340 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Decembeb 20, 1906. 



their roses every morning, rain or shine, 

 but they are in the great minority, and 

 most good growers syringe only on 

 bright mornings. 



Carnations are entirely different. With 

 the exception of the first two weeks after 

 carnations are lifted and put on the 

 bencj»es they need no syringing at all, 

 and good growers of this most popular 

 flower do no syringing till the bright, 

 hot days of May, when it may be neces- 

 sary to keep down red spider, and the 

 season will be so far advanced that no 

 harm will come from the syringing. 



We prefer a solution of some nicotine 



sprayed on the plants to the old method 

 of burning tobacco stems. Applied with 

 a compressed air bellows it is very ef- 

 fective. If you would rather burn to- 

 bacco, then use tobacco dust burned in a 

 pie dish. It will be much more effective 

 than burning the stems, because it will 

 smolder for two hours, until it is all con- 

 sumed. 



The trouble with the leaves of your 

 citrus plants is most likely too high 

 temperature and too dry atmosphere. 

 Keep them in the cool end of your 

 greenhouse. Spray often and keep moist 

 at the root. W, 8, 



LIQUID FERTILIZERS. 



During the remainder of the season, 

 where the plants are in a vigorous grow- 

 ing condition with the benches full of 

 roots, stimulants in a liquid form may 

 be used with great benefit. 



Of all the kinds of liquid feeding 

 there is none safer or more effective than 

 that made from fresh cow manure, as it 

 contains all the elements necessary for 

 the purpose and in just -about safe pro- 

 portions, at the same time having little 

 or none of those caustic properties so 

 prevalent in most of the prepared chem- 

 ical foods. 



This manure should be placed in a 

 tank with sufficient water to cause 

 speedy fermentation, which should take 

 place in a temperature of 60 degrees in 

 twenty-four or thirty hours, when the 

 liquid should be drained off and diluted 

 to the strength required. For a first 

 application the concoction should be 

 rather weak, until the plants have be- 

 come accustomed to this class of food, 

 gradually increasing the strength as 

 results may warrant. 



This feeding cannot- be indulged in 

 with good results at all stages of growth. 

 The correct time, w;hen the plants can 

 use it with best advantage, is when the 

 young growths for a succeeding crop are 

 from three to four inches in length. An 

 application should be given at least once 

 a week until the buds are well developed 

 and begin to show color, when it should 

 be discontinued. This will materially aid 

 in producing a good cut of high grade 

 roses. 



Sheep, poultfy and pigeon manure, be- 

 ing of a more caustic nature, should be 

 used more carefully and in a more 

 diluted condition. 



This class of food being easily and 

 quickly a^irailated should always be 

 used with caution, and especially when 

 any chemically prepared foods are 



the time a close watch on the effects 

 produced. 



Weak or unhealthy stock is unable to 

 use any food in this form, and if so used 

 it will only aggravate any troubles they 

 may be suffering from, Eibes, 



ERRATIC WATERING. 



Will you kindly tell us what the 

 trouble is with the sample roses sent 

 you? We have never grown roses before. 

 Our present plant is a new one, being 

 built last summer, and of course the 

 roses were planted late, about September 

 20, in semi-solid beds of tile and cement. 

 The soil was rotted sod and cow manure, 

 well rotted, mixed four to one. Our soil 

 is rather clayey, has some sand and dries 

 out quickly. The roses have been losing 

 leaves since planted. They just seem to 

 dry up and fall off. Are we keeping 

 them too dry, or is it too wet? The 

 mildew and greenfly, of which you will 

 find traces, have only been in about two 

 or three weeks. We have a house 27x300 

 and would like to save them. L. F. C. 



added, and should always be tried in a 

 weak condition and on a small scale, 

 noting results. 



The use of ammonia and nitrate of 

 soda during certain stages of the growth 

 can be employed with great benefit, espe- 

 cially in hastening the development of a 

 crop during the short days, but these 

 being very powerful and immediate in 

 their effects will require extra caution 

 in their use, and should not be used for 

 a first application except in a very weak 

 solution, one pound of either to 100 

 gallons of water being quite strong 

 enough. 



During the short days and long nights, 

 when the hours of sunshine are few, it is 

 always safer to be conservative in the 

 use of strong stimulants, rather using 

 them in a weak form and more fre- 

 quently, than to run any risk by strong 

 doses. As the days lengthen the strength 

 can be gradually increased, keeping all 



These roses do not seem to be suffer- 

 ing from any disease but have the ap- 

 pearance of having been treated amiss 

 in regard to watering. From the indi- 

 cations the application of water has been 

 very erratic, sometimes being overdry 

 and at other times being saturated. This 

 would account for the scalding of the 

 foliage. 



Give the bench a good soaking until 

 every particle of soil is wet and never 

 allow it to again become dry. 



If your piping is directly under the 

 benches, examine the soil every day to 

 ascertain if the bed is uniformly moist, 

 and especially at the bottom, where the 

 heat is most intense. This examination 

 should be very critical after applying a 

 mulch, as the manure in the mulch, by 

 absorbing and retaining the moisture, 

 gives the bench the appearance of being 

 wet when the soil near the bottom may 

 be quite dry. 



The soil seems in every way suitable 

 for rose culture and can with judicious 

 care in watering, ventilating, etc., be 

 made to produce first-class stock. 



RiBES. 



VANDA CAERULEA. 



Blue colored orchidaceous plants are 

 few in number and Vanda ca?rulea is 

 the best known of this shade and one 

 of the best commercial orchids. A na- 

 tive of the Khasya hills in India, it has 

 been in cultivation since 1849. The ma- 

 jority of this genus enjoy tropical treat- 

 ment, but V. ca?rulea, with V. Amesiana 

 and one or two other sorts, prefers a 

 temperature 5 or 10 degrees lower. It 

 also flowers much better when grown 

 well up to the light, with only a light 



shade in summer. In Great Britain many 

 growers do not shade vandas at all. 



This variety will grow on blocks or 

 in pots, pans or baskets. We prefer the 

 last name<\ rec^tacles. We use broken 

 potsherds for drainage and a compost of 

 fern fibre mixed with sphagnum. The 

 plants will grow well in pure sphagnum 

 if well drained. The flowering season 

 lasts from September until January. The 

 flowers come quite pale on some plants, 

 especially if grown too hot and dark, 

 but given proper conditions they are of 

 a beautiful cerulean blue. Good spikes 



