Februabx 13, 1908. 



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The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



dark a few days to draw them up a 

 little. This may also be effected by in- 

 verting a small flower pot over the shoot, 

 with the hole stopped up. Use care, in 

 watering, not to pour it indiscriminately 

 over the shoots, or it may cause the buds 

 or the tender spike to decay. Hyacinths 

 are better grown without hard forcing; 

 48 to 50 degrees at night will give 

 stocky plants, while 60 to 65 degrees 

 will produce spindling ones. 



Hybrid Perpetual Roses. 



To be seasonable for Easter, hybrid 

 perpetual roses should now be breaking 

 freely in a cool house. It is unwise to 

 start them in over 45 degrees at night. 

 Later, as the growth develops, 10 degrees 

 more may be given. Guard against cold 

 drafts, which would quickly give mildew 

 a footing. Do not syringe overhead ex- 

 cept on bright days and when you are 

 sure the foliage will be quite dry before 

 sunset. It is too late now to start hy- 

 brid perpetual or rambler roses and have 

 them in flower for Easter. 



HCUS ELASTICA. 



If you have a number of large but 

 somewhat ungainly rubber plants, which 

 will furnish good cuttings, the present is 

 a good time to increase your stock. While 

 rubber plants may be rooted in a brisk 

 bottom heat in a mixture of sand and 

 chopped sphagnum, a better way to se- 

 cure good plants is by the ringing proc- 

 ess. This, in brief, consists of making 

 a circular or slanting cut between a 

 couple of eyes, about halfway through 

 the shoot. The cut is to be kept open 

 with a piece of charcoal or wood. Then 

 tie a handful of moss around this in- 

 cision. Bind it firmly and keep constant- 

 ly moist. When roots are being pushed 

 through the moss it is time to sever the 

 tops and pot them. A warm, moist at- 

 mosphere will assist root formation and 

 is also necessary for the young plants 

 until they become established. 



PANDANUS VEITCHIL 



Pandanus Veitchii is one of the very 

 best decorative plants and never seems 

 to be iw oversupply. In spite of predic- 

 tions that the new P. Sanderi would dis- 

 place it, the more recent introduction 

 has failed to catch on, to use a popular 

 phrase, as well as the older variety. 

 While firing is heavy and a good, steady 

 bottom heat is at command, is an ideal 

 time to root as many of the side shoots 

 or suckers as can be obtained. Many of 



the lower ones will be found to have 

 a fragment of root attached. These 

 will speedily grow into salable plants. 

 Give the propagating bed a good soak- 

 ing of water at least once a day. If 

 your sand is rather coarse, two waterings 

 may be needed. 



Spanish iris will now require somo 

 liquid manure once a week. Do not try 

 too hard forcing on it. Fifty degrees 

 at ' night is high enough for safety. 

 Gladiolus The Bride succeeds under simi- 

 lar conditions. Keep it well up to the 

 light. 



CARNATION NOTES.— EAST. 



Selection of Cuttings. 



During the month of February the 

 most favorable conditions for propaga- 

 tion obtain; therefore no effort should be 

 spared to get as large batches as possible 

 of the leading sorts you intend growing. 

 This does not mean, however, that the 

 cutting bench should be overcrowded with 

 cuttings, taken indiscriminately. 



In caring for a batch of plants from 

 benching to the present time, one cannot 

 have failed to notice certain points of 

 superiority which some have over others. 

 Keep an eye on those which became es- 

 tablished quickly without appreciable loss 

 of foliage, also those which early gave 

 long, stout stems, and from their number 

 choose those possessing vigor, sturdy 

 habit and desirable blooming qualities, 

 from which to select cuttings for next 

 year's stock. 



Of course, under this method it is not 

 possible to increase one 's stock as rapidly 

 as when cuttings are taken promiscuously, 

 but it is shortsighted policy to sacrifice 

 quality for quantity. When a grower has 

 but a few plants of a variety very much 

 desired, the disposition is to overpropa- 

 gate — a practice which has worked an in- 

 justice to more than one sterling variety. 



High Pressure Propagation. 



Remember, we cannot get all there is in 

 a variety during one season. It is better 

 to have bought not less than 2.50 plants or 

 to wait another year, but this is a sub- 

 ject to be treated more freely in advice 

 as to purchasing new sorts. Meanwhile 

 steer clear of high pressure propagation. 



Some growers claim to take no cuttings 

 from plants on which splits have ap- 

 peared, but as the bursting of calyxes is 

 not a constitutional disease, I can see no 

 ground for making this an invariable 

 rule. It is true that certain varieties 

 are more inclined to split than others, 

 and if weather conditions are such at 

 propagating time that this trouble ap- 

 pears in spite of proper treatment, I 

 would not hesitate to employ cuttings 

 from these plants, provided, of course, 

 that they had under normal conditions 

 given good blooms. The statement that 

 some particular sort "never bursts its 

 calyx" must be taken with a grain of 

 salt. 



While, as before stated, it is desirable 

 to propagate in large batches, it is not 

 good policy to include undersized cut- 

 tings. Better allow them to remain on 

 the parent plant another week. It may 

 be thought that small deficiencies in size, 

 health and general make-up will be out- 

 grown in the field, but at housing time 

 the difference will usually be even more 

 apparent. Geo. S. Osborn. 



Establishment of the EI Paso Carnation Co.t El Paso, III. 



RYE SOIL FOR CARNATIONS. 



I have a piece of ground with rye. 

 I think of plowing this under when it 

 gets four to six inches high, which will 

 l)e about April 1 to 10 with us. Then 

 I would add some well rotted manure 

 and about a month later plant out my 

 young carnations for the summer. Will 

 this be suitable preparation, or will the 

 rye plowed under in the spring be in- 

 iurious to the carnations in causing stem- 

 rot? R. E. G. 



I would be a little afraid to plant on 

 the ground that stands in rye now on 

 account of the danger of stem-rot, unless 

 tlie rye is well rotted before you plant 

 and that could hardly be expected one 

 month after it is turned under. If you 

 can possibly plant on other ground, I 

 would advise you to do so this year, and, 

 to get this ground in still better shape 

 for the following year, sow it down in red 

 clover or cowpeas this spring and turn 

 them under too, leaving the ground rough 

 and fully exposed to the weather next 

 winter. There should be no danger from 

 stem-rot or from rust by that time and 

 the soil should be in splendid mechanical 

 condition. A. F. J. B. 



THE EL PASO CARNATION CO. 



The El Paso Carnation Co., of El Paso, 

 111., is now in its second season. Three 

 liouses, each 30x100, were built in 1906, 

 and in 1907 four were constructed, two 

 of them 30x100 and the other two 12x66, 

 The houses are six feet out of the 

 ground, on 2-inch iron posts in three feet 

 of concrete. One house is in rosea and 



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