10 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Junk 23, 1910. 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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Poiusettias. 



In poinsettias, the old stock plants 

 are now yielding an abundance of cut- 

 tings. Be sure to look over these twice 

 a week, so that they cannot become too 

 long. Three inches is a nice length for 

 cuttings. In making them, ^;ake the 

 leaves off tolerably bare. Leaving on 

 a lot of foliage simply means that a 

 large part of it will decay and prob- 

 ably cause the rotting of the cuttings 

 themselves. 



Early propagated cuttings, which 

 would grow too long to be of any use 

 for pan culture, must be kept potted on. 

 Or, better still, if bench space allows, 

 plant them out in five or six inches 

 of good loam; soil such as you would 

 give to chrysanthemums will answer 

 admirably. When quantities of late 

 cuttings are wanted for pans, it is a 

 good plan to plant the stock outdoors, 

 where, with a little warmer and more 

 summer-like weather, cuttings will be 

 produced in quantity. 



Eucharis Amazonica. 



Both when grown in pots and in 

 benches, Eucharis Amazonica usually 

 gives a second crop of flowers in June. 

 If in pots, as soon as the flowers are 

 cut give the plants a top-dressing and, 

 in order to get an excellent growth on 

 them through the summer months, place 

 the pots in a coldframe, plunged to 

 their brims in a mixture of strawy 

 manure and leaves, which will provide 

 a gentle bottom heat. Place shaded 

 sashes over the plants, spray and shut 

 them up sufficiently early in the aft- 

 ernoon to bottle up a brisk heat. Treat- 

 ed thus, eucharis will make a grand 

 growth, and, if placed in a dry, mod- 

 erately cool house about the end of 

 September and given a few weeks ' rest, 

 they can be started in heat to furnish 

 a crop of flowers for Christmas. Do 

 any necessary potting before placing 

 the plants in the frames, but always 

 remember that they flower best when 

 well potbound, in which condition they 

 should have an abundance of liquid ma- 

 nure. 



Late Bedding Plants. 



The unseasonably cold weather pre- 

 vailing over a large part of the coun- 

 try has considerably delayed bedding- 

 out. Particularly is this true of sub- 

 tropical varieties, which simply starve 

 when the weather is cold and wet. 

 There is always more or less of a de- 

 mand for bedding stock right through 

 the month of June. It is a good plan 

 to see, first, that we have a sufficient 

 quantity of each variety reserved and 

 planted out for ourselves, and then get 

 the remaining batches of plants gath- 

 ered together in frames, where they can 

 be readily watered. Far too often do 

 we see a few plants here and there, 

 scattered all about, and entailing con- 

 siderable scurrying around when any or- 

 der is received. If all the plants are 

 kept together, it is easy to see whether 



an order can be filled or not. Do not 

 leave empty pots lying above and below 

 benches and outdoors, wherever plants 

 sold may chance to be. Gather them 

 up and stack them away neatly accord- 

 ing to their sizes. 



Show Pelargoniums. 



As the show pelargoniums pass out 

 of flower, stand them outdoors. Eeduce 

 the water supply gradually and, as the 

 foliage begins to take on a golden hue, 

 lay the plants on their sides and keep 

 them dry for a few weeks. If extra 

 good sized plants are desired for next 

 spring, cuttings can be obtained in 

 abundance now. As a general rule, it 

 is better to wait until August for these, 

 when the wood is somewhat firmer and 

 less liable to damp off in case of very 

 hot weather. 



Propagating Flowering Shrubs. 



There are many deciduous shrubs 

 which can now be propagated, while 

 the wood is in a half -ripened condition. 

 As a general rule, small growers pre- 

 fer to buy these plants from some of 

 the big specialists, rather than bother, 

 with it themselves. The best propagat- 

 ing place for shrubbery is in a cold-, 

 frame. A little warm manure, to give 



a gentle bottom heat, is an advainage 

 The soil should be fairly sandy foj 

 cuttings and not too heavy. Movable 

 shades should be used and air slioui,] 

 be admitted carefully at all times. 



The following are some of the \ arie- 

 ties of flowering shrubs which may now 

 be propagated: Hydrangea panicilata 

 and arborescens, weigelias, Philadel- 

 phus Lemoinei and coronarius, deutxiag 

 lilacs, ligustrums, loniceras, keirias' 

 symphoricarpos and viburnums. Some 

 of these varieties come readily from 

 seed and are therefore of easy projiaga- 

 tion. Others, like the lilacs, root slow- 

 ly, and not at all if the wood is not in 

 exactly the proper condition of firm 



ness. 



CALCEOLARIAS. 



When should I sow calceolarias for 

 winter flowering? A. 0. C. 



It is rather early yet to sow seed of 

 •herbaceous calceolarias. During the hot 

 summer months the seedlings are liable 

 to damp oflF. I always have the best 

 success with seed sown about August 1, 

 in a coldframe facing the north. Cover 

 the sash with a board shutter to keep 

 it cooler in the frame until germination 

 takes place. A lean-to greenhouse fac- 

 ing north is also a suitable place to put 

 the seed pans. Calceolarias cannot be 

 classed as winter-flowering plants. 

 The.ir real blooming period is April and 

 May. The rugosa section can be flow- 

 ered a little ahead of the herbaceous 

 varieties. It is impossible to force 

 these calceolarias. Heat will speedily 

 ruin them. They must be grown cool 

 all the time if good plants are wanted. 



C. W. 



ADDING LIME TO BENCH SOIL. 



Can I safely mix lime with my carna- 

 tion soil before wheeling it onto the 

 benches? If so, how much lime should 

 be used for each wheelbarrow load? 

 Will it improve the soil? J. M. 



Whether the adding of lime will im- 

 prove your soil cannot be determined 

 without more knowledge of conditions 

 than your letter gives. Under certain 

 conditions, lime will improve almost 

 any soil, but this cannot be said in any 

 and all cases. If your soil is inclined to 

 be soggy and sour, lime will certainly 

 sweeten and improve it. But if it is of 

 good texture and in good mechanical 

 condition, I would not add any lime 

 to it at this time. It will be better to 

 wait until your plants have made some 

 growth, and you can soon see whether 

 the soil is deficient in potash. If the 

 stems come weak under normal culture, 

 then you can add lime or wood ashes 

 with good results. To add potash to 

 soil which is already well supplied with 

 potash would cause the stems to come 



brittle, and the flowers to lack sub- 

 stance. So do not add anything to your 

 soil unless you feel sure it is netded. 

 See that your soil is rich in nitruii^en, 

 by adding to it a liberal quantit-^' of 

 humus before you house your c.i na- 

 tions. Potash and phosphoric acii' can 

 be added at any time their need i^ •de- 

 tected, in the shape of top-dressing, ptc. 



A. F. J. B. 



THRIPS ON OLD PLANTS, 



Please inform me as to the best "cm- 

 edy for thrips on carnations. Wc n^ive 

 been troubled with this pest latel.v. and 

 as we are about ready to empt.v our 

 houses, we should like to kill thosr 1bat 

 are on the old plants, even if w^" k"' 

 the plants too, so as to have the 1 ""^^ 

 clean for the new crop. We intoJ'l to 

 burn all the old plants, but ^''^'."'^ 

 like to kill the pests in the house be- 

 fore we remove the plants. 



P. & W. 0. T- 



If you have only carnations in y^ 

 houses and you do not need to <^*'"'*'\g 

 anything except to exterminate 



