March 2, 1922 



The Florists^ Review 



27 



CARNATION MEN TELL HOW 



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PROPAGATING CARNATIONS. 



Experiences of a Specialist. 



Whatever knowledge I may possess 

 was taught me by my father, whose ob- 

 servations in his travels among his car- 

 nation brethren and his own personal 

 experiences were given me freely. My 

 own personal experiences were obtained 

 by s-ticking with a variety until I could 

 safely feel I had the best of it, or at 

 least felt I had, so far as rooting cut- 

 tings of the variety was concerned. 



Propagation of carnations in the early 

 days was more on the hit-or-miss plan, 

 a section of a bench in a greenhouse be- 

 ing used for this purpose. Many times 

 all kinds of stock were rooted in the 

 same space, receiving practically the 

 same treatment. 



The first real propagating house built 

 by my father was 10x80 feet, built on 

 th'e north side of a greenhouse that had 

 been taken down and moved to Tewks- 

 bury, from Lowell, about 1880. These 

 two houses were connected by a wooden 

 gutter. The short span on the south 

 side was covered with tarred paper, and 

 ventilation was through small wooden 

 shutters. There were two beds, heated 

 with steam through two 4-branch 

 1%-inch pipes, controlled by manifolds. 

 The bottom of the beds was covered 

 with roofing slate. Propagation was 

 conducted successfully here for many 

 years, but there were drawbacks which 

 became apparent. 



Not long ago I came across some old 

 notebooks of my father's, in which 

 appeared numerous sketches, drawn by 

 him from time to time. One of these I 

 recognized as a sketch of the propagat- 

 ing house with which I am most familiar 

 aid which is in present use. This house, 

 by the way, is constructed of old-type 

 sashbars without the drip grooves. 



Construction of Propagating House. 



This house has a short span on the 

 south side, and ventilation" is continuous 

 on both sides. Shade is used at all times 

 on the glass on the south side, and from 

 March 1 on the north side. There are 

 two single and seven double beds, ex- 

 tending crosswise of the house, with a 

 capacity of 65,000 cuttings. The single 

 beds arc three feet wide; the double 

 ones are six feet, separated in the mid- 

 dle with a board. Heating is through one 

 1%-inch pipe, placed midway under each 

 half, each bed being provided with both 

 flow and return valves. From the side- 

 boards to the ground, heat is retained 

 through cotton cloth tacked around the 

 entire section. Cross strips on the bot- 

 tom hold split building tile. The cracks 

 are covered lightly with mortar. Wo 

 use five inches of clean, sharp sand, put 

 through a %-ineh sieve to keep out 

 largo pebbles. The sand is pressed down 

 firmly, thoroughly watered, then tamped 

 or spanked. Cuttings are then inserted 

 from IVi-inch to li/.-inch deep and 

 firmed with the marking stick. Water- 

 ing thoroughly is in order, a sprinkler 



An a.lilross liy Harold .T. Tatton. doliverod 

 before tlio Cardrnors' and Florists' Club of 

 JJoston, February 23, 1922. 



being used. Heat is then applied and 

 thermometers placed in each section, to 

 the depth of the cuttings. We endeavor 

 to keep the overhead temperature at 

 50 to 52 degrees and the sand at 60 de- 

 grees. 



The cuttings are given a fine spray- 

 ing each morning and sometimes twice 

 a day, depending on conditions of the 

 air. At the end of the first week, an- 

 other good watering is given. Nearly all 

 varieties root with us in twenty-one 

 to twenty-five days in the winter. We 

 then turn off all the heat and allow the 

 sand to cool to 50 degrees. This hardens 

 the cuttings and reduces loss when they 

 are potted or boxed. Soft cuttings that 

 show wilt badly after potting receive a 

 severe check and usually there is some 

 loss. We try to obtain a good, fat bunch 

 of roots on each cutting. Whenever we 

 fail to root less than ninety-five per 

 cent, something is wrong. During the 

 last ten years, more than 2,000,000 cut- 

 tings have been rooted and we consider 

 our establishment a small one, as ranges 

 go today. 



Ventilation is given freely and drafts 

 avoided. Cuttings are not shaded or cov- 

 ered until mild weather arrives. These 

 are then sprinkled in the morning, news- 

 papers applied and those sprinkled. In 



tlie late afternoon the papers are re- 

 moved and the cuttings sprinkled again. 

 After fifteen days, shading with papers 

 is omitted. We can root as late as May 

 30 with fair results. One of my benches 

 planted with Thomas C. Joy was taken 

 from the sand the first week in June and 

 over 12,000 cuttings have been rooted 

 from this block already. 



How to Select Cuttings. 



Cuttings, wlien taken with too soft 

 a growth, are undeveloped and, if they 

 do root, require constant attention and 

 usally are unsatisfactory. Top cuttings 

 we seldom take. Of course, they can 

 be rooted, but our experience in buying 

 stock from top cuttings and having them 

 come many times with buds the size of 

 a small pea, always makes us feel that 

 we are paying for something that we 

 don't want. Usually the joints are long 

 and the plant grows scraggly. We prefer 

 to take the second, third and fourth cut- 

 tings. Cuttings from hard wood near 

 the base of the plant we keep away 

 from. It has been proven from expe- 

 rience that continual propagation of 

 tliese cuttings cuts down the blooming 

 qualities of practically all varieties. It 

 has likewise been proven that shy 

 bloomers can be made to produce more 



Harold J. Patten. 



