

J374 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Afbil 27, 1905. 



tion plants. I expect to fill the houses 

 with chrysanthemums the first of July. 

 My houses are old and I cannot carry 

 a high temperature in cold weather. What 

 can I fill the houses with to pay after 

 the mum season is overt J. M. C. 



You had better plant your chrysan- 

 themums by June 15 if you expect to 

 have fine flowers. One of the diflSculties 

 or drawbacks about chrysanthemums is 

 that they leave a lot of empty benches 

 unless you are in or near a large city, 

 where you can ship in Easter stock, such 

 as lilies, azaleas, roses, etc., which will 

 not need house room until your mums 

 are cut and gone. How high a temper- 

 ature you can carry has, much to do with 

 it. If not warm enough to bring those 



plants I have mentioned in for Ekster, 

 then you could grow several crops of 

 lettuce in the beds, or you could fill up 

 with single violets. These should be 

 protected in cold frames until the benches 

 are available. Sweet peas will also grow 

 and flower in a temperature of 45 de- 

 grees at night and good flowers of these 

 will always sell. You can sow the seeds 

 of these in 4-inch pots in September 

 and keep in cold frames until the mums 

 are gone. If you planted out a good 

 lot of the best zonal geraniums this 

 spring you could take cuttings in Sep- 

 tember and October and keep them in a 

 small space until your benches were 

 empty. Mignonette will thrive in 40 

 degrees at night and. good spikes sell 

 well and ship well. W. S. 



SULPHUR FOR MILDEW. 



Now that our houses will have to be 

 left open more frequently in order to 

 keep the temperature right, and when 

 firing will have to be dispensed with, 

 we are likely to be more or less troubled 

 with mildew. The leaves being soft 

 after the quick spring growth, they will 

 be very liable to take a dose if careful 

 ventilation is not practiced. 



So long as we can use fire we should 

 use every means of eradicating mildew 

 and prepare our plants to withstand the 

 almost open air conditions to which they 

 will be subjected when warm weather 

 commences, as we all know how very 

 difS.cult it is to get rid of the pest 

 during summer. 



A periodic painting of the pipes with 

 the sulphur mixture is the safest and 

 surest remedy known. This should be 

 applied somewhat as follows: Take 

 flowers of sulphur one part, air-slaked 

 lime one part, mix with water to the 

 consistency of paint and apply to the 

 pipes with a brush. 



If steam heat is used, this ought to 

 be applied to the return pipes, which 

 are seldom so hot that the sulphur will 

 fuse, as it must be remembered that sul- 

 phur in a state of fusion gives off fumes 

 which are death to vegetable life. Care 

 should also be taken not to put on too 

 much, especially if there is a crop on, 

 as this bleaches the color. Pinks, such 

 as Bridesmaids, and even Beauties, are 

 easily touched. Where hot water is 

 used the danger is not so great as the 

 fumes are given off more slowly. 



In order to derive the full benefit from 

 ' the fumes the ventilators should be 

 closed tightly and this can be best ac- 

 complished during the coldest part of 



the night, when the temperature can be 

 raised for an hour and a half as high as 

 72 degrees without danger. 



By persisting in this treatment and 

 giving plenty of ventilation at all other 

 times, mildew can be practically ban- 

 ished. 



As a preventive a dusting of sulphur 

 during bright weather, when the foliage 

 is dry, is of great benefit and it is a 

 safe plan to continue this treatment on 

 both young and old stock during the 

 entire summer or until firing is again 

 rpsumed. 



A careful observer will never allow 

 mildew to get such a hold of his stock, 

 but that these simple remedies and pre- 

 cautions, if intelligently applied, will pro- 

 tect his stock against this pest. 



BiBES. 



ROSES UNDER GLASS. 



[A prize essay by Joseph Kennedy, read before 

 a recent meeting of the Monmouth County Hor- 

 ticultural Society, Oceanic, N. J.] 



In forcing roses it must be remem- 

 bered that they must be carefully looked 

 after from start to finish; that is, from 

 the time they are put in the cutting 

 bench until they have finished blooming. 

