JUNE 9, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



11 



uUow it 60 degrees at night in winter. 



'Vith good drainage, smilax will take 



lot of water and luxuriate. Deficient 



irainage will soon cause yellowing of 



he foliage. 



Pruning Flowering Shrubs. 



Now, when many of the flowering 



lirubs are out of bloom, is the ideal 



Ime to prune them and not when they 



..re dormant, as too often happens. 



iilacs should have their faded flower 



russes removed before they run to 



i?ed. Especially is this necessary with 



•he newer varieties. Cut back any 



ainaway shoots. Remove any dead or 



lying wood and you will vastly im- 



;irove the appearance and health of the 



;)lants. The same holds true of vibur- 



nums, philadelphus, weigelias, spira;as, 

 loniceras and many other shrubs. Do 

 the heading back and thinning out just 

 as soon as you can after flowering. This 

 will allow the plant to make consider- 

 able new growth and properly ripen it, 

 which is not possible when the work 

 is delayed a month. There are many 

 shrubs of ungainly appearance which a 

 severe early summer pruning would 

 vastly benefit. Get the work done at 

 once. 



Cinerarias. 



In order to get strong cineraria 

 plants, which will flower for Christmas, 

 sow seed cow in pans of light, sandy 

 soil. Use more leaf-mold than loam. 

 Cover the seeds thinly. Water and 

 cover the pans with a sheet of glass, 



over whiA lay some paper to keep out 

 the sun. A north house or coldframe 

 is suitable for germinating the seeds. 

 They must not be coddled at any stage 

 of their growth, although they can be 

 kept fairly close until the seeds ger- 

 minate. As soon as the^ little plants 

 have made their second leaves, pot off 

 singly and keep them in a shaded 

 frame, keeping them moderately close 

 for a few days. In selecting seedlings, 

 do not discard all the weak ones, as 

 these are usually the finest varieties. 

 The more vigorous ones are likely to be 

 principally blues. In shading cinerarias 

 avoid placing anything of a heavy na 

 ture on the glass. This only makes the 

 plants weakly. Movable shadings are 

 far the best. 



A BEOINNINQ IN MUMS. 



I wish to try a few chrysanthemums, 

 and should like to have some informa- 

 tion on their culture. In buying rooted 

 cuttings about June 15, should they be 

 benched in the greenhouse at once or be 

 planted in the field and lifted in the 

 early fall, like carnations? I have a 

 side bench, with about two feet of head 

 room. Will this be high enough! What 

 distance apart do you plant on the 

 bench? Name a few up-to-date, early 

 varieties of easy culture for a beginner 

 to try. I want to grow them for cut 

 flowers. How many flowers are obtained 

 from one plant? Is Ivory still a good 

 white for cut flowers? My location is 

 southeastern Pennsylvania. W. R, D. 



I should prefer to plant in the house 

 rather than to plant outside and lift in 

 the fall — th.'ii is, if the house is avail- 

 •ible. Plants set out where they are to 

 flower will naturally do better than if 

 lifted and moved around. 



A side bench with two feet of head 

 room will be enough for Polly Rose, 

 Pacific, Merza. Mrs. Partridge and 

 Ivory, planted in June. The last men- 

 tioned, while not a large flower, is still 

 ,^own in enormous quantities for some 

 markets, so we may conclude that the 

 i^rowers still find it profitable to handle. 



As to the distance apart for the 

 plants in the bench, if W. R. D. will 

 turn to The Review of May 19, page 18, 

 l>e will find the subject discussed there. 

 We plant from six by eight inches to 

 eight by ten, according to variety, to 

 get the finest flowers, taking one flower 

 to a plant. Some growers plant as closely 

 and take three flowers. It all depends 

 on the grade of flowers needed. 



Among early varieties that would be 

 suitable are Pacific,* Polly Rose, Mon- 

 rovia, Golden Glow, October Frost, C. 

 Touset and Early Snow. If some mid- 

 season and late sorts are also wanted, a 

 selection will be found in the reply to 



F. K., on page 10 of The Review of 

 June 2. C. H. Totty. 



MILDEWED MUMS. 



What can I do for my mums? I 

 have a house full of them and they are 

 badly mildewed. My house is eighteen 

 feet wide and ten feet to the ridge, 

 with eighteen inches of glass in the 

 sides. There are ventilators every 

 three feet at the sides and at the 

 ridge. These ventilators are kept open 

 in the daytime, but closed at night. 

 The plants have plenty of air. There 

 is no shading on the glass. The soil, 

 which is five inches deep, is on raised 

 benches, and it is soil made from rot- 

 ted sod and sandy loam — two parts sod 

 to one part well rotted stable manure. 

 When I planted them, about two weeks 

 ago, I gave the soil a good sprinkling of 

 sheep manure, raking it in thoroughly 

 before planting. I have the plants Set 

 8x10, leaving two stems to each plant. 

 They are growing nicely, but as the 

 hew growth comes out they become 

 badly mildewed. What can I do to 

 save them or check this? 



I have these varieties planted: Oc- 

 tober Frost, Glory of Pacific, Polly 

 Rose, Monrovia, Mrs. H. Robinson, 

 Touset and Wm. Duckham. I am lo- 

 cated in Pennsylvania. A. R. M. 



The house, benches and compost seem 

 to be about as they should be and the 

 only fault in the methods, as described, 

 is the lack of ventilation at night. 

 Throw open all available ventilators 

 and keep them open day and night, 

 reducing the ventilation only in case 

 of violent storm. The ridge ventila- 

 tors can be lowered halfway for safety 

 through the night, but on no account 

 should they ever be closed. 



To kill the present mildew, use one 

 ounce of sulphide of potassium, which 

 can be procured of a druggist, to two 

 gallons of water, or use Ivory soap. 



dissolved till the water fee^s soapy. 

 Either of these solutions, sprayed over 

 and under the foliage, will quickly 

 destroy the mildew. 



The mums named by A. R. M. are 

 not subject to mildew if grown in the 

 right conditions. Keep all shade off 

 the glass and syringe in bright weather 

 six or eight times a day. being careful 

 not to sodden the soil. 



"V. H. Tottv. 



OUTDO 



cKm 



MUMS. 



The National Council of Horticulture 

 is seeking to encourage the public's use 

 of the chrysanthemum as an outdoor 

 flower. Nearly all chrysanthemums are 

 hardy south of the Ohio river, but' com- 

 paratively few will stand the rigor of 

 northern winters and perfect their flow- 

 ers before severe frost. The early flow- 

 ering and the hardy kinds are the only 

 ones suitable for outdoors in the north- 

 ern states, and the Council 's press serv- 

 ice says that inquiry of a florist will 

 show which are suitable for any lo- 

 cality. 



Chrysanthemums are partial to a rich, 

 well-drained soil, and they require a lib- 

 eral supply of water. In fact, they soon 

 suffer if allowed to become dry. They 

 may be planted in masses, the plants 

 being set about a foot apart, or single 

 plants may be trained into specimens. 

 Planting should be done soon after dan- 

 ger of frost is over, selecting a sheltered 

 position, if possible, with a southern 

 aspect. If south of a building, a fence 

 or shrubbery, protection is afforded 

 against early frost. As the plants are 

 gross feeders, the soil should be en- 

 riched well, and after buds are formed 

 a top-dressing of an inch of well-rotted 

 manure will be beneficial. If the 

 weather is dry, frequent watering will 

 assist in perfecting the flowers. 



The Mum Manual, by Elmer D. Smith, 

 for 40 cents sent to The Review. 



