22 



The Florists' Review 



Mat 7, 1914. 



GEEANIUM STOCK PLANTS. 



Is it practical to grow geranium 

 stock plants through the summer in 

 4-inch pots in the greenhouse, if they 

 are plunged? S. & S. 



Geranium stock plants can be car- 

 ried over summer under glass as sug- 

 gested, but 4-inch pots will be somewhat 

 small for them. However, they could 

 be allowed to root through and in this 

 way might develop into good plants. 

 Geraniums can, of course, be planted 

 out in raised benches containing not 

 over five inches of soil, and will give 

 you a fine crop of cuttings if treated 

 thus. C. W. 



LENGTH OF GEBANIUM STEMS. 



Will you kindly tell me what causes 

 the stems of the flowers on geraniums 

 to grow long, while some of them are 

 short? C. E. 



Some varieties of geraniums are of a 

 dwarf er habit than others and the 

 flower stalks are, of course, correspond- 

 ingly dwarf. Plants kept a considerable 

 distance from the glass become drawn 

 and have longer flower stems. Those 

 grown close to the light will naturally 

 be more stocky. Strong feeding will 

 lengthen the stems; plants starved at 

 the roots cannot make other than short 

 stems. I would advise moderate feeding 

 with fine bone as a top-dressing, or with 

 some other good fertilizer, for any 

 plants needing a stimulant. C. W. 



MAT BE A NEW OEBANIUM. 



To what variety of geranium does 

 the enclosed flower belong? I think it 

 ia a sport of some kind. S>' E. M. 



This is a fine dark geranium. It is 

 so similar, however, to some existing 

 sorts that I should hesitate about call- 

 ing it a new variety. If it is a seed- 

 ling, there is undoubtedly some little 

 difference. I would suggest growing a 

 batch of it alongside of others of sim- 

 ilar color; you would then get a fair 

 comparison. C. W. 



GEBANIirMS AS STANDABDS. 



Will you be so kind as to give direc- 

 tions for growing geraniums as stand- 

 ards and state which are the best va- 

 rieties for growing in that way? 



M. D. 



These are of easy culture and are 

 easily prepared. Select strong cuttings 

 and keep them potted along. Never 

 pinch the tops out until they have 

 reached the desired height, which may 

 be anywhere from eighteen to forty- 

 two inches. Personally, I prefer plants 

 with clear stems twenty-four inches 

 long. All you have to do is to remove 

 all side shoots, avoid pinching the lead- 

 ing shoot and keep the plants securely 

 staked. It takes twelve to eighteen 

 months to grow standards with good 



heads. Once secured, they can be kept 

 for years. Some good varieties are: 

 Double — Nutt, Eicard, Castellane, La 

 Favorite. Single — Dryden, Ian Mac- 

 laren, Scaramouche, Paul Crampel. As 

 a rule the single-flowered ones make the 

 best standards. C. W, 



SPOTS ON GEBANIUM FOLIAGE. 



I am enclosing two geranium leaves 

 and should like to know what is the 

 trouble with them and what to do for 

 it. I used a potful of bone dust to a 

 wheelbarrow load of soil. The tem- 

 perature of my house is 50 degrees at 

 night and 60 to 65 degrees in the day- 

 time. J. D. P. 



Your plants need feeding; they are 

 suffering from starvation at the roots. 

 A weak dose of nitrate of soda, a tea- 

 spoonful to a 12-quart can, will soon 

 improve them. Follow this with a top- 

 dressing of fine bone or some good fer- 



tilizer. Your temperature is all right. 

 You do not state what size of pot you 

 used when adding the bone. Ir it was 

 a 4-inch pot, that would be all right, 

 but some well-decomposed and screened 

 cow manure or spent hotbed manure 

 would also have been a benefit to the 

 plants. Discontinue feeding before the 

 plants make a too rank and soft 

 growth. C. W. 



GEBANIUM FOLIAGE DISEASED. 



I am enclosing some geranium leaves. 

 Please tell me what the trouble is with 

 them and what I can use as a remedy. 



T. F. C. 



The foliage sent was badly blighted. 

 It would be well to throw away the 

 plants most affected. Keep the others 

 picked over carefully and spray with 

 a good fungicide, such as Bordeaux 

 mixture. Give a second spraying four 

 or five days later, and a third if neces- 

 sary. Be sure the foliage is dry when 

 the spraying is done. If you spray at 

 the prescribed strength, you need not 

 be afraid of injuring the foliage. Keep 

 the atmosphere on the dry side; do not 

 spray your plants over at all when 

 watering. Give them plenty of fresh 

 air and let them have the fullest sun- 

 shine. Be sure to keep all rubbish 

 away from below the benches. If dirt 

 is allowed to accumulate there, nothing 

 will more surely assist in the spread 

 of fungoid diseases. C. W. 



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Fancy-leaved Caladiiuns. 



Tubers of fancy-leaved caladiums will 

 now be making growth, and, if they 

 have not already been potted, no time 

 should be lost in doing so. These plants 

 are easily chilled and care must be 

 taken to have the compost in which they 

 are to be potted well warmed; also, not 

 to carry the plants into any shed where 

 they will get cold draughts. A some- 

 what coarse compost suits caladiums 

 well. They will do equally well in rough 

 peat or fibrous loam if to it is added 

 some well decayed manure, sand and 

 fine charcoal. Be careful not to over- 

 pot the plants. Give them a warm, 

 moist house where they will be shaded 

 from the direct rays of the sun. These 

 caladiums are useful decorative plants 

 during the hot summer months, when 

 good flowering plants are scarce. 



Achimenes. 



Not much grown commercially, 

 achimenes are, nevertheless, beautiful 

 plants for summer blooming. They are 

 obtainable in a large variety of colors. 

 The plants are of easy culture and are 

 useful in pots, pans or baskets. They 

 will not stand the direct rays of the 

 sun, but succeed well treated similarly 

 to tuberous begonias and gloxinias. A 

 dozen corms in a 6-inch pot or pan, with 

 each flower stalk neatly staked, make a 

 nice, salable plant. For compost use 

 one-half fibrous loam,' one-fourth leaf- 

 mold and one-fourth rotted manure, with 

 some sharp sand added. The best plan 



is to start the corms in flats of clear 

 sand and pot or basket them before the 

 growths are more than two inches long. 



Tuberous-rooted Begonias. 



Tuberous-rooted begonias are the most 

 persistent-flowering of all the snmmer* 

 flowering bulbs adaptable to ^ot euK 

 ture. By starting successional batches, 

 plants may be had in flower from April 

 until the end of October. For bedding 

 purposes tuberous begonias do well at 

 seaside resorts in the northern states. 

 They do quite well where they can 

 have shade from buildings and branches, 

 particularly in the morning. If in such 

 locations they are set out dormant, or 

 nearly so, rather than well started in 

 pots, they will do all the better. In 

 pots they like a light, moderately rich 

 soil, but containing plenty of sand. 

 Tubers of these also do better if 

 started in flats and potted off before 

 growths get too much started. Avoid 

 wetting the foliage of tuberous be- 

 gonias over, in a clear house. Some 

 scalding is sure to take place sooner or 

 later. 



Gloxinias. 



An early batch of gloxinias which 

 will flower for Memorial day will be 

 found extremely useful. While the 

 flowers are a little fragile, they will be 

 found serviceable to use in the choicer 

 bouquets, and really choice flowers are 

 not at all abundant in late May. Keep 

 the plants shaded from strong sun, as 

 the foliage is tender, and be careful not 



