Decembbb 24, 1914. 



The Florists^ Review 



13 



gait. Every hill is a single plant, too, 

 but even if we had to double or treble 

 the plants, I don't believe we would 

 want to give it up yet. 



System Insures Success. 



If you have a new variety in moder- 

 ate quantity that is making good, you 

 will want to work up as much stock as 

 possible without impairing its vigor. 

 Instead of chopping oflE the whole tops 

 evenly, we find a better plan is to 

 take off only those shoots which have 

 not begun to run up. These make good 

 cuttings and after that we take off the 

 breaks as they reach the proper size. 

 In this way we get nearly the whole 

 season's cut of blooms and nearly as 

 many cuttings, besides conserving the 

 vigor of the stock. The sooner you do 

 this with these varieties, the more stock 

 you will be able to provide for next 

 season. If, perchance, your stock of 

 some of the standard sorts is in poor 

 condition, try changing the stock for 

 another year. There are plenty of 

 rooted cutting specialists who can sup- 

 ply you stock that is healthy and vig- 

 orous, which will give you better re- 

 turns and less worry than to try to doc- 

 tor up a lot of sickly cuttings. 



Don't start propagating without a 

 definite plan in view, as some growers 

 do. They simply take off what side 

 shoot cuttings they can get from each 

 variety, and by planting-out time they 

 find themselves short of some varieties 

 and long on others. Figure up what 

 you need to plant your beds and then 

 decide on how many you need of each 

 variety. Keep this list handy, where 

 you can refer to it frequently. Then 

 work to that end from the start. There 

 is nothing that brings success like 

 system. A. F. J. Baur. 



SOLID BEDS VERSUS BENCHES. 



Do carnation growers who operate 

 on a fairly large scale favor benches 

 or ground beds? Also, which do rose 

 growers prefer, ground beds or bench- 

 est S. H. 



While there are many growers of 

 roses and carnations who use ground 

 beds, by far the greater number pre- 

 fer benches. The ground beds pro- 

 duce, in the hands of a capable grower, 

 as fine stock as can be grown on benches, 

 but on raised tables the grower has 

 his plants under better control and can 

 time his crops more exactly, or at 

 least such is the general belief. 



F. R. 



BLOOMS NOT KEEPING WELL. 



What is the matter with my blooms 

 of Chrysanthemum Helen Frick? They 

 have splendid form, color and size, but 

 they are soft when cut and unfit to 

 ship after being in water twelve to 

 twenty-four or forty-eight hours. I 

 grow all the standard mums, but Helen 

 Frick and President Roosevelt are the 

 only ones that give trouble in this re- 

 spect. Are these varieties generally as 

 unsatisfactory as I have found themt 



H. J. R. 



■ .J^' f — ^ '■ J 

 Helen Priclc and Roosevelt are both 

 dwarf in growth, and in order to get 

 suflBcient length of stem you have no 

 doubt been cutting down low, where the 

 stem is woody and hard. The blooms 

 do not draw water well through this 

 hard wood, and for that reason the 



Carnation Ne^iff^ka. 



longer they stand after being cut, the 

 softer they become. By making a long, 

 slashing cut at the bottom of the stem, 

 or by splitting the stem about two 

 inches before placing in water, most 

 of the varieties may be made to draw 

 better. We have found this fall that 

 by merely slashing off the bark here 

 and there along that part of the stem 

 which will be immersed in water, even 

 the hardest-stemmed varieties may be 

 made to draw water satisfactorily. 



A. F. J. Baur. 



NEBRASKA IN LINCOLN.' ' ' 



C. H. Frey, of Lincoln, Neb., who 

 has grown both Victory and Beacon, 

 has largely displaced these two by his 

 own red seedling, of which 900 plants 

 are shown in the bench at the right 

 '.n thft illustration on page 12. This 

 is a seedling raised from a cross of 

 Victory and Beacon. The flowers are 

 large, of good color and well formed, 

 but, best of all, the seedling, according 

 to Mr. Frey, shows two points of 

 marked superiority to either of the 

 parents. He asserts with emphasis, and 

 refuses to qualify the statement, that 

 the variety will give two flowers to 

 one of Enchantress; and he says he 

 never has seen a split calyx on it. He 

 says that in Lincoln he can sell red 

 carnations every day in the year, right 

 along with white or pink, and that he 

 intends planting the new variety heav- 

 ily next year. He has named it Ne- 

 braska. In the picture it is j.hown with 

 White Enchantress occupying the other 

 benches in the house. 



a little later turn yellow and die. In 

 this way the three lower branches have 

 been nearly stripped of their leaves. 

 The plant is about 8 years old. It is 

 in an 8-inch pot and stands four and 

 a half feet high. It was repotted last 

 spring and the soil was of a sandy na- 

 ture, containing about one-fifth decayed 

 horse manure. From that time its 

 growth has been slow and about two 

 months ago the leaves began to fall. 

 I keep it rather moist and it gets the 

 benefit of the afternoon sun only. The 

 temperature is never below 50 degrees 

 or over 70 degrees. If you could sug- 

 gest a change of treatment, the favor 

 would be greatly appreciated. F. K. 



The specimens in question show in- 

 dications of thrips, an insect that is 

 quite partial to araucarias and soon 

 does them much injury. Vigorous 

 syringing is the best preventive to use 

 against the thrips, and by way of im- 

 mediate treatment the plant should be 

 well sprayed- with nicotine solution. 

 With regular syringing and a night 

 temperature of 50 degrees, there should 

 be little trouble from thrips on the 

 araucaria, but sometimes these de- 

 structive pests get a start before they 

 are noticed. W. H. T. 



FOECINO RHODODENDRONS. 



How should rhododendrons be treated 

 to have them for Easter plants! 



W. B. W. 



THRIPS ON ARAUCARIAS. 



I am enclosing a few leaves of an 

 Araucaria excelsa for inspection. The 

 leaves commence to rot at the base and 



Keep the plants in any cold pit or 

 frame until February 10, then place 

 in a temperature of 50 to 55 degrees 

 at night. Spray freely until the flower 

 buds show color. They can be forced 

 more quickly if necessary, but it is 

 better not to force them too hard. 



C. W. 



