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12 



The Weekly Florists' Re^dew. 



Jancabt 21, 1900. 



ADIANXUM FARLEYENSE. 



The present time, while ample bot- 

 tom heat is at- command, is suitable for 

 increasing the stock of that ever popu- 

 lar fern, Adiantum Farleyense. This is 

 less grown than its nierits deserve. It 

 is usually looked upon as a fussy, hard- 

 to-grow plant, anc}, of course, there is 

 considerable truth .in these statements. 

 It is useless to attempt growing it un- 

 less the grower has a suitable house, 

 where it can receive some special care. 

 Such a house should not go below 62 to 65 

 degrees at night in winter. On many 

 places there are little span houses which, 

 if suflSciently piped, would grow Farley- 

 ense finely. 



Now is the time to divide the old 

 crowns. Plant them in shtrp sand in 

 a propagating case. Some prefer moss 

 mixed with the sand, but we think clear 

 sand is preferable. There must be good 

 drainage below the sand. Shade the 

 glass well. Keep it moderately close 

 and moist, and with a steady bottom 

 heat of 75 to 80 degrees it is surprising 

 how quickly the crowns will root and 

 grow. In lifting, some sand will ad- 

 here to the little roots. Put the crowns 

 in 2-inch pots of leaf-mold and sand. 

 Keep close and warm until established. 

 The next shift should be into 3%-inch 

 pots. At this time use equal parts of 

 loam and leaf-mold. For later pottings, 

 some dry cow manure, turfy loam, fine 

 charcoal and sharp sand make an ideal 

 compost. 



While making growth, a close, moist 

 house is desirable and the glass should 

 be well shaded. Support the fronds by 

 copper or wire stakes a foot long. These 

 sould have an eye partly open at the 

 top to rest the frond stalks on. Never 

 wet the foliage. Fumigate lightly. Feed 

 with liquid manure when the pots are 

 full of roots and let the temperature be 

 drier and somewhat cooler to ripen up 

 the fronds well. Also, reduce the amount 

 of shading on the glass. 



BEST CULTURE FOR SMILAX. 



How many crops of smilax can be 

 cut off a bed in a season? Would 

 there be any advantage in bottom heat 

 and, if so, in what way should it be 

 arranged? What temperature should 

 smilax have? How low can the tempera- 

 ture go without any injury? What va- 

 riety is best for the trade? How soon 

 should it be planted to give the earliest 

 results? When should seed be sown? 

 What distance apart should it be planted, 

 if given good attention in training? Smi- 

 lax, I suppose, wants a good, rich soil. 



L. K. 



Smilax, for an early crop, should be 

 sown in January or February. Select 

 some well drained flats and fill them 

 with about two and one-half inches of 

 soil. After having soaked the seed in 

 lukewarm water for about thirty-six 



hours, spread it in the flats carefully, 

 avoiding sowing too thickly, as this is 

 apt to help cause damping off later. 

 Cover the seeds with about one-fourth 

 inch of light soil and water thoroughly. 

 Remove the flats to a warm house, keep- 

 ing them covered till the seedlings ap- 

 pear above the ground, at which time 

 they must be brought to the full light. 



After the seedlings are about two 

 inches in height they must be transplant- 

 ed, either into other flats or into small 

 pots. We prefer to plant them in flats, 

 setting them about 2x2 inches, and later 

 potting up into 3-inch pots. After they 

 are established in the pots, transfer them 

 to the permanent bench or solid bed. Our 

 preference is a solid bed, as bottom heat 

 is not necessary. 



Smilax should have a rather light soil, 

 with a little well rotted cow manure 

 added. 



The distance to plant is about 6x8 

 inches. The temperature, for best re- 

 sults, should be not below 60 degrees 

 at night, allowing it to rise to 70 

 or 75 degrees in the daytime. It can, 

 however, be run at a temperature of 50 

 degrees at night, or even lower, without 

 injury. But at this low mark it grows 

 slowly and the strings will be rather 

 short and hard. 



Under careful treatment you can ex- 

 pect to cut about three crops in a sea- 

 son. To our knowledge, there is but 

 one variety of smilax used in growing for 

 the trade. Albert F. Amling. 



MOVING PLUMOSUS PLANTS. 



I have a bench of two-year-old As- 

 paragus plumosuB nanus, which I must 

 take down in the coming spring. How 

 shall I treat the plants in spring and 

 summer, a& I want to bench them again 

 and grow them to good, long strings be- 

 fore next Christmas? C. H. W. 



The easiest method to follow with the 

 asparagus would be to heel them in tem- 

 porarily on another bench, during the 

 alteration of the bench on which they 

 are growing. All the long growths on the 

 plants should be cut back to within a 

 foot of the ground before the plants are 

 lifted. 



A solid bed with a depth of fifteen to 

 eighteen inches of good soil is much 

 better for asparagus culture than a 

 bench, and especially where "good, long 

 strings" are the object in view. Bench 

 culture answers well for the production 

 of sprays of asparagus, but is not so 

 satisfactory in growing long strings. 



W. H. T. 



CULTURE FOR PLUMOSUS. 



Please tell me the proper day and 

 night temperature for Asparagus plu- 

 mosus. What is the effect of horse, cow 

 and chicken manure on this crop, and 

 which of these manures is the best? How 

 much water does plumosus require, both 

 in winter and in summer? V. F. P. 



A night temperature of 60 degrees 

 will answer well for Asparagus plumosus, 

 and in bright weather the day temper- 

 ature may run up to 75 degrees with air 

 on. Cow manure, or a mixture of cow 

 and horse manure, gives good results, and 

 may be used quite liberally in the prepa- 

 ration of the beds, and in the form of 

 mulching on the surface of the beds after 

 the plants are well established. A lib- 

 eral supply of water is required by well- 

 rooted plants, provided that the beds 

 are well drained, but one cannot give 

 positive directions for watering without 

 knowing the condition of the soil and 

 plants. ' W. H. T. 



IP 



I 

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1 



SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



Lilies. 



From the number of inquiries being 

 received, quite a few growers are getting 

 anxious about their lilies and wondering 

 if they will be in season. From the time 

 this will appear in print until Easter is 

 just eleven weeks. To be sure of their 

 being in season it should be possible to 

 see the buds with the advent of Lent 

 (March 3 this year). This allows us five 

 additional weeks for growing the plants 

 before the buds are due to have the flow- 

 ers on time. If the shoots are now eight 

 to twelve inches high, they must not be 

 subjected to a higher night temperature 

 than 45 to 50 degrees at night. If they 

 are six inches high, they will come along 

 all right if allowed a minimum of 50 to 

 55 degrees. If, on the other hand, they 

 are still later and merely coming through 



the soil, do not let the night temperature 

 fall below 55 degrees. It is unwise to 

 try any forcing tactics now. Wait until 

 the pots are well filled with roots, when 

 10 degrees more heat can be safely ap- 

 plied. Once you can see the buds, a 

 brisk heat can be given any of the lag- 

 gards with perfect safety. 



Pick out and consign to the rubbish 

 heap all diseased plants, which unfor- 

 tunately are still so abundant in many 

 places as to almost discourage growers. 

 A fumigation once a week will keep aphis 

 in check. 



Where longiflorums are wanted for 

 Memorial day trade, the bulbs can now 

 be potted at any time. They will lose 

 vitality if kept longer in the cases and 

 can easily be held back for the last 

 week in May. 



