. - • ■ 1 ■ ' 



Sbptember 2, 1909. 



,»'-.■ ».--..=.j 



^v -. " ■^' f— 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Winter-flowering Sweet Pea Christnus Pink, Grown ty M^ta, Sim, Cliftondale, Mass. 



WINTER SWEET PEAS. 



As Staple as the Violet. 



Especially in February and March of 

 1909 the growers who had a really good 

 article had a fine business on sweet peas. 

 It is only a few years that sweet peas 

 have been grown under glass, but they 

 have by now become as staple as the violet. 

 But there is just this much to remember: 

 It does not pay to have poor sweet peas. 

 Because of the success which some grow- 

 ers had in the preceding season, many 

 others planted peas last fall, and not all 

 will agree that the crop is a profitable 

 one. The trouble was, the stock was not 

 good enough. First-class peas paid well. 

 Their popularity is firmly established, 

 and good peas may be expected to be 

 profitable right along. 



The Kind of House. 



Most growers plant winter flowering 

 sweet peas on raised benches, perhaps 

 following a crop of mums, but William 

 Sim, of Cliftondale, Mass., who has 

 made a national reputation on the sweet 

 peas be sends to the Boston market each 

 winter, uses ground beds, employing the 

 house for a spring and summer crop of 

 tomatoes. "To grow the sweet pea to 

 perfection," says he, "you must have a 

 house suitable for the purpose. It should 

 be at least eight feet high on the sides, 

 four feet six inches being glass. My 

 houses are seven feet, and I find the 

 side rows strike the glass, thereby cut- 

 ting down the crop. My center rows are 

 about right; they are twelve to fifteen 

 feet high. Tho higher they grow the 

 more and better flowers you get. We 

 plant the rows five feet apart and in a 

 line with the supports of the greenhouie. 



The uprights are twelve feet apart, so 

 in supporting we run twine from one 

 support to the other on each side of the 

 row. This I have found the best method 

 of supporting. I have tried wire net- 

 ting. This is only a nuisance, as the 

 vines do not cling to the wire, which 

 causes just as much tying as if it were 

 not there. The side rows are planted 

 five feet from the sides of the house, 

 and all the heating pipes are on the 

 sides. Peas are very susceptible to red 

 spider, and as they will not stand syring- 

 ing, the farther you can afford economi- 

 cally to have them from the pipes the 

 better. 



"We have not changed the soil in the 

 houses for several years, and find the 

 vines are more vigorous each year. The 

 soil was originally eighteen inches deep, 

 but by the application of manure each 

 year the depth is now considerably over 

 two feet. The tomato crop is on the 

 wane by the middle of August. When 

 these are cleaned out we trench the 

 house over as deep as the soil, bringing 

 the bottom soil to the surface. In the 

 bottom of the trench we put three 

 inches of decomposed cow manure; one 

 foot from the surface we put on three 

 inches more of the same material. The 

 house is allowed to remain in this state 

 until nearly time for sowing the seed. 

 The soil is then usually very dry, so we 

 dampen it down enough to cling together 

 while the house gets another fork over. 

 This time we go down one foot and mix 

 the top layer of manure with the surface 

 soil. We then make the surface as nearly 

 level as possible, and thoroughly water 

 the soil, giving enough to penetrate the 

 entire mass, with a strong dose of liquid 

 horse manure. In about three days, de- 



pending on the weather, the house will 

 no ready to plant. 



Cultural Details. 



"We sow the seeds about an inch and 

 :i half apart. We make the drills one 

 inch deep and do not allow more than 

 one inch of soil over them. We do not 

 pull any more soil toward the root, as is 

 often recommended, but let it remain 

 level. If more soil is pulled around the 

 base of the plant, stem-rot is sure to fol- 

 low. We do not water the plants again 

 until they are up about three inches. , Of 

 course, you can grow them on a bench 

 with a few inches of soil, but the results 

 will be just what you make them ; a 

 weak growth and a crop of short-stemmed 

 flowers. These soon play out, as there 

 is not enough soil or food for the vines 

 to live on. 



"The peas may be made to flower any 

 time you wish by increasing the tempera- 

 ture, but the best results are obtained by 

 growing at a temperature just above 

 freezing until the buds can be felt in 

 the crowns of the plants. Then the tem- 

 perature should be gradually increased, 

 say 1 degree a night, until you reach 48 

 degrees. This, I think, is about right, 

 although in midwinter I think they move 

 a little better at 50 degrees. As the days 

 lengthen, a little cooler temperature 

 seems to suit better, A rise of 10 to 15 

 degrees should be given during the day 

 in sunny weather. In spells of cloudy 

 weather, 55 degrees is high enough dur- 

 ing the day. If a high temperature is 

 given in dark weather, the growth gets 

 soft and wilts when the sun comes out 

 bright again. 



"While the plants are young they 

 should be regularly fumigated, so that 



