February 27, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



Zonal Geranium Anna DefeuilleU 



you must procure your seed from some 

 firm that makes a specialty of this class 

 of plants. You may have to pay more 

 for it, but the little extra outlay will 

 repay you in the end. 



The Most Suitable SotL 



Soil is also a matter of considerable 

 importance with this class of plants. 

 Growers' opinions differ as to what con- 

 stitutes an ideal soil for cyclamens. We 

 must, however, be guided in this respect 

 by our own judgment and have an intel- 

 ligent idea as to what the plants will 

 best appreciate in the various stages of 

 their development. When in a young 

 state, a soil of a light texture should be 

 used, in which leaf -soil, charcoal and . 

 sand are the chief ingredients. For the 

 final potting, a fairly rich compost may 

 be used, I would suggest a soil made 

 up of two parts good fibrous loam and 

 one part leaf-soil, with also a liberal 

 amount of sand and fine charcoal. Bone 

 meal may also be added at the rate of a 

 5-inch potful to each barrow load of soil. 

 In England most growers sterilize the 

 soil which they use for their cyclamens, 

 saying that by doing so they prevent dis- 

 ease, and judging from my own experi- 

 ence I believe it does to a great extent. 

 We must admit that a great many of the 

 diseases which have become so numerous 

 in plant life get into the system of the 

 plants in the earlier stages of their ex- 

 istence, or, I might say, during the 

 process of seed germination. At any 

 rate, it is tolerably certain that disease 

 germs exist in most soils. Hence, if all 

 soil used for potting purposes were steril- 

 ized, the chances of disease would cer- 

 tainly be considerably reduced. 



Judicious W^atering. 



Care in watering is another important 

 point to remember. Cyclamens require 

 at all times a liberal supply of water, 

 but at the same time one must use a 

 little judgment. It often happens that 

 indiscriminate watering with the hose, 

 followed by dull weather or low tempera- 

 ture, causes the soil to become excess- 

 ively wet. The result is, the soil becomes 

 clogged, the fine roots perish and a sickly 

 yellow tint appears among the young 



i7^j' ^^^^^ ^s sometimes erroneously 

 called a disease. Careful watering is 

 absolutely essential at all times, and for 



this reason I would use the watering can 

 in preference to the hose, especially 

 after the flowers begin to appear on the 

 surface of the corm. 



The Cyclamen Mite. 



Few growers can have missed, at some 

 time or another, making the unpleasant 

 acquaintance of the dreaded cyclamen 

 mite. A sharp lookout should be kept at 

 all times for this destructive pest, and 

 as soon as it is noticed the affected 

 plants should be burned. If plenty of 

 soot and tobacco stems are kept between 

 the pots, it will be impossible for the 

 mite to exist. Syringing once a week 

 with weak soot water will also act as a 



preventive, as the mite shows great aver- 

 sion to soot in any form. 



In most establishments cyclamens are 

 grown in frames during the summer 

 months. We should see that a free cir- 

 culation of air is always kept among the 

 plants, and during the mild, dewy even- 

 ings in the fall the lights should be re- 

 moved, to give the plants the full benefit 

 of the heavy dews. Kegarding shade, I 

 strongly advocate the use of tiffany, or 

 fine canvas, for this purpose, for the 

 reason that it can be removed in the 

 afternoon, when the sun loses its 

 strength, and the small amount of sun 

 and light which they thus receive adds 

 considerably to the strength and vitality 

 of the plants. 



Liquid Fertilizer. 



When the plants are well established 

 and the pots full of roots, weak doses of 

 liquid manure will be beneficial. This 

 should be as varied as possible. On two 

 days a week, at least, clear water should 

 be used. Sheep manure in a liquid state 

 is one of the best, but care must be taken 

 to use it only in very weak doses. When 

 the fine roots begin to show freely on the 

 surface of the soil, a light dusting with 

 pulverized sheep manure may be given, 

 as the more surface roots the plants are 

 furnished with, the more stimulants they 

 will be able to assimilate. 



In the rush of the housing season, too 

 often we find cyclamens relegated to 

 some obscure position in a north house 

 or some such place, with the result that 

 the care and labor of months is to a 

 great extent wasted. Growers would do 

 well to allow more space between plants, 

 after housing, than is commonly the 

 case. When housed they should be kept 

 fully exposed to sunshine, and a free 

 circulation of air maintained. It is a 

 cool, airy atmosphere which goes farthest 

 in producing well flowered plants of the 

 highest quality. Wm. M. Brown. 



Zonal Geranium Ian Maclaren. 



