•-j^ifWK'^'^V'^ .'•->-;'.■, 'V'.'l » 



April 28, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



u 



PROPAGATING. 



From the end of April until the mid- 

 dle of June is a suitable time to propa- 

 gate chrysanthemums for bench culture. 

 The earlier rooted cuttings are desirable 

 where specimen or exhibition blooms are 

 wanted, but these are of little use to the 

 average country florist. Medium flowers 

 net more money than the big ones. Peo- 

 ple may admire the latter, but they ob- 

 ject to paying a price commensurate with 

 their value. The warm weather during 

 March caused stock plants to make rapid 

 growth, and it is unwise to allow these 

 to run up too much before using the tops 

 for propagating. We prefer the cut- 

 tings which need no shortening back. 

 Those three or four inches long are 

 about right. It will be necessary to 

 •keep the cuttings well soaked for the 

 first two weeks. As roots begin to form, 

 reduce the supply gradually. In bright 

 weather several dampings overhead will 

 be required to keep the cuttings plump, 

 and no good grower ever wants to see 

 stock in the cutting bench with a wilted 

 look. 



Golden Glow, Pacific, Pacific Supreme, 

 Monrovia) Polly Rose and other early 

 varieties, we like to get in a little ahead 

 of the mid-season ones, and it is these 

 early ones which usually net us the most 

 money. The bench room they occupy is 

 cleaned early and can be utilized for an- 

 other crop, whereas such as are carried 

 until Thanksgiving, or even Christmas, 

 never bring much more "money than the 

 smaller early ones, largely, perhaps, be- 

 cause people have by that time become 

 1 satiated with them. Nice commercial 

 blooms may be had from cuttings taken 

 as late as mid-June, but we consider the 

 first half of May the best time to root 

 cuttings to produce nice flowers. C. W. 



THRIPS ON MUMa 



I I am sending two stock plants of Berg- 

 man mums from a bed which is badly in- 

 fected. Several florists here have seen 

 the bed and samples, but can not name 

 the disease. These Bergmans were win- 

 tered over in a north bed built on the 

 ground, as are all the beds in this range 

 of five houses. The houses are glled with 

 roses except the two side beds, which are 

 filled with mums. The houses have no 

 artificial heat, being dormant over winter. 

 The north bed has a small percentage of 

 healthy plants, but the south bed, con- 

 taining Ivory, Polly Rose, C. Touset, Rob- 

 inson, Virginia Poehlmann and Bergman, 

 shows a little of this same disease only 

 on the Poehlmann. I have seen no snails 

 in the beds, nor any aphis on the plants, 

 and while the tops of some of the plants 

 look to be frosted or sunburnt, the roses 

 across the walk do not show signs of 

 either. L. R. C. 



thrips, the specific name of which is un- 

 known to me and which is of no conse- 

 quence, the chief thing being to get the 

 plants clean. If L. R. C. will get a micro- 

 scope, he can readily see both the thrips 

 and the marks it makes. Vigorous and 

 persistent spraying with clean cold water, 

 washing thoroughly the underside of the 

 leaves, will clean out this thrips. 



Tobacco fumigation seems to have lit- 

 tle effect on it and nicotine decoctions, 

 if strong enough to catch them, have in 

 my case done considerable damage to the 

 plants. I have tried Aphine for it and it 

 has worked better than anything else on 

 this insect. The best way to use it is to 

 take off the cuttings and dip them in 

 the insecticide before they are inserted in 

 the sand. 



As before noted, let L. R. C. get a good 

 sprayer and spray early and often and 

 the thrips will soon disappear. 



C. H. TOTTY. 



CUTWORMS ON SHASTAS. 



We received a shipment of about 5,000 

 Shasta daisy plants, grown from divided 

 roots. Many, of these are dying and 

 turning yellow. We find in the crown of 

 the plants the ordinary cutworm. These 

 cuttings were planted in rich ground, 



manured heavily two years ago. In this 

 part of New Mexico we irrigate, and 

 do not rely on rainfall; consequently any 

 powdered cutworm killer would be 

 washed away. What liquid or other ap- 

 lication would you suggest to use, and 

 in what manner, to kill these cutworms 

 on our Shasta daisies without injuring 

 the plants? R. S. C. 



We do .not know of any liquid prep- 

 aration which will clear out the cut- 

 worms. For those that are buried in 

 the soil, carbon bisulphide can be effect- 

 ually used, by pouring a teaspoonful in 

 holes two feet apart each way and cov- 

 ering the holes with soil at once. The 

 fumes are very penetrating and destroy 

 all insects and larvae they reach, without 

 injuring the plants in any way. You 

 can make a poisoned mash of fresh bran, 

 sweetened and moistened with molasses, 

 to which white arsenic or Paris green 

 is added. Lay this about the haunts of 

 the cutworms. They are fond of it and 

 many will be poisoned thereby. Fre- 

 quent stirring of the soil will expose the 

 worms to the attacks of birds. Soot and 

 air-slaked lime scattered on and around 

 the plants also help to keep them in 

 check. C. W. 



The stock plants reached me in good 

 condition and it was easy to figure out 

 the trouble. It is caused by a yellow 



A DANGER TO THE ROSE. 



The rapid advance made by the rose 

 in the affections of the American people 

 since the introduction of so many new 

 varieties of sterling merit, chiefly in the 

 hybrid tea class, bids fair to bring true 

 the motto of the American Rose Society, 

 "A rose for every home." Roses that 

 produce fine flowers once a year or roses 

 that produce a crop of small flowers 

 three or four times during the summer 

 will arouse interest, but roses that pro- 

 duce a succession of fine flowers through- 

 out the summer arouse enthusiasm that is 

 highly contagious. The hybrids, with 

 tbpir magnificent, showy flowers once a 



year, do not always compensate for the 

 appearance of the plants during the other 

 eleven months, but the hybrid teas, with 

 their lovely, fragrant flowers often last- 

 ing throughout six months, are a con- 

 stant delight to every true rosarian. 



With the certain increase in the popu- 

 larity of the rose, certain as the improve- 

 ment in the varieties, comes the danger — 

 the danger of confusion. This danger 

 has always existed; today it is more real 

 than ever before. The same variety un- 

 der different names, described in glowing 

 terms by different pens, is scarcely recog- 

 nized even by the connoisseur in roses. 

 The amateur who carefully selects a few 

 choice sorts, highly recommended, is not 

 encouraged by finding them identical. 

 Such an experience is distinctly discour- 

 aging and is calculated to turn the pros- 



