12 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



August 31, 1911. 



—r:-% 



FEBTILIZEB FOR CARNATIONS. 



Would you put the blood, bone and 

 potash fertilizer in carnation soil be- 

 fore filling the benches? S. M. 



Well rotted cow or stable manure is 

 the safest manure for your carnations. 

 It woTild be all right to add some fine 

 bone, but the blood, bone and potash 

 mixture I would prefer not to use now. 

 Bather apply it in the form of surface 

 dressings, which, however, the plants 

 should no't require until after Christ- 

 mas if the soil has been well prepared. 

 C. W. 



TOPPING CARNATIONS. 



I have planted my first bench of 

 carnations — Enchantress and White En- 

 chantress. They are doing well and 

 are throwing up shoots. Some of the 

 plants have shoots from six to eight 

 inches in length. Will you please tell 

 me just how these should be broken 

 back, how often the plants should be 

 trimmed and when they will begin 

 blooming? They were planted during 

 the last week of July. M. P. 



The time for you to stop topping 

 your carnations should depend on when 

 you want to begin to cut blooms. At 

 this time of the year you can figure 

 on about six to eight weeks from the 

 time the bud shows until the bloom 

 is open. If you do not care to cut 

 many blooms until the mums are gone, 

 then I would advise you to go over the 

 beds and top back every shoot that 

 is near showing a bud the last week 

 in August. In breaking back the 

 shoots, simply break the stem just 

 above the highest joint you want to 

 leave. Follow the same rule as in top- 

 ping in the field, always striving to 

 keep your plants symmetrical. 



A. R J. B. 



FREPARINa CARNATION SOIL. 



I wish to ask your advice as to old 

 land for greenhouse soil. I have some 

 old but good limestone land, which I 

 wish to use for greenhouse soil for 

 roses and carnations next year. ] 

 plowed in cow manure — about one- 

 sixth part manure. Now, what is best 

 for sod? How would rye or crimson 

 clover do, if plowed under in the fall? 

 When is the best time to sow crimson 

 clover? J. C. 



If you wish to use this soil for your 

 carnations next summer, I would ad- 

 vise you to sow it down at once with 

 cowpeas and rye. Let it grow until 

 late in the fall and then turn it un- 

 der. Another plan would be to sow it 

 to crimson clover at once and turn that 

 under in the spring after it has made 

 several inches of growth. If your soil 

 is heavy, I would advise you to use 

 the cowpeas and rye, but if the soil 

 is in good condition and you merely 

 want to add more fertility, then use 



the clover. Your seedsman can tell 

 you how much to use of any one of 

 them to a given area. If you had a 

 couple of years to prepare this soil, 

 you could get a good blue grass sod, 

 but you have not enough time if you 

 want to use the soil next year. 



A. F. J. B. 



SCHIZANTHUS IN POTS. 



When and how should we plant the 

 seeds of the various types of schizan- 

 thus to insure blooms on inside pot 

 plants as early as possible? Any in- 

 formation as to planting or culture 

 will be appreciated. C. B. 



For an early batch of schizanthus, 

 seed should have been sown during the 

 first week in August, in pans or flats. 

 Pot off the seedlings singly, or prick 

 off in flats and pot later. Grow in 

 frames, in preference to greenhouses, 

 until the end of October. Then place 

 in a cold house, where the night tem- 

 perature runs from 40 to 45 degrees 

 at night. To keep them bushy, pinch 

 several times before allowing them to 



flower. Grow them as cool and airy as 

 possible, to make them stocky. A tem- 

 perature of 50 degrees or over will 

 make them drawn and unsightly. 

 Schizanthus are quite strong feeders 

 and like a generous compost, with fre- 

 quent waterings with liquid manure 

 when established in their flowering 

 pots, which should be six to eight 

 inches in diameter. 



Schizanthus Wisetonensis is the best 

 variety for pot culture, being of a 

 dwarf habit. Grandiflorus oculatus re- 

 tusus and others grow too tall. Suc- 

 cessional sowings can be made at in- 

 tervals a month apart and plants had 

 in flower from Christmas to Memorial 

 day. If preferred, seed can be started 

 in small pots, leaving three seedlings 

 in each. The only trouble with this 

 plan is that you are liable to get more 

 than one color in a pot. S. Wiseton- 

 ensis is not procurable in separate col- 

 ors; the prevailing shades are all pleas- 

 ing, being mainly pink or white. C. W. 



NAME OF ELDER. 



Can you give me the name of the 

 elder, a leaf of which I send under 

 separate cover? I have tried to buy 

 seedlings from catalogue descriptions, 

 but fail to get the same variety. 



W. G. S. 



The variety is called Sambucus nigra 

 laciniata. 



C. W. 



I SEASONABLE ^^a^^^s^ 

 I ^^^n^^ SUGGESTIONS | 



Cinerarias. . V 



Growth is now quite rapid on the 

 cinerarias. They love cool nights 

 and their progress is now amazing 

 when compared with that made a few 

 weeks ago. A coldframe is the proper 

 place for them for some weeks yet 

 and leave the sashes off entirely on 

 cloudy days and at night. Never let 

 the plants get at all potbound. They 

 root quickly if the compost is suitable. 

 Two-thirds good pasture loam, one- 

 third well decayed manure and some 

 sand added make a good potting soil. 

 Do not use leaf-mold, except in the 

 early stages of growth, and when the 

 final shift is given add a 4-inch pot of 

 fine bone to each wheelbarrow load of 

 loam. With cooler weather green 

 aphis is likely to be troublesome. The 

 old plan of scattering tobacco stems 

 among the pots is now largely done 

 away with. Dipping or spraying with 

 nicotine, or fumigation, are safer and 

 neater ways to keep the plants clean. 

 Spread out the plants frequently, as 

 they soon crowd one another. 



Marguerites. 



It is now possible to get some nice 

 propagating wood on the old marguerite 

 stock plants carried over. Get a good 

 batch of these in the sand. They will 

 make fine flowering plants for Easter 



in 6-inch or 7-inch pots, or are equally 

 useful to provide flowers for cutting. 

 Probably you have planted out a quan- 

 tity of stock plants. If these are 

 shapely and bushy, dig up and pot a 

 number of the best. Shade a little 

 until wilting ceases. Keep outdoors 

 as long as frost holds aloof. These 

 will get nicely rooted before being 

 housed and will give a good crop of 

 flowers by Christmas, a time wh3n 

 marguerite flowers are not abundant 

 and are much appreciated. Do not omit 

 the new marguerite, Mrs. F. Sander. 

 All the plants do not come double, but 

 even the single or semi-double forms 

 are excellent and distinct. 



Cyclamen. 



Now is the time to sow a good sized 

 batch of cyclamen seed to flower in the 

 winter and early spring of 1912-13. A 

 few plants will no doubt be flowering 

 for Thanksgiving and large numbers 

 for Christmas. Ked and deep pinks 

 are ready sellers around the holidays, 

 and it will pay to purchase distinct 

 shades rather than mixtures, which al- 

 ways contain a greater or less per- 

 centage of almost unsalable shades. 

 For spring sales pure white, salmon 

 and clear pink are excellent colors to 

 grow. 



Sow the seed in flats of light, sandy 

 soil, covering them lightly , with fin© 



t..... .. Ai. 



