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The Florists' Review 



OCTOBBB 21, 191S. 



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it SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS I 

 I FOR SOUTHERN FLORISTS | 



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j "bASirATioNS iN the soxtth. 



' As far as I ctm learn, the loss from 

 ; jStMO^rot ill *^6 sovMth this year is not 

 :.\',tl3^yre the normal. .iPhe danger is past, 

 ' now that eool weatlier is here, and we 

 exQMt. only an occasional loss of a 

 pllmc for a week or two more. It 

 ae^r to me that this disease, in the 

 majority of cases, has its inception on 

 the field and is not contracted after 

 the plants are brcmght inside. The 

 largest loss is alws^ys during the first 

 month , after housing, which clearly 

 shows that the plants were more or' 

 less affected in the field. Here, in the 

 south, we try to give all the ventila- 

 tion possible after housing, having the 

 sides and doors open both, day and 

 night. It is noticeable that the plants 

 on the beds or benches near the open 

 sides take hold in their new quarters 

 more quickly than those in any other 

 part of the house. With such an 

 amount of ventilation, it is hardly fair 

 to blame the inside conditions for the 

 stem-rot, although the additional mois- 

 'jture may hasten the end of any af- 

 fected plants. Were we to direct more 

 attention to conditions in the field, we ■ 

 ! might be able to better check the ray- 

 ages of the disease. Perhaps one of 

 th« experiment stations could give some 

 ' ddvice on this phase of it. 

 i " Leaf -spot has caused quite a Jot of 

 damage in different places, but in all 

 the cases that I have heard of, leaf -spot 

 JuM appeared only on plapts that were 

 housed in September. The last days 

 of August and the first few days of 

 September were rainy and unseason- 

 ably cool, and these conditions, more 

 than anything else, were the causes of 

 leaf-spot. Fungous diseases like leaf- 

 spot are easily checked if, at the first 

 appearance, the affected leaves are 

 picked off and the jjlants thoroughly 

 sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. Allow 

 the mixture td stay on the plants a 

 couple of days before spraying off and 

 renew it again if necessary. Encour- 

 age the plants to grow by frequent stir- 

 rings of the surface soil, and keep the 

 house clean and fully ventilated. 



The plants by this time should all 

 have had the first support and be 

 '" rtfady f6r the next one. This is a job 

 ''"that should always be done on time, 

 or rather a little ahead of time, to 

 ^f ketfp the plants straight. "Watering is 

 ut>f ttwt n<w an arduous job, but do not 

 %^ neglect the syringing by any means. 

 This should be done thoroughly at least 

 twice each week during the entire win- 

 , , ter season. The cool nights are caus- 

 i),ing the thrips to migrate inside; it is 

 'j (none too soon to go after them. To ex- 

 terminate thrips I have found nothing 

 so effective as Hammond's Thrips Juice 

 No. 2, diluted forty to one, according 

 to directions. Try to select a cloudy 

 day for the spraying and leave the 

 mixture on the plants for forty-eight 

 hours before washing oflf with the hose. 

 Bepeat at intervals of one wefek three 

 or four times and you will have no 

 more trouble with thrips, at least not 



e'.J 



until spring is well advanced. It is ad- 

 visable during the winter to paint one 

 of the steam pipes in each house with a 

 nicotine extract, as a precaution, once 

 every week or ten days. 



In many sections of the south we 

 have had some cool nights. It is vvell 

 to be prepared to fire the boilers on 

 such nights. If the plants receive a 

 check at this time they are liable to 

 stand still for quite a while and also 

 throw a lot of split calyxes. This split- 

 ting of the calyx is one of the vexatious 

 tilings of carnation culture. An even 

 night temperature during the whole 

 firing season, more than anythin^^ ^f> 

 will keep the loss from tbi6 causa ^d^Mfn 

 to the minimum. A night temperature 

 of 50 to 52 degrees in the northern 

 sections of the south will be correct, 

 but in the southern sections a rise of 

 2 to 4 degrees, according to latitude, is 

 better. "With these higher tempera- 

 tures a little air sl}Ould be allowed all 

 night, except on the coldest nights. If 

 the houses are piped to maintain these 

 temperatures during the occasional cold 

 snaps and the plants receive no check 



^•-^'^v^ 



from any other cause, there will be 

 small trouble from the bursting of 

 calyxes. 



Sometimes during wet spells a quick- 

 spreading fungus will attack the buds 

 and cause a heavy loss unless checked 

 at once. This is all the more likely 

 to appear in houses where the roofs or 

 gutters are leaky or where the water 

 will work in from the outside and lie 

 under the benches or in the walks. To 

 get rid of fungus you can spray with 

 potassium sulphide, one-half ounce or 

 even one ounce to a gallon of water, or 

 paint one pipe in a narrow house or two 

 pipes in a wide house with a sulphur 

 paint. Of the two remedies I prefer 

 the sulphur, it being more quickly flip- 

 plied. You may have to renew tlie 

 paint once or twice to get rid of the 

 fungus entirely. In leaky houses, it 

 is always safe to use the sulphur oc- 

 casionally as a preventive. 



Plants that were housed early will 

 need at this time a little additional 

 fertilizer. Most growers use sheep ma- 

 nure as a top-dressing between the 

 rows. A mixture of two parts sheep 

 manure to one part commercial guano 

 will be an improvement over the sheep 

 manure alone. The small amount of 

 potash in the guano is of the greatest 

 benefit. One application at this time 

 will probably be enough until after the 

 short days. Avoid using liquid manure 

 at this time. If you use this form of 

 nourishment leave it until late spring. 



L. 





OATTLETA MOSSLS. 



I am sending herewith a piece of a 

 Cattleya Mossise of this year's growth. 

 It is a specimen plant and has from 

 fifteen to twenty growths, the majority 

 of which are assuming this appearance. 

 I would like to know what is the trou- 

 ble. The plants are in a greenhouse and 

 have been in the shade all summer, 

 with plenty of light and air. They were 

 all right last year. J. H. C. — Ark. 



Judging from the discoloration of the 

 small bulb forwarded and the black 

 condition of the sheath, you have been 

 overwatering or oversyringing, perhaps 

 both. Probably, also, the shade has 

 been too heavy. "While cattleyas need 

 some shade, it is easily overdone and, 

 while plants under such conditions usu- 

 ally keep a nice, green color and make 

 good bulbs, they invariably flower dis- 

 appointingly. Cattleyas should be al- 

 lowed to dry out well between water- 

 ings, should be placed as near the glass 



as possible, should never be heavily 

 shaded, and this shading must be grad- 

 ually removed so that by November the 

 plants can have full sunlight, or nearly 

 so, until March. Your bulbs are small, 

 if the one sent is a fair sample. I 

 would suggest moderate feeding with 

 sheep manure for your cattleyas, a little 

 the whole year around, but the strength 

 can be increased somewhat while the 

 bulbs are being developed. C. "W. 



OBOHIDS FBOM RANGOON. 



Consul M. K. Moorhead, at Bangoon, 

 reports to the Department of Commerce 

 that "the Agri-Horticultural Society 

 of Burma, Kandawglay, Rangoon, is 

 now in a position to collect and ship 

 orchids to the United States. Owing 

 to the alternating dry and wet and cool 

 and hot seasons, the orchids should be 

 collected during December and January 

 and packed and dispatched from 

 Rangoon during February. Orders 

 should be received in Rangoon not 

 later than November 15. The follow- 

 ing orchids can be collected to order, 

 the prices given being for 100 orchids: 

 Cypripedium bellatulum, $16.22; Cypri- 



