The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



July 11, 1907. 



would invariably be of better quality. 

 This has also been largely responsible 

 for the present methods of early plant- 

 ing, when the plants are just between the 

 early summer and the fall growths. 



Best Soil for Field U«e. 

 This of course applies mostly to a 

 soil that will crumble readily when dry, 

 but even in clay soil it applies in all 

 particulars except at digging time. When 

 at all possible, carnations that are to be 

 lifted should be planted on land that is 

 naturally of a sandy nature, for the 

 above named reason, A clay soil is apt 

 to hold the moisture and produce a soft 

 plant, and if you wait for a dry spell, 

 when the plants are hardened off some, 

 the soil will come up in lumps that tear 

 the roots. 



Vater Soon if at All. 



So if you think you must do some 

 watering in order to get plants of fair 

 size, then do it during the next few 

 weeks. If it is not needed then, it will 

 not be needed at all. Be sure you give 

 the plants several weeks of dry weather 

 before you begin housing them, so they 

 will be ripened properly. And when you 

 water, give enough to go through the 

 dry soil, and then some. After allowing 

 the top to dry off, go through them with 

 the cultivator, the same as you would 

 after a rain. Such a soaking will not 

 last so long as a good soaking rain, be- 

 cause of the condition of the atmosphere. 

 After a rain the atmosphere is charged 

 with moisture and evaporation ceases for 

 some time, while after your soaking 

 with the hose evaporation is rapid and 

 much of the water you applied soon goes 

 up in the air instead of moistening the 

 soil. So while a soaking rain once each 

 week is sufficient to keep the soil in fine 

 shape, it will require at least twice as 

 many soakings from the hose to have 

 the same beneficial effects, if the same 

 effect can be secured, which I doubt very 

 much indeed. 



The best time to apply the water is 

 during the night. Evaporation is less 

 than during the day; in fact, during dry 

 spells the dew is usually heavy. This 

 gives the soil a chance to take in the 

 water. "When applied at night there is 

 no danger of scalding the foliage. While 

 carnation foliage does not scald easily, 

 yet it can not be the best thing to wet 

 the plants while the sun is the hottest. 

 Especially is this true if the roots are 

 dry. 



No fear need be entertained about 

 starting disease by having the plants wet 

 over night any more than if water were 

 applied during the day. If it were ap- 

 plied every night, such a thing would be 

 possible, but when several bright days 

 elapse between each watering, no such 

 danger will exist. A: F. J. Baur. 



LIFTING PLANTS FOR HOUSING. 



Is it advisable to remove the soil from 

 the roots of carnation plants when lift- 

 ing them from the field to transplant in 

 the house? I have plants which were 

 raised in pots before planting in the field 

 and naturally the roots form quite a 

 ball of earth. W. B. 



I would not consider it wise to shake 

 all the soil from the roots when lifting 

 them from the field. We try to lift 

 with a ball of soil as large as our fist, 

 whenever it is possible, but in many 

 cases the soil will all shake off. While 

 we consider the former some advantage 

 in reestablishing the plants, yet the dif- 

 ference is not great enough to cause us 

 any worry if the soil all shakes off. The 

 main thing in lifting carnations is to 

 break the roots as little as possible. If 

 you get all the roots it will not take the 

 plant long to recuperate, even if all the 

 soil was shaken from the roots, if close 

 attention is given to syringing, etc. 

 Plants taken from pots will usually lift 

 with a good ball better than those grown 

 in flats. A. F. J. B. 



BLACKENED ROSE LEAVES. 



What causes the tip of leaves of out- 

 door, shaded Crimson and Baby Ram- 

 bler tree roses to turn black and then 

 dry up? Would syringing be helpful! 

 The roses can be reached with a hose. 



A Readee. 



full sunshine than they do in the shade; 

 in fact, all roses do, being decided lovers 

 of sunshine. 



Cultivating around the roots frequent- 

 ly and using the syringe freely will in 

 most cases tend towards helping the 

 plants, encouraging root action and keep- 

 ing the foliage free from insects, and 

 also providing a sufficiency of moisture 

 among the leaves. Bibes. 



Without the opportunity of examining 

 the plants and surroundings, it would 

 not be safe to give an opinion as to the 

 cause for this trouble. As a rule, ram- 

 blers do much better where exposed to 



GREEN CENTER IN ROSEBUDS. 



Can you throw any light on the cause 

 of the green center in my rosebuds! It 

 is an outdoor rose and these green cen- 

 ters come alongside of some without 

 them. A. H. 



This malformation is not an uncom- 



mon occurrence among the sweetbrier 

 tribe of roses, and sometimes it' extends 

 to the mosses and hybrid teas, although 

 not frequently. It prevails during cold, 

 damp weather, particularly among old 

 bushes in shady situations, and but rare- 

 ly where exposed to full sunshine. 



It is really a diversion of most of the 

 petals — in some cases all of them- — and 

 pistils into stamens, which in some cases 

 become so crowded as to assume the ap- 

 pearance of a tuft of moss. 



This is no real disease, as perfectly 

 developed buds can be found on the same 

 bush; nor has it a tendency to spread to 

 other plants. It does not affect hybrid 

 perpetual roses and has not been ob- 

 served on any class of roses under glass. 



It is in all probability caused by 

 some insect interfering with the bud in 

 its embryonic stage, or it may be due 

 to climatic conditions. 



It is more an object of curiosity than 

 of alarm, Ribes, 



THE PEONY BUSINESS. 



"At present there Is little or no profit In peony 

 culture, because Its lists cannot be depended 

 upo;i. A customer cannot be sure what variety 

 he Is getting, or whether a variety Is correctly 

 named or not, and no one is in a position to 

 tell him." 



The above quotation from the address 

 of C. W. Ward, president of the Ameri- 

 can Peony Society, at the Ithaca con- 

 vention, puts the peony business in a 

 most unfavorable light. If it be true 

 that there is "little or no profit" in 

 the peony business, for the reason al- 

 leged, or any other, it does not afford 

 much encouragement for the scores of 

 men who, in the last two or three years, 

 have invested goodly sums and much 

 time in large plantations of peonies for 

 commercial purposes. Fortunately there 

 are peony growers who do not take the 

 same view. 



' ' You can quote me, ' ' said William A. 

 Peterson, "in saying that there never 

 was as great a demand for nigh-class 

 varieties as there is today; and more 

 money than ever before is being invested 

 in them by thoughtful buyers. I con- 

 sider peonies one of the most profitable 

 departments of our business." 



"Is the nomenclature of the peony in 

 as bad a way as it has been made to ap- 

 pear in the last few- years?" he was 

 asked. "Is it impossible to buy and be 

 sure of getting what you want ? ' ' 



"There are, as we all know, instances 

 of varieties being sold under more than 

 one name, but we have for some years, 

 and do now, guarantee to replace with 

 three any plant we sell which does not 

 prove true, and that, we think, refutes 

 the idea that it is impossible for one 

 to know what he is guying. ' ' 



SWEET PEAS. 



I have two benches which are at pres- 

 ent devoted to mums and I intend grow- 

 ing sweet peas in the same benches after 

 mums are over. Could I sow the seed 

 in boxes, about two feet six inches long 

 and five inches wide and about four or 

 five inches deep, making the boxes in 

 such a way that I could draw them 

 apart and put into the benches after 

 the mums are over? If so, when would 

 you advise sowing the seed to have 

 bloom about October 1? 



I also have another bench on which I 

 intend growing sweet peas. When would 

 you advise sowing the seeds to have the 

 flowers about October 1? I would like 

 a good white, appie-blossom color, pink 



