20 



The Florists' Review 



March 5, 1914. 



SHIFTING THE YOUNG STOCK. 



Shifting to Pots. 



The early propagated stock, which 

 was potted in January and early Feb- 

 ruary, will need to be shifted to keep 

 it in a nice growing condition. Unless 

 you are willing to keep the plants grow- 

 ing along steadily from the time they 

 are rooted until they are set in the 

 field, it is worse than useless to propa- 

 gate early. Better propagate later, so 

 that the first potting will carry the 

 plants until planting-out time. Ideas of 

 the best way to handle the young 

 stock vary a great deal, and it cannot 

 be said that any one method is the only 

 and correct one. On one place one 

 method may be the right one, while on 

 another it may not be the best. At our 

 place many ways of handling the young 

 plants have been tried and we have 

 found that, with our soil and the condi- 

 tions in general here, we get along best 

 with the pot culture. We pot into the 

 small pots early and shift into 2% -inch 

 pots during March, removing as much 

 soil as practicable in order to give as 

 much new soil as the shift will permit. 

 After late February everything is pot- 

 ted right into the 2i^-inch pots and no 

 shift is required. 



Shifting to Flats. 



Many growers pot into the small pots 

 early and, when the plants have become 

 established, plant them either, into shal- 

 low boxes or onto the bench in about 

 three inches of soil. Under this method 

 the plants will make a large growth and 

 be stronger looking than the mot-grown 

 stock, but they are apt to b| soft and 

 will suflFer much more than the pot- 

 grown plants in the transfer tjo the field. 

 In our trials we have found that a 

 month after being planted in the field 

 the pot-grown stock would be more ad- 

 vanced than the stronger looking 

 bench-grown stock. However, if you 

 handle the stock carefully, if your soil 

 is in good condition and if you have 

 favorable weather, either method should 

 give excellent results. It is in case of 

 unfavorable weather after planting 

 that the pot-grown, harder stock will 

 stand up better. You cannot always 

 figure on getting a rain every few days 

 during the planting season, and for that 

 reason we consider pot culture the best. 



From Pots to Bench. 



If you intend to ])lant some of your 

 benches from pots this spring, now is 

 the time to ma^e your preparations. If 

 you can plant the benches as soon as 

 you have finished planting in the field, 

 which would be the better plan, I would 

 suggest that you shift enough plants 

 into 3-inch pots to fill these beds. They 

 will necessarily stand a few weeks 

 longer in the pots than those you 

 planted in the field, and the 3-inch pots 

 will carry them in better condition. If 

 you cannot plant the beds until June or 

 later, then* you would better shift into 



4-inch pots and plunge them in frames 

 just before you begin planting in the 

 field. 



Topping. 



Of course, you will go over the young 

 stock frequently, topping those plants 

 that need it. Do not be in too great a 

 hurry about taking the top out, but 

 wait until you can be sure that you get 

 all the top, instead of only the leaves 

 around the heart. -In the latter case 

 your work has been a detriment to the 

 plant, instead of a benefit. No harm is 

 done if you can see the stem between 

 the joints where you take the top oif. 

 In fact, 1 think it is well to allow them 

 to reach that sta^e before topping, pro- 

 viding you do not allow them to go un- 

 til the buds show. Top according to 



the habit of the variety. Such varieties 

 as the Enchantress family will break 

 from four or five eyes, and you need 

 not hesitate to leave six eyes above the 

 ground, but such varieties as Gloriosa, 

 White Perfection and Victory will 

 break from only two or three eyes and 

 should be topped low, so that the stem 

 will not be too long, allowing the plants 

 to lie over in case of hard rains while 

 in the field. A. F. J. Baur. 



ENGELMANN ON CONTINENT. 



Many American carnation growers 

 will recall with pleasure having met C. 

 Engelmann, of Saffron Walden, Eng- 

 land, when that gentleman visited this 

 country during the Boston National 

 Flower Show. Mr. Engelmann is one 

 of the largest and most successful car- 

 nation growers in Great Britain, using 

 mostly American varieties. From the 

 British horticultural press it appears 

 that he now is starting a continental 

 establishment, near Nice, for carna- 

 tion growing. The house he has erected, 

 90x600 feet, is said to be the largest 

 on the continent. 



SEASONABLE NOTES. 



Cattleyas. 



We have now reached a season where 

 the sun has attained considerable power. 

 This is less perceptible outdoors than 

 under glass, but early in March on clear 

 days the rays are strong and some or- 

 chids will need a light shade. It is 

 unwise to shade cattleyas too early, 

 for, although the sun may cause the 

 foliage to become paler, it is always 

 noticeable that such plants flower far 

 better than , such as are of a dark green 

 color and have been kept continuously 

 shaded. Let the shading be quite light 

 yet, as we ,may still expect some long 

 spells of dark, cold weather. A mix- 

 ture of kerosene and white lead makes 

 an excellent shade. If wooden or cloth 

 shades were less expensive, all orchid 

 growers should use them; they form 

 the ideal shade. There are many days 

 when we Wish we could remove the 

 shade from the glass and let the plants 

 have all poissible light. 



C. Triana; will soon be over for the 

 season. All necessary repotting or re- 

 basketing should be completed soon 

 after flowering. Any plants with roots 

 hanging over the sides of the pots 

 should be repotted. Plants with long 

 hanging .roort;s may win applause from 

 the uninitiated, but such plants will 

 always produce poor flowers compared 

 with such as have their roots confined 



in their receptacles. Nothing beats 

 rather coarse fern fiber for cattleyas; 

 some of the roughest should go over 

 the drainage. Some commercial grow- 

 ers use coarse fiber in lieu of potsherds 

 for drainage. Always pot the plants 

 firmly and stake some of the leading 

 growths, drawing other bulbs up toward 

 them with green raffia or silkaline. 

 Water sparingly until the plants are 

 making roots freely. With the passing 

 of C. Triana; we get C. Schroederse. 

 The flowers of this variety, while pret- 

 ty, are less popular in the market than 

 Trianse, and lack character. They come, . 

 however, at a time when cattleya flow- 

 ers are somewhat scarce. C. Mossise 

 will soon have its buds up through the 

 sheaths, although some plants will last 

 until June. The same holds good of 

 C. Mendellii. The small flowered but 

 charmingly colored C. Skinneri has buds 

 showing prominently and w^ill prove 

 useful when in bloom. Several of the 

 brasso-cattleyas have buds coming up 

 in the sheaths, one or two, in fact, be- 

 ing already 6pen. Give these the warm 

 end of the cattleya house. 



Take advantage of spells of stormy 

 weather to get the plants cleaned. 

 There will be little time to do it a 

 month hence, with the rush of other 

 work. When sponging add some fir 

 tree oil or Aphine to the water. Now 

 is the time to keep a sharp lookout for 

 the dreaded cattleya fly. Look sharply 

 after any swollen young growths; usu- 

 ally when cut open they will be found 

 to contain either mature flies or larvse.i 

 Be sure to destroy every one which isj 

 found, as, once allowed to spread, they^ 



