Febkcarv 17, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



J3 



nation house is just commencing to show 

 its flower spikes. A few flats of this 

 variety, and also of Blushing Bride and 

 some of the nanus section, will be placed 

 in l:eat — 50 degrees at night — once a week 

 for the next three months. Do not try 

 any hard forcing tactics, or you will only 

 rill I your bulbs. 



Dutch Bulbous Stock. 



Miswering several inquiries, we would 

 sa/, do not house your hyacinths, tulips 

 aii'i narcissi wanted for Easter before 

 M rch 1. Much then depends on the 

 W( ither, but if started at 60 degrees at 

 ni ht there will be no trouble about flow- 

 er:. ig any of the bulbs at the time they 

 ar wanted. A lower temperature as the 

 fl(! vers commence to expand is desirable, 

 a) ! of course any of the bulbs named can 

 bi held for a few days when expanded 

 in a cool cellar, or even a north lean-to 

 gu'enhouse. To have your plants stocky 

 yea can bring them along in coldf rimes, 

 if desired, and flower them in season. 

 C)t' course, a little bottom heat to take the 

 chill away from the frame, and a cover- 

 iiii; at nights, are necessary with frames. 

 It is also advisable to bottle up some sun 

 heat every clear day. 



LILIES FOR MEMORIAL DAY. 



I have a lot of Lilium giganteum in 

 the cellar in 6-inch pots. The growths 

 are from one to two inches above the 

 soil and they have made roots two or 

 three times around at the bottom of the 

 pots. I wish to have them in bloom for 

 Memorial day, May 30. Would you 

 kindly let me know when I shall treat 

 them to iiave them in flower for that 

 (late? " E. H. O. 



Keep the lilies in a cold house, about 

 40 degrees at night. Keep them some- 

 what on the dry side until the pots are 

 well filled with roots. They are just a 

 little early for Memorial day and must 

 be held quite cool. You want to be able 

 to see the flower buds distinctly a full 

 month before they are to be in bloom. 

 You will be able to judge early in April 

 wlicther the plants are sufficiently early 

 or not. Give them more heat if they are 

 at all backward, but growth is much 

 more rapid in May than in March and 

 you can allow ten days less from bud to 

 open flower than when growing for 

 Easter trade. C. W. 



THICKNESS OF CONCRETE VALL. 



How thick should a concrete wall be 

 built for the north side of a greenhouse 

 which measures seven feet to the eaves, 

 and is it practicable to fill the center of 

 the wall with rock? How much lower is 

 it possible to make the west end of a 

 liouse, seventy-five feet long, than the 

 '■ast end, and still have a first-class job 

 when completed? W. H. H. 



To make such a wall substantial, it will 

 '>e necessary to make it at least nine 

 inches thick. By using rock in the cen- 

 ter and filling the vacancies with cement 

 'o bind it, the wall will be made even 

 stronger. 



It is not good policy to have the 

 ^est end of a house much lower than the 

 "ast end, for many reasons. Houses 

 '>uilt on this principle, if the difference 

 '« great and if the houses are wide, 

 f^uire more supports and trussing to 

 •^eep them stable. They are also more 

 •iable to be affected with drip. Ribes. 



FEEBLE GROWTH OF PERLES. 



We are sending you part of a rose 

 stem and leaves, and should be glad if 

 you would kindly say what the trouble is, 

 and what is the best way to eradicate it. 

 It started among the Perles, and during 

 a spell of dull weather it spread rapidly, 

 causing the leaves to drop and in many 

 eases killing the plant completely. The 

 Brides, which are next to the Perles, show 

 no trace of it. Until recently the Perles, 

 which were benched late, had made 

 rather a soft growth, but appeared 

 strong and healthy. C. K. N. 



The branch and leaves reached me in 

 extremely poor condition, so much 

 shriveled that I could learn but little by 

 an examination, and as the letter con- 

 tains no data as to the treatment given, 

 with reference to feeding, temperature, 

 ventilation, etc., it is hard even^ to make 

 a guess at the trouble. 



