Ai'Jtii, 8, 1900. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



The Hyslop Crab Apple, Photographed May 16, 1908. 



GREENHOUSE FOUNDATIONS. 



V-.e are planning to build anew after 

 "11 lire, and the walls of the new houses, 

 ■ ■ think, will be either cement or stone. 

 In ease of using either, how far is it 

 ;" rssary to go below the surface of the 

 .'ijiind with the wall? In this Wisconsin 

 > liiiiate, of course, in some winters the 

 iiMst goes down deep, and if it is neces- 

 ~:iiy to get below tiiat line, it would be 

 I'lritv expensive. Is it necessary? 



Z. K. J. 



Modern greenhouses arc seldom built 

 "iili solid walls, because of the fact that 

 '111 intensity of frost during hard win- 

 iii< lias a tendency to heave the founda- 

 tiiiiis. The usual method is to use iron 

 posts to support the roof and walls. 

 Tlii'se are set in concrete and can be 

 I'lined deep enough to be beyond the in- 



fluence of frost at little exiiense. Foun- 

 dations for solid walls should be beyond 

 tlie deptii of frost, to Ije secure. 



Any of the horticultural builders wh(t 

 advertise in the Review will gladly mail 

 you literature covering this and many 

 other points which will certainly be of 

 great interest to you. KiBES. 



WANTED-IMPROVED ZINNIAS. 



Universal gratitude, from the small 

 country retailer, is awaiting the man who 

 produces a pure white and a baby pink 

 zinnia. We get good asters, l)ut their 

 season is limited. The zinnia blooms all 

 the time and is most useful for funiMal 

 work, only the colors are not good. I 

 have tried seed from the best seedsmen 

 all o\er the couiitrv, with the same ]>( or 

 results. ' .I.A.W. 



DISEASED GERANIUMS. 



' !f'l<ise(l you will lind some diseased 

 '■"liuiii leaves. I would be pleased to 

 ' ■'• what the trouble is, its cause and 

 ' "I" prevention. The jjlants are in a 

 ■ '•''' house where the night tempera- 

 '"iirioil is about 4~> degrees. 



S. A. C. 



' li'avcs forwarded luue a disease 



"ii''"iiiiiion on j)lants grown both out- 



;ind under glass. In the open air 



'"'uble usually comes on during spells 



' '"'. steamy weatlier. when thei'f is 



sunshine, and invaiial)ly affects 



•' - grown ill the full sun luore than 



^;i'()\\ii ill ]i;irtial shade. I'nder 



' I' apjH'ars to make little difTerencc 



'1' plants get full sun or art* some 



,' ^~lia(le<l, but I have jioticed that 



iirowii for some tinu^ in shaile and 



"d to a sunnv location are more 



susceptible to this Ira f discasr thau oili 

 ers dilfcrently treated. At tirst I con 

 (duded that it was a case of sunburn, 

 owing to the lea\es being rather soft aiul 

 tender, but the satiu' trouble has oc- 

 (■uir(>(l on iil.-ints alw.ays in the sunniest 

 possible spot, which upst'ts that theory. 



(leraiiiums, ;it least those grown t'oi- 

 beddiug out, are better never slia<led at 

 all. The hardier they can be grown, the 

 less the liability to disease. It is IxUler 

 to avoid using barnyar<l manure in the 

 soil, unless it is old ;md well ilecayed. 

 Bone meal is safer to us(\ It also jiro 

 motes lloiit'erousiiess, iis ag;iinst leaf 

 growth. Plants shoidtl nexcr 1p(> kt-pt,, 

 constantly wet. A good diving out onc(> 

 or twice a ^veek h.'irdeiis them, ami the 

 tougliiM' the leaves the less the cli.'mces 

 ;ii(' of disease striking them. Decaying 

 foliage should be carefully remoxcil. ami 

 not thrown under the bench, to liel|i keep 



the plants healthy. Cleanliness is of 

 paramount importance in plant culture. 

 A night temperature now of 45 degrees 

 sh()uld be all right. I prefer 4S to 50 

 degrees during the winter. 



I have probably not given any direct 

 answer to your question as to the cause 

 of and cure or prevention for geranium 

 disease. J l)elieve it is usually due to 

 improper soil, a too wet root condition, 

 a neglect to keep the plants properly 

 spaced and cleaned, too much moisture 

 on the foliage and growing the plants in 

 a shaded house. A dry atmosphere is to 

 be preferred to a moist one. t)ne or two 

 of the state ex|)erimeiital stations have 

 taken up this subject, but so tar as can 

 be learned have been unable to throw 

 anv new light on it. I'. W. 



ORNAMENTAL CRAB APPLES. 



Their Increasing Popularity. 



Tlu! pyrus, or crab apples, are among 

 the most beautiful of our low growing 

 trees. Their flowering j)eriod immedi- 

 ately precedes that of the lilacs, and, 

 while their blooms are a little more fleet- 

 ing, they have the advantage of carrying 

 profuse crops of ornamental little fruits, 

 which hang in some cases until Thanks- 

 giving. The various crab apples usually 

 flower from the beginning until the mid- 

 dle of -May in southeastern Massachu- 

 setts, with the exception of Bechtel's 

 double flowered \ariety, which jiersists 

 until early June. 



There would seem to be a tine field for 

 the extended culture of these l)eautiful 

 and in e\erv way satisfactory flowering 

 trees. .Many nurserymen have too much 

 neglected them, and an? just waking up 

 to the fact that they must increase their 

 stock of them, owing to the growing de- 

 mand. Many commercial florists do a 

 considerable husiness in trees and shi-uV)9, 

 yet how seldom do we lind them plant- 

 ing any of the i>vrusl L(>t them secure 

 a few trees and pliint one on their own 

 lawn, and once their customers have seen 

 its beauty, they will lia\e ik. trouble in 

 selling all they can raise. 



Must Have Ample Room. 



spring is tli(> liest time to plant the 

 ornamental crab apples, .ilthoujili they 

 can be successfullv nio\ed in f;t<ll also. 



