Januabt 30, 1913. 



The Florists^ Review 



21 



^3 



Tulips and Cyclamens Given a St. Valentine's Day Touch by the Accessories. 



inf If BO, I think I could get it. Any- 

 way, I could get shavings from a plan- 

 ing mill. I would prefer to use the 

 hay if it will do. Any information on 

 the subject will be greatly appreciated. 



r. M. D. 



You had your roses properly stored 

 in the first place, and all the attention 

 needed was to shake the falling leaves 

 from them. Keep them well aired and 

 maintain a low temperature. Probably 

 jou have ventilated them insufficiently. 

 If kept at all close, both roots and 

 shoots are bound to start. The fact 

 that they were making some roots 

 was no reason for moving them, 

 and the advice to store them in straw 

 was not given by any practical man, 

 for you could hardly adopt any plan 

 which would sooner dry out and kill 

 your plants. 



Pack your roses either in damp soil 

 •or sand. Keep them freely aired and 

 the temperature as near freezing as 

 JOU can, or even a little below it, and 

 they will come through all right. Some 

 people tie the plants in bundles and 

 pack damp moss about the roots, but 

 moist earth or sand is much better. 

 C. W. 



NITRATE OF SODA FOR ROSES. 



Please publish the amount of nitrate 

 of soda that should be given rose 

 bushes in the garden, and state whether 

 it should be given in water or sprin- 

 kled dry on the ground. W. B. J. 



ing the plants doses of nitrate of soda. 

 It may stimulate a rank, soft growth, 

 but that is not what you want. Cow 

 manure applied in a fresh or green con- 

 dition is far superior to nitrate of soda 

 for roses, both under glass and out- 

 doors. Bone and dried blood are other 

 useful fertilizers for hardy roses. 



C. W. 



singue: violets. 



I would like to ask if single violets, 

 to be grown successfully, can be housed 

 as early as September 1; also when 

 is the best time to do so? What is 

 the best variety of single violet? How 

 far apart should they be planted? Also, 

 do plants in the field require any shad- 

 ing? A. J. S. 



Nitrate of soda is not a fertilizer I 

 would suggest for hardy roses. When 

 used at all it must be used with great 

 •care, or it will do far more harm than 

 good. If used as a liquid, one pound to 

 thirty or forty gallons suffices. If ap- 

 plied as a top-dressing, do not give 

 more than at the rate of 150 to 200 

 pounds per acre. Do not continue giv- 



It would be a great mistake to house 

 single violets as early as September 1. 

 The result would inevitably be a big 

 crop of foliage and few flowers. These 

 violets, in order to have the best re- 

 sults with them, should be left out 

 until they have had one or two mod- 

 erate freezings before lifting. Usually 

 they can be lifted during October, al- 

 though some growers leave them out 



even later. I do not care to subject 

 them to a lower temperature than 24 

 degrees, although the plants will sur- 

 vive one as low as zero. If you lifted 

 your plants early and they are bloom- 

 ing poorly, you can improve them by 

 allowing them to freeze for a few 

 hours. I would not let the tempera- 

 ture go below 28 degrees. Plants in 

 the field need no shading, but require 

 constant cultivation through the hot 

 months. C. W. 



VIOLET BUDS NOT OPENINO. 



Enclosed you will find three violet 

 buds of different sizes, one when the 

 bud has just started from the crown, 

 the next when it is half -grown and the 

 third when it is almost ready to de- 

 velop. I should like you to inspect 

 these buds and help us to locate the 

 trouble which we are now having. The 

 plants are in perfect condition and full 

 of buds, but when the buds reach a 

 certain size, almost ready to open, they 

 seem to stop growing and to wilt. They 

 have kept on the same way for the last 

 five weeks. It puzzles me that the buds 

 are strong and healthy when they are 

 almost full-grown. I also send you a 

 small amount of soil. Please look at 

 that; I think it is good for violets. 

 Any information regarding this trouble 

 will be highly appreciated. S. B. 



The violet stems are of good average 

 length; some of the strongest are ten 

 inches long. They appear perfectly 

 healthy. The reason for the buds fail- 

 ing to open is hard to determine, as I 

 do not know anything of your culture. 

 The soil must be pretty good, or you 

 would not get such stems. What tem- 

 perature are you giving your plants? 

 The night reading should be as near 40 

 degrees as possible. On warm nights it 

 is not possible to keep it as cool as this, 

 but the ventilators should be wide open 



