24 



The Florists' Review 



FnBncART 23, 1922 



will be of advantage in observing the 

 amount of moisture in the soil and in 

 removing the plants when they are to 

 be set out. The flats should be at least 

 yo-inch deeper than the bands, in order 

 that when filling them with soil there 

 will be enough to fill the bands after the 

 soil has been settled by planting and 

 watering and, unless there Js a slight 

 retaining wall around the top of each 

 flat, the water is apt to run off instead 

 of soaking into the soil thoroughly. In 

 making the flats be sure to use pecky 

 cypress, which can be secured ready cut 

 to order from any of the numerous 

 greenhouse supply houses. It will repay 

 the extra cost in tlie length of time it 

 will last. 



Avoid a heavy soil, as it tends to re- 

 tain too much moisture. If your soil 

 is at all heavy, add sand and humus. 

 For seedlings make it considerably 

 lighter than you would for large plants. 

 A small quantity of lime will also help 

 to keep it sweet. Fill the flat level with 

 the top. 



Start your seed in flats as you ordi- 

 narily do. When they are large enough 

 to transplant, handle them by replanting 

 the seedlings about 1-inch apart, in ordi- 

 nary flats of soil. When they have 

 grown so as to cause their tops to cover 

 the flat, transplant again, giving them 

 more top room, while at the same time 

 you grade the plants so that all those 

 of a size will be placed together. This 

 may be done several times. Each time 

 they will be retarded in top growth un- 

 til the root system has recovered from 

 the shock, but this will cause the roots 

 to be compact and at no time will there 

 be a severe setback, such as results when 

 a plant is grown in one place for any 

 length of time and then transplanted. 

 Here the plant, with the roots grown 

 long and with tlie feeding rootlets scat- 

 tered the whole length of the main root 

 system, will receive a severe setback 

 when part of the root system is lost in 

 handling. This is why small plants do 

 not receive the setback in transplanting 

 which occurs when large plants are 

 moved, and why transplanting helps to 

 grow large plants which can be shifted 

 without a setback. 



Selecting Bands. 



After comparing samples of the vari- 

 ous makes of paper bands or pots on the 

 market, you can pick out the one most 

 suitable to your needs. Whether you 

 use paste or some other method to fasten 

 the ends of the bands is entirely a mat- 

 ter of choice. The amount of time and 

 labor saved with the band will depend 

 upon how near to being complete it is 

 wlien received from the manufacturer. 

 There are a number of growers who pre- 

 fer paper pots; there are others who 

 prefer paper bands, but it is really only 

 a matter of preference. To make paper 

 pots requires more material; hence their 

 cost is greater. The bottoms help to 

 retain the soil when handling, and this 

 is especially true when the plants are 

 handled several times. If the plants are 

 taken direct to the field from the flat or 

 bench, a bottom only adds to the cost. 

 Select a band or pot of the size conform- 

 ing to the amount of top growth the 

 plant will have when it is ready to set 

 out. Corn will take a smaller band than 

 cucumbers, but do not try to get any of 

 these plants too large, because, if you 

 do, the roots will have spread on the 

 bottom and the plants will suffer at least 

 a setback if they do not die when moved. 



After placing the bands in the flats 

 and filling them \nfith soil, make holes 

 with a dibble in the approximate center 

 of each band large enough to permit you 

 to insert the roots of the seedlings. Se- 

 lect plants of equal size. The grading 

 of plants is undoubtedly necessary, as 

 small ones between larger ones are apt 

 to die. If there is a large mass of roots, 

 push them down with the point of the 

 dibble, and press the plants firmly into 

 the soil with the thumbs and forefingers 

 of each hand. After planting, rap the 

 flat sharply to even off the soil and 

 sprinkle enough of this over the top to 

 fill the flat nearly to its edge. 



With such plants as cucumbers, 

 melons, squash, corn, sweet peas, etc., 

 two or three seeds should be sown in 

 the bands directly and all but one pulled 

 out when the strongest can be selected 

 to remain. Plants such as tomatoes, 

 when wanted large, should be trans- 

 planted several times before being 

 placed in the band, and this should not 

 be done until three or four weeks before 

 time for planting out. 



Setting Out the Plants. 



When first planted the seedlings 

 should be given a good soaking and then 

 not watered again until on the dry side, 

 and from then on it rests with the 

 grower whether the plants will be a 

 success or a failure. There is nothing 

 more difficult than to give directions for 

 the growing of plants under glass, but 

 there is one main rule to follow: Never 

 water a plant until it needs it. A plant 

 needs water or it does not; it is never a 

 question of quantity. It is better to 

 hold your plants on the dry side than 

 keep them constantly wet and one can 

 only tell when to water by the condi- 

 tion of the soil itself. 



