14 



T)y Florists^ Review 



October 0, 1913. 



MUMS DAMPING OFF. 



We send a sample of Yellow Chad- 

 wick which all seem to go blin^ Last 

 year. some of the white ChadWck did 

 this, but this year they are all right. 

 These are rather late planted, but have 

 had good care and good slf)il, but no 

 extra feed. All the other varieties un- 

 der the same treatment and in the same 

 house are all right. Can you suggest 

 the cause! J. B. O. S. 



I am unable to state wjiat is the 

 trouble with these Yellow Chadwick. 

 One fact is apparent, the bud has 

 damped, but why it should do this, un- 

 less the buds are growing close to the 

 glass and the sun has burned them, I 

 can not say. The leaf does not indi- 

 cate any exceptional feeding. If the 

 subscriber has been closing up his house 

 nights, resulting in the moisture set- 

 tling in the buds, the bright sun on 

 them in the morning would cook them. 

 This is about the only explanation I 

 can offer and the reader is perhaps able 

 to tell from the way he has been han- 

 dling them if this is the case. 



If the buds immediately under the 

 ventilator are affected, this would in- 

 dicate that the moisture comes in from 

 the night air and the morning sun does 

 the damage. Are the Yellow Chadwick 

 growing tall and right up to the glass? 

 If so, this may account for their damp- 

 ing when the other varieties in the 

 house are all right. If neither of these 

 suppositions are correct, I am afraid I 

 can not help. Chas. H. Totty. 



DODDEE PLANT, OE CUSOUTA. 



Enclosed you will find a piece of a 

 chrysanthemum stem which is covered 

 with some kind of growth. It spreads 

 rapidly and has no roots in the ground 

 at all. Kindly tell me what causes it 

 and what will stop it, as it has a tend- 

 ency to kill the plants. A. F. B. 



The growth mentioned is nothing 

 more or less than the dodder plant, or 

 cuscuta, as the botanists call it. This 

 is a parasitic growth that attaches 

 itself to the plant. The life history 

 of this parasite, if I recall it correctly, 

 is that it starts from a seed which 

 germinates in the ground, but as soon 

 as the parasitic plant begins to grow, 

 which it does almost immediately, it 

 attaches itself to its host plant and 

 the root connected with the ground 

 dies off. The dodder establishes itself 

 firmly on the plant and derives its 

 sustenance therefrom. 



Every year I receive letters from dif- 

 ferent sections of the country mention- 

 ing this evil and wanting to know what 

 can be done regarding it. However, I 

 have never known personally of the 

 dodder being in any place in such quan- 

 tity as to cause serious trouble. The 

 only remedy I know of is to pull out 

 the plants affected with the growth and 

 burn them; then the seeds are destroyed 

 also and no further trouble will result. 



Chas. H. Totty. j 



ATTACKED BY TAENISH BUQ. 



Enclosed you will find a branch of a 

 Nellie Pockett chrysanthemum. By 

 close inspection you will see little 

 swellings along jilt^ stem; st^ will alap 

 notice the aimSmH gi«H of tm 

 stem itself. About one-tnird to one- 

 half of the plants of this variety, as 

 well as Enguehard, Glory of Pacific, 

 Golden Glow, Ivory and Gold Mine, 

 are affected with this growth, and we 

 should like to know what causes it. 



We strongly ^uspect a little fly, 

 specimens of wmch you will find en- 

 closed. Sometimes it is colored like 

 the ones enclosed and sometimes it is 

 green, with a V-shaped mark on its 

 back. This fly appeared about the be- 

 ginning of August and was flying 

 around the tops of the plants, but only 

 a few are left now. Our theory is that 

 the fly in some way pierced the stems 

 or laid its eggs there, in the course of 

 time injuring the plants and causing 

 this kind of growth. 



We had for two years the best mums 

 in this part of the state, and as the 



growing is now done along the same 

 lines as formerly and the plants look 

 healthy and vigorous, we cannot see 

 any reason for blaming the culture, 

 especially as some plants in another 

 house are all right, only a little late in 

 budding, but we di^l not notice the fly 

 there. Please let us know your opinion 

 and suggest a remedy, if there is any. 



