msx 25, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



n 



been w^ irearted. One thing I have 

 notieed in the singles is that they should 

 be ent jast about aa soon as the last 

 flowers are opening in order to keep 

 well, and let the stems stay in water 

 twenty- four hours before shipping any 

 distanee. 



As pot plants the singles sell on si^t. 

 Put in a batch of cuttings May 15, pot 



them along as needed after being taken 

 from the sand, and flower them in 6-inch 

 pots. Do not pinch these plants in any 

 shap^ or form. Simply put a stake in 

 the pot and tie up the main shoot; the 

 plants will assiune a beautiful bush form 

 and when in flower sell on sight, and 

 your customer will be so pleased that he 

 will come back. Charles H. Totty. 



ADIANTUM CUNEATUM. 



As the fronds are closely cut from 

 Adiantum cuneatum, the plants are bene- 

 fited by a few weeks of rest in a rather 

 cooler house, where they can be kept 

 tolerably dry at the root. In repotting 

 we find a good compost to be .fibrous 

 loam two parts, leaf -mold one part, with 

 a smaller quantity of dry and well 

 broken up cow manure and a good dash 

 of sharp sand. Some growers do not 

 use any of the leaf -mold and, in the 

 case of large plants, the cow manure can 

 replace it, but young plants seem to 

 relish the leaf -mold. Where plants have 

 become of rather unwieldy size, they can 

 be pulled or cut apart. They do not 

 grow so satisfactorily as younger plants 

 potted along, but will soon become estab- 

 lished in a warm, moist house. Care 

 should be taken, however, not to keep 

 them too moist at the root. 



Small ferns are offered by specialists 

 at such cheap rates that it scarcely pays 

 for the small retailer to bother raising 

 any from spores. This method of propa- 

 gation is much the best for such varieties 

 as A. cuneatum, gracillimum, decorum, 

 concinnum, pubescens and formosum. 

 Sow the spores in pans containing an 

 equal mixture of loam and peat or leaf - 

 mold, with a good mixture of fine sand. 

 It is better to sterilize the compost to 

 prevent weeds, seeds and scum appear- 

 ing on the surface. Make the surface 

 soil smooth, and water before scattering 

 the spores. Place in a glass case where 

 the sun's rays are excluded, in a moist 

 house kept at 60 to 65 degrees at night. 

 As soon as the little plants can be 

 handled, prick out in patches in other 

 pans or flats. Later, when they attain 

 more size, they can be potted off sin- 

 gly- 



GROWING FERNS FROM SPORES. 



Kindly give me all the information 

 you can in regard to growing small 

 ferns for filling fern dishes — when to 

 sow the seed to have a crop for Christ- 

 mas, the kind of soil, the temperature, 

 and how long it takes to grow a crop 

 from the time you sow the seed until 

 the plants are salable. Please tell me, 

 also, how to germinate the seed or spores 

 to good advantage. G. J. L. 



For the germination of fern spores a 

 shaded greenhouse, in which a tempera- 

 ture of 60 to 65 degrees may be kept at 

 night, is one of the first requisites. Or, 

 for a small quantity of spores, a frame 



may be built on a bench in the green- 

 house, and covered with a sash, in order 

 to give control of the atmospheric con- 

 ditions. Some clean 6-inch pots or pans 

 are then prepared for the spores, by 

 being two-thirds filled with cinders or 

 broken pots for drainage. Then fill up 

 the pots to within about half an inch 

 of the top with some fine, light soil. 

 Press down the soil firmly and smoothly, 

 and then give the pots a good watering 

 with a fine rose can, or dip them in a 

 pail of water. 



After the pots have drained off well, 

 say in the course of an hour or two, 

 the spores should be sown thinly on the 

 surface of the soil, without any covering 

 of soil. Place the pgts in the frame and 

 cover them with panes of glass. Then 

 keep the frame rather close for the first 

 two weeks or so, only giving air enough 

 to dry off the condensed moisture each 

 day. 



The lime of germination varies some- 



what with different species, but some 

 signs of germination usually show in 

 from two to four weeks in the case of 

 the ordinary commercial species. 



After the seedlings have reached a 

 certain size they are transplanted to 

 other pans or flats, in which they remain 

 until large enough to pot off. 



The time required to grow a crop of 

 suitable sized plants for filling ferneries 

 depends upon the specjps grown, but in 

 most cases about a year is required. The 

 members of the pleris family are among 

 the most rapid growers. 



If the seed pots have been well wa- 

 tered before the spores are sown, they 

 should not need any more watering until 

 after the spores have germinated, but 

 in case they should get dry from being 

 too freely ventilated, the best way to 

 water them is by soaking the lower part 

 of the pot in a pail of water. Do not 

 water overhead at any time before the 

 seedlings are large enough to trans- 

 plant. W. H. T. 



STOCKS FOR SEED. 



Will you please tell me if seed saved 

 from single stocks produce double flow- 

 ers, as the double flowers do not have 

 seed? M. H. 



Double-flowered stocks produce no 

 seed. In Germany, where the bulk of 

 the stock seed is grown, the doubles and 

 singles are allowed to flower together. 

 After the former have been flowering 

 some time, they are cut out and every at- 

 tention given to the remaining single 

 plants. . The plants when pulled up are 

 hung in dry sheds and the seed carefully 

 sorted. Experts can tell by the shape 

 and size of the seed pods those which 

 will produce a high percentage of 

 doubles, and vice versa. All seeds are re- 

 moved by hand. Pods containing noth- 

 ing but poor seeds, viz., those that will 

 produce single flowers, are discarded. 



C. W. 



i 





SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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^iS 



Ventilation. 



We are reaching a "period in which the 

 sun's rays are. becoming increasingly 

 powerful, necessitating some shutting off 

 of fire heat and increased watchfulness in 

 watering and ventilating. Too many 

 growers fail to realize how essential to 

 th^ well-being of plants is a house where 

 violent fluctuations in temperature are 

 unknown. A house will be left shut up 

 tigLt until it has become insufferably 

 hot; then heat will be shut off and a lot 

 of air rushed on; perhaps in an hour or 

 two dark clouds will cover the horizon 

 and this same house will, if not carefully 

 tended, quickly have a barnlike atmos- 

 phere. The grower comes along and 

 finds it chilly and turns on heat, closing 

 the ventilators, and departs. No one can 

 grow good plants under these conditions. 



For the next two months some fire heat 

 will be a necessity in the majority of 

 houses, and it is a mistake to close it 



all off. Even on quite a warm day leave 

 a little on, for it gives a geniality neces- 

 sary to ward off mildew attacks. Ven- 

 tilate a little at a time and reduce the 

 ventilation in the same way. All plants 

 require air in greater or less quantities 

 and the grower, to achieve the greatest 

 success, contrives to give it in such a 

 way that the atmosphere always feels 

 genial and balmy. There should never be 

 a chilly feeling running down the spine 

 on entering a house, or the ventilating is 

 at fault. > 



Shading. 



It is rather early to commence shading, 

 but it becomes necessary by the early 

 part of March in the case of palms, adi- 

 antums and some of the so-called stove 

 plants. Lay it on thinly, just enough 

 to break the direct force of the sun's 

 rays. A mixture of naphtha or kerosene 

 and white lead makes a satisfactory 



