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The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



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Soil Sterilizing Tank Described by A. T. Erwin. 



foliage. The red varieties are useful 

 at Christmas. To get them in bloom 

 at this rather early season, it is neces- 

 sary to house the plants about the mid- 

 dle of September, giving them a light 

 but shaded position in a house kept at 

 from 45 to 50 degrees at night in win- 

 ter. A shelf well up to the glass will 

 grow nice, stocky plants, if bench space 

 is at a premium. 



Lorraine Begonias. 



Have you noted how amazingly the 

 Lorraine begonias have grown since the 

 cooler nights arrived ? It seems as though 

 they doubled in size in a couple of weeks, 

 and are putting on a color and display- 

 ing a vigor such as the plantsman loves 

 to see. While this begonia opens its flow- 

 ers 'better in a moderately warm house, 

 it should not be subjected to any forcing 

 process. The plants will soon need a 

 trifle of fire heat on cold nights, but 50 

 degrees at night is ample for a few 

 weeks. Staking and tying up the shoots 

 must not be neglected. Leave the stakes, 

 which should be as thin and unobtrusive 

 as possible, long enough to allow of an 

 additional tie a little later. Where you 

 want the plants to bloom early, pinching 

 out of tops and flower buds can be dis- 

 continued. Late propagated plants can 

 be grown several together in 6-inch pans. 

 There is still time to make neat little 

 specimens of these. To secure first-class 

 specimens, hang them up or place near 

 the glass. 



Rambler Roses. 



Those ramblers wanted for early forc- 

 ing must now have the water supply 

 gradually reduced. The plants cannot 

 be in too sunny a spot. Every shoot 

 should get all possible sunlight, to prop- 

 erly harden it. This is impossible if 

 they have been allowed to ramble over 

 the ground. The superiority of pot- 

 grown plants over lifted stock, espe- 

 cially for early forcing, admits of no 

 question. It is an easy matter to pick 

 out the plants in a store, when in bloom, 

 which have been grown under each 

 system. 



Boston Ferns. 



Boston ferns have made surprising 

 growth in the benches this season. The 

 work of potting up the largest plants 

 should be attended to at once. Clean 

 out your bench as soon as possible, so 

 that it can be utilized for some other 

 crop. Kemember that if you want stocky 

 plants of nephrolepis you must not shade 

 them heavily, but merely break the sun's 

 direct rays. N. Amerpohlii promises to 

 sell well the coming season, while those 

 who have N. Todeaoides are favorably im- 

 pressed with it. N. exaltata Bostoniensis 

 is still more grown than any other va- 

 riety. N. Whitmani is probably the sec- 



ond in popularity, taking the country 

 over. N. superbissima will also be in it 

 with the leaders. N. Scottii seems, some- 

 how, to be losing popularity. ' ' Too much 

 like a poorly grown Boston fern, ' ' is the 

 comment often heard. 



Gardenias. 



Pinching the gardenia shoots must now 

 be discontinued where you are looking 

 for a midwinter crop of blooms. The 

 benches are now becoming well filled with 

 roots. Use extreme care in watering. On 

 no consideration let the soil become sog- 

 gy, or yellowing of the foliage and se- 

 rious loss of buds will be the inevitable 

 results. Plants grown outdoors or in 



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frames, in pots, should be gotten under 

 cover when the night temperatures start 

 descending to 40 degrees or below it. A 

 temperature of 65 to 70 degrees at night 

 will be found all right for the benched 

 stock. 



Chrysanthemums. 



Work among the mums is now steadily 

 increasing. Many of the earlier vari- 

 eties now have the buds well advanced 

 and thinned out. Do not let up on the 

 tying. An hour or two a day at it will 

 accomplish wonders. Remove all the low- 

 er leaves which are dead or badly de- 

 cayed, and if not already done, spread a 

 light mulching of well decayed manure 

 over the surface of the benches. Late 

 planted stock will not require any mulch 

 just now. It will appreciate it early in 

 October. Black fly must be allowed no 

 quarter. Fumigate once a week, always 

 selecting cool nights for this operation, 

 and look out for the hairy caterpillars, 

 which will speedily ruin the appearance 

 of a batch of plants. 



Pot plants will require manure water 

 once in four days. Those in benches will 

 require some after the buds are taken. 

 We like to alternate the doses, cow ma- 

 nure followed by nitrate of soda, sheep 

 manure and dried blood being the rota- 



tion. Any syringing should now be com- 

 pleted in the early part of the day, so 

 that the foliage will be quite dry before 

 nightfall. 



Scented Geraniums. 



If a good stock of cuttings of scented 

 geraniums has not yet been inserted, the 

 present is a good time to get them in. 

 Growth outdoors is rank and the cuttings 

 will be found soft and sappy. Trim them 

 off closely and let some of the sap dry 

 out of them before placing in the sand. 



In the case of lemon-scented verbenas, 

 the cuttings rubbed off with a heel and 

 given a little bottom heat root the best. 

 One or two old plants should always be 

 lifted, stored in a cool, light pit and 

 kept dry over winter. Plenty of good 

 cuttings will be obtained from these in 

 early spring. 



Show Pelargoniums. 



The cut back plants of show pelargoni- 

 ums will have broken nicely by this time 

 and can be shaken out and repotted. 

 Place them in smaller sized pots than 

 they flowered in and you will find that 

 they make much better headway than in 

 the larger size. Keep on the dry side 

 for a time after potting, but spray over 

 lightly once or twice a day. Pot off 

 cuttings put in at the time the plants 

 were pruned back. Tliese will do in cold- 

 frames yet for a few weeks. If placed in 

 a greenhouse, let it be a cool one and 

 give them a light bench. 



Ericas. 



Ericas have made excellent growth in 

 the open ground and are now thickly 

 clustered with flower buds. The roots 

 of heaths are all fine and hair-like and, 

 in lifting, should be broken as little as 

 possible. Pick away the outer soil of 

 the balls with a sharp pointed stick, so 

 that they will not require large pots. 

 These and all hard-woeded stock need 

 firm potting. It will not suffice to stand 

 the ball in a pot, throw in some compost, 

 press it down with fingers and thumbs, 

 smooth the surface and expect it to thrive. 

 The soil must be rammed in thoroughly 

 with a stick. The firmer you get it, the 

 better will the plants do. A compost con- 

 taining fibrous loam, plenty of leaf-mold 

 and a good mixture of sharp sand suits 

 all hard-wooded plants. It is better not 

 to use any manure, even if well decayed. 

 After potting, stand outdoors in a sun- 

 ny spot. Spray occasionally after giv- 

 ing a seaking watering, and the plants 

 will speedily start to establish themselves. 

 Do not house until frost threatens. 



G-otons and Dracaenas. 



Crotons and dractenas, which have been 

 growing in frames through the summer, 

 are just being moved into one of the 

 houses. The nights are getting rather 