 A good many growers start out in the 

 right direction, but fail to carry out 

 their intentions. They may propagate 

 with success and pot along into 2^/2 and 

 3-inch pots, and then neglect them when 

 they are in 4-inch pots. In my opinion 

 a great many houses of roses are spoiled 

 before the plants are ever benched. 



For instance, if they are held in pots 

 a long time without a shift, they are apt 

 to become pot-bound and get hard, which 

 will cause them to lose a lot of foliage 

 and to stand still after being benched, 

 and unless you can get your plants well 

 established before the approach of fall, 

 you need never expect to get a good cut 

 of roses before the following spring. 



Another essential thing in rose grow- 

 ing is to get your young stock started 

 in time to make good, strong plants by 

 benching time. To do this the cuttings 



should be put in the sand about the mid- 

 dle or latter part of January. Before 

 putting in the cuttings, the propagating 

 bench should be put in concQtion to re- 

 ceive them. In the first place all 

 old sand should be taken out*, the bench 

 given a good washing, and then white- 

 washed with hot lime. This will kill any 

 fungus that should happen to be there. 

 When this is dry put in fresh, clean, 

 gritty sand, pack well with a brick and 

 give a good watering. Then it is in 

 condition to receive the cuttings. 



In selecting cuttings, always take 

 good, strong wood, blind or flowering. 

 Either will do, but flowering wood is 

 preferable, as it will break away quicker 

 and stronger. Cuttings should be made 

 with two eyes, with the cut just be- 

 low the bottom one. Cut off the bot- 

 tom leaf and if the foliage is rather 

 strong, cut a little bit off the top. In 

 placing them in the sand krfep the foli- 

 age all the one way. This will avoid 

 tangling in taking them out. Care 

 should be taken in making the cuttings, 

 not to keep them exposed to the air 

 for too long a period, for if they are 

 allowed to become wilted they will not 

 root so well. 



As soon as a row is put in it should 

 te firmed with the hands and given a 

 good watering, for if you wait until all 

 the cuttings are put in before watering, 

 the chances are that the first ones are 

 wilted before the last ones are in the 

 sand. The sun should never be allowed 

 to strike them until they are rooted. 



A temperature of 60 degrees will do 

 for the sand and 58 degrees for the 

 house. A light syringing daily will keep 

 them fresh until rooted. The sand should 

 never be allowed to get dry, although if 

 it is kept soaked all the time fungus is 

 liable to appear, and this will ruin the 

 cuttings. It should be kept moist and 

 that is all. 



The cuttings should be rooted in about 

 four weeks. They should then be lifted, 

 but in doing so care must be taken so 

 as not to break the roots, for they snap 

 very easily at this stage. Pot in 2%- 

 inch pots, which should by all means 

 be clean. Do not use a very rich soil 

 for the first potting. I have known a 

 fine lot of young plants to be ruined by 

 the use of too rich a soil. 



When potted place in a light house, 

 temperature 58 degrees night, 70 de- 

 grees day. They should be set on ashes 

 and shaded from the sun until estab- 

 lished. Syringing should be done on all 

 bright days. 



Care should be taken in regard to 

 watering. They should never 'be al- 

 lowed to dry out, and if kept too wet 

 the soil is apt to sour. This will check 

 their growth. The soil should be kept in 

 a moist condition. Syringe at least once 

 a day in sunny weather and figure on 

 having the foliage dry by night. When 

 they have made a good growth and are 

 rooted well into the soil they should be 

 potted in 3% -inch pots. 



About the first of June they should be 

 ready for benching. Before doing this 

 the house should be cleaned irom top to 

 bottom, including the benches, which 

 should also he whitewashed with hot 

 lime. This will kill all insects and by 

 so doing give the plants a fair chance 

 in their winter quarters. 



Sod, placed grass side down over the 

 cracks, will make good drainage for the 

 bottom of the bench. The soil, which 

 should have been set up the previous fall, 

 should be composed of four or five parts 



