Sbftbmuek 28, 1911. 



The Weekly Florists^ Rwkw. 



15 



AOACIA PUBESCENS. 



Being rather interested in hard- 

 wooded greenhouse plants, such as 

 heaths and acacias, I come to ask jou 

 whether it would be possible to get the 

 following information: When and where 

 does Acacia pubescens get its* origin! I 

 fail to find it catalogued here or abroad. 

 Its beautiful, pendulent foliage and 

 flowers, in bunches, made a great 



attraction lately at the different flower 

 shows. Strange to say, during my 

 travels in Europe I never came across 

 a single plant. I understand that it 

 can be raised from seed. This has been 

 confirmed by a prominent Boston pri- 

 vate gardener. Young stock has been 

 propagated from cuttings, which has 

 also been confirmed. I hope to get fur- 

 ther information through the valuable 

 help of some of your readers. T. K. 



PBOPAGATINa ADIANTUMS. 



I have a good stock of adiantum 

 ferns, from which I wish to propagate. 

 Kindly let me know how and when to 

 do so. F. H. T. 



Adiantums may be propagated in two 

 ways, either by means of seedlings or 

 by division of the crowns. The latter 

 method, however, is used but seldom, 

 except in the case of Adiantum Farley- 

 ense. If the query refers, as it prob- 

 ably does, to Adiantum cuneatum, the 

 best way to propagate would be by 

 means of spores, and the time to gather 

 the spores is any time during the late 

 summer or autumn, in readiness for 

 sowing about the first of the year. 



Some judgment is required in gather- 

 ing the spores, in order to get them just 

 right, but if the fronds are cut off when 

 the spores are beginning to drop, and 

 are tied up in paper or put in large 

 paper bags and kept in a dry place until 

 the fronds are perfectly dry, they ought 

 to turn out satisfactorily. By the time 

 the latter stage is reached, the spores 

 will be found in the form of brown dust 

 within the paper, and are then ready 

 for sowing. 



Some clean 6-inch pots should then be 

 prepared for the spores by filling them 

 to within about an inch of the top with 

 clean cinders or other drainage mate- 

 rial, on top of which some finely sifted 

 soil is pressed down level, so that the 

 surface is below the top of the pot. 

 The best soil for the purpose is either 

 peat or fine leaf-mold, though this is 

 not absolutely necessary. Then the pots 

 are given a thorough watering and al- 

 lowed to drain for a couple of hours, 

 after which they are ready for the 

 sowing. Sow the spores thinly on the 

 surface of the soil and cover the pots 

 with panes of glass, after placing them 

 in a shaded part of the greenhouse, 

 where they will be well protected from 

 sun and wind. 



No further watering should be re- 

 quired until the seedlings show in the 

 form of a green growth on the soil, pro- 

 vided the pots have been properly cared 

 for, and the seedlings should not be 

 disturbed until they show signs of the 

 first frond, which is usually in eight 

 or ten weeks from the time of sowing. 

 When this stage is reached the seed- 

 lings may be pricked out in small 

 clumps into pans or flats which have 

 been prepared in the same manner as to 



soil and drainage as the original seed 

 pots. After this transplanting, the 

 seedlings remain in the pans until they 

 are large enough for handling, when 

 they should be potted off into small 

 pots. 



Throughout all these early stages in 

 the life of an adiantum, it should be 

 protected from the sun and strong 

 winds and should not be allowed to get 

 really dry at any time. A night tem- 

 perature of 60 to 65 degrees is best for 

 the seeds and seedlings. W. H. T. 



BIDDING FOB BUSINESS. 



Taking advantage of the well known 

 disposition of florists to put off order- 

 ing until the last minute and then use 

 the wires, Wertheimer Bros., the New 

 York ribbon house, procured of the 

 Western Union a quantity of "night 

 letter" blanks and printed in their 

 address, so that the user would be saved 

 writing it. These blanks were then 

 mailed to customers and prospective 

 customers, with an invitation to use the 

 blanks to send 50-word orders by wire 

 at the expense of the firm. Syndey B. 

