Sbitkmbku 1, 11)10. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



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a porous nature, one tlirouffh wliicli 

 water will pass readily. Pot firmly aud 

 stand the plauis in a close, moist liouse 

 where tliey can bo Aveil sluulod and free- 

 ly syringed. As the roots work around 

 the sides of the ])ots, give the plants 

 more light anil air, l;ut avoid any hot 

 sunshine until they are well established. 

 If you want to grow in benches, plant 

 twenty inches apart each way. Use no 

 more than four inches of soil and let 

 tiiat b(! of a ]»orous nature. For suc- 

 cessful bench culture the best plan is 

 to plant out from pots during June, and 

 from jilants lit'ted now you cannot ex- 

 pect any blooms during midwinter. A 

 night temperature of not less tiuin tiO 

 degrees is necessary for the successful 

 culture of gardenias and 05 degrees is 

 better. Allow the pots or benches to 

 dry out well between waterings, to ])re- 

 veut yellow foliage appearing. Syringe 

 to keep mealy bug iu check. Cold water, 

 carefully directed, will take care of 

 this pest. C. W. 



THE ASTER DISEASE. 



Aster growers have had an unfavor- 

 able season this year. From the be- 

 ginning dry weather set in and con- 

 tinued without a l)reak for nearly two 

 months. The root ajihis has \)eo,n in 

 evideiico and the beetles have arrived 

 in hordes. Hut that is not all. The 

 most dreaded so called ''astei- disease" 

 is more pronounced thiin r\or. What 

 is it, anyway, aud what is the cau^e? 



In my fi(dd it is interesting to note 

 how this disease has distributed itself. 

 Eight or ten or more consecutive ])]ants 

 will show the blight; then tht>re is a 

 skip, then more disease and so on. 



The present field never hail an ast(M- 

 planted on it before, so the germs were 

 not in the soil. The plants were large 

 and thrifty when set out, with not a 

 trace of disease on them. 



Actual experiments ha\'e shown th.-it 

 seed taken from the worst :ilVe(te<l 

 plants liavo produceil healthy iil;iiits, 

 without a trace of disease. Does this 

 not ui)set the theory of jdaiit breed- 

 ing? 



From my own observ.ations, T claim 

 it is not a disease, but I have yet to 

 prove it. 



In my field will probably be found 

 an unusual percentage of afl'ected 

 ydanfs. T think I know the re.-ison. 

 is the soil poor? \o — black and rich 



as fertilizers and manure can make it, 

 but it is acid. This soil, if taken into 

 tli(> greenhouse and plante<l to roses or 

 used as pot soil for geraniums or al- 

 most any other bedding jtlants, would 

 kill them outright. This experience 

 cost me a great deal of money, till 1 

 found out how to pre]iare my soil. 

 Simple enough — just add lime. 



IJut now to get back to asters. I 

 believe tiiat soil conditions are respon- 

 sible for the so-called disease. In my 

 opinion asters arc particularly suscep- 

 tible to the action of acid, which the 

 api>lic;ition of lime would countciact. 

 The acidity of the soil may not be 

 unifomi, which would account for tlie 

 diseased patches in my own field. 



This argument is but a theory, but 

 next year I shall thoroughly lime my 

 aster field and wait for results. 



J. L. .Fohnson. 



COREOPSIS AND SHASTA SEED. 



In The Keview of July 2S, 1910, we 

 noticed some notes on Chrysantliemum 

 maximum Ivlward VII and Coreopsis 

 gianditlora, in the Seasonable Sugges- 

 tions. We have looked through several 

 catalogues for the purpose of fituling 

 advertisements of the seed of these two 

 perennials, but none of the firtns seem 

 to carry the seed. Would you please 



tell us where we could get seed of these 

 two varieties, as we should like to sow 

 some this fall? J. S. 



Coreopsis grandi flora is an improved 

 form of C. lanceolata, listed by nearly 

 ail reputable seedsmen and grown con- 

 siderably for border effects as well as 

 cutting. ChrysantluMnum maximum 

 King Kdward \'II is listeil by Henry 

 A. Dreer, of Philadelphia, and olliers. 

 .\bout all seedsmen carry one or more 

 named I'orms of the Shasta daisy. In 

 the catalogue of \V. W. Pawson ii; Co., 

 (if Poslon, Alaska, California and Wts- 

 trj'Jia, all excellent \arieties, are listed. 



C. \V. 



DAHLIA STEMS TOO SHORT. 



Is there any w.ay to make dahlia 

 flower stalks grow long and useful .' 



J. J. II. 



There is no w.ay that we know of to 

 make the flower stems of dahlias 

 stronger. The cactus and decoriiti\e 

 sections are notoriously short and weak, 

 'i'lie pompons are longer and stronger; 

 so are some of the show varieties. Cac- 

 tus varieties with better stems are now 

 being introduced, but there is still a 

 \ ast field for improvement. For com- 

 mercial use, select varieties which have 

 strong stems; the short-stemmed ones, 

 which hide their flowers, are of little 

 value. C. W. 



GREEN CATERPILLARS. 



What is the best way to get rid of 

 the green cat(M-pillar, the one whicdi 

 troubles the mignonette so much in tiie 

 greenhouses anil cabbage outdoors? 



G. T. S. C. 



There is only one way to get rid of 

 the green caterpillars, and that is han<l 

 ]>icking. Any spraying solution of a 

 poisonous nature would burn or other- 

 wise disfigure the plants. Hand pick- 

 ing is slow, but it is sure. 



On cabbages outdoors, air slaked lime 

 lilown through a jiowiler bellows will 

 kill many of the caterpillars. If the 

 cabbages are not yet heading, it will be 

 safe to spray with I'aris green, one 

 ounce to ten gallons of water. Salt scat- 

 ti>red where the worms are at work will 

 kill many of them, as will salt and 

 water. ' C. W. 



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