August. Of course, it would be possible 

 to leave them where they are until 

 spring and set them in the field from the 

 flats, but the safer plan will be to take a 

 little more care by getting the young 

 stock established in pots under green- 

 house conditions. Then they can go into 

 the field without any check. 



David Griffiths. 



attacks of the disease and many of them 

 cannot be grown profitably in infested 

 soil, while a few at the end of the list 

 are only slightly injured and some seem 

 to outgrow its attacks. In some cases 

 field crops only slightly infested may be 

 fed heavily with nitrogenous fertilizer 

 and made to develop new roots and com- 

 plete the maturity of the crop before the 

 new roots become injured. 



While the nematode attacks the 

 fibrous roots of bulbs, it seldom enters 

 the bulb except, perhaps, in the case of 

 the Irish potato and the fleshy roots of 

 Asparagus Sprengeri. Fancy-leaved 

 caladiums, with the fibrous roots badly 

 infested, have been dried off thoroughly 

 and the bulbs, when potted the following 

 spring, were found to be free from the 

 pest. 



It is an injustice to one's fellow flo- 

 rists and customers alike to send out in- 

 fested plants. The writer has received 

 infested plants from many sources in 

 six states and, under the present laws 

 of Georgia, he is required to destroy 

 these shipments when received. A more 

 complete history of the nematode is 

 given in the Farmers ' Bulletin, 648, De- 

 partment of Agriculture, Washington, 

 D. C. W. A. Dole. 



HYACINTHS FOR CHEISTMAS. 



About September 1 I potted and 

 buried some large-sized, prepared Dutch 

 hyacinths. Can they, be gotten into 

 bloom for Christmas? If so, when should 

 they be brought into the greenhouses? 



M. G.— Okla. 



CONTROL OF ROOT KNOT. 



Caiise of Infestations. 



Several inquiries appearing in The Ee- 

 yiew concerning the control of root-knot 

 have prompted me to offer a few sug- 

 gestions for combating it. 



The disease is caused by minute worme 

 known as eel-worms, technically called 

 nematodes, which bore into the roots 

 and so stop the sap cells as to cause the 

 roots to become irregularly enlarged and 

 knotty in appearance. The worms never 

 infest the plants above ground and, con- 

 sequently, the pests are frequently over- 

 looked. However, plants badly infested 

 are dwarfed, wilt readily and lose color. 

 The infested roots finally decay and the 

 disease is liberated into the soil. 



The disease is usually conveyed into 

 the greenhouse by the receiving of in- 

 fested plants, which, when they are 

 potted, root through the vent in the pot. 

 This root becomes infested and, when 

 the pot is lifted, the root is broken off 

 and the infestation is left in the cinders, 

 soil or sand on the bench. The next 

 batch of plants placed upon the bench 

 soon become infested, and as plants are 

 moved from bench to bench the whole 

 house becomes infested. Flooding the 

 benches with the hose washes some of 

 the insects into the soil beneath. There 

 they survive upon volunteer plants of 

 begonias, sultanas, wandering jew, etc. 

 During the crowded season potted 

 plants are sometimes placed temporarily 

 under the benches and become infested 

 from this source. The insects move 

 about slowly in the soil, traveling not 

 more than three feet in a year, and in a 

 stiff clay their movement is much slower. 



The Remedy. 



As a remedy, first destroy all infested 

 plants. If you wish to perpetuate stock 

 from infested plants, take the cuttings 



and then destroy the roots. The writer 

 has found by repeated experiments that 

 cuttings taken from infested plants of 

 coleus, begonias, sultanas and others, 

 rooted in clean sand and potted in steril- 

 ized soil, remained free from disease, in- 

 dicating that the nematode does not 

 affect the plant above the soil. 



When a bench is cleared of potted 

 plants, soak the cinders or soil with 

 sodium cyanide, one ounce to eight gal- 

 lons of water. This must be allowed to 

 dry out before another lot of potted 

 plants is put on, or the cyanide, soaking 

 into the pots, will kill the tender plants. 

 Another method is to cover the cinders 

 with slack lime and to wash it in. The 

 ground under the benches should also 

 be cleared of all vegetation and coated 

 with lime, which should also be washed 

 into the soil. 



Only sterilized soil or soil known to 

 be free from the nematode should be 

 used either for potting or benches. In 

 the northern states the nematodes that 

 may become established in the fields are 

 killed by freezing, while in the milder 

 climates the only practical way to rid 

 the field of the pests is to starve them by 

 letting the land be idle a year and by 

 frequent cultivation to prevent any veg- 

 etation from growing upon which the 

 nematodes might feed. 



Some Common Victims. 

 Following is a list of /some of the 

 more important plants an^^trees known 

 to be subject to attack by tn^ nematode: 



Okra, cucumber, tomato, carnation, eggplant, 

 begonia, cantaloupe, amarantus, bean, celery, 

 tobacco, pea, primrose, cineraria, coleui, lul- 

 tana, hollyhock, dahlia, verbena, snapdragon, 

 trailing vinca. Asparagus Sprengeri, hibiscus, 

 petunia, clematis, acalypba, zinnia, peach, flg, 

 Irish potato, watermelon, beet, pepper, canna, 

 caladium, gladiolus, rose, Tiolet, squash, lettuce, 

 carrot, sunflower, cotton, radish, sweet potato, 

 asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, mustard, pecan) 

 sugar cane, quince. 



Those at the head of the list are the 

 most seriously and quickly injured by 



Do not allow your hyacinths to become 

 I^Wdry at the root. Much bulbous 

 «f<wk ia, injured in the ©ftrly stages of 

 , growth by being allowed -to become too 

 . dry. Let your hyacinths have pots well 

 filled with reots and a top growth one 

 and one-half to two inches long, before 

 housing them. When in the greenhouse 

 let them have a dark but warm place be- 

 low the bench, to draw up the tops; oth- 

 erwise they will be dwarf and squatty. 

 In watering at this time avoid wetting 

 the spikes, which easily damp off. In 

 ^^S'^.t:^ ^6 sure of fine plants for Christ- 

 mas, ^the plants should be housed a 

 montli|..in advance and should have a 

 minuflSlin temperature of 55 to 58 

 degrees. " q -yv^^ 



STERILIZING SOIL BY STEAM. 



Will you give us some pointers ou 

 sterilizing soil for pot plants and also 

 the soil on the benches? Is there an 

 apparatus for this purpose, or is it neces- 

 sary to take steam from the boiler and 

 lay extra pipes? L. G. P.— Ind. 



When much of this work is to be 

 done, or if the soil is on benches, the 

 cheapest way, so far as the outfit is 

 concerned, is to build a sterilizing box. 

 This may be of any convenient size, 

 say 6x20 feet and eighteen inches deep, 

 with a tight cover. The steam pipes 

 should be 1-inch, with a 3/16-inch hole 

 every two feet, alternating on oppo- 

 site sides. The pipes should be placed 

 two feet apart, and the holes should be 

 so arranged that the jets will be be- 

 tween those in the adjacent pipe. If 

 a pipe IS placed one foot from each 

 side, with a third pipe in the middle 

 of the box, all of the soil in a box six 

 feet wide will be sterilized. The pipes 

 should be at the bottom of the box and 

 the soil should be twelve to fifteen 

 inches m depth. The length of time 



