14 



The Rorists' Review 



OCTOBBB 24, 1912. 



STEM-ROT AGAIN. 



Several of our carnation plants are 

 dying and we -would like to Icnow if 

 you can explain the cause. They were 

 benched about September 20 and were 

 large plants, having buds on them. Be- 

 ing close to the house, we took them 

 up with large clumps of soil on theln 

 and put them in the bench. We wet 

 them down well after planting and 

 have watered moderately since then.' 

 They die at the ground and the tops 

 lop over. The roots, some of them, re- 

 main alive and sprout out. We have 

 lost about 150 or more. We can not 

 find any insect or anything on them 

 or in the soil. The plants were benched 

 in good, well rotted sod, thoroughly 

 pulverized. They are strong, vigorous- 

 looking plants and are full of buds, but 

 a few days later are dead. 



S. & S. 



You are losing your cariiation plants 

 by way of the common wet stem-rot. 

 There are many causes of stem-rot, and 

 without more detail it would be impos- 

 sible' to determine the cause of your 

 trouble. You may have set your plants 

 too deeply into the new soil. They 

 should not be much deeper than they 

 were in the field. The fungus may 

 have been in an active state in the soil 

 when you brought it into the house. 

 Still again, the necessary watering and 

 spraying during the first few days after 

 benching the plants may have started 

 the fungus into activity. 



Lime undoubtedly is the best agent 

 for checking this disease. Take some 

 air-slaked lime and dust the plants 

 heavily with it, and see that it reaches 

 the stems of the plants as well as the 

 soil immediately around them. In fact, 

 you can dash it into the plants and 

 between the rows without doing the 

 least harm. 



"Do not wifEhdld the water too much, 

 but water carefully for a -time. Give 

 abundant ventilation at every opportu- 

 nity. Do everything possible to pro- 

 mote a sturdy growth. Do not apply 

 any heavy mulch, at least until you 

 have the stem-rot under control. 



When you take out a dead plant, 

 either take out the soil immediately 

 around it, or drop a small handful of 

 lime where the plant stood. 



A. r. J. B. 



WEAK STEMS AMD SPIDER. 



Kindly tell us what makes weak 

 stems on carnations f Our plants other- 

 wise are thrifty. What shall we do to 

 kill red spiders on carnation plants f 



W. E. K. C. 



The causes of weak stems are many. 

 Assuming that you have planted varie- 

 ties which ordinarily produce strong 

 stems, I will name a few of the most 

 common causes of this trouble: Your 

 soil may be deficient in lime. Light 

 soils are frequently that way. Sprinkle 



about a 4-inch potful of either wood 

 ashes or air-slaked lime on the soil, 

 between each row across a 5-foot bench, 

 and water it in. You may have put too 

 much shade on the glass when you 

 benched your plants, and kept it on too 

 long. You may have stinted with your 

 ventilation, or you may have kept your 

 houses too warm both night and day. 

 Open the vents wide every bright day 

 and keep the night temperature around 

 50 degrees. If there is a particle of 

 shade on the glass, rub it off. 



To exterminate red spider, I usually de- 

 pend on the hose and a good pressure, 

 hitting the plants from every angle 

 possible. In cases where the hose is 

 inadequate, I use the following for- 

 mula, and with good success, invariably: 



Get five pounds of white sugar and mix 

 into it a half pound of arsenic while 

 dry. Then stir into it enough warm 

 water to make a syrup. Use one ounce 

 of this syrup to each gallon of water 

 for spraying on the plants. One or 

 two doses properly applied should clean 

 out any dose of spider. A. F. J. B. 



CUTTINGS FROM OLD PLANTS. 



Please let me know whether carnation 

 cuttings made from 2-year-old stock 

 are as good as cuttings made from 

 young plants. C. S. L. 



If the stock plants have been handled 

 properly, cuttings taken from them are 

 equal to those taken from young plants. 

 Many of our largest producers of rooted 

 cuttings use for this purpose plants^ 

 which were cut back in the spring and 

 kept topped during the summer. Some- 

 times they are replanted, but as often 

 they are left where they are and kept 

 growing vigorously by mulching and 

 feeding. Such plants are in every way 

 fit to produce cuttings of the highest 

 quality. A. F. J. B. 



CHRYSANTHEMUM SPOT. 



Can you tell me what is the matter 

 with the enclosed chrysanthemum 

 leaves? I have about 200 plants with 

 all the foliage in this same condition. 

 Having laid the blame somewhat to 

 watering, I tried to run some of the 

 plants on the dry side and kept the 

 rest moderately wet, but the result 

 seems to be the same, and the trouble 

 seems to increase under both conditions. 

 We are installing a new boiler and 

 therefore have no heat in the houses; 

 this, too, might have something to do 

 with causing the trouble. The vents 

 are on the south side of the house and 

 we notice the trouble more there than 

 on the north side. The plants on the 

 south side are, of course, directly un- 

 der the vents and are getting the most 

 suif. Early in the season the vents 

 were left open over night, and some- 

 times it rained in on them; could this 

 have caused itt What remedy would 

 you suggest! Q. P. 



The leaves enclosed were covered 

 with the old familiar chrysanthemum 

 spot, as it is termed, and it is caused 

 largely by the plants being in too 

 crowded a condition in the house ,and 

 having the foliage wet in the evening, 

 so that they remain in that condition 

 all night instead of being dry. 



Unless the disease is running up the 

 leaves to the flowers so much that it is 

 a handicap in the sale of the blooms, I 

 do not think it will do a great deal 

 of harm at this time. There is a nat- 

 ural ripening of the foliage, consequent 

 to hardening of the wood, which takes 

 the bottom leaves away in any case. 

 If the house is kept perfectly dry, 

 there should not be much trouble on 

 account of this spot. If you use a 

 sprayer it will carry the spores from 



leaf to leaf and plant to plant, so keep 

 the leaves absolutely dry, giving the 

 benches just enough water to prevent 

 the plants from wilting. C. H. Totty. ; 



WINTERINQ STOCK PLANTS. 



I would like to know if chrysanthe- 

 mum stock plants can be kept over win- 

 ter in coldframes, as I do not have 

 room enough for them in my green- 

 houses. Would it be well to cover the 

 plants with dry leaves and when cold 

 weather sets in to put sash over the 

 frame! Will one sash be enough! I 

 am located in Maryland. B. W. 



Chrysanthemum stock plants can be 

 kept over winter in coldframes with 

 perfect safety; in fact, they would be 

 much better in a coldframe than if they 

 were in a greenhouse, unless the latter 

 were down to violet temperature. A 

 deep frame will, of course, be much 

 better than a shallow one; that is, a 

 frame where the plants will be a foot 

 or two below the glass. The plants can 

 be covered with leaves and one sash on 

 the frame is ample for such a section 

 as Maryland. Should the weather turn 

 extremely cold a straw mat could be 

 put on top of the sash and the plante 

 so treated should come out in perfect 

 condition in the spring and give good 

 results. Chas. H. Totty. 



St. Paul, Minn. — The park board hae 

 pa^ed a resolution requesting an ap- 

 propriation for the erection of new 

 greenhouses at Como park. 



Thief River Falls, Minn.— Mrs. Jo- 

 seph Lang, formerly in business at 115 

 Kendall avenue, north, has removed to- 

 217 First street, east. She has been 

 seriously ill for nearly six months and 

 has not yet fully recovered. 



