OCTOBKB 13, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



9 



these out about the middle of April a 

 foot apart, you will get fully as early 

 flowers, and at a great deal less worry 

 .•ind expense. C, W. 



BEST BUTTERFLY SWEET PEAS. 



Will you tell me the correct name of 

 the strain of sweet peas known as the 

 Jkitterfly type? Also give the name of 



the best variety of white, pink and 

 white, lavender and light pink. When 

 is the best time to sow seed, in order 

 to be in full crop for Easter, 1911, and 

 later? G. W. H. 



A few of the more desirable varieties 

 of the Butterfly or Spencer type of 

 sweet peas are: White Spencer, pure 

 white; Countess Spencer, delicate pink; 



Florence Spencer, rosy pink; Asta Ohn, 

 delicate lavender; Apple Blossom, 

 bright rose; King Edward, crimson scar- 

 let, and Mrs. Routzahn, delicate pink 

 on apricot ground. There is also a 

 Blanche Ferry Spencer, pink and white, 

 if your trade calls for this color. 



Sow your seed the first week in Jan- 

 uary. It takes the Spencers longer to 

 flower than the old type. C. W. 



FOE SUMMER BLOOMING. 



t 



What strain of summer blooming car- 

 nations can you recommend for flower- 

 ing outside, for cutting until inside 

 stock is ready in the fall? When should 

 seed be sown? Can any other way be 

 suggested to supply carnations through- 

 out the summer? B. H. I.. 



I know of no strain of dianthus grown 

 from seed that can compare in quality 

 with the varieties of carnations we 

 grow for winter flowering. Some of the 

 hardy border carnations produce blooms 

 of good quality, but they only bloom 

 for a short time in the early summer 

 and can not be counted on to fill the 

 gap between the inside seasons. 



The most practical way is to propa- 

 gate some cuttings early and to shift 

 them on into 3-inch or 4-inch pots be- 

 fore planting time. These, if watered 

 well, will give a good cut of blooms 

 during August and September. Nearly 

 all the varieties grown inside will do 

 for this purpose, except the Lawson va- 

 rieties. They are too short-stemmed to 

 b6 of ally use so early in the season. 



A. F. J. B. 



LEAF-SPOT ON LAWSON. 



I bought 100 Lawson carnation plants 

 and they seem to be diseased. Will you 

 please tell me what the trouble is? 



E. G. B. 



Your experience is not a new one 

 with this variety. It has always been 

 a .poor shipper. Being rather sensitive 

 about lifting, even at best, it is apt to 

 gi,ve even more trouble when shipped, 

 in which case the plants would be out 

 of the soil a couple of days. You will 

 also find that the later you lift Mrs. 

 Lawson the more trouble you will have 

 in getting the plants reestablished. The 

 successful growers of this variety house 

 it uniformly early, while the plants are 

 medium sized and fairly hard. Perhaps 

 the best way of all to handle this va- 

 riety is to grow it in the house all sum- 

 mer. 



Should you wish to try to save these 

 plants, I would advise you to follow the 



same directions as given for fairy ring 

 on page 13 of The Review for Septem- 

 ber 29. Your plants are covered with 

 the common spot, which belongs to the 

 same class of diseases as the fairy ring. 



A. F. J. B. 



WEAK STEMS, SMALL BLOOMS. 



Under separate cover I send you some 

 buds and blooms of Perfection carna- 

 tions. These were planted in the bench 

 about the last part of August. We 

 pinched off only a few shoots or buds 

 and these blooms come from practically 

 the first shoots. The plants look healthy, 

 but are rather spindling. The blooms 

 are about the same way, thin and weak. 

 Do you think this comes from the fact 

 that they are the first ones, or is there 

 some disease on them? If so, what 

 shall we do? 



Last spring our carnations were at- 

 tacked by fairy ring. The blooms look 

 now about as they did then, though not 

 nearly so bad, but the plants have no 

 brown tips on the leaves. Soon after 

 planting them in the house, remember- 

 ing that an ounce of prevention is 

 worth a pound of cure, we took to 

 spraying the plants once or twice a 

 week with Bordeaux mixture, but have 

 now stopped, as we wanted to use the 

 cut blooms. We have kept doors and 

 ventilators wide open and have sprayed 

 but little. R. E. G. 



There does not seem to be any dis- 

 ease on the specimens forwarded, but 

 I did find plenty of thrips. Those 

 brown edges on the petals are caused 

 by these pests. Get after them with 

 tobacco in whatever form it may be 

 most available, just as quickly and as 

 strongly as you can. 



We find that White Perfection usu- 

 ally produces rather slender stems in 

 the first crop in the fall. A little wood 

 ashes will help to stiffen them. The 

 next crop will come stronger and with 

 larger blooms. Did you notice, when 

 you dug them from the field, those eyes 

 which started all along the stems? If 

 you were careful not to rub these off. 



they will come along and make the 

 highest grade blooms during the winter, 



A. F. J. B. 



MOLES IN GREENHOUSE SOIL. 



I have some solid beds that are 

 planted with carnations and chrysan- 

 themums. There are moles working un- 

 der them and loosening up the plants. 

 What can I do to drive them out or kill 

 them? I have tried to catch them, but 

 always miss them. A. V. B. 



The best weapon we have ever found 

 to use against moles is patience and a 

 spade. We have found that the moles 

 are usually active early in the morning 

 and again about noon. By flattening 

 down the ridge where they have gone, 

 you can see their movements as they 

 ])ass through again, lifting the soil as 

 they move along. A quick dig and ^'* 

 sharp whack will do the rest. We have 

 tried traps, but never had any success 

 witli them — ^just why, I can not say. 

 The traps seem to be built correctly, as 

 far as I can see. A. F. J. B. 



HYDRANGEA ARBORESCENS. 



Is Hj'drangea arborescens grandiflora 

 alba good for forcing? What should 

 be the treatment of plants now growing 

 in the field with two to five stalks, so 

 as to have them in bloom in May? 

 J. A. F. 



Hydrangea arborescens grandiflora 

 makes a good pot plant. It will not 

 stand as much forcing as the better 

 known H. hortensis. Dig up your plants 

 carefully now, preserving all roots pos- 

 sible. After potting, stand them out- 

 doors until they have had considerable 

 frost. So long as the pots are pro- 

 tected, the wood is benefited rather 

 than harmed by the frost. To have 

 them in flower for Memorial day, start 

 the jilants from the middle to the end 

 of January, in a night temperature of 

 ")() degrees. They are better if not sub- 

 jected to strong heat at any stage of 

 their growth. If wanted early in May, 

 house the plants about January 1. 



e.w. 



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