To remove plants from the flat, grasp 

 the flat by its sides and tilt it at an 

 angle of about 60 degrees, jar one end 

 against the ground until the plants 

 squeeze together and an inch or so of 

 space is gained at the upper end. Ke- 

 peat the operation with one side against 

 the ground. The plants will now have 

 loosened up so that they can be easily 

 removed with a putty knife or a small 

 trowel. With flats made with a detach- 

 able side the trowel may be readily in- 

 serted under the bands, but it is well to 

 jar the flats, as stated above, because it 

 loosens the bands so that they separate 

 more readily. Do not remove the band 

 from the plant when transplanting, for, 

 if removed, more or less injury will 

 occur to its roots. Set deep enough to 

 cover the band entirely. Fill the hole 

 around the plant with water and then 

 fill it with earth, leaving dry earth on 

 top. It is not necessary to shade in the 

 hottest weather. 



Disadvantages of Paper Bands. 



The one fault of the band method of 

 growing is the tendency to overwater; 

 this is especially true during cloudy 

 weather. The soil on top will appear 

 dry and naturally one will water these 

 with the rest in the bench, but if the 

 soil deeper down is examined it will bo 

 found to contain a considerable amount 

 of moisture. As an actual fact, plants 

 in bands do better if neglected some- 

 what, whereas if plants in small pots are 

 neglected they will soon be ruined. One 

 season I had several flats of smilax 

 plants in bands and several hundred 

 more in 2-inch pots on a high shelf, 

 where thev were seldom watered. The 



plants in the bands made several times 

 the growth of the ones in pots. 



The amount of moisture removed from 

 the soil depends upon two things: First, 

 direct evaporation from the soil itself; 

 second, that which takes place through 

 the leaves. The greater the number of 

 plants occupying the same area, or 

 rather the greater amount of leaf area 

 covering the given soil area, the greater 

 will be the amount of moisture absorbed 

 from the soil. In pots evaporation takes 

 place, not only from the top, but through 

 the pot itself, and the leaf area, as com- 

 pared with the amount of soil in the pot, 

 is large, causing the pot plants to use an 

 excessive amount of water during the 

 hot weather. This means repeated 

 watering, while in cloudy weather only 

 a normal amount is required. Where 

 bands are used the evaporation in sunny 

 weather will be normal, because aside 

 from the amount of moisture used by 

 the leaves themselves, there is little 

 evaporation. In cloudy weather there 

 will be little if any evaporation and, 

 with plants just set out, even in sunny 

 weather, little evaporation from the 

 leaves takes place, because, until the 

 roots get accustomed to their new places 

 and the new roots have grown to take 

 the place of the ones torn off, the only 

 evaporation will be from the soil. 



Souring Soil. 



When seedlings are transplanted to 

 either benches or flats, they are spaced 

 about one inch apart. There are several 

 times as many occupying the same area 

 as when planted in bands, except the 

 1-inch size, which can only be used for 

 plants with little top growth, or ones 

 which are to be held only a short time 

 before being planted out,^ and the evapo- 

 ration through the leaves removes sev- 

 eral times the amount of moisture re- 

 moved by the plants in bands under the 

 same conditions. Now, the point is, as 

 every grower knows, when the soil is 

 repeatedly watered without a chance to 

 dry out it becomes sour and hardly any 

 plant, especially a small seedling, with 

 thrive in sour soil. An insufficient sup- 

 ply of water is quickly in evidence, be- 

 cause, under these conditions, the plants 

 wilt, but if they are watered again at 

 once no harm will result, whereas it 

 takes two weeks of overwatering to 

 show up in the plants and several weeks 

 of careful watering to restore them to 

 health. A great many experienced 

 growers have made this mistake, and 

 when their plants turned yellow and be- 

 came stunted, they blamed the bands 

 for it. They were used to growing plants 

 in pots or loose soil. 



The lasting qualities of paper bands 

 depend a great deal upon the way the 

 plants are grown in them when ordinary 

 paper is used. For instance, plants 

 grown properly will take up the water 

 from the soil, which is replaced by air, 

 and, under this continuous first wet and 

 then practically dry condition of the 

 soil, the paper deteriorates but slowly. 

 I have had plants several months, which 

 came out of the flats in fine condition; 

 yet again, I tried to start cannas in 

 bands one year and, on account of the 

 extra moisture necessary to start and 

 grow them, the bands did not hold up 

 six weeks. 



Williamsport, Pa. — J. A. Everdale has 

 purchased the establishment of W. J. 

 (Iraham, who has retired from the busi- 

 ness. 



