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The Weekly Florists^ Review/ 



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Januabt 6, 1919. 



THE RIGHT CUTTINGS TO TAKE. 



Will you please tell us the proper cut- 

 tings to take from carnation plants 

 grown for the flowers, and a reasonable 

 number of cuttings? We wish to know 

 where to get the cuttings, besides the 

 ones taken from the cut flower stem. 



I enclose a carnation stem, the upper 

 portion of which was used for propaga- 

 tion, the other being left on the plant. 

 Will this kind of cutting make a good, 

 vigorous plant? A. L. M. 



Neither of the specimens forwarded 

 would be fit to use for propagating. 

 The one is hard and would not root in 

 two months, if ever. The other has be- 

 gun to lengthen out and, although it 

 would root, it would throw a bud soon 

 after potting, and' when topped back it 

 would break weak. It could never make 

 a bushy plant, because the joints would 

 be too far apart. 



If you can not get enough cuttings 

 from the flower stems, or from the 

 breaks which grow on the stubs after 

 the flower has been cut, then I would ad- 

 vise you to take only flower shoots which 

 have not begun to lengthen out. You 

 should not be able to see the stems be- 

 tween the leaves. Such cuttings, when 

 rooted, will be short jointed, and when 

 topped will make bushy plants. In fact, 

 plants from such cuttings will often 

 make a stronger growth than any other. 

 We believe, however, that if such cuttings 

 were used year after year, the stock 

 would become less floriferous than where 

 side-shoot cuttings are used. Growers 

 differ on this point to some extent and it 

 is, therefore, an open question. All 

 agree, however, that a shoot which has 

 begun to lengthen out between the joints 

 is unfit for use. 



While we are on this subject of cut- 

 tings, I just want to tell you a little 

 trick we learned in propagating Beacon 

 and a few other varieties which have 

 given propagators some trouble in root- 

 ing them. Perhaps you have noticed that 

 after Beacon has been in sand about three 

 weeks it begins to get soft and wilted. 

 Your first impulse is to spray the plants 

 liberally and to soak the sand. This we 

 have found to be a great mistake, as 

 the cuttings wUl damp off under such 

 treatment instead of freshening up. We 

 have found that if you will simply lay 

 newspapers over them and leave them on 

 over night a few times, until they freshen 

 up-, they will come through all right. Take 

 off the papers, to allow fresh air, an 

 hour or so in the morning and evening, 

 and look out for damping if they are too 

 wet in the sand. A. F. J. B. 



FOR A CLOUDY CLIMATE. 



What varieties of carnations are the 

 best and most profitable to grow in a 

 country with but little sunshine during 

 the winter season? W. L. 



Without sunshine for any considerable 

 time, you can not expect to grow first- 



class carnations. The carnation loves 

 sunshine, fresh air and a liberal supply 

 of water. Without any one of these 

 three, you can not grow carnations 

 worthy of the name. 



Those suffering the least would prob- 

 ably be those which have a short, sturdy 

 growth and stiff stems. Among these 

 would be all the Lawson varieties, in- 

 cluding the original variety and the fol- 

 lowing sports: Melody, White Lawson, 

 Red Lawson, Variegated Lawson, and 

 Welcome. Winsor has the same habit as 

 the foregoing. Other varieties would be 

 May, Beacon, Victoria, Mayday, etc. 



A. F. J. B. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE SEEDLINGS. 



The members of the Gardeners' and 

 Florists' Club of Boston, who visited the 

 well-kept and thoroughly up-to-date es- 

 tablishment of George E. Buxton, 

 Nashua, N. H., December 10, were much 

 interested in several first-class seedling 

 carnations which were seen growing in 

 quantity. Of these Bon Ami and Granite 

 State, both pure white, attracted special 

 attention. 



Bon Ami is the result of crossing Queen 

 on Lady Bountiful in 1905. It somewhat 

 resembles White Perfection, but makes 



a much better plant in the field. It has 

 always been the first to come into bloom, 

 with a heavy crop of flowers about the 

 middle of October, and continuing 

 throughout the season, with a crop equal 

 to that of any of the .white carnations 

 in commerce. It has good size, being on 

 an average three inches in diameter, with 

 many reaching three and one-half inches 

 when the plant is at its best. 



The stems as seen in December were 

 remarkably long and stiff, the average 

 length being twenty-four inches, and the 

 flowers were held up perfectly erect, the 

 benches being a veritable mass of bloom. 

 The percentage of splits was so small that 

 it may be called a non-splitter. 



Having given Bon Ami a four years' 

 trial, and believing that it will prove it- 

 self a good friend to all who may try it, 

 Mr. Buxton will send it out in limited 

 quantities, commencing February 1, 1910. 



Granite State is also the result of a 

 Queen and Bountiful cross, but not from 

 the same seedpod. The habit of growth 

 is all that any critical grower can ask 

 for. At housing time in August the 

 plants were said to much resemble well 

 grown plants of that grand old variety, 

 William Scott. The stems, as seen a few 

 weeks ago, were of extra length and held 

 the pure white and beautifully formed 

 flowers in a graceful, upright manner. 

 Blooms average three to three and one- 

 half inches in diameter, and Mr. Buxton 

 states that from December 1 to July 1 

 stems thirty inches long are easily cut 

 without entering the hard wood. Cer- 

 tainly the length when Ijsaw them would 

 corroborate this statement. 



In Granite State Mr. Buxton believes 



Carnation Bon Ami. 



