16 



The Florists^ Review 



Afbil 22, 1016. 



to be the opinion of growers. My ob- 

 servations confirm this opinion. No 

 corms so affected, to my knowledge, 

 have ever failed to germinate and pro- 

 duce healthy plants, although of course 

 it is conceivable that a corm could be 

 so badly affected that such would be 

 the case. 



Studies made here, in the laboratory 

 at Cornell University, have thrown lit- 

 tle light upon the cause of this abnor- 

 mal condition. Attempts to connect 

 the disease with some fungous or bac- 

 terial parasite have so far failed. One 

 grower of gladioli found an unusually 

 large amount of this disease among 

 corms grown in soil which, was low 

 and damp, and suggested the possibil- 

 ity of the poor condition of the soil 

 being the cause of the trouble. An- 

 other suggestion is that the disease is 



due to the work of wireworms. At 

 present this latter suggestion seems to 

 me to be the one most plausible. It 

 is my plan to start some experiments 

 in the near future which will deter- 

 mine this point. 



It is obvious from the foregoing 

 statements that no treatment previous 

 to planting the corms seems advisable. 

 My advice is to plant the corms in 

 light, well drained soil in which gla- 

 dioli have never been grown. It might 

 be considered advisable, in view of the 

 limited knowledge of this disease, to 

 segregate the corms so affected to pre- 

 clude any possibility of the disease be- 

 ing transmitted to sound corms. If the 

 plants are given the best of care dur- 

 ing the summer and at harvesting time, 

 it is not improbable that the trouble 

 will be lessened. L. M. Massev. 



£|lllllllllillllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilillllllllllllllllllllllllllllillilllillllllllllllllll(i 



I SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS I 

 I FOR SOUTHERN FLORISTS | 



^llllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllilllllllilllllllllllllliT 



POINSETTIAS IN THE SOUTH. 



Propagation by Cuttings. 



When well grown, poinsettias are the 

 quickest sellers at the Christmas holi- 

 days, in the south as elsewhere. Un- 

 fortunately, they are .too often seen 

 under bare poles, when they are any- 

 thing but things of beauty. One of the 

 main features of their culture is to 

 keep them growing from start to finish 

 without a check. If a young plant be- 

 comes potbound enough to turn the 

 leaves to a pale yellowish cast, the 

 leaves are sure to drop in the fall. 



Poinsettias are propagated either by 

 cuttings or layers. In the south the 

 cuttings root readily during the month 

 of May, but in the succeeding hot 

 months they are diflB.cult to root, unless 

 in a cool, shady spot, free from drafts. 

 A rather deep frame, constructed in a 

 lath house and covered with well- 

 shaded sashes, raised at back and front, 

 makes a good propagating bed. The 

 surest way to increase them, however, 

 is by layers; a stand of 100 per cent is 

 always obtained by this method. 



The old plants may be shaken out 

 any time now, repotted in smaller sized 

 pots in any good, ordinary soil, and 

 watered rather sparingly until new root 

 action is well started. The plants need 

 not be cut back much if cuttings are 

 wanted, unless they are extremely tall, 

 but severe pruning is necessary to make 

 good shoots for layering. The hard 

 wood thus cut off, if cut into lengths 

 with three or four eyes, will root read- 

 ily in a rose' propagating bed and make 

 good stock for propagating from later, 

 or the wood may be put on a warm 

 bench with three inches of light soil, 

 covered thinly and treated like dracsena 

 canes. In a short while these will 

 throw up shoots, which can be used for 

 cuttings or layers as desired. 



In the northern sections of the so- 

 called southern states the old poin- 

 settia plants, after being established, 

 do better if planted out on a bench 

 •than if kept in pots. In the extreme 

 south it is better to shift them into 

 larger pots and plunge them outside in 

 a frame. Some growers plant them out 

 in the open ground, but if so treated 



the growth is entirely too rank and 

 soft to produce the best results. 



Propagation by Layering. 



