July 16, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



SEASONABLE CULTURE. 



Need for Watckfulness. 



Insects are, as usual, appearing in va- 

 riety and the careful grower must be on 

 the watch all the time. The most com- 

 mon and voracious are the caterpillars. 

 All the butterflies found in the houses 

 should be captured and killed, because 

 if they are prevented from laying their 

 eggs on the plants, there will be no cater- 

 pillars to speak of. Look over the under 

 side of the leaves and you will often find 

 an innocent looking circle of eggs, or a 

 colony of larva; just beginning to move 

 around. If you can catch them before 

 they have traveled away from each other 

 you have saved yourself much future 

 trouble. If the plants are sprayed with 

 a light solution of Paris green it will be 

 found eflfective in cleaning out this pest. 



Thrips. 



There is a small white thrips that se- 

 cretes itself on the under side of the leaf 

 and does much damage before the inex- 

 perienced eye detects that there is any- 

 thing wrong with the plant. The plant 

 takes on a generally unhealthy look, the 

 leaves are pale and ragged-looking and 

 if one looks closely on the under side of 

 the leaf the tiny mites will be seen suck- 

 ing out the chlorophyl. I have found 

 nothing better for this trouble than clear, 

 cold water, using on the hose a sprayer 

 that diverts the water upwards and per- 

 mits of a thorough washing of both sides 

 of the leaf. 



Borers. 



Trouble is being reported from several 

 sections with a species of borer that is 

 most destructive, causing, as it does, the 

 total loss of the plant. The egg is laid 

 in the stem of the plant and the worm 

 will proceed to eat out the entire center, 

 working up the plant until finally the 

 plant falls over, revealing that there is 

 nothing left of the stem but the outside 

 bark. There is no way of fighting a pest 

 like this, so far as I can see, because poi- 

 sons do not touch it, as it works entirely 

 inside, and tobacco fumigation is of no 

 use whatever in such a case. A vigorous 

 and persistent policy of destruction to all 

 the butterfly tribe will, I have no doubt, 

 be found the best remedy, as prevention 

 is better than cure. 



General Notes* 



The summer so far is much warmer 

 than usual, making frequent spraying 

 necessary to keep down the temperature. 

 I have never been in favor of shading 

 houses in which chrysanthemums are 

 growing, though it does seem that a 

 moderate shade would be of benefit these 

 scorching days, to the men in charge, if 

 nothing else. It is an unnatural condi- 

 tion to a cold-blooded plant to be under 



glass on a hot day, but still I say, do not 

 shade the houses unless for some reason 

 you are compelled to. 



Pot on the plants intended for 6-inch 

 pots, from 2 1/2 -inch to 4-ineh, as soon 

 as they are ready, because this class of 

 plant must be kept growing from the 

 moment it is rooted. Use good rotted 

 new loara and to every wheelbarrow of 

 soil put in a 6-inch pot of fine bone. 

 This will furnish nourishment right from 

 the first and the plants will show by 

 their appearance how they appreciate it. 



Specimen plants, if not yet potted into 

 their flowering pots, should be attended 

 to at once. The pinching or stopping 

 should be kept up all this month, going 

 over the plants every day and stopping 

 shoots as needed, bearing in mind all the 

 time the future conformation of the 

 plant. Plants that are set • out un the 

 garden with the idea of lifting them in 

 September should be treated the same 

 and don't forget that a vigorous hosing 

 in the evening is very beneficial in check- 

 ing insect pests. Charles H. Totty. 



VET COMPOST. 



Early last spring I had soil with con- 

 siderable sod and the regular propor- 

 tion of well-rotted manure piled up, and 

 later turned over. It has rained for six 

 weeks to two months and it is so satu- 

 rated that it has been impossible to 

 fill the mum benches, and it is still rain- 

 ing. How do you advise me to manage 

 them? I do not want to fail in having 

 good flowers next fall. S. M. 



If your chrysanthemums are in small 

 pots, and the compost you prepared for 

 the benches is too saturated to handle, 

 it will be better for you to give your 

 plants a shift into larger pots rather than 

 allow them to become hard and pot- 

 bound. If in 2 V^ -inch pots, shift to 

 31^ -inch, and if in 3-inch, move to 4- 

 inch. Have your benches emptied and in 

 readiness to receive the new compost as 

 soon as weather conditions improve. Let 

 the soil dry out, so as not to be pasty 

 when your plants are benched. Your 

 section of Kansas is getting more than 

 its regular rainfall, evidently, while vast 

 areas elsewhere are being almost ruined 

 by drought. C. W. 



RAPID GROWTH. 



I would like your advice in regard to 

 chrysanthemums. I have mine planted on 

 solid beds three feet wide, 6x6 inches 

 apart. They were planted out June 20 

 and are growing nicely; in fact, I think 

 too fast. I have them staked to 3-foot 

 wire stakes. T. Eaton is sixteen inches 

 high; Mrs. Eobinson, twelve inches; Col. 

 Appleton, twenty inches; October Frost, 

 twelve inches. I want to know if 3-foot 

 stakes would be tall enough for each 

 kindf I want to grow one flower on 



each plant. Should I pinch the tops out 

 to keep them from getting too tall? 



G. N. 



If you have head room enough it would 

 be a shame to pinch . back the plants, 

 since you only want to get one flower 

 from each plant. The Batons will get 

 up five feet and the others from three 

 and one-half to four and one-half feet, 

 providing you take the first bud that 

 shows after August 20 to 25. This height 

 is of course approximate only, as I do 

 not know local conditions or soil. The 

 question of whether the 3-foot wire 

 stakes are long enough need cause no 

 concern, as they can be easily made 

 longer by capping with a bamboo, running 

 the top of the wire stake up inside it, 

 which will make it rigid, and the stakes 

 can then be cut off any length desired. 



C. H. T. 



PANSIES FOR INDOORS. 



There are many of us who find good 

 pansies in January, February and March 

 valuable as cut flowers. Quite often a 

 small batch on a side bench will bring 

 good returns, for there is always a de- 

 mand for pansies, especially when they 

 are of good size and coloring. 



As with anything else, you cannot ex- 

 pect to stick them in some dark corner 

 and get good results. They require all 

 the sun there is to be had, as well as a 

 good, rich, mellow soil and an almost 

 violet house temperature, in order to get 

 good flowers, and no aphis should ever be 

 allowed to stunt the growth of the plants. 

 This pest will ruin them in a short time. 



What tempted me more than anything 

 else to write about pansies was a desire 

 to call attention to the excellent qualities 

 of a certain French strain sold under the 

 name of Mme. Perret. I doubt if there is 

 a better variety for forcing than this one, 

 wherever large flowers of the richest col- 

 oring are wanted. The flowers are borne 

 on long, stiff stems, and the plants grow 

 to an enormous size compared with other 

 strains. We have tried it for outdoor 

 planting, but found other mixtures, such 

 as are offered as home-grown seed by 

 pansy growers of this country, superior 

 for that purpose, but for indoor growing 

 it is certainly a good thing. 



If good, strong plants of Mme. Perret 

 are wanted by fall, seed should be sown 

 by July 15. The little plants, when large 

 enough, can be transplanted, say five 

 inches apart, in a coldframe, where they 

 can remain until wanted 'inside. There is 

 really nothing gained by having them in- 

 side earlier than the end of November 

 or even December. They will not bloom 

 in paying quantities much before Janu- 

 ary, and the plants, as long as suflSciently 

 protected in a frame, are as well off there 

 as anywhere else. . When bringing them 

 in, be just a little careful to lift the 



