16 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



August 11, 1910. 



§ 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



I 



Foinsettias. 



The last batch of poinsettia cuttings 

 should now be taken. Of course they 

 can be rooted even a month later, but 

 the resultant plants will be too puny to 

 be of much value. The earliest and 

 strongest plants are now in benches con- 

 taining five inches of loam and have 

 just been staked up. From these, bracts 

 eighteen to twenty inches across will b© 

 cut, unless something unforeseen occurs. 

 Poinsettias will grow outdoors in a 

 frame or in any ordinary greenhouse in 

 summer, but they should not be planted 

 out in any house where it is not possible 

 to maintain a minimum temperature of 

 60 to 62 degrees while the bracts are 

 developing. A lower temperature means 

 a loss of foliage and a reduced size in 

 the bracts. 



It is a little early yet to make up 

 pans of poipsettias, as they will become 

 too tall before they bloom. The earlier 

 plants would better be either benched 

 or flowered singly in 6 inch pots. Nice 

 stock in 6-inch pots, well foliaged, is 

 always salable, even if it is a foot taller 

 than what is in pans. Be sure to keep 

 cuttings potted off v/hile the roots are 

 small. They are easily broken and 

 seriously injured if left even a few days 

 too long in the propagating bench. 

 Keep close until established in the pots, 

 then more cool and airy, in order to 

 keep them stocky. 



Show Pelargoniums. 



The wood on show pelargoniums, after 

 a few weeks' rest lying on their sides, 

 should now be i>retty well ripened and 

 of a nutty brown color. Take a sharp 

 knife and prune back the shoots quite 

 severely, leaving not even a couple of 

 eyes on each. If you need more stock 

 of any special variety and have omitted 

 putting in cuttings, you can still do so. 

 The shoots, even if quite firm, will root 

 readily in a cool house. After heading 

 back the plants, give them a little water 

 and spray twice or thrice a day. As 

 soon as they show signs of breaking 

 nicely is the time to shake the soil en- 

 tirely away from them. Cut back the 

 long roots and place the plants in as 

 small pots as they can conveniently be 

 squeezed into. A plant in a 6-inch pot 

 should go in a 4-inch, and those in 

 7-inch and 8-ineh in 5-inch pots. Water 

 sparingly, not only before potting, but 

 afterward. It is easy to cause the plants 

 to rot off in warm weather with a little 

 too much moisture. Spray freely, but 

 water little until roots and shoots are 

 growing actively. 



Orotons. 



During the dog days all tropical plants 

 reach their maximum rate of growth. 

 Crotons are lovers of heat and moisture 

 and now are making rapid headway. 

 The foliage will soon get dirty and 

 insect pests will multiply, unless a force 

 of water, well directed from a careful 

 hand, is used. There is really no need 

 of blackened, slimy leaves, such as we 



too often see, if the water pressure 

 through a fine-spray nozzle is properly 

 directed. Neither should it be possible 

 for such pests as mealy bug or red 

 spider to take up quarters on any of 

 the plants. Crotons, when well rooted, 

 enjoy weak doses of liquid manure, and 

 we have found Clay's fertilizer scat- 

 tered on the surface an excellent food, 

 applied at intervals of ten days. 



Young plants, to keep them growing 

 along in good shape, must have a brisk, 

 moist heat. A first-class place for them 

 is in a coldframe of sufficient depth, 

 where the pots can be plunged in ashes, 

 leaves or tan bark. Shade given should 

 be just enough to prevent the leaves 

 from scalding. A heavy coat will spoil 

 the coloring of the leaves. Syringe them 

 over and close up about the middle of 

 the afternoon. If a brisk heat is bottled 



up each day the rate of growth is sur- 

 prising, not only with crotons, but mauv 

 other fine foliaged plants. 



Liliuiu Harrisil. 



The earliest batch of Harrisii lilies 

 have just been potted in 5-inch pots. 

 We are told that the percentage of 

 diseased bulbs will this season be less 

 than usual. It is a consummation de- 

 voutly to be wished, for of late yciiis 

 there has been little profit in growing 

 them, owing to the large number of 

 diseased bulbs. Either a coldframe— 

 where the pots, after watering, can be 

 covered with a light coating of dry moss 

 or excelsior, afterwards placing board 

 shutters over them — or the floor of a 

 cellar, is a suitable place lo stand the 

 pots. They should not be exposed to 

 the sun and, if given a suitable place, 

 ought not to require any water until 

 growth is nicely started Too much 

 water in the early stages of growth is 

 productive of much of the so-called 

 disease. 



North Judson, Ind. — C. C. Arnold has 

 a fine field of gladioli, mostly America, 

 with a few Princeps, but a great deal 

 of watering has been necessary on ac- 

 count of the prolonged drought. Early 

 asters, he says, are poor. 



SCENTED GERANIUMS. 



Retail florists are finding considerable 

 call for scented geraniums each year, 

 not only for selling as plants, but the 

 shoots are popular, and rightly so, for 

 arranging in bowls. The individual 

 leaves also find considerable favor for 

 using in finger-bowls for dinners. One 

 well-known grower, who makes some- 

 thing of a specialty of scented-leaved 

 geraniums, saves a number of plants 

 over from his spring sales and plants 

 several of them in boxes six inches deep, 

 growing them outside until cold weather 

 necessitates their removal under glass. 

 Treated thus, fine shoots are procurable 

 for winter use. Of course from plants 

 outdoors whole armfuls of shoots can be 

 had at this season, but the demand for 

 these is light now as compared with 

 winter. 



If no stock has been carried over, it 

 is a good plan to take a good batch of 

 cuttings now. Either place them in a 

 north house in the sand bench, or in 

 flats of sand in a coldframe. They will 

 root in about three weeks, when they 

 can be potted off; by potting along, fine, 

 bushy stock can be had before Christmas. 

 Cuttings taken with a heel and inclined 

 to be hard are less liable to damp off 

 at this season than the thick, sappy 

 ones. 



GERANIUM FOLIAGE EATEN. 



My geranium leaves are dying, first 

 at the base of the plant, then on up 

 the stalk. There seem to be little 



transparent places eaten on the leaves, 

 while the tissue of the leaf is left. I 

 am unable to find any insects on the 

 plants. The trouble is not confined to 

 any one variety. The plants on the 

 east side of the house are not af- 

 fected. Those that are troubled in 

 this way are on the north side of tiie 

 greenhouses and the others are in the 

 full sun. I send you a leaf that has 

 just been blighted. The leaves st.iy 

 green at first, but soon turn brown. 

 Can you tell me where the trouble lie^? 



K. F. 



The leaves show unmistakable sig'is 

 of having been chewed by some pesr, 

 probably a small caterpillar. One of a 

 hairy nature is not infrequently to 'o 

 found at work among them in late suTt - 

 mer. You cannot spray your planis 

 with Paris green without burning the 

 foliage. Arsenate of lead will n. t 

 harm them, but will whiten the foliai: '• 

 White hellebore, dusted on while V~ o 

 leaves are damp, is safe and relial)! ■ 

 You can also spray it on at the rate "f 

 two ounces to a 3-gallon can. Ge- 

 raniums grown in shade or partial 

 shade are always softer than those 

 in the full sun, and fall an easier proy 

 to insect attacks. Do not use any ('( 

 the oil solutions or kerosene emulsion 

 on the geraniumf", or you are likely to 

 burn much of the foliage. Nicotine 

 extracts are safe, but the hellebore 

 should take care of the pests attacking 

 your plants. C. W. 