When the young poinsettia shoots are 

 from six to eight inches long is the time 

 to commence layering. Select the third 

 or fourth eye from the tip of the shoot, 

 remove the leaf, and with a sharp knife 

 make a slanting cut almost half through 

 the stem, beginning about a quarter of 

 an inch below the eye and finishing the 

 same distance above it. Insert a tiny 

 piece of wet sheet moss in the cut to 

 keep it open, and bind a bigger piece 

 of the same material tightly around it. 

 This is a rather delicate operation, as 

 the stems are so brittle that an extra 

 cut with the knife or a wrong twist 

 when binding on the moss may break 

 them ehtirely off. A little practice 

 makes perfect, however. 



Each layer must be supported on a 

 stake and the moss must be kept thor- 

 oughly wet. Under average southern 

 conditions the roots generally show in 

 from seventeen to twenty-one days, 

 when the layers can be cut off and 

 potted in 2i^-inch or 3-inch pots. While 



rooting, the layers make considerable 

 growth and the taller ones may need a 

 small stake to straighten them up. All 

 of them require careful watching, shad- 

 ing and protection frijna, drafts for a 

 few days, until established, when they 

 can be placed in the full sun on a bench 

 near the glass. Fresh soil, rather light, 

 with a little old manure j will suit them 

 well. Shift into 4-inch pots when ready, 

 and, after making a little growth there, 

 they can be layered again. What is 

 left after this layering will do finely if 

 placed, three together, in 8-inch azalea 

 pots, with small ferns for a trimming, 

 and will make nice specimens, or they 

 can be planted out on benches for cut 

 flowers. 



The Final Potting. 



The last lot of poinsettia layers may 

 be made in the south as late as the 

 middle of August, and from the middle 

 to the end of September is the best 

 time to give them their final shift. 

 Combinations with asparagus or ferns, 

 made up at that time, give more satis- 

 faction than when made just a week 

 before the holidays. Some, of course, 

 may be kept in as small pots as possi- 

 ble, so that the storekeepers can make 

 arrangements to suit the tastes of all 

 their customers. 



October and November are the 

 critical months in the culture of poin- 

 settias, and if you can steer them safely 

 through these months without letting 

 them drop their foliage, you can bank 

 on having them right at the holidays. 

 Water carefully at that time, keeping 

 an average moisture at the roots, and 

 avoiding extremes either of wetness or 

 dryness. Give a little fire heat on cool 

 nights, with enough ventilation to keep 

 the temperature at 56 to 58 degrees. A 

 mulch of old cow manure, renewed 

 every two weeks, is one of the greatest 

 aids to the plants in holding their 

 foliage and is much preferable to ap- 

 plications of liquid manure. When the 

 bracts are well formed, the night tem- 

 perature can be reduced 4 or 5 degrees 

 and the supply of water shortened. 

 Mealy bug is rather fond of this plant, 

 but careful spraying will keep them 

 down. 



Along the gulf coast the best layers 

 are made in August and September and 

 the final shift may be made any time in 

 October. There the loss of foliage, with 

 ordinary care, is not likely to be so 

 troublesome. L. 



TOO BADLY WILTED. 



Will you tell me whether the en- 

 closed carnation is a named variety or 

 a sport? If it is a sport, what do you 

 think of itf A. S.— Mont. 



son. Lady Bountiful, Alma Ward and 

 Matchless all have a tendency to throw 

 some of these flaked blooms. If you 

 think your trade will take to it, work 

 up a stock of it. A. F. J. B. 



The specimen forwarded was too 

 badly wilted to be identified. These 

 flaked blooms are frequently found 

 among the white varieties during the 

 winter months, disappearing as the 

 warm weather approaches. It may be 

 one of these white sorts. White Law- 



BUDS DESTBOYED BY THBIPS. 



Will you please tell^me the name of 

 an insect which is destroying many of 

 my carnation buds! It does not cause 

 any trouble until about April 1. The 

 insect is gray in color and less than an 

 eighth of an inch long. It does not 



