18 



The Florists^ Review 



▲uouaT 26, 191fi. 



Main street, Wilkes-Barre, and a lease- 

 hold interest on the property at 23 

 South Franklin street. 



THE ASTER BUG'S FINISH. 



In looking over your valued paper, Norwalk, O. 



I read in the Baltimore news about 

 the aster bug. I was badly troubled by 

 them, but since I use Slug Shot I can 

 get rid of them by dusting them light- 

 ly with it in the early morning. 



Arthur Doebel. 



I 



i 



SEASONABLE at 

 » SUGGESTIONS 



] 



Paper Whites and Roman Hyacinths. 

 Shipments of Paper Whites and 

 Roman hyacinths may reasonably be 

 expected within a few days. However, 

 owing to the European war and lack of 

 ocean carriers, supplies will not come 

 to hand with the regularity of former 

 years. Just as soon as the bulbs do 

 arrive, a good batch should be placed 

 in flats, for this is by far the most 

 satisfactory and economical way of 

 growing these bulbs. Paper Whites are 

 sometimes planted in benches, but the 

 space they take up can be occupied 

 more profitably by other crops, as the 

 flats can be stored in sheds, cellars or 

 coldframes, or even below benches 

 where there is little drip, and later 

 can be placed on benches in batches 

 as required. For these bulbs, use good, 

 new soil, containing some old pulverized 

 manure and sharp sand. 



Schizanthus. 



Make a first sowing of schizanthus 

 now for early flowering. Us«« 8. Wise- 



tonensis or one of the so-called improve- 

 ments on it. This is the only schizan- 

 thus which is compact in habit and the 

 one most adaptable for pot culture. 

 Sow the seed in pans. Be sure not to 

 allow the seedlings to become drawn. 

 Prick them oflf into flats when large 

 enough to handle and later pot them 

 singly, using a light but moderately 

 rich soil. Keep schizanthus growing 

 all the time, never allowing it to be- 

 come potbound until in its flowering 

 pots. It wants cool treatment, with full 

 sun and abundant ventilation all the 

 time. Sometimes this plant is propa- 

 gated from cuttings, but these never 

 make plants at all equal to seedlings 

 in size, vigor or quality. 



Cyclamens. 



Cyclamens for blooming from Thanks- 

 giving to Christmas should now be in 

 their flowering pots and be kept grow- 

 ing either in a light greenhouse, with 

 moderate shade, or in coldframes where 

 removable shades can be used; the 



John McLaren. 



(SuperlnMndont of (Jolden Gate Park and Landscape Architect of the Panama-Pacific Exposition.) 



plants will thus be prevented from be- 

 coming drawn. Use a light but fairly 

 rich soil, containing three parts of 

 fibrous loam and one part of decayed 

 cow manure, with some powdered char- 

 coal and sharp sand. If you have a 

 light soil, it is better not to use any 

 leaf-mold at the final potting, but if 

 your loam is heavy and retentive, one- 

 fifth of leaf-mold will improve it. Be 

 sure to drain the pots well. Do not 

 bury the corms. Leave an ample space 

 for water. 



It is again time to make sowings of 

 cyclamen for flowering in the early win- 

 ter of 1916. If the seed is not yet 

 bought, lose no time in securing it. 

 For early sales, red and deep pink are 

 the favored colors, but light pink, sal- 

 mon and pure white will sell better 

 later in the season. Use flats or pans 

 that are well drained. Let the compost 

 be mainly leaf-mold, somewhat flaky 

 below, screened finely on the surface 

 and mixed with fine sand. Make the 

 surface level before sowing the seeds 

 and merely scatter a little fine sand 

 over them. Protect from sunshine and 

 place in a warm, moist house to ger- 

 minate. 



Foinsettlas. 



There is still time to propagate poin- 

 settias to be made up into pans. The 

 earliest propagations, if intended to 

 produce large bracts, should be either 

 planted in benches or shifted into 6-ineh 

 pots. The plants will grow well in any 

 ordinary greenhouse for some weeks 

 yet, but as the nights become cool and 

 the bracts show they need a good heat, 

 they should have a temperature of not 

 less than 60 degrees at night; otherwise 

 the loss of foliage will be heavy and 

 the flowers will be late in developing. 



Disease on Snapdragons. 



Partly because of humid climatic con- 

 ditions and partly because of careless 

 propagation and the leaving of cuttings 

 too long in the cutting bench, there 

 seems to be this season an unusual epi- 

 demic of disease on snapdragons, par- 

 ticularly on stock propagated from 

 cuttings. Just as soon as those little, 

 round spots on the leaves are discerni- 

 ble, pick off affected leaves and spray 

 with Bordeaux mixture or Fungine. Do 

 the spraying on clear days, so that the 

 plants will become dry before night. 

 Keep this spraying up at intervals of 

 four or five days, in order to check the 

 spread of the disease. If you see 

 leaves affected, examine the stems near 

 the surface of the pots. You are likely 

 to find spots there and sometimes a 

 brown ring or girdle about the stem. 

 If only one or two spots show, the 

 plants may be saved. If the discolora- 

 tion encircles the stems, such plants 

 may just as well be burned; they may 

 keep green for some time, but will soon 

 go off with stem-rot after planting. 



Growers should use the greatest care 

 at this season with their snapdragons, 

 or the disease will spread with great 

 rapidity and whole batches of plants 

 will be decimated. Do not syringe the 

 plants; or, if you do, be sure they are 

 dry when the sun sets. Do not keep 

 front ventilators open, which would ad- 

 mit damp air. Rely on seedlings rather 

 than cuttings for stock, as the seed- 

 lings possess far greater vigor. 



Oardenias. 



Care is necessary to avoid giving gar- 

 denias an excess of water now. The 



