772 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Februaky 8, 1909. 



CARRYING BEAUTIES OVER. 



We have a house of American Beau- 

 ties planted last August, blooming now 

 and in good condition. We wish to carry 

 these over for another season. When 

 should they be rested, and for how long, 

 to bring them in bloom again sometime 

 between next Thanksgiving day and 

 Christmas? Should they be pruned close 

 to the ground? Ought they to be oc- 

 casionaBlr syringed while thqjj^are rest- 

 ing? t would like to have full descrip- 

 tion of the treatment they ought to have 

 from the time we commence to rest 

 tuem. A. J. N. 



While not advocating the carrying of 

 Beauties for a second season, I have yet 

 seen some fair results from the practice. 

 The method adopted in these cases by 

 reference to records was as follows. 



By the beginning of June iney should 

 i.e partially rested by withholding water 

 for a week or so where raised benches 

 are in use and for a longer period if the 

 benches are solid, using just as much 

 water as is necessary to hold spider in 

 check, but never allowing them to become 

 80 dry that the soft tips of the young 

 wood shows wilting. During this ripen- 

 ing process they must nave an abundance 

 of air, keeping the ventilators open 

 night and day. A judicious pruning out 

 of all useless wood, especially of long 

 wood running blind, in order to divert 

 the flow of sap to those eyes at the base 

 of the plant which may have remained 

 dormant, is advisable. 



The surface of the soil, or as much 

 of it as can be removed without interfer- 

 ing with the roots, should be taken off 

 and the exposed portions given a dusting 

 of air-slaked lime. To replace this soil, 

 a compost of rich loam three parts to 

 one of decomposed cow manure, thor- 

 oughly incorporated, should be used, and 

 the whole bed should be thoroughly 

 soaked. Keep the house as near 56 de- 

 grees as the weather will permit and 

 use the syringe freely. As soon as root 

 action has commenced, the ordinary 

 treatment for Beauties will suflSce. 



RiBES. 



ROSE BETTY. 



One of last year's introductions in 

 England was the hybrid tea rose Betty. 

 Of this the Gardeners' Chronicle says 

 it is "a rose of great merit, especially 

 remarkable for its great depth and stout- 

 ness of petal; semi-double; the first 

 probably of a new type. The flowers 

 are borne on long-jointed wood, and 



j» 



stand erect. It is primarily a decorative 

 rose, but, like Killarney, we may hope 

 to. see a blooni sufficiently full to war- 



'T^he grow% IS vigjOrous, -iimh bflincihing 

 habit, very free flowering. One can 

 hardly venture to describe its color, it is 

 so variable. One bud will remind one 

 of a deep-petalled Saf rano, while an- 

 other will be more golden and less cop- 

 pery. There is a great deal of tea in 

 its constitution. As a long-stalked rose 

 for house-decoration Betty is . decidedly 

 good." 



BEST RED ROSE. 



Of Liberty and Meteor, which is the 

 better and freer bloomer? At what 

 temperature should they be kept? 

 Should they be ventilated the same as 

 Brides, Maids and Gates? W. K. H. 



Meteor is the most free blooming, but 

 to do this rose well it requires a night 

 temperature of 68 degrees and conse- 

 quently should have a house devoted 

 wholly to it. The high temperature re- 

 quired will of course make it a little 

 more expensive to grow and will also de- 

 mand greater care in keeping down such 

 insects as red spider, green-fly, etc. 



Liberty is a very fine rose and when 

 properly handled is hard to beat, but 

 evon in the hands of experts it has 



proved so erratic that it has in many 

 places been discarded. 



Richmond, which gives fair promise of 

 superseding all other reds, is a very easy 

 doer, free bloomer and thrives well in 

 the same temperature as Maids and 

 Brides. It also seems to be less sus- 

 ceptible to fungoid troubles, can stand 

 more feeding, 'and is less sensitive to 

 under or overwatering than either Maids 

 or JBrides. Ventilation requires the same 

 study and practice with this variety. 



RiBES. 



THE SOV BUG. 



I started in last March to grow roses 

 and carnations and have noticed on rose 

 benches that at night they are literally 

 covered with what I call wood-lice or 

 sow bugs, also what we called thousand- 

 le?^ wor|ms or bugs that disappear at 

 daylight. What I wish to ask is, do 

 these bugs injure the roses in any way 

 by eating oflf the tender bottom shoots 

 as they appear or even ■pnder the surface 

 or otherwise? If they'do, how do you 

 get rid of them? , '^ L. I. N. 



The sow bug (Oniscus Armadillo) is 

 very destructive in a greenhouse, as they 

 live principally on the tender outer skin 

 of vegetables and are very fond of rose 

 petals. They can bis , quickly destroyed 

 by arsenic if they cfin be coaxed to eat 

 it. A preparation which I have, u«0<J for 

 many years with success is composed as 

 follows: Bran middlings finely sifted, 

 sixty parts; Paris green, one part; mix 

 thoroughly and spread lightly ailong the 

 side-boards. The sweetness of the bran 

 seems to attract them and one or two 

 doses a week will soon clear them out. 

 A sprinkling of gas lime on the walks 

 and under the benches will also expel 

 them from their haunts. 



The thousand-legged worm does not 

 injure the plants, strictly confining its 

 operations to the manure in the soil and 

 mulch and helping to pulverize it, so 

 that it may be the more readily con- 

 verted into food for the plants. Ribes. 



CARNATION NOTES— WEST. 



Potting Cuttings. 



Those cuttings you put in sand in De- 

 cember will likely be ready to pot now, 

 and as soon as they are well rooted you 

 should lose no time in potting them. 

 After a cutting is well rooted it does 

 not improve by remaining in the sand; 

 in fact, it is liable' to draw up and 

 weaken because there is little nourish- 

 ment in the sand and usually the cut- 

 tings set in the sand too close together 

 to spread out much; hence, the drawing 

 upward, the only direction they can 

 grow. 



Before potting, you should ripen them 

 just a little by giving them more sun- 

 light than they had while they were root- 

 ing. In fact, this should be begun as 

 soon as they begin to shove out the 

 roots. Gradually give them a little more 

 sun each day, until, by the time the roots 



are strong enough to pot them, they will 

 be able to stand the full sun on a bright 

 day. There will be less wilting and 

 suffering after potting and the young 

 plants will take hold much quicker. Cut- 

 tings that are potted during January 

 and early February should be potted in 

 2-inch pots and shifted in March to 3- 

 inch. This is where many growers make 

 their mistake and they would be much 

 better off with a cutting taken out of 

 the sand early in March than with these 

 early struck cuttings. Room is scarce 

 and other work is crowding on most 

 places during March and as the young 

 plants look healthy they are just left in 

 the small pots until planting out time. 



During the last few weeks before 

 planting out, when the sun is quite warm 

 and evaporation is rapid, the young 

 plants which are very pot-bound, dry 

 out severely and become stunted as a re- 

 sult. It is too late to repot them then, 

 because they would not even root through 

 by the time they should be planted out. 



