40 



The Florists' Review 



■«'7f' 



Mabch 18, 1915. 



FOLIAGE TURNING BLACK. 



I am sending, under separate cover, 

 a few leaves of White Killarney and 

 Hadley roses which started to turn 

 black about four months ago; since 

 then the discoloration has been increas- 

 ing every day on the young foliage. 

 The roses were planted in July, in good 

 sod soil and cow manure. We keep 

 them in a temperature of 58 to 60 de- 

 grees at night and 64 to 66 degrees in 

 the daytime. There are three lines of 

 2-inch pipe under each bench. In the 

 north end of the house is a conduit 

 containing the main steam pipe, which 

 is also covered with asbestos. In the 

 south end is the return pipe, which Ues 

 on top of the ground. It seems that 

 the plants in the north end are affected 

 more with the black foliage than those 

 in the south end. We also have a house 

 of Sunburst and Ward, which are suf- 

 fering in just the same way and are 

 heated by the same arrangement of 

 piping. We have not done much fumi- 

 gating or spraying in the houses. 

 Please give me some information about 

 the blackening of the foliage. 



I am also sending a few leaves of 

 Killarney Brilliant. Will you tell me 

 what is the matter with them and what 

 to do for themt We keep them in a 

 temperature of 56 to 58 degrees at night 

 and 64 degrees in the daytime. The 

 house of Killarney Brilliant is separate 

 from the other houses and has a dif- 

 ferent heating system. O. B. — Mo. 



When the leaves arrived they were 

 pretty well dried up, so that it was a 

 hard matter to decide what was the 

 cause of their turning black. There 

 are several conditions which might 

 cause the foliage of a rose to be so 

 discolored. Alkali in the water is one 

 possible cause; too great a quantity of 

 sulphur fumes when the houses are 

 closed is another, but in either case 

 the leaves usually start to turn brown 

 at the edges, and not, as yours did, to 

 turn black in spots all over the sur- 

 face. Usually such a blackening is 

 caused either by dryness at the root or 

 by an overdose of ammonia. The am- 

 monia might be produced either by us- 

 ing too fresh manure in mulching' or 

 by applying too strong a dose of fer- 

 tilizer containing a large percentage of 

 nitrogen. In either case a good, heavy 

 watering and plenty of ventilation 

 should help to overcome the trouble. 



The fact that the north end of the 

 house, near the main steam pipe, is 

 mostly affected, seems to indicate that 



dryness might be the main cause of 

 your trouble. The additional fact that 

 the trouble started about the time 

 heavy firing became necessary, would be 

 still further evidence, as about that 

 time the benches started drying out 

 from the bottom, on account of the 

 heat beneath them. Killarney Bril- 

 liant, to do best, should have a night 

 temperature of 58 to 60 degrees, 64 de- 

 grees on cloudy days and 70 to 74 de- 

 grees on clear days. W. J. K. 



much better. Carnations and chrysan- 

 themums need all possible sunlight. A 

 rose house temperature would answer 

 fairly well for some carnations, but 

 would be too warm for chrysanthe- 

 mums, which must have a low night 

 temperature. I think Asparagus Spren- 

 geri, which would find the condition;? 

 congenial, would pay you better than 

 either of the two flower crops named, 

 0. W. 



DIVIDINa DAHLIA BOOTS. 



I bought some Delice dahlias last year 

 and they were beautiful. What is the 

 best way to propagate them? If I di- 

 vide the roots, must I have a piece of 

 the stem on each tuber? 



M. W. P. B.— Ala. 



OTHER CROPS WITH ROSES. 



Being able to plant only four benches 

 of our rose house, we should like to 

 know what can be grown to advantage 

 in the fifth bench, without hurrying 

 the roses. The bench is on the north 

 side of the house. Would smilaz or 

 ferns do well? We intend to use one 

 end of the house for growing carnsitions 

 and chrysanthemums, but it does not 

 get the sunlight until noon. What would 

 you suggest to plant there? 



W. B.— Iowa. 



Smilax grows to a considerable height 

 and, while it could be grown with roses, 

 the shadow cast would be decidedly 

 objectionable. Such ferns as neph- 

 rolepis would do well on the north 

 bench. Of these the old Boston still 

 remains the most popular. The end 

 where you propose to grow carnations 

 and chrysanthemums would suit smilaz 



Leave the division until a little later 

 in the spring; then divide the clumps in 

 halves, using a strong, sharp knife. Cut 

 through the center of the stalk. Then 

 divide to single tubers, but be sure to 

 leave a portion of the stem on each 

 tuber; without it there will be no eye 

 or growth. You can also start your 

 tubers now and propagate by soft-wood 

 cuttings in addition to root division, 

 but probably a division of the tubers 

 would give you as many plants as you 

 want. C. W. 



TULIF IS THOMAS MOORE. 



Under separate cover I am sending 

 you some tulip blooms. I should like 

 you to tell me what variety these are. 

 I bought the bulbs for Purple Crown^ 

 but . the color does not strike me as 

 being purple. I never bought Purple 

 Crown before and am not familiar with 

 it. 



This variety I am sending is an es- 

 pecially good forcer and a fine keeper, 

 and I wish to force it again next year. 

 I wish, therefore, to make sure of the 

 variety. C. G. N.— N. Y. 



The blooms came well packed, but 

 were pretty well dried up on their ar- 

 rival. As near as I could make out 

 the variety sent, it is not Purple Crown^ 

 but Thomas Moore. C. W. 



NOTES FROM FOREIGN I^NDS 



WHEN HAIL IS LEADEN. 



Belgian Growers on Battle Line. 



The town of Ypres is one of the most 

 important in western Belgium; it has 

 four railroad lines and the allies de- 

 fend it stubbornly, while the Germans 

 assault continuously with determina- 

 tion. Probably it is true that there 

 has been more fighting around Ypres 

 than in any other area of equal size. 

 Because of its railroad facilities, Ypres 

 is an important horticultural center in 

 times of peace. There are many grow- 

 ers in its environs, the largest being 

 the concern of which V. Bouckenooghe 

 is managing director. Mr. Boucke- 

 nooghe now is a refugee in England, 



whence comes his story in part as fol- 

 lows: 



"We never shall forget the date at 

 which Ypres should be taken by order 

 given by the Kaiser! This was, of 

 course, a terrible day for all of us. 

 Thousands and thousands of shells, 

 shrapnel and bombs were fired from 

 every direction. I thought it my duty 

 to stay as long as I could, being the 

 responsible man of a big nursery. I 

 stayed at home till November 29, hav- 

 ing heard for eight weeks, day after 

 day, night after night, the guns boom- 

 ing, and living all that time mostly in 

 my cellars. I think I shall never get 

 rid of that shrieking noise of a com- 

 ing shell, always followed by a terri- 

 ble explosion. 



