J2 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



August 5, 1909. 



WEAK RUNNING WOOD. 



The shoots on my young American 

 Beauty roses are inclined to run up in 

 the air. Is it best to cut these back 

 pretty low with the idea of making them 

 branch from the base, or let them grow 

 up and bloom and cut short-stemmed 

 flowers? A. G. L. 



If you do not require an early crop of 

 Beauties and the canes persist in running, 

 it would be better to keep cutting them 

 down to a good eye, in order to make 

 them break. To prevent running, keep 

 them a little drier and give free ventila- 

 tion. This usually will stop them from 

 making weak running wood. 



Care must be taken not to cut out too 

 much of the wood at one time, as this 

 has a tendency to stop root action and 

 produce the very trouble it is designed to 

 cure. EiBES. 



CARE OF THE YOUNG STOCK. 



Stakiog and Training. 



Staking and training the young 

 growth should now occupy our attention. 

 If this is neglected and the stock ac- 

 quires a rambling and trailing habit by 

 being allowed to scramble over the bench 

 at Aviil, there is sure to be a prolific crop 

 of blind wood. 



By keeping the young shoots in an 

 upright position the flow of sap is di- 

 rected to the proper eyes for the future 

 crop. This also allows a free circula- 

 tion of air among the leaves, thus giving 

 them firmness of texture and allowing 

 a full complement of light to reach and 

 mature the eyes for future use. It also 

 facilitates syringing, by keeping the 

 foliage in a position where the operator 

 can roach with the spray both the toj' 

 and under sides of the leaves, and as 

 this is most essential in order to keep 

 down spider, any neglect in this respect 

 will be followed by an increase of the 

 trouble. 



The tying ought to be done in a nice, 

 tidy manner, keeping each shoot sep- 

 arate and not tying too tightly, so as to 

 cut into the bark and impede the flow 

 of sap. 



Removal of Suckers. 



Where grafted stock is used, it is 

 well to keep a sharp watch of the tying, 

 so that it does not cut into the bark, and 

 the stocks should also be kept free from 

 suckers. If these are taken in time, 

 they can be rubbed off with the finger 

 without any injury to the plant, but, if 

 left on long enough to get hard, a sharp 



knife should be used for their removal, 

 so as to leave a wound that will heal 

 readily. 



Keep the houses clear of weeds and 

 dirt. Especial care should be given to 

 the spaces under the benches and in cor- 

 ners, for, if weeds are allowed to spring 

 up and grow, they afford excellent 

 breeding places for spider and thrips. 



Keep the atmosphere at all times 

 moist by using the syringe frequently 

 and watering the paths and the ground 

 under the benches. 



The earlier planted houses will require 

 disbudding, and this, in the interests of 

 the future crop, should be attended to 

 as soon as needed. Eibes. 



TERMITES OR WHITE ANTS. 



We noticed in the Eeview of July 22 

 an answer from C. W. to L. regarding 

 termites on roses. It seems to us that 

 C. W., in his reply, is speaking of a 

 different pest from the one referred to 

 in the query. Sterilization of the soil 

 would in no way affect the termites, or 

 white ants, as we call them, as they are 

 never in the soil at the time the soil is 

 placed in the benches. We believe these 



insects are only well known in the south 

 and are very destructive to hard-Mooded 

 plants. Their method of attack is by 

 ascending the pith of the body of ^hg 

 plant and hollowing out the interiur. 



We have tried bisulphide of carl.on as 

 a remedy, but on account of the expense 

 it was not tried extensively enougU for 

 us to tell if it was effective or not. We 

 have also tried painting the benches with 

 crude oil, also with sulphur and lini^, but 

 with 'no results. As the insects u ualjy 

 enter the benches by ascending the bench 

 legs, we at one time thought we liad a 

 remedy by painting the bench legs with 

 tar. This also proved to be of no avail 

 as the insects would eat their May up 

 the center of the bench legs, where the 

 tar could not reach. Someone ha? sug- 

 gested moth balls, buried at intervals in 

 the soil. We are trying these at the 

 present time under infested palm tubs 

 and around the base of posts, but the 

 experiment has not proceeded far enough 

 at this time for us to say if the balls will 

 be effective or not. 



We long ago came to the conclusion 

 that the best way to fight this insect is 

 on the preventive plan. As the insect's 

 food consists of wood pulp, it is impor- 

 tant that all rubbish, such as chips, 

 pieces of plank, etc., should be kept from 

 under the benches. Should a bench onee 

 become infested, we have found: the best 

 plan to be to throw out the entire bench 

 and build anew. We have several times 

 done this when the bench had only been 

 in the second year. When refilling 

 benches in the summer, any planks that 

 show signs of the ants should be re- 

 moved. Do not delude yourself with 

 the hope, because you see no ants, that 

 they are not there, as they have merely 

 retreated to the heart of the planks and 

 will reappear as soon as the new soil is 

 in and moisture applied. 



Charles Vestal. 



!'.<*^.<*^.<'#^.^»^.<<^.'»^.<»^'»^Vf>}-'yr»)'fer»>'fe»>''yr»>'fer»)''yr»l>'-y?»!)'fef») 



SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



t 



Asters. 



The latest sowing of asters should be 

 planted in the field on the first favorable 

 opportunity. Chances for putting out 

 young stock during the present summer 

 have been hazardous over a large por- 

 tion of the country. While some sections 

 report too much rain, the whole eastern 

 seaboard has suffered from one of the 

 most severe droughts in its history. With 

 the ground dust-dry and a shade tempera- 

 ture of 90 degrees, it is useless setting 

 out young plants, unleg.s they have good 

 ba^ls of earth thoroughly wetted and are 

 also watered after planting. Then keep 

 the ground constantly stirred, and with 

 the first rains your plants will jump. 



The season can hardly be classed as a 

 satisfactory all-around one for asters so 

 far. They love abundant moisture, 

 which has been lacking this year. They 

 stand droughty conditions surprisingly 

 well, but shorter stems are the rule, un- 

 less means for watering are at command. 

 At this time, when carnations are near 

 the vanishing point, roses poor and sweet 



peas getting inferior in many cases, the 

 value of a good aster bed to the ri>tail 

 ttorLst can hardly be overestimated. 



Pull out any plants attacked by ^' em- 

 rot or the yellows. It is of no use i'*'' 

 ing these in the ground, as no reni'ilial 

 treatment will be of any avail for t em. 

 If the aster beetle makes its appearunce, 

 it will work great damage, unless s["-'eQ* 

 ily checked. Hand picking is often re- 

 sorted to, but if many of them api ''a^i 

 it is better to spray the plants ' i" 

 Paris green at the rate of one poui* - to 

 200 gallons of water. This strength "lU 

 not hurt the plants, but it will de-'roy 

 the beetles, and any slight discolora lon 

 of flowers is easily washed out. Do ""* 

 use any poisons of an adhesive na 'ire, 

 such as arsenate of lead, as they wliite" 

 the foliage and render the flowers un- 

 sightly and unsalable. 



Genistas. 



Look over the genistas occasionall.v and 

 give them a pinching back or shearing- 

 Their growth is now rapid, and if >", 

 want close, compact heads, the k"* 



