460 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



JANUABT 19, 1006. 



Forcing Dahlias. 



Last year 'was our first trial at forc- 

 ing daMias. We obtained the dormant 

 roots from a well known eastern epe- 

 dalist, asking for only five or six best 

 forcing varieties. The writer has never 

 had the opportunity to see how other 

 people forced them and there may be 

 better methods. We planted them two 

 feet apart, about the middle of Janu- 

 ary, in six inches of well ma<nured, 

 rather light loam. The bed was right 

 on the ground, without any drainage, 

 but dry. The temperature was about 

 55 degrees. The first flowers were cut 

 about April 10 and from then on in in- 

 creased quantity imtil July. They sold 

 well and it is a cut and come again 



crop. We proved they were an excel- 

 lent paying crop, simple to manage and 

 yielding a great lot of bloom. I am 

 not posted as to varieties. Let them 

 be singles and pompons and limited to 

 few sorts. The beautiful single Twen- 

 tieth Century ehould certainly be one 

 of them. 



Verbenas. 



If you grow that sweet, old-fashioned 

 flower, the verbena, sow the seed at 

 once and you can get a cutting off the 

 young plants in April. Seedlings are 

 much more vigorous and free of dis- 

 ease than those propagated from old 

 plants in the fall. 



WnxiAM Scott. 



THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF 



GRAFTED ROSES m FORCING 



BY ALEXANDER MONTGOMERY, JR.. 

 WABAN ROSE CONSERVATORIES, NATICK. MASS 



COPYRIGHT, 190*. BY FLORISTS* PUBLISHING CO. 



jPBWiiiiiiiiiW^^ 



Appliances for Graf tins;. 



The appliances necessary for this are 

 few and very simple. In the first place 

 there should be seats for the operators 

 to sit on, low enough so that the feet 

 may be placed firmly on the ground 

 and the knees brought up to within a 

 comfortable working distance from the 

 body. In front of the sitters ought to 

 be a bench a foot or so higher than the 

 seats, on which may be placed the 



scions and stocks. Flats to carry the 

 stocks are very convenient if made to 

 hold just an even thirty- two 2% -inch 

 pots. Baffia, which is the best material 

 for tying, should be slightly damp and 

 cut in bunches to the proper length. 

 A good sharp knife — shoe knives which 

 can be bought for 15 cents are first- 

 class for this work — and a layer of wet 

 sphagnum moss on the bench, to lay 

 the cut scions on, complete the equip- 

 ment. 



• ,U Size and Stage. ' 



The stocks should be chosen as near 

 the size of the scions as possible and, 

 although a stock larger than the scion 

 is not objectionable, the reverse would 

 be -very much so. 



The proper stage to use a stock is 

 when it has started to root in the pots 

 and positively never before. It is gen- 

 erally safe to graft when the buds just 

 begin to start, as this is usually a sign, 

 if the plants have not been kept too 

 warm, that root action has started. 

 Speaking broadly, then, the time limit 

 should be not before the buds start and 

 not after the shoots have grown to 

 half an inch. I do not by any means 

 want to insinuate that the operation 

 cannot be performed at other stages, 

 but it can be done best within the 

 limits laid down. 



The scion ought to be good firm 

 wood with a plump bud, but at any 

 rate not started over a quarter of an 

 inch. Where the shoot is over this 

 length it will generally rot off in the 

 case and so make it necessary for the 

 scion to form new eyes, which it will 

 sometimes do, but more often it causes 

 the scion to rot also. The leaves 

 should be trimmed somewhat closer 

 than for cuttings, as this lessens the 

 opportunity for damping off. As for 

 the number of eyes to leave, one is all 

 that is necessary, but if the wood is 

 close-jointed two are not objectionable 

 and, indeed, some prefer this latter as 

 it gives a chance to get one eye under 

 ground when planting. 



The Kind of Union. 



Now in regard to the kind of union 

 to make, there are only two that are 

 worthy of much consideration. One is 

 generally known as the whip, and the 

 other I shall designate for the pur- 

 pose of description as a modified form 



A House of Manetti Stocks Potted and Awaiting the Right Stage of Growth for Grafting. 