B. & s. r. S. 



The plant submitted had been punc- 

 tured by what is known s>is the tarnish 

 plant bug. This insect punctures the 

 stem and seems to poison the plant, 

 so tl^^t it produces only., (blind wood 

 instead of a healthy shoot. It is a 

 bad pest in some sections; so bad, 

 in fact, that some growers havp tem- 

 porarily discarded mums on that ac- 

 count. It is difficult to say what will 

 be of any service in disposing of these 

 bugs. A nightly spraying of one of the 

 nicoticides during the growing season 

 is about the best thing, as this makes 

 it unpleasant for the bugs, but it is 

 expensive work. 



Of the insects submitted, the two 

 with the orange backs and black spots 

 are what are known as ladybugs, which 

 are among the best friends the chrys- 

 anthemum grower has, as their larvae 

 spend all their time consuming the 

 black and green fly. The other bug 

 enclosed is the tarnish bug, which I 

 have already mentioned, and which is 

 the cause of all the trouble. 



Chas. H. Totty. 



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^ SEASONABLE 



i ^ SUGGESTIONS j 



5 d 



I 



Azaleas. 



The imported azaleas, which have 

 just come to hand, are in exceptionally 

 fine condition this season, being of a 

 splendid color and remarkably well 

 budded. They should be taken out of 

 the cases as soon as possible after ar- 

 rival, and, after the balls have been 

 well soaked in tubs of water, the plants 

 can be stood close together temporar- 

 ily, in coldframes or cold greenhouses. 

 The work of potting them should be 

 rushed as much as possible. It is slow 

 work, potting azaleas properly, and 

 they cannot be overhauled like soft- 

 wooded plants. The soil should be well 

 shaken and packed down the sides of 

 the pots, and, after the potting is 

 done, there should be a good basin left 

 for water. Stand the plants anywhere 

 clear of frost. If it is desired to get 

 some varieties, such as Firefly or Hexe, 

 Mme. Petrick or Deutsche Perle, in 

 good shape for Thanksgiving or Christ- 

 mas, the plants should be put in heat 

 now. 



Miscellaneous Hard- Wooded Plants. 



The lifting and potting of all hard- 

 wooded subjects, such as acacias, eri- 

 cas, camellias, boronias, etc., should 

 be completed as soon as possible. These 

 plants are not harmed by a light frost, 

 but it is not advisable to expose them 

 to a lower temperature than 30 degrees, 

 as injury to the flower buds might re- 



sult. All varieties of hard-wooded 

 plants must be firmly potted. In re- 

 gard to compost, while some varieties, 

 notably ericas and boronias, prefer it 

 of a peaty nature, all will do well in 

 loam, especially when a good propor- 

 tion of leaf-mold and plenty of sand 

 are added to give it porosity. 



Canterbury Bells. 



There are no finer spring-flowering 

 plants for the country florist than Can- 

 terbury bells. Campanula Medium is 

 the botanical name of these most use- 

 ful plants. Now is the proper time to 

 lift and pot plants from the field. As 

 a rule, 7-inch and 8-inch pots will 

 suffice, but extra large plants will need 

 8-inch and 10-inch pots. The finest 

 specimens I ever saw were in 14-inch 

 pots and measured four to five feet 

 across. Plants of this size are all right 

 on private estates, but commercial 

 growers will find the smaller sizes more 

 profitable. 



If the seed of Canterbury bells was 

 sown not later than June 1, the plants 

 are sure to be vigorous and will flower 

 well. Each year, however, many grow- 

 ers put off sowing until too late. It is 

 true that they get nice little plants, 

 but few of them will flower. Give 

 these plants a generous compost, stand 

 them outdoors in an open, sunny spot 

 and leave them there until sharp frost 

 endangers the pots. Pink and white 

 are the favorite colors. Doubles are 

 not desirable. Single-flowered plants 