 Wertheimer says the idea has contrib- 

 uted its share toward making this an 

 exceptionally busy season. 



THE DOBSET VIOLET. 



Please inform us how you consider 

 the Dorset violet compares with the 

 Princess of Wales, as to color, size of 

 bloom, length of stems, productiveness 

 and other qualities. 



C. G. J. & S. 



The color of Dorset is similar to that 

 of Princess of Wales, but the stems are 

 shorter and the flowers smaller. Some 

 growers believe it is a fine variety, but 

 a trial for one season showed it to be 

 in every way inferior to Princess of 



Wlales when grown under the same con- 

 ditions. It would be interesting to hear i 

 from some of those who have grown 

 this, especially witk reference to the 

 temperature that best suits it. As for 

 me, it has proved of but Kttle value t(il 

 me, and has been discarded. Siill, there 

 are others who may have done better 

 with it and I hope they will give their 

 opinion. C. W. 



FOOB GBOWTH OF DAHUAS. 



Considerable comment has been made 

 recently upon the poor growth and 

 blooming of dahlia plants this summer. 

 Perhaps some of the expert dahlia 

 growers can throw some light on the 

 problem. 



This season many dahlias in the east 

 have shown a stunted growth, produc- 

 ing scarcely any blooms, whereas those 

 which grow rather high bloomed free- 

 ly. The two types of plants may be 

 seen growing side by side in the same 

 soil. No disease appears to be asso- 

 ciated with this peculiarity; that is, 

 neither fungous nor insect trouble can 

 be detected. The stunted growth of 

 the plants looks much like that caused 

 by malnutrition or overfeeding. In 

 some instances of which I know the 

 plants were grown in trenches of ma- 

 nure; in others, manure was spread 

 loosely on the beds, and in still other 

 cases commercial fertilizers were ap- 

 plied. 



In connection with • this it may be 

 noted that the sumgigr has been ex- 

 tremely dry and [the^Rit intense. The 

 foliage on the stunteH plants, however, 

 was of a deep, rich-<olor, and there was 

 a tendency for the leaves to curl and 

 crinkle. , 



Perhaps some of the dahlia growers 

 may have something to suggest as to 

 the cause of this trouble. G. E. S. 



HABD-WOODED PLANTS. 



In spite of the extremely hot and 

 dry summer, hard-wooded plants have 

 made good growth and are particularly 

 well budded. The idea which still 

 prevails in many places, that this class 

 of plants needs shade, either complete 

 or partial, is utterly wrong. They will 

 grow satisfactorily, but bloom disap- 

 pointingly, when so treated. Where 

 there was a good force of water at 

 command and these plants were kept 

 freely hosed over on clear, hot days, 

 and the ground was frequently stirred 

 with the cultivator or hoe, they are now 

 in fine condition. This applies to 

 azaleas, ericas, boronias, Daphne In- 

 dica, acacias, camellias and one or two 

 other varieties which are grown on a 

 small scale. 



Recent rains have wonderfully bene- 

 fited this class of stock and the present 

 is a suitable time to lift and repot 

 them. It is not necessary to provide 

 a peaty compost for any of the varie- 

 ties named. Fibrous loam, leaf-mold 

 and sand make a good soil, using twice 

 as much loam as leaf -mold. In the case 

 of camellias and the stronger growing 

 acacias, like armata, a heavier soil is 

 to be preferred. Eeduce the balls 

 well; in the case of such ericas as 

 melanthera it will do no harm to pare 

 down the sides with a sharp spade. 

 All hard-wooded plants must be firmly 

 potted; particularly is this true of 

 ericas and acacias. Drain efficiently, 

 ram the soil in firmly and be sure to 

 leave no open spaces around the sides 

 of the pots. You can not pot these 



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