July 15, 1915. 



\ 



The Florists^ Review 



13 



plants will not bloom. I planted my 

 last lot deeper than the first, and the 

 shallow-planted ones have not done so 

 well. Those in the second planting 

 averaged a depth of three and one-half 

 inches, while the first lot averaged two 

 and one-half inches. Last year the 

 young plants retained their green color 

 better than the older ones during the 

 hot summer. The young plants had 

 been fertilized earlier, as I did not 

 fertilize the older ones until after 

 blooming. Hence I thought that possi- 

 bly the early fertilizing kept the 

 plants greener, so this year I gave all 

 an early application. I intended to 

 use ground bone and potash, but the 

 guano turned out to be blood and bone 

 meal. The potash was added, of course. 

 My land is poor and I am wondering 

 whether that is the trouble with the 

 plants. It is a sandy loam. This sea- 

 son I have large peas planted between 

 the rows, and the.pea8 are to be plowed 

 under, green, about July 1. 



Answer — I think your land is prob- 

 ably lacking in the necessary plant 

 food for peonies. They are strong 

 feeders and succeed best in a deep soil, 

 well enriched with manure. Animal 

 manures, especially cow manure, are 

 the best. If you cannot secure these, 

 use a high-grade potato fertilizer in 

 the spring and work it well into the 

 soil. As growth ad>dnces, a light top- 

 dressing of nitrate of soda or dried 

 blood will be found helpful. Romember 

 that peonies are g^oss feeders,, and the 

 deeper your soil is trenched or plowed 

 and the more liberally it is manured, 

 the better will be your returns. Plants 

 bloom sparsely the first and second sea- 

 sons after being divided, particularly if 

 the weather has been dry and the soil 

 is not sufficiently rich. The crowns 

 should be covered to a depth of two or 

 two and one-half inches. If you can 

 obtain well decayed manure, give a 

 good fall mulch with it. After the 

 blooms are all cut is a good time to 

 give the land another top-dressing of, 

 say, ground bone. Cover crops will 

 furnish some humus if plowed in green, 

 but you would get better results if the 

 land had some preparation of this kind 

 before the planting was done. 



Q. — Should as much nitrate be used 

 in fertilizer after plowing in green 

 crops? 



A. — No, the peas, cowpeas, clover, 

 etc., all contain considerable nitrogen. 



Q. — Would it be wise to plant a win- 

 ter cover crop also between the rows? 



A. — Only if your land is likely to 

 waste badly. 



Q. — Will the blood and bone meal 

 injure the keeping quality of the blooms 

 next year? 



A. — ^There is no reason why it should. 



Q. — When leaves come up below the 

 earth, or on a level with it, would 

 these indicate that the roots were 

 planted too deeply? 



A.— Yes. 



Q. — Does rain cause the buds to open 

 more quickly? 



A. — Yes, if heat accompanies it. A 

 moist atmosphere and comparatively 

 cool conditions are what peonies like. 



Q.— Are Queen Victoria and Edulis 

 Superba less able to stand hot sun- 

 shine? 



A. — They stand it fully as well as 

 other sorts. 



Q. — Do some varieties do well one 

 year and poorly the next! 



A. — If too much growth is cut away 



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I WHO'S WHOJiSI- AND WHY | 



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E. J. SHAYLOB. 



NO, this is not the portrait of a painter who has for the moment laid aside his 

 pallet, but of another artist of the brush, in the costume in which it is his 

 wont to wield the camel 's-hair. E. J. Shaylor has been growing peonies for a 

 dozen years, at Auburndale, Mass., and has been a well known exhibitor at the 

 Boston shows. After working up one of the largest collections of varieties in 

 America he turned his attention to hybridizing and in the course of time became 

 possessed of thousands of seedlings that will take a lifetime to test. Last season 

 he sold to the Thurlows his entire stock except the seedlings and one plant of 

 each named variety, l&t the same time agreeing not to sell peonies again until 

 1917. The intervening time ^s being devoted to work with his novelties. 



or the season has been extremely dry, 

 they will deteriorate. 



Q. — What causes the red buds? 



A. — Dryness at the root and lack of 

 plant food. 



Q. — What causes good buds to die 

 when the plant appears healthy? 



A. — Sometimes late frosts, some- 

 times dryness. 



Q. — Should bushes with only a low 

 spray or two on them be dug up and 

 replaced by new roots? 



A.— Yes. 



Q. — What is a good spray for ants? 



A. — Why spray for ants? They do 

 the buds and flowers no harm; they 

 are merely seeking the sweet juices 

 exuded. 



Q. — How can flies be kept from a- 

 lighting on the buds? 



A. — I do not know, unless some gauze 

 covering can be placed over them. 

 For green fly, spray with any good 

 soap spray. 



Q. — What strong white variety would 

 bloom with Meissonier? 



A. — Duchesse de Nemours (Calot), 

 La Rosiere or Emily Hoste. 



Q. — Is Meissonier a poor keeper? 

 With me the petals drop off early, and 

 before they are withered. 



A. — Only a moderately good keeper. 



Q. — Is it injurious to the growth of 

 the following year if the stems are cut 

 so as to leave only one leaf on the root 

 stem portion? 



A. — The more foliage left, the better 

 will be the flower crop the following 

 year. Many clumps are practically 

 ruined by the removal .of too much 

 foliage. 



PROPAGATING TBADESCANTIAS. 



I should like to know how to handle 

 the wandering Jew, or tradescantia, to 

 make it increase. E. T. — 111. 



Wandering Jew, or tradescantia, is 

 perhaps the most easily rooted green- 

 house plant we have. It will root under 

 a bench, in water, sand or soil. Give 

 it plenty of moisture. The main trou- 

 ble with this plant is that it propagates 

 too easily and needs to be constantly 

 cut back to prevent its overrunning 

 everything in the houses. C. ^. 



