10 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



September 30, 1909. 



were to take them out of the pots ; 'kJ 

 plant them in the ground properly lor 

 layering, would they root? S. J. F 



TIME TO FLOWER VALLEY. 



Will you kindly inform me how loiijj 

 ilr will take to bring cold storage valley 

 pi[)S in bloom f 1 would prefer to j)lace 

 the pips on the bench as soon as planted. 



S. S. 8. 



There would seem to be no good reasuii 

 why you cannot make arrangements with 

 some cold storage firm to keep your pips. 

 Unless, however, you are large growers, 

 I would advise you to get cold storage 

 supplies direct from a relialjle dealer 

 who makes a specialty of tliis work. You 

 could have them sent wtH»kly, fortnightly 

 or monthly, as desired. Tliis would really 

 be l)etter, for you would not then havc^ 

 to pay storage rent or worry about 

 whether the pips had just the right tem- 

 perature or whether they wf>nld start 

 well when forced. 



You ask how long valley kept in cold 

 storage will take to force without heat. 

 Much depends on the season of the year. 

 For six months they will come along in 

 from four to six weeks, while for the 

 other half it would be hazardous to otfer 

 any suggestions without knowing the 

 temi)erature you i)ropose giving them. 

 V^alley comes into tlower within a month 

 in a pot in a warm house. In a structure 

 held at oO to 60 ilegrees, with no bottom 

 heat, growth would be slow in winter. 

 We would advise you to use l)ottom heat 

 in winter at all events, keejting the pips 

 darkened for three-fourths of the time. 

 Plant them in clean saml. W. ('. 



AEAUCARIA SEEDS. 



Kindly let me know if Araucaria ex- 

 celsa raised from seeds is as good as if 

 raised from cuttings. Where could I 

 procure seeds? I have heard that some 

 growers in Holland and Belgium import 

 araucaria seeds from Norfolk Island. 

 Could you refer me to a seedsman, either 



Allow about four weeks in a niininiuni 

 night temperature of 65 degrees to l)ring 

 cold storage valley into flowei'. The jups 

 should l)e placed in a case over heating 

 pil)es, a good bottom heat being essen- 

 tial, particularly from October to May. 

 The case should be darkeneil by laying 

 heavy paper over it, and more light and 

 air can be admitted before the flowers 

 begin to open. If you stand your pips 

 directly on the bench, they »vill flower, 

 but they will be shorter stennned and 

 take longer to come into tlower. (!. \V. 



COLD STORAGE VALLEY. 



Kindly give us cultural directions for 

 cold storage valley. We have had fair 

 success with valley, but want you to tell 

 us how long they will take to force with- 

 out heat. Also tell us if we cannot make 

 arrangements with some cold storage 

 firm to keep them all the year for us, 

 instead of buying from the middleman. 



B. F. C. 



in America or abroad, where I could get 

 the seeds? L. M. 



Seedling plants of Araucaria excelsa 

 are not as good as those raised from cut- 

 tings or grafted plants, the seedlings 

 being light and thin at the bottom and 

 much less symmetrical than those grown 

 from cuttings. Probably most of the 

 seed of this pine is imported from Nor- 

 folk Island, and it is. or should be, 

 shipped in the cone, for araucaria seed 

 soon loses its vitality after being re- 

 moved from the cone in which it has 

 grown. 



It is likely that you could get this seed 

 by writing any of the lii.j seed houses. 

 If they have not got it they will get it 

 for you. ■ W. H. T. 



PROPAGATIISfG nCUS. 



We have two rubber plants in 10-inch 

 pots, and several months ago we cut them 

 off so there was only a stump about a 

 foot high. They are now covered with 

 small slips about two or three inches in 

 length. Will you please tell us if we 



The method proposed would not bt a 

 satisfactory one for the propagation of 

 the ticus, and it would be better to w dt 

 until the shoots have made four or ive 

 leaves, and then to moss them up nid 

 root them on the plant. The operat, jn 

 of mossing ficus shoots is done as follo\ s; 



Cut the shoot about half through w th 

 a sharp knife, keeping the cut open With 

 a tiny chip of wood, for example, a ^it 

 of match-stick. Then bind a small hand- 

 ful of damp moss around the shoot so as 

 to cover the cut thoroughly. Keep the 

 moss moist, and the plant in a protected 

 portion of the greenhouse. In a f . w 

 weeks the roots should appear throuj,'h 

 the moss, at which time the shoot should 

 be cut off and potted. W. H. T. 



SNAILS IN GREENHOUSES. 



Is there any remedy for snails in tlic 

 greenhouse? My place is infested with 

 them and they are doing much damaj^e 

 to the young plants. E. S. H. 



Scatter air-slaked lime or fine salt 

 under the benches. These will kill any 

 snails which they touch. You can cap- 

 ture many by laying baits, such as lettuce 

 and cabbage leaves or slices of potatoes, 

 turnips and carrots, on benches where 

 they are troublesome. Examine these 

 once or twice a day and kill all snails 

 you see. Any benches cleared of pot 

 plants can be dusted with lime, or given 

 a watering with salt and water. C. W. 



CARNATION NOTES.- EAST. 



Withered Foliage. 



Plants lifted soon after a heavy rain- 

 fall quite often lose .) portion of their 

 lower foliage during rei'^tablishment. At 

 times, when plants are in the best condi 

 tion for lifting and lia\ e been given care- 

 ful attention, a considerable number may 

 by reason of extreme weather conditions 

 come through with a few withered leaves. 

 These should by all means be removed, 

 for if left on they prevent full circula- 

 tion of air, furnish a lodging place for 

 rust-mites and detract greatly from the 

 ai)pearance of the plants. We must 

 admit that it is no <lesirable proposition 

 to remove the dead foliage from several 

 thousand plants, but, if taken in hand 

 after a gentle spraying sufficient to 

 render the leaves pliable, the operation 

 loses much of its tediousness and lia- 

 bility or injuring the hark of the stem 

 by peeling is greatly lessened. 



Supports will soon need putting in 

 jilace and it is obvious that the removal 

 of dead leaves should be done before- 

 hand, as also the application of bone 

 meal, provided the adoption of the plan 

 recently discussed in these notes has been 

 considere<l advisable. 



Method Not New. 



This idea of withholding bone meal 

 until plants have become established is 

 not a new one, it having been advocated 

 by experienced growers several years ago. 

 and, while we did not adopt it at once, 

 experiments were carried on each year, 

 with the result that we would not ar 

 present care to return to the old method 

 of mixing with the soil at bench-fillinj.' 

 time. 



A Necessary Precaution. 



These experiments, however, proved thi 

 necessity of being careful to purchase ;• 

 grade of bone carrying a good percentagi 

 of phosphoric acid in available form 

 otherwise the plants can derive but litth 

 benefit until the acid is made soluble bv 

 decomposition, which takes time. Aftei 

 having experimented with numerous 

 brands, we have come to regard any car 

 rying less than eighteen per cent availa 

 ble phosphoric acid as unprofitable to uS' 

 at any price when following the plan in 

 question. 



Manner of Applying. 



Tf the surface of the bench soil i^ 

 loose by reason of quite recent cultiva 

 tion,. the bone may be applied clear at 

 the rate of a 3-inch potful in each space 

 between the rows across a 4-foot bench, 

 but we prefer its mixture with the soil 



