16 



The Florists^ Review 



■V-, 



Ar«usT ft. 1914. 



AFTER BENCHINO IS FINISHED. 



Reserving Plants for Vacancies. 



As soon as yoii have finished bench- 

 ing your carnations, pot up some plants 

 of each variety to replace those that 

 may die here and there from one cause 

 or another. .Just how many you will 

 lose cannot be foretold, but we seldom 

 fail to lose a few, and no doubt you 

 have the same experience. Five per 

 i-ent should be a liberal allowance 

 for this purpose; in most cases the loss 

 is one per cent or less. Put these into 

 as small pots as are practical. You 

 want them to become established as 

 •juickly as possible, and the smaller the 

 pot the more quickly will the plant be- 

 I'ome potbound. Your principal loss will 

 occur within the first four weeks after 

 the plants are benched, and by that 

 time the potted plants will be ready to 

 set in where plants are missing. In 

 case the plants have died of stem-rot, 

 we sprinkle some hydrated lime on the 

 soil wherever a plant is pulled up. This 

 is usually effective in destroying the 

 fungus, but if a second plant dies of 

 the same disease, we take out the soil 

 .ind replace it with new, to set the next 

 ]>lant in. 



Handled in this way, the plants that 

 are set in will be only a little behind 

 those benched at the start and will give 

 better results than when planted in from 

 the field. 



Watering and Cultivating. 



After the first gooil watering you will 

 gradually withhold the water from the 

 roots, depending on the overhead spray- 

 ing and damping the walks to keep the 

 plants fresh until the roots have taken 

 liold again. Light waterings will have 

 to be given now and then in spots, 

 where the soil dries out unevenly, but 

 no heavy soaking should be given for 

 a while, as the roots will take hold bet- 

 ter when the soil is just moderately 

 moist than when it is kept sodden. 



When the plants have taken hold and 

 will stand up without extra spraying, 

 you will likely find the soil in excellent 

 <'ondition to work. Break up the crust 

 that has formed on the surface and 

 level it off so that a good watering may 

 be given over the whole bed. After 

 Ihat you will water only when the bed 

 has dried out sufficiently to need it, al- 

 lowing the soil to get well on the dry 

 side before each watering. By work- 

 ing the soil as soon after planting as it 

 is in condition you will probably be able 

 to destroy most of the young weed crop 

 that usually follows the planting. This 

 will not only save you much labor in 

 weed pulling, but will also conserve the 

 ]>lant food in the soil, as most weeds 

 are heavy feeders. 



A Dusting of Lime. 



If your soil is inclined to be heavy, 

 or if it is lack:./ig in potash, there may 

 be a heavy scum of green on the sur- 

 face, caused by the continuous syring- 



ing. In that case, you should dust 

 hydrated lime over the soil before 

 breaking it up. No harm will be done 

 if you dust it over the plants as well; 

 in fact, it will do them good by de- 

 stroying any leaf -spot spores that may 

 have developed while the atmosphere 

 was kept in a humid condition. Many 

 carnation growers make a practice of 

 this, regardless of whether the soil is 

 green or not. Others use Bordeaux, ap- 

 plying it two or three times during the 

 fall, with good results. Watch closely 

 for any signs of leaf -spot or fairy ring. 



A. F. J. Baur. 



SHOULD PLANTS BE TOPPED? 



We now have our carnations set in 

 benches from 3-inch pots. They are nice 

 ])lants, averaging three shoots. Should 

 these be trimmed or should we let them 

 flower? W. D. M. 



If your plants are growing vigorous- 

 ly and you can make good use of the 

 blooms, there will be no harm in al- 

 lowing them to bloom from now on. 1 

 really believe that it will tend to make 

 your cut more continuous through the 

 winter than if you kept the ]dants 

 tojjped closely until September and then 

 allowed them to come with a heavy 

 crop. One must be governed somewhat 

 by these things in deciding on the man- 

 ner of handling his ])lants. One grower 

 will try for an even cut throughout 

 the season, while another will prefer to 



cut heavily at certain times at the ex- 

 pense of the cut at other times. This 

 must be governed almost entirely by the 

 topping. A. F. J. B. 



A START IN SNAPDRAGONS. 



I have never grown snapdragons, but 

 should like to try them. What temper- 

 ature do. they require and will they do 

 well in' partial shade? Would they 

 grow in a house with sweet peas? 

 Please give any information that would 

 be helpful in growing snapdragons. 



F. E. S. 



Snapdragons succeed particularly well 

 in a winter minimum temperature of 

 45 to 48 degrees, but could be grown 

 with sweet peas, which should have 4r> 

 degrees until buds show and ."iO degrees 

 later. You must not attempt to grow 

 them in even partial shade; the fullest 

 sunlight is necessary. If you want 

 plants for a shaded house, grow Aspara- 

 gus Sprengeri and plumosus, ferns or 

 some other foliage plants. 



For successful winter flowering, shal- 

 low benches are the best, four inches of 

 soil being sufficient. Plant out from 

 .Much pots during August for flowers 

 from October onward. These same 

 plants will, if well cared for, bloom 

 freely until the following July. Set 

 the plants out 10x12 inches for win- 

 ter flowering. Stake before they get 

 too much grown. Kub off the side 

 shoots from the flowering stems and. 

 where too many shoots start from the 

 base, reduce their number if fancy 

 spikes are wanted. Either seedlings or 

 rooted cuttings can be used. The for- 

 mer possess more vigor, and if you get 

 a good strain there will be few rogues. 

 At this time, however, I would advise 

 buying plants of some of the winter 

 flowering varieties offered. Pink is far 

 the best selling color; next to that, 

 vellow and white. 0. W. 



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Heliotropes. 



Though some cuttings do not root 

 easily in hot weather, there is no trou- 

 ble in propagating heliotropes, and, if 

 good plants are wanted, which will 

 flower freely through the winter, cut- 

 tings should be put in now, potted off 

 as soon as rooted, and later planted out 

 in a shallow bench, or grown along in 

 pots which can be stood on a bench 

 where the roots can be allowed to run 

 through. Like many other plants, he- 

 liotropes will grow freely but bloom 

 sparsely in winter if given unlimited 

 root run. Any left-over plants from 

 spring sales, if potted on, plunge<l to 

 their brim in coal ashes, occasionally 

 pinched and well watered, will make 

 fine plants for winter blooming. 



Outdoor Crops. 



At this season we have periods of 

 drought, and not infrequently severe 

 thunder storms. The latter usually are 

 local, but every torrential rain bakes 

 the surface soil an<l it is necessarv to 



ply the cultivators as soon as possible 

 after the surface has dried a little. 

 Jt is not possible to cultivate too much; 

 the more we stir the soil the better we 

 conserve the moisture and the faster 

 do the plants grow. Weeds grow apace 

 now. Small ones are killed by persist- 

 ent cultivation, but many will be found 

 nmong the plants and must be pulled 

 out by hand, and the work must be 

 done carefully where beds or nursery 

 rows of small seedlings arc growing. 

 The aster beetle often is troublesome 

 in August. Most of the aster growers 

 will know this black and destructive 

 pest, which soon destroys the flowers 

 on a large bed. Hand-picking is one 

 relief, but if a large area is infested 

 a more radical remedy is necessary. 

 Arsenate of lead or sprays which dis- 

 color the foliage cannot be used, but 

 one ounce of Paris green added to 

 twenty gallons of water will not no 

 ticeably discolor even white flowers and 

 will clean out the beetles in short or 

 der. Even if a slight greenness shows 

 on white flowers, it is easily removed 



