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OCTOBKR 6, 1011. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



15 



GERANIUM FOLIAQE BLIGHTED. 



I am seniling you some diseased 

 leaves from my stock geranium plants, 

 which have been outdoors all summer. 

 About four weeks ago these spots began 

 to show and the plants stopped growing. 

 The flower buds do not develop; only 

 one or two flowers develop and the rest 

 dry up and die. The leaves finally turn 

 yellow and die. Can you tell me* cause 

 and remedy for this? 



I have taken cuttings from these 

 plants and placed them in the green- 

 house, but dipped them in u weak 

 Bordeaux mixture first. Do you think 

 that this disease would get on other 

 kinds of plants next to them, and will 

 they make good, strong plants! 



W. D. G. 



The rather sunless but humid weather 

 experieiiced for some weeks is chiefly 

 responsible for your geraniums becom- 

 ing affected as you describe. A year 

 ago, climatic conditions were different, 

 being hot and"<iry, and geraniums flow- 

 ered with a freedom seldom seen. There 

 is little that can be done outdoors to 

 check the spread of theblight, but cut- 

 tings taken from such plants and kept 

 under glass are not likely to show any 

 disease. At least this has been my ex- 

 perience. Dipping in Bordeaux will not 

 hurt the cuttings, and if, perchance, any 

 of the blight should show later, give 

 them a spraying with it. 



In making the cuttings, trim off the 

 leaves quite closely and expose them to 

 the fullest sunshine. Keep dry at the 

 root after the first watering; not suffi- 

 ciently dry to cause shrivet^jj^ but the 

 outdoor cuttings are alwayls soft' and 

 constant watering will rot many of 

 them. You need not be under any ap- 

 prehension about your other plants be- 

 coming affected. Conditions under 

 glass, with a drier and more buoyant 

 atmosphere, are not favorable to the 

 spread of blight, C. W, 



VEGETABLES WITH OEBANIUMS. 



I should like to know how late I can 

 buy rooted geraniums and have them in 

 bloom for Decoration day. My house 

 will be occupied until after the begin- 

 ning of 1912. How long will it take 

 to have blooms and buds from these, 

 .and what temperature Ib best for forc- 

 ing them? 



What is the proper time to sow to- 

 mato seed for strong plants, to be mar- 

 keted from May 15? Would the tem- 

 perature for geraniums be suitable 

 for tomato plants? 



In your judgment, what would be 

 the more profitable crop from now until 

 February — mushrooms or lettuce, bear- 

 ing in mind that I have grown mush- 

 rooms and' not lettuce, and that the 

 price of mushrooms will average 40 

 cents per pound? J. 0. S. 



You should get rooted cuttings of 

 geraniums in the early part of Novem- 



ber, to make nice, large plants for 

 early spring sales. You can get them 

 later in winter and still make nice 

 plants, but they are harder to get and 

 cost more in winter than in the fall, 

 and they do not take up much room 

 for a long time in 2-inch or 2%-inch 

 pots. Get them this fall, if you can 

 care for them. They do not want a 

 high temperature, but seem to do best 

 in about the same temperature as 

 roses — 58 to 60 degrees at night and 75 

 degrees on good, bright days. If nec- 

 essary, they can be held quite cool 

 after they are once started, provided 

 you are careful about watering. 



The best temperature for tomato 

 plants is about the same as for the 

 geraniums. Many growers plant the 

 first tomato seed about March 1, but I 

 find it too early. April 1 is early 

 enough foi' the main crop, but some 

 may be planted earlier and later. 



Dwarf Stone is the most satisfactory 

 variety to grow for plant trade. 



Lettuce will pay you better than 

 mushrooms, unless you thoroughly un- 

 derstand the growing of the latter, but 

 if you are sure you can get a crop of 

 mushrooms they may pay you better 

 than lettuce. A good crop of mush- 

 rooms would surely pay the better. 

 H. G. 



GERANIUM FOR NAME. 



We are sending you, under separate 

 cover, some geranium blossoms, and 

 should be glad to know the names of 

 the varieties. The blossoms are num- 

 bered and if you will name them ac- 

 cording to number, we shall greatly 

 appreciate it. E. W. 



I regret that the flowers were all too 

 much withered to be recognizable. 

 Shipped September 24, they were re- 

 ceived September 30, rather a long time 

 for geranium flowers to be out of water. 

 If you will wait until the middle or 

 end of October, when the weather will 

 be cooler, and will send another lot of 

 spikes, similarly packed, using, how- 

 ever, a light wooden or tin box in place 

 of cardboard, I will try to name them. 

 If you can also take a single flower of 

 each variety, press them and number 

 them on a sheet of paper, it will mate- 

 riallv assist in naming them. C. W. 



CATTLEYA SHEATHS ROTTING. * 



Some of the flower sheaths on my Cat- 

 tleya labiata are turning yellow and rot- 

 ting. Since the bulbs were matured I 

 have kept them dry, only spraying them 

 over to prevent shriveling. Please let me 

 know the cause of the trouble and how 

 to prevent it. Perhaps I have kept the 

 atmosphere too moist. I gave plenty of 

 air on the sides, about one foot from the 

 plants. Any information will be apore- 

 ciated. H. R. 



All cattleyas require quite a good sup- 

 ply of water at the roots until the flowers 

 are cut, after which they should be kept 

 considerably drier until growths and 

 roots are pushing actively. You have 

 possibly done too much overhead spraying 

 and kept the atmosphere overcharged with 

 moisture. The cattleyas are still bene- 

 fited by a spraying overhead during the 

 morning on 'hot days. It should always 

 be done so that the plants will be dry 

 before night. C. labiata likes some top 

 air as well as from the sides; in fact, 

 the ventilators should never be closed at 

 the top until colder nights come on. I 

 am inclined to think that you must have 

 damped among the plants too much, 

 which caused the air to be too moist at 

 night. A little fire heat would have re- 

 lieved the situation and probably pre- 

 vented the sheaths from decaying. A 



possible clause of rot is also overfeeding. 

 Most orchids stand some feeding, but it 

 must be done with care, otherwise fine 

 bulbs will be made up and the flowers 

 lost. Another season, water these and 

 any other cattleyas quite freely until the 

 flowers have passed and keep a drier and 

 more buoyant atmosphere and you should 

 not have any of this trouble ; also, do not 

 keep the plants too heavily shaded. 



aw. 



SHADING. 



While we are still likely to get some 

 clear and warm days, the nights are 

 much cooler, with a greater amount of 

 humidity in the form of dew. There 

 are some plants which always need 

 some protection from direct sunshine, 

 and many ferns, palms and some other 

 foliage plants are included in this list, 

 but houses containing roses, carna- 

 tions, violets, chrysanthemums and the 

 general line of flowering plants require 

 no shade from now on, unless it may 

 be in the case of chrysanthemums 

 when in flower, to prevent burning. 

 Some plants, however, such as cycla- 

 mens, cinerarias, calceolarias, gesneras, 

 late gloxinias and tuberous begonias, 

 must be protected for some weeks 

 longer, either with a little whitening 

 on the glass, or, better still, some mov- 

 able shade, like cheesecloth or lath 



