12 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Febhuary 10, 1910. 



STOCK FOR MEMORIAL DAY. 



Could geraniums be brought into bloom 

 by Memorial day grown outdoors in hot- 

 beds or coldframes? What size plants 

 should be bought, when should they be 

 put outdoors, and what sort of treatment 

 should they have? Can you name some in 

 pink, white and scarlet that are stocky 

 plants, growing to a medium height, and 

 free flowering? I want them for a cem- 

 etery where tall growing geraniums will 

 not do well on account of the heavy wind 

 which usually sweeps over it. The soil is 

 sandy, though I always make a large hole 

 and fill it with first-class soil before the 

 plants are set out. It is hot and they do 

 not get an overabundance of water. I 

 live in Portland, Me. B. M. K. 



Purchase rooted cuttings or plants 

 from 2-inch pots now and grow them in 

 the greenhouse. If you depend on cold- 

 frames or hotbeds, it will not be safe to 

 place the geraniums in the frames in 

 vour latitude before the middle of April. 

 Use a foot of stable manure and leaves, 

 well mixed and firmly tramped. Over 

 this scatter a layer of three to four 

 inches of fine cinders. Partially plunge 

 the pots in this and they will grow splen- 

 didly. On the coldest nights they will 

 need mats or board shutters for pro- 

 tection. As fine geraniums are grown in 

 frames as in heated structures, but a 

 little more care is needed in watering. 

 In dark, damp weather use water spar- 

 ingly. 



Some good double bedding varieties are : 

 S. A. Nutt, crimson scarlet ; Alphonse Kic- 

 ard, vermilion scarlet; Jean Viand, rose 

 pink, white throat ; La Favorite, pure white ; 

 Mme. Landry, salmon apricot; Beaute 

 Poitevine, light salmon. A few excellent 

 singles are: Snowdrop, pure white; 

 Jacquerie, crimson scarlet; Paul Cram- 

 pel, brilliant scarlet; Dryden, soft crim- 

 son, white center; Granville, rose pink. 



C.W. 



GERANIUMS AND COLEUS. 



Please tell me what causes my geranium 

 leaves to turn brown at the ends and also 

 what makes my coleus leaves fall off. The 

 temperature of my house is 70 degrees in 

 the daytime and about 60 degrees at 

 night. The same trouble exists among all 

 my varieties of geraniums and coleus. 



A. Y. 



Your house is much too warm for gera- 

 niums. Give them a temperature of 45 to 

 .50 degrees at night and they will do 

 much better. An insufficient water sup- 

 ply, lack of ventilation, unsuitable soil, 

 or escaping coal gas in the house might 

 each cause the trouble referred to. Avoid 

 the use of all chemical fertilizers in the 

 soil. In using animal manure, do not let 

 it form over one-fourth of the compost 

 and never use it unless old and well de- 

 cayed. At the first potting no manure 

 should be used. 



Thd coleus should grow luxuriantly in 

 the temperatures you name, if the soil,^^ 

 watering "and other conditions are con- 



genial. Coleus wants more water than 

 geraniums and can scarcely be over- 

 watered. Geraniums, on the other hand, 

 must not be kept constantly damp at the 

 i;oot. C. W. 



they are not exposed to direct sunlight. 

 Such sun as we have in winter will aot 

 burn them, but our torrid summer sun 

 will. They enjoy being sprayed ci' r- 

 head and it is an old fallacy that Wiirer 

 on the foliage is harmful. 



Grow your plants in a house whicl is 

 shaded from strong sunlight. Keep t' m 

 well watered and liberally fed with lioi.id 

 stimulants, in a telnperature anywhrre 

 from 50 to 60 degrees at night, and ; ou 

 should have no further trouble with the 

 foliage browning. W. C. 



GERANIUM FOR NAME. 



We are mailing you under separate 

 cover a sample of geranium, which we 

 wish you would tell us the correct name 

 of. W. E. T. 



We regret the flower and foliage were 

 so withered as to be unrecognizable. Send 

 another specimen and wrap some damp 

 moss or cotton wool around the base of 

 the stalk to help in keeping it fresh. 



C. W. 



SLEEPING IN A GREENHOUSE. 



Can you please tell me what effect, if 

 any, sleeping in a greenhouse would have 

 on a human being? For instance, sup- 

 pose a man is working part of the day 

 and sleeping on a couch in the greenhouse 

 at night, so as to look after the firing two 

 or three times in the night, and the couch 

 is alongside of 800 or 900 narcissi in 

 bloom. Would the fragrance of the blos- 

 soms affect the sleeper in any way? 



C. K. 



RUST ON BEGONIA REX. 



Will you kindly state what solution, if 

 any, will cure rust on Rex begonias, or 

 how to treat the plants to stop the prog- 

 ress of the disease? R. F. C. 



We do not know of any spraying solu- 

 tion which will check the so-called rust 

 on Begonia Eex. The browning of the 

 leaves may be due to one of several 

 causes, such as too strong sunlight, too 

 low a temperature or dry root condi- 

 tions. Rex begonias like a house where 



There need be no more fear of in- 

 jurious effects from working or sleeping 

 in a greenhouse than in a factory or other 

 building where the temperature and at- 

 mospheric conditions are similar, and so 

 far as there being any danger from sleep- 

 ing in a room with several hundred 

 plants, it would be a benefit rather than 

 likely to do harm, as during the day the , 

 plants will take up the carbon dioxide 

 which has been given off by the man, thus 

 purifying the air. Certain plants, like 

 Primula obconica, appear to develop a 

 poisonous principle which has an irritat- 

 ing effect upon the skin of some persons, 

 but except for this I would not look for 

 any injury from plants or from working 

 or sleeping near them. 



RAISED VS. SOLID BENCHES. 



The authors of some of the recent ar- 

 ticles appearing in the trade papers seem 

 to be of the impression that a solid bench 

 is unquestionably superior to the old- 

 fashioned raised, board bench. Directions 

 have been given for constructing the 

 solid benches with cinders, etc. Soil, cli- 

 mate, the crops to be grown and the cost 

 of construction must all be taken into 

 consideration in debating this question. 



Our own experience and conclusions 

 may be of some use to the beginner. 

 About fifteen years ago we constructed 

 solid benches in some of our houses, by 

 making 12-inch side boards filled with 

 cinders, and on the top of this we placed 



SES 



our soil, thus raising the bench about 

 eighteen inches above the walk. 



In about nine houses we first filled in 

 twelve inches of soil or cinders, an*! 

 placed on top of this common drain tilo. 

 close together, using 3-inch, 4-inch au'l 

 5-inch tile. On top of this we put th ■ 

 side boards. In a number of the houses 

 we retained the old board benches. 



The result with just the common cin 

 ders for drainage was unsatisfactory witl' 

 both roses and carnations. After tw( 

 years' use they were discarded and til' 

 were put over the cinders. After thi" 

 change we noticed a marked improvemeni 

 in the plants. 



Though we were not satisfied that tho 

 tile construction was as good as the raise<i 

 wood bench, we reasoned that as each 

 house was wholly constructed with on<' 

 kind of benches, the difference in crop^ 

 might be accounted for by conditions 

 other than the benches. Therefore we re 



