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MAKCH 9, 1922 



The Florists^ Review 



35 



POINTERS ON POT PLANTS 



HYDRANQEAS FOB EASTEB? 



Can hydrangeas be brought out for 

 piaster in a temperature of 55 degrees 

 at night and 60 during the day? 



J. S.— 0. 



It is too late now to start hydrangeas 

 for Easter. Plants should now be well 

 advanced in growth, with the flower 

 heads juat peeping through. C. "W. 



SPOTS ON PELABGONIUMS. 



What causes spotted leaves on Pelar- 

 gonium Easter Greeting? H. K. — Wis. 



Spots on pelargoniums may be caused 

 by burns from defective glass or a too 

 moist atmosphere. Spraying the plants 

 may also cause it. Keep a dry atmos- 

 phere, elevate the plants well to the 

 light and avoid overhead spraying. Fu- 

 migate for aphis rather than spray. 

 C. W. 



TROUBLE WITH PELABGONIUMS. 



We have sent some leaves of pelar- 

 goniums. Will you tell us what causes 

 the brown spots on them? This trouble 

 first started on our calla lilies and is now 

 -spreading to the geraniums and pelar- 

 },'oniums. Will vou also suggest a rem- 

 edy? ' W. II. X.— Tex. 



The leaves present the appearance of 

 being sun-scorched. This frequently hap- 

 pens to both callas and pelargoniums 

 at this season. If this is not the trouble, 

 it is, no doubt, a form of leaf-spot, in- 

 duced by peculiar climatic conditions 

 or by the atmospheric conditions of 

 your house. \ 



If the trouble is quite r^neral, |it 

 would be advisable to spray with a^p6d 

 fungicide, like Bordeaux mixture, two 

 or three times at intervals of a week. 

 Throw away badly diseased plants. The 

 <'urnace is the best place for them. Do 

 not throw any diseased foliage on the 

 lloors or benches. Keep the house freely 

 ventilated, with a dry, buoyant atmos- 

 phere, and do not spray overhead. Space 

 the plants apart from time to time, so 

 that they are not crowded. C. W. 



MITE-INFESTED CYCLAMENS. 



We have sent you some specimens of 

 'liseased cyclamens. Will you tell us 

 the causes of the disease and suggest 

 rvmedies, if there are any? Will it pay 

 to keep the plants over for next season? 



i'. F. C— 111. 



All the plants came in a spell of zero 

 weather and were frozen sdlid, but one 

 "lance sufficed to show that mite was, 

 'indoubtedly, the trouble, and it would 

 never pay to carry such affected plants 

 over; in fact, it does not pay to carry 

 over cyclamens anyway. Throw your 

 plants away and do not, under any con- 

 sideration, dream of carrying them pver. 

 It would be wasted effort. Mite usually 

 ;I>oils nearly half of the cyclamen plants 

 i" the country. 



Constant fumigation, spraying, dip- 

 ping and cleanliness all around are 

 necessary to produce good cyclamens. 



It would be advisable not to try cyc- 

 lamens next season and to start again 

 a year later with clean, young stock. 

 Mite is hard to control, but successful 

 growers find it pays to fumigate or spray 

 with a nicotine solution once a week 

 and, where signs of trouble appear, dip- 

 ping in a mixture of nicotine and soap 

 has proved good insurance. C. W. 



CABBYING OVEB CYCLAMENS. 



Will you let me know what the best 

 method is for keeping cyclamen bulbs 

 through the summer? E. H. H. — Mo. 



The plants should be placed either on 

 shelves or on a bench in a cool, airy, 

 sunny house. It will never pay to stand 

 them below the benches. A shed might 

 answer, but it would be better to give 

 the plants full light. The plants must 

 not be kept dust-dry, but should be wa- 

 tered a little occasionally. When the 

 new growth commences, shake out and 

 repot the plants. I doubt the wisdom of 

 carrying over the cyclamens. It is . a 

 practice almost generally abandoned. 

 Vou will l)e far better off financially to 

 purchase some young stock now, and 

 urow them on, than to attempt to carry 

 over old plants. C. W. 



CYCLAMEN MITE AGAIN. 



I have sent some cyclamen blooms that 

 are affected in some way. The plants, 

 iu some cases, have perfect blooms and 

 deformed ones at the same time. It has 

 occurred to me that the trouble might 

 Ije thrips. Is this riglit? 