Recently another case was submitted 

 to me which was described as having be- 

 haved in the same manner, and I found 

 that the stock acted splendidly till near 

 the holiday season. Then, because the 

 crop was a little late, the temperature 

 was raised, less ventilation was given 

 and more water was used. The result 

 was the same as described in C. K. N. 's 

 inquiry. In this case I advised reducing 

 the temperature to 50 degrees at night 

 and 52 degrees in the daytime, withhold- 

 ing water and giving the surface a light 

 mulch. The stock has now begun to 

 break and made nice, healthy wood. As 

 soon as the eyes break, the temperature 

 can be raised to normal and watering re- 

 sumed.* 



During the period of partial rest the 

 ventilators must be open on all favorable 

 occasions and the syringe must be used 

 at least once a day, and oftener during 

 bright weather. Kibes. 



SOLID BEDS OR RAISED BENCHES. 



We are proposing to enlarge our glass 

 area next year for rose growing and we 

 are in considerable doubt as to the best 

 bench construction. At present we are 

 growing our roses in solid benches, with 

 concrete sides and plenty of good drain- 

 age. We should like to know if there is 

 much advantage in raised benches, made 

 of wood, over solid benches. In short, 

 we should like to get good, Expert ad- 

 vice as to the best and most up-to-date 

 bench construction for roses. 



T. A. I. & S. 



There is still a difference of opinion 



among growers as to which is the best 

 style of bench. Some use the solid beds, 

 with excellent results, while others use 

 raised benches, with equally good results. 

 The general tendency, however, is to 

 eliminate the wooden bench, mostly 

 using concrete v,as a substitute, since it is 

 more durable <tni4yless liable to harbor 

 insects and fungi. / 



That some varieties of roses do better 

 on raised benches there is little doubt. 

 Varieties which have a tendency to go to 

 rest early in the winter are easier to 

 handle on the raised bench than on the 

 solid, as the roots are confined within a 

 limited area and cannot travel to un- 

 congenial soils and temperatures. 



During a recent trip through part of 

 New. Jersey I saw some raised benches 

 made of cement, which seem to meet the 

 requirements of a perfect bench. The legs 

 and cross supports were of one piece of 

 concrete, reinforced with strong wire 

 running lengthwise. The bottoms Avere 

 also of cement, with wires running 

 through it the whole length of the bench 

 and with half an inch of space for drain- 

 age between the slabs, which were appar- 

 ently about two inches thick by six 

 inches in width. The sides were also of 

 cement, with reinforcing wires, and were 

 one and one-half inches thick. These 

 benches were erected by using molds, 

 which could easily be removed when the 

 concrete had set. I was surprised at the 

 lightness of the material, but, having 

 seen the benches since they were planted 

 and subjected to the winter's work, I am 

 convinced that they come near being the 

 ideal bench. RiBES. 



GRAFTED OR OWN-ROOT. 



What are the advantages in having 

 Bride, ^Maid, Richmond and Killarney 

 roses grafted instead of on their own 

 roots? C. K:. N. 



Grafting these varieties is ])racticed 

 with the purpose of giving better root ac- 

 tion. Some varieties are naturally weak 

 on their own roots. Others, which have 

 strong roots of their own, do not possess 

 a sufficiency of fine, fibrous feeding roots 

 to enable them to take up the supply of 

 food necessary to tiio plant under green- 

 house conditions. 



Some varieties, such as M}- Maryland, 

 do better in some soils on their own 

 roots than Avhen grafted. Ribes. 



WILD ROSES FOR BUDDING 



I should like to know what is the dif- 

 ference, if any, between ordinary wild 

 roses and Manetti stock, and why the 

 wild ones would not be as satisfactory 

 for budding purposes as Manetti. I do 

 not know much about Manetti, as we 

 generally grow own-root roses, but there 



