■•■r'vrT"y'~j- 



J230 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



APitiL 13, 1905. 



not confine itself to any one variety. It 

 did not show this season until I had most 

 of them in 4-inch pots. H. M. M. 



We recognize the trouble very readily 

 from the specimens sent and have often 

 had to discard varieties because a num- 

 ber of the plants were affected by it. 

 It may be called a disease, but what I 

 don't know. It is not caused by any 

 external trouble. It is in the constitu- 

 tion of the plant. The terminal growth 



of a shoot makes a number of small, 

 abortive leaves and numerous small later- 

 al growths. Altogether the plant is use- 

 less. Some varieties we have grown for 

 twenty years and not a plant ever showed 

 signs of this trouble. Other varieties, 

 notably that fine old pink, Emile de Gir- 

 ardine^ we had to discard. I feel sure it 

 is sound advice to say that when any 

 variety assumes this habit, throw it away 

 and start with a newer and more vigor- 

 ous variety. W. S. 



THE USE OF PLANT FOODS. 



The importance of liquid feeding at 

 this season of the year is so fully recog- 

 nized by growers that in directing atten- 

 tion to its use there is little necessity for 

 discussing its merits. Even the beginner 

 must be aware that when judiciously ap- 

 plied it must possess a highly stimulating 

 power upon the growth, development of 

 the bud and general health of the plant. 

 The experienced grower who, by practice, 

 is convinced of these facts makes use of 

 this knowledge and by a close study of 

 conditions during the different stages of 

 growth can produce results which are 

 little short of marvelous. 



In applying liquid food to roses at this 

 time of the year a technical knowledge of 

 the composition of the fertilizers is abso- 

 lutely necessary if success is to be at- 

 tained. It must be remembered that the 

 roots of roses under glass are, or should 

 be, in full activity and are capable of ab- 

 sorbing large quantities of food and 

 must do so to sustain the rank growth 

 which is now in progress, and when this 

 food is presented in its nwst assimilable 

 form great care must be exercised in tne 

 selection, quality and strength of the 

 preparation. As the depth of soil is 

 so limited it is far from safe to have any 

 constituents in the supply which are not 

 at once available, thus preventing an 

 accumulation of salts, which might be 

 detrimental to the general health of the 

 plant. 



It is always safe to rely on organic 

 or barnyard manure, as it usually pos- 

 sesses the essential elements of plant life 

 in safe and proper proportions, but it is 

 frequently beneficial to supplement this 

 class of manure with others of a more 

 concentrated nature and which contain 

 the elements wanted at that particular 

 stage of development. 



Those crops under glass sometimes re- 

 quire an additional fertilizer in the form 

 of ammonia, potash or phosphoric acid 

 and these elements are contained in bone 

 flour, wood ashes, etc., and can be ap- 



plied in quantities to meet the present 

 requirements of the plant if the grower 

 possesses sufficient knowledge of their 

 qualities so that he can act with safety. 



When quick acting and easily soluble 

 fertilizers like nitrate of soda, sulphate 

 of ammonia and superphosphates are to 

 be used it is best to have plenty of fiber 

 in the soil, as this class of soil absorbs 

 quickly and gives up slowly. When the 

 roots are very active the proportion of 

 nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia or 

 superphosphate should be fifteen ounces 

 to ten gallons of water per 100 square 

 feet of bench. When root action is slow 

 it is safer to refrain from the use of 

 all chemical foods. 



If the growth is reaching and the 

 foliage is of good color but the wood 

 weak and spindling, the need of lime and 

 potash is apparent, as the rose plant re- 

 quires these elements in the building up 

 of plant tissues. In a case like this the 

 use of nitrogenous manures should be 

 avoided. 



Potash can be supplied by giving a 

 light top-dressing of wood ashes, but as 

 this is a very concentrated form of food 

 it must be supplied sparingly, five pounds 

 to 100 square feet of bench being suffi- 

 cient for a first application. 



If the plants persist in making wood 

 and refuse to set buds reduce the quan- 

 tity of nitrogenous food and give phos- 

 phoric acid in the form of bone meal, 

 using about five pounds to each 100 

 square feet of bench. It must ever be 

 remembered that bone, lime and wood 

 ashes should never be used in combina- 

 tion under any circumstances, as this 

 releases more ammonia than the rose has 

 any use for. 



Where the soil is a stiff, heavy clay it 

 is very unsafe to use chemical fertilizers 

 and if used at all should be diluted at 

 least one-third more than usually recom- 

 mended for ordinary soils. 



The frequency of applications depends 

 entirely on the stage of growth and 

 weather and the student will have to 

 govern himself by these conditions to 

 obtain success. It is always safe to give 

 at least one thorough watering with clear 

 water between applications of liquid 

 feeding. 



Nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash 

 are rarely found in sufficient quantities 

 in ordinary soils and therefore have to 



be added in proper quantities by the ex- 

 perimenter. They are also quickly ex- 

 hausted and difficult and costly to restore. 



RiBES. 



ROSE QUERIES. 



At the last meeting of the Pittsburg 

 and Allegheny Florists' Club the ques- 

 tion box contained a number of queries 

 on rose growing. Here are some of the 

 questions and the answers supplied by 

 expert growers: 



1. — When should roses be planted? How 

 should sulphur be applied as a preventive 

 for mildew? Is there anything better? 

 Wihy is it Bridesmaids vary so much in 

 color, planted in the same house and 

 given the same treatment, some a nice 

 shade of pink, others so light in color? 



Eoses for winter blooming may be 

 benched any time up to July 20. Flow- 

 ers of sulphur mixed with linseed oil to 

 a paste and brushed on the steam-pipes 

 is the best preventive of mildew. If we 

 could have all our plants of Bridesmaid 

 in the same healthy, vigorous growing 

 condition the color would probably be 

 the same in all the flowers. 



2. — ^What varieties of roses are the 

 best sellers throughout the season? 



Maid, Bride, Meteor, Liberty, Perle 

 and Cusin, with Kaiserin and Gate in 

 season, are undoubtedly the most staple 

 goods, while there are any number of 

 good roses which will sell just as well 

 if they have the right kind of a sales- 

 man behind them. One of the cries is for 

 ' ' something new ' ' in roses and yet when 

 they are to be had, with a few exceptions, 

 the stores are afraid to handle them be- 

 cause their trade does not ask for them. 



3. — Name the twelve best roses for 

 summer blooming, outside of the regular 

 June blooming roses. 



Maman Cochet, pink; Maman Cochet, 

 white; Gruss An Teplitz, red; Clothilde 

 Soupert, white and pink; Pres. Carnot, 

 white; Malmaison, shell pink; Duchess 

 of Albany, dark pink; Balduin, crimson; 

 La France, light pink; Kaiserin Augusta 

 Victoria, white; Etoile de Lyon, yellow; 

 Souv. de Wootton, red. 



SEASONABLE NOTES. 



Every grower who is planning for the 

 best results for next year has taken his 

 stock before this, and probably has the 

 first batch out of the propagating bed 

 and into the flats. Be sure and keep 

 your "pedigreed" stock securely and 

 accurately labeled, so that no mistakes 

 can possibly be rfiade, remembering that 

 mistakes or carelessness mean that you 

 are set back at least one year, to say 

 nothing about making your records of 

 much less value, even if they are not 

 worthless. 



After getting the stock transplanted 

 into the flats, do not think that they can 

 take care of themselves just as well as 

 not, because you have so much else at 

 this time of the year to take your atten- 

 tion. If neglected now, or your vig- 



