Mat 31, 1906. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



87 



CANTERBURY BELLS INDOORS. 



The Canterbury bell as a greenhouse 

 plant possesses so many advantages that 

 all of them are not likely to strike the 

 man who only gives the matter casual 

 thought. To begin with, very little of its 

 life, apart from the actual flowering 

 period, need be spent in the greenhouse; 

 it practically grows and looks after it- 

 self; is cheap to raise from seeds; and, 

 can be thrown away after flowering. 



I will briefly summarize the treatment 

 of this invaluable greenhouse adorner, 

 from seed sowing to throwing the flow- 

 ered-out plants on the rubbish heap, says 

 a writer in the Gardeners' Magazine, in 

 the hope that it may flnd a few new 

 friends among readers who have not yet 

 tried it unuer glass. Of this I feel sure, 

 any one who gives the plant a fair trial, 

 and meets with even a moderate amount 

 of success, will never be without it. 

 ' ' Once tried, always grown, ' ' may well 

 be taken as the motto of the Canterbury 

 bell. 



At the outset I would emphasize the 

 need of good seed; rubbish takes up just 

 as much room as plants from a good 

 strain. In writing for seeds, it is well 

 to state the purpose for which they are 

 required, and also to insist upon having 

 a fair proportion of cup-and-saucer varie- 

 ties. There are some seedsmen who will 

 supply varieties in separate colors, and 

 I have had the greatest satisfaction from 

 a strain of white cup-and-saucer. 



Thin sowing in a shallow pan should 

 be the rule. The first pricking out 

 should be done when the plants have four 

 leaves, i. e., two smooth, or seed leaves, 

 and two rough ones. For this pricking 

 out I prefer a flat, as watering is much 

 more readily attended to than when the 

 plants are in pots. After pricking out, 

 the seedlings should be kept warm, and 

 syringed for a few days, when they may 

 be transferred to a close cold frame. 



A fortnight in a cold frame will prob- 

 ably find them ready for another re- 

 ceptacle, this being indicated by the 

 leaves touching each other. "When this 

 stage is reached two courses are open to 

 the grower, (1) to place the plants in 

 pots, (2) to put' them out on some well- 

 drained, sunny border. The latter will 

 give the biggest plants, though not nec- 

 essarily the most floriferous, but will 

 involve potting up in the autumn. Pot 

 culture means constant attention to 

 watering during the summer, but saves 

 autumn potting. Personally, I prefer it, 

 because one gets stocky specimens, well 

 established before winter approaches, and 

 such always give the best account of 

 themselves in the greenhouse. 



After placing the plants in 4i/^-inch or 

 6-inch pots, the latter size being seldom 

 necessary with pot-grown specimens, 

 stand them in a semi-shady spot outdoors 

 for a week or two, and then expose them 

 to full sunshine. If the pots are plunged 

 halfway in ashes, watering will be con- 

 siderably lessened. In such a position the 

 plants may stand until severe frost 

 threatens, when they should be placed 

 in a cold frame. If fallen, but not de- 

 cayed, leaves are packed between the 

 pots they will need no water for weeks 

 together, especially if, as may be safely 

 done, the frame light is kept off in all 

 but sharp, frosty weather. 



Towards the end of January the plants 

 should be carefully examined, and all 

 those which show signs of making fresh 

 growth taken into the greenhouse, leaving 

 the others to follow in successional 

 batches. Water at the roots, and an oc- 

 casional syringing will soon bring the 



Pot-Grown Canterbttfy Bell. 



plants into full swing, and flowers may 

 be expected to open by the beginning of 

 May, the supply being kept up unt'il the 

 end of June. Liquid manure should be 

 given freely when the liower spikes begin 

 to rise, and stakes are generally neces- 

 sary. "When in bloom the plants should 

 be kept as cool as possible. 



Canterbury bells in pots, equally with 

 those grown in outside borders, have a 

 second season of blooming. This follows 

 immediately upon the fading and removal 

 of the first flowers. However, as by this 

 time plants in the open Dorder should be 

 in full bloom, pot plants are scarcely 

 necessary. Therefore they can either be 

 thrown away after the first flush of 

 flower is over, or planted out where they 

 will give a few nice flowers. 



THE READERS' CORNER. 



Rtd Spider. 



I notice in your reliable weekly that 

 the growers have trouble with the red 

 spider. Some twenty years ago, after 

 trying everything recommended and fail- 

 ing to find a sure remedy, I tried Paris 

 green, mixing it in solution as strong 

 as used for the potato beetle, with per- 

 fect success. Since then have had no 

 failure with them. I find it, also, a sure 

 cure for the little worms that make 

 brown lacework of the rose plants, for 

 slugs, and caterpillars that destroy the 

 mums; or, in fact, anything that eats 

 the foliage of plants. About two spray- 

 ings with the Paris green ten days apart 

 will effect a cure. I use an old-fashioned 

 watering can to apply it. 



M. J. "W. G. 



TROUBLE WITH CIRCULATION. 



I have a carnation house 20x200 with 

 a No. 16 Hitchings hot water boiler at 

 one end and three 2-inch flows and three 

 2-inch returns the length of the house. 

 The expansion tank, at the farther end 

 of the house, is fully five feet above the 

 top of the boiler, but the piping has 

 never heated properly. Is there too 

 much water for the boiler to heat, or 

 are the flows too long for hot water! 

 The temperature never falls below 26 de- 

 grees outdoors, and I wish to maintain 52 

 to 5.5 degrees. C. C. I^. 



One difficulty with the system is that 

 the runs are too long to be successfully 

 heated by hot water unless under high 

 pressure or by aid of a circulating pump. 

 Another obstacle is the location of the 

 expansion tank. If it can be connected 

 to the main return close to the boiler 

 and elevated to the height of fifteen to 

 eighteen feet it will materially help. The 

 best plan, however, with a house of this 

 length would be to locate the boiler to 

 one side of the middle of the house and 

 carry independent risers and returns from 

 the middle to each end of the house, 

 thus making the runs 100 feet, instead of 

 200 feet in length. With runs of this 

 length and an elevated expansion tank 

 the system should give good results pro- 

 vided the pipes are properly graded. 



L. C. C. 



Salem, O. — A. M. Sigle, of near 

 Greenford, had a branch store here for 

 ten days before Memorial day and did 

 a nice business. 



