10 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



SaPTBMBIlB 22, 1010. 



Day; color, pure white. This has been 

 cut under glass late in April, but 

 blooms freely in May and June. Queen 

 of the Market, also called Queen of the 

 Earlies, is valuable for early cutting. 

 The plants have a branching habit, and 

 the flowers are very double and well 

 formed. You can purchase separate 

 shades of this aster, including lavender, 

 pink and white. 



For an early indoor crop of asters, 

 sow the seed about January 15. Prick 

 oflf into flats when of sufficient size. 



Later plant out in benches containing 

 four to five inches of rich soil, allowing 

 eight to ten inches between the plants. 

 The plants like abundant ventilation, 

 full sun, and a night winter minimum 

 of 48 to 50 degrees. Keep the surface 

 well stirred, and if you want large 

 flowers, disbud as you do chrysanthe- 

 mums. As a general rule, however, it 

 pays to allow all the flowers to come. 

 They are quite serviceable, especially 

 for funeral work. The Queen of the 

 Earlies blooms early in June, under 

 glass. C. W. 



GERANIUM CULTURE. 



Will you please give me advice aa 

 to when and how to take geranium cut- 

 tings? Sould I pull all the leaves oS, 

 or when potted in the fall let them 

 dry off, or should the leaves be left 

 onf When is the best time to take 

 cuttings for Decoration day? I took 

 my cuttings in October last year, but 

 they got almost too tall by Decoration 

 day. What is the best mixture for pot- 

 ting geraniums? C. tJ. 



October is a good month in which 

 to take cuttings. The loss from damp- 

 ing off will be much less than if they 

 were inserted in August or September, 

 the colder nights helping to harden the 

 wood. All leaves should be cut off, 

 except the small ones at the top of 

 each cutting. If you leave them on, 

 it will simply mean endless trouble 

 picking them off in a decaying condi- 

 tion. Cuttings put in during October 

 will make excellent plants for Memo- 

 rial day. The reason your plants got 

 80 tall was probably because you neg- 

 lected topping them. About all the 

 cuttings put in at this season should 

 give a good cutting in January or early 

 February, which can be rooted in gen- 

 tle heat in a 2-inch pot of sandy loam 

 and later shifted to a 3-inch pot, in 

 which it will bloom for Memorial day. 

 The fall cuttings should be flowered 

 in 4-inch pots. 



Avoid using much animal manure in 

 the compost for geraniums. Any added 

 to the loam should be thoroughly de- 

 cayed, so that it will crumble through 

 the hands. A mixture of three-fourths 

 loam, one-fourth old manure and a 4- 

 inch pot of fine bone to each wheel- 

 barrow load of soil makes a suitable 

 potting medium for the final shift. A 

 little sand should also be added. The 

 cuttings will root well either in flats 

 or benches of clean, sharp sand, or in 

 2-inch pots of sandy loam. Keep mod- 

 erately moist until rooted, then much 

 drier until potted on. The dryness 

 causes the cuttings to make a mass of 

 fibrous roots. C. W. 



plant now stands, three years ago, 

 and has since yielded an income of 

 fully $150. The plant is seven feet 

 high and four feet in width, although 

 it has been cut back three times on 

 account of close quarters. There have 

 been 275 cuttings propagated and sold 

 from this plant this season and at the 

 time the picture was made there were 

 125 cuttings in sand. At one time this 

 year the plant carried fifty blooms and 

 many plants have been sold from it at 

 from 5 to 50 cents each. The Review 

 will be glad to hear from any florist 

 who can beat this record with any one 

 geranium plant grown under glass. 



DRAINING A GARDEN. 



I should like to get your advice with 

 regard to the land where I intend to 

 plant my perennials. This is a new 

 place and the recent rains show me 



that the beds are not well drained. 

 I understand there are tiles running 

 through the land every flfty feet, but 

 the beds are cut out of the solid clay 

 and so hold the water. The piece of 

 land is 75x150 feet, with a 4-foot walk 

 all around, one walk through the center 

 lengthwise and three the short way, 

 thus cutting the whole tract into eight 

 squares, with four beds in each square. 

 The walks are well made, containing 

 about one foot of cinders, with two 

 inches of dressing on top. 



This does not seem to be a choice 

 place for perennials in its present 

 state. I thought I might run two tiles 

 lengthwise, with a branch arm into 

 each bed, or that I might cut through 

 the sod, which is only eighteen inches 

 wide from the walks to the beds; that 

 is, I might cut a trench about one foot 

 wide through the sod into each bed, put 

 a lit'tle cinders there and replace the 

 sod, and so let the walks drain the 

 beds. Dx) you think either of those 

 plans all right, or can you 8ugG;est 

 something better? B. P. 



The roots of about all our common 

 field crops, and also many perennial 

 flowering plants, penetrate much deoper 

 than we have any idea of, if the soil 

 conditions are to their liking. Drain- 

 age deepens the available soil. The 

 roots of plants will not live in that 

 part below the water line. If drains 

 are placed two feet deep, the soil to 

 that depth is warmed and has more 

 perfect aeration. If the drains are 

 placed three to four feet deep, it will 

 be even better, as, even when the lower 

 soil is less rich in plant food than the 

 upper portion, roots will penetrate it if 

 it is well drained. In droughty seasons 

 crops thrive better on drained land, as 

 the water level is lowered and the roots 

 can thus reach greater depths and re- 

 tain moisture more effectually. 



In clayey soil such as you have, the 

 drainage afforded by 12-inch paths is 



JEAN VIAUD GERANIUM. 



The accompanying illustration shows 

 Geranium Jean Viaud as grown by the 

 Columbus Floral Co., Columbus, Miss. 

 The cutting was started where the I 



Jean Viaud Geranium Seven Feet High. 