P. S.— Mich. 



The cyclamen flowers came entirely 

 black and were almost rotten on receipt. 

 While your trouble may be thrips, it is 

 more probably the dreaded and quite 

 prevalent cyclamen mite. It would be 

 advisable to throw away all the affected 

 plants. If you attempt to grow any 

 cj-clamens another season, start with 

 clean, young stock; attend to the plants 

 religiously and keep them and the house 

 containing them clean. This means con- 

 stant care, especially in fumigating once 

 a week, and, if you see any trace of 

 mite trouble, start to spray with a nico- 

 tine and soap mixture or, better still, 

 dip the plants. Fumigation or spraying 

 regularly is the best preventive for the 

 cyclamen mite. C. W. 



TBOUBLE WITH PBIMULAS. 



We are sending you several speci- 

 mens of Primula malacoides, which show 

 signs of rot near the heart of the plant. 

 A close examination will reveal the pres- 

 ence near the heart or the roots of each 

 plant of a number of small worms. Will 

 you kindly advise what is destroying 

 these plants and how we can exter- 

 minate the worms? F. F. Co. — 111. 



You can readily dispose of the earth 

 worms ill your i)ots by watering with 

 lime water. Immerse a small lump of 

 lime in a 3-gallon can of water. When 

 the lime is dissolved and the water has 

 again cleared, pour off the clear liquid 



and apply this to the plants. The worms 

 will soon vacate the premises. I do not, 

 however, think that worms have any- 

 thing to do with rot on your plants; it is 

 more likely to be caused by wetting the 

 hearts of the plants when they are wa- 

 tered. Primula malacoides rots badly 

 during midwinter if the water is poured 

 into the centers of the plants, especially 

 when we get several, successive sunless 

 days. Be careful to water around the 

 sides of your pots and then your trou- 

 ble will disappear. Some years ago, 

 when P. malacoides was new and we 

 knew little of its proper culture, we 

 saved seeds in February along with P. 

 sinensis, P. kewensis and P. obconica 

 and before fall had tremendous plants. 

 We found, as winter came on, that these 

 big plants, densely crowded with fo- 

 liage, rotted badly at their hearts, no 

 matter how carefully we watered them,, 

 and in succeeding years we guardecl 

 against trouble of this kind by delaying* 

 the sowing of seed until early in July. 

 This date we find is sufficiently early 

 to give plants in 5-incli to 7-inch pots 

 for winter flowering. This plant, fur- 

 thermore, loves a cool house and does 

 its best where the night temperature 

 averages about 45 degrees. C. W. 



TBOUBLE WITH BEGONIAS. 



Will you kindly examine the specimen 

 of Chatelaine begonia which I have 

 mailed you? This plant is infected with 

 some kind of disease, which has a 

 tendency to spread. The leaves curl up 

 and then die and, in some cases, the en- 

 tire plant acts in the same way. 



C. J. D.— Kan. 



The cuttings came badly decayed after 

 their long journey and I could not tell 

 whether an insect or a disease was re- 

 sponsible for their condition. If it is a 

 disease, I would consider the most prob- 

 able cause to bo an oversupply of water 

 and too low a temperature. If it is an 

 insect jiest, I wou4d suggest spraying 

 well with a nicotine solution. If your 

 plants arc badly infected, a dip of nico- 

 tine containing a little soap will prove 

 .■ffective. C. W. 



LEAF EDGES DBY UP. 



What causes the drying up of the 

 edges and finally the whole leaf of vio- 

 lets. Primula obconica, the large-leaved 

 begonias and Boston ferns? Would al- 

 kali or foreign elements in the water 

 cause such trouble? I have grown 

 plants for thirty years, and in many 

 states, but I have never encountered 

 such difficulties. W. C. K. — Kan. 



Trouble of the kind mentioned can be 

 caused in several ways — a surplus of 

 water ami a too low temperature, fumi- 

 gation with tobacco stems, or, as you 

 suggest, the presence of some injurious, 

 foreign matter in the water. I think it 

 will be a good idea to write to the hor- 

 ticultural department of your state col- 

 lege, and perhaps send a small flask of 

 the water at your range, in order that 

 the real trouble can be located. 



C. W. 



