8 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Sbftbmbeb 10, 1910. 



depth. Give them a mulch of littery- 

 manure or leaves over winter. I like 

 the latter the best. After the {jrowths 

 have appeared in spring, give the soil 

 about them a liberal mulch of old ma- 

 nure, leaves or any other material which 

 will prevent the soil from drying out. 

 If you have facilities for watering, 

 they will appreciate a lot of it. 



The first season many auratums be- 

 come diseased. I think this is mainly 

 due to the bulbs being lifted and 

 shipped before being properly matured. 

 Lifting and storing the bulbs will not 

 give you any better results than leaving 

 them in tlie ground. Plant deeply, 

 mulch liberally, water freely and you 

 will give the bulbs the conditions as 

 near to their liking as possible. 



C. W. 



..SEEDLINGS DAMP OFF. 



I'lease let nie know what makes my 

 Canterbury bells damp off. I sowed 

 seed and, when large enough, I re- 

 planted in flats, but found tUey would 

 damp off in spite of all my care. I 

 give them morning sun and a cool piac^ 

 in the afternoon. Please tell me if the 

 trouble is in the soil or if this warm 

 weather causes it. I wish to force 

 these Canterbury bells and should like 

 to know if I have to pot them along 



as I would geraniums, or let them go 

 from 3-inch pots to their blooming-size 

 pots. 



i also find seedling pansies damping 

 off; that is, their stems seem to rot off. 

 A. D. 



Your Canterbury bells would have 

 done more satisfactorily if they had 

 been transplanted outdoors instead of 

 into flats. They do not require any 

 afternoon shade; the full sun is what 

 they need. Too frequent waterings and 

 sprinklings overhead are probably re- 

 sponsible for the plants damping off. 

 Canterbury bells make their chief 

 growtii during September and the first 

 iialf of October, and it would be better 

 for you even now to set out your re- 

 maining young plants in an open, sunny 

 spot, in rich soil. Keep the ground well 

 loosened and they will grow quite fast, 

 particularly if showers happen along 

 about the time you set them out. 



Canterbury bells need not be potted 

 along; the better way is to lift from 

 the open ground i^ate in October ajid 

 pot into 'whatever'' pots they are to 

 flower in; as a rule, 8-inah is a suitable 

 size. Keep outdoors as late as possible, 

 then give coldframe jirotection and 

 allow some frost to reach them. Place 

 in gentle heat after Christmas. 



Probably you are also causing the 



damping of your pansies by the too free 

 use of water. Do not try to keep the 

 seedling beds damp, end do not shade 

 them at all after the seed has germi- 

 nated. • Hemove the damped-off plants; 

 loosen the surface soil and let it dry out 

 well after each watering. C. W. 



OLIVIA MINIATA. 



I am enclosing a plant which I should 



like to know the name of. I also wish 



to know how it should be grown and 



whether it is hardy or a hothouse plant. 



W.G.B. 



This is a greenhouse plant called 

 Clivia miniata, and also known as 

 Imantophyllum miniatum. It does well 

 in a minimum winter temperature of 

 50 degrees. The heads of orange yel- 

 low, lily-like flowers are usually pro- 

 duced in February and March. ftt*ropa- 

 gation is by seed or division of the 

 plants. The latter method is simple. 

 Be carefjul to keep as many whole roots 

 f o^^ the dividecLportions as possible and 

 kelp oil the dry side until well estab- 

 lished. It is necessary to rather under- 

 water these plants. Any excess of 

 moisture will cause rotting of the 

 stems. In summer they do particularly 

 well stood outdoors under the shade of 

 trees. C. W. 



SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS. 



Feeding. 



The question of feeding is a most 

 important one, if one wishes to grow 

 his plants to the best possible advan- 

 tage. Liquid fertilizers made from 

 cow or sheep manure are excellent for 

 ])utting color or finish in the flower. 

 The plants can be assisted greatly by 

 applications of nitrate of soda, nitrate 

 of potash or sulphate of ammonia. My 

 experience with heavy feeding has ren- 

 , dered me very cautious in the use of 

 nitrate of soda, whereas sulphate of 

 ammonin has given the best results'. 

 Why this is, I am unable to state. 

 The chemist. I believe, claims that 

 sulphates must l)e changed into ni- 

 trates before the plants can assimilate 

 them, and it may be that the sulphate 

 of ammoni.a does not work in so di- 

 rect a manner as does nitrate of soda. 

 ])ut T .ilways think it is the much 

 safer fertilizer of the two. 



Many of our best growers, after 

 studying this question of chemical fer- 

 tilizers, mix their own combinations of 

 chemicals, which experience has taught 

 them may be applied with the greatest 

 benefit to the soil and their local 

 conditions. 



The Needed Caution and Persistence. 



The great secret in feeding chry- 

 santhemums ])roperly, is to always give 

 thetn .1 little and never give them any- 



thing very strong, at any one time. 

 A heavy top-dressing of fresh manure 

 is dangerous on this account, as it is 

 liable to get the bed too wet and de- 

 stroy the tiny root hairs, which are the 

 feeders and convey the nourishment 

 directly to the plant. A light top- 

 dressing of half an inch or so of rot- 

 ten manure is highly beneficial. It 

 brings the roots up to the surface, 

 where they get the benefit of future 

 feeding. It keeps the bed cool and at 

 the same time affords a certain amount 

 of nourishment to the plants. 



It is to the intelligent and persistent 

 use of chemical fertilizers that our best 

 growers owe all their prize winning 

 flowers. It is practically impossible 

 for any man to tell another grower 

 how, when and where to feed his 

 plants. Local conditiojis vary in al- 

 most every case andthis is the one 

 test where personal experience is bet- 

 ter than all of the literature the grower 

 can lay his hands on, pertaining to this 

 subject. 



When the Buds Are Forming. 



The month of September is the month 

 when feeding tells, because the bud 

 is taken and the sap is flowering di- 

 rectly into the bud, producing the 

 future flower. Previous feeding has 

 been used up in growing the plant to 

 its present condition and developing 

 its different parts. From now on there 

 is no more growth made and the stems 

 will begin to thicken from the bud 



back to the soil. Less moisture, also, 

 will be needed with the advent of 

 cooler weather and a practically com- 

 pleted growth. The plants should not 

 by any means be allowed to suffer, but 

 they do not need nearly the moisture 

 they were getting during the hot 

 months of July and August. This is 

 particularly true of overhead spraying. 

 Once a day now, in most cases, is about 

 all the spraying the plants need, and 

 where the crown bud has burst through 

 its husky covering, forming, as it does. 

 a sort of cup, overhead spraying should 

 be discontinued altogether. It is par- 

 ticularly desirable that the leaves be, 

 at this time, free from spider and 

 thrips on the under side, because when 

 syringing is no longer possible it is 

 simply astounding how rapidly these 

 pests develop and do their mischief, in 

 some cases rendering the flower un- 

 salable. The one thing above all others 

 that the grower should be watchful of, 

 is to see that his plants are clean. 



The black and green fiy must also 

 be eradicated before the buds show 

 color, as one cannot smoke when the 

 flowers are partially developed. 



For fumigation there is nothing else 

 so good as tobacco dust, in my estima- 

 tion. It is perfectly safe and does not 

 injure the young, delicate tips of the 

 plants, which is more than can be said 

 of most of the nicotine solutions that 

 are recommended from time to time. 



Chas. II. Tottv. 



