

Deckmbbb 1, 1910. 



f The Weekly Florists' Review* 



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15 



THE CBITICAL SEASON. 



At this season of the year, with 

 shortening days, sweet peas do not 

 bloom freely, as we see them in spring, 

 and we cannot secure the same length 

 of stem as in March and April. A 

 uniform minimum temperature of 50 de- 

 grees is suitable for them. There are 

 no days so cold but some ventilation 

 can be given. On bright days the ther- 

 mometer can run up to 60 degrees be- 

 fore air is given, and with free ven- 

 tilation a shade maximum of 70 degrees 

 is all right. Great care is necessary 

 ' to avoid a too dry or too moist atmos- 

 phere. An excess of fire heat and arid- 

 ity will cause red spider to get a foot- 

 hold, while opposite conditions, with 

 irregular ventilation, will just as Surely 

 cause an attack of mildew. 



Use great care in feeding at this 

 season. It is safer to underfeed rather 

 than the opposite. Avoid the use of 

 forcing stimulants. Safer foods are cow 

 or sheep manure, applied either in liquid 

 form or as a top-dressing, which can be 

 lightly forked in. Pull out any 

 sickly plants, and, if you have 

 sown the seeds in the drills, have 

 courage to thin the seedlings severely 

 if you want strong haulm and flower 

 stems. It is yet a trifle, early to start 

 the Spencer sweet peas, but any time 

 after the middle of December they may 

 be sown for a spring crop. 



SPOTS ON SWEET PEA LEAVES. 



Will you kindly tell me whether there 

 is any disease on the enclosed sweet pea 

 leaves? If so, please state what it is, 

 with the cause and the remedy. 



C. G. P. 



While the leaves may be affected 

 with leaf-spot, it looks more like a case 

 of sun scalding due to defective glass. 

 If it is general in your house, however, 

 the latter cannot be the cause. Main- 

 tain as uniform a night temperature as 

 you can; 48 to 50 degrees are suitable 

 minimum figures. Air freely. A heavy, 

 moist atmosphere, with lack of ventila- 

 tion, would have a tendency to cause 

 leaf disease. The temperature during 

 cloudy days should run about 58 de- 

 grees, but on sunny days it can run up 

 7 to 10 degrees higher. Keep the sur- 

 face soil scratched over and do not 

 play the hose on it until obliged to 

 water the beds. C. W. 



DISEASED SWEET PEA FOLIAaE. 



What kind of a disease are my sweet 

 peas affected with? I am sending you 

 a sample vine and some flowers. All 

 the lower leaves are healthy, but the 

 upper leaves and the tips of some plants 

 show the same appearance as the sample. 

 The plants are now beginning to bloopi 



nicely and I should like to know if the 

 disease is a dangerous one and if there 

 is a remedy for it. T. A. K. 



The haulm of your sweet peas looks 

 strong and healthy. It is no unusual 

 thing for the foliage to appear like this 

 on certain shoots. The real cause is 

 hard to determine. If it were erratic 

 temperatures, the trouble would be more 

 general. More probably it is due to 

 soil conditions. If your plants are in 

 the ground, where they will not dry 

 out so freely as in raised benches, be 

 careful not to get the soil in anything 

 approaching a stagnant condition. It 

 is necessary that the drainage be good. 

 Between waterings allow the surface to 

 become moderately dry. With declin- 

 ing sunlight, great care is necessary 

 in watering. Keep the surface soil 

 loosened up and avoid feeding at this 

 dull season, unless the soil is full of 

 roots. Better postpone it until the 

 middle or end of January; if your soil 

 was well enriched, there should be no 

 need to apply stimulants before that 

 time. When you do feed, let it rather 

 be in the form of a top-dressing of 



sheep manure or old cow manure than 

 any chemicals. Lightly loosen the sur- 

 face soil after applying the top-dress- 

 ing, and before watering. 



Keep the day temperature 56 to 60> 

 degrees, with fire heat on dull days. 

 Give ventilation a little at a timo 

 when the temperature is above 56 de- 

 grees. On sunny days the temperature 

 can run up to 65 degrees, or even 

 higher. Ventilate a little at a time 

 and reduce the ventilation in like man- 

 ner. Any rush of cold air, causing a 

 draft, is harmful. The night tempera- 

 ture for plants flowering should be 48; 

 to 50 degrees. Before reaching the 

 flowering stage they may be grown 

 somewhat cooler. C. W. 



COCOS AND CALIiA TREATMENT. 



Please give the proper treatment of 

 Cocos WeddelUana. 



Also, should calla bulbs be put away 

 in a dark, cool place to make roots, like 

 other bulbs, or potted and kept in a 

 warm, light situation? V. A. A. 



Cocos Weddelliana requires a well- 

 drained, open potting soil, a moist at- 

 mosphere, and a night temperature of 

 65 degrees. It should also be shaded 

 from the sun during the greater part 

 of the year, and watered carefully in 

 order to keep the soil moist without its 

 becoming sodden. Be careful not to 

 break the roots when potting and do 

 not give excessively large shifts; for 

 example, shift from 2-inch to 3-inch 

 pots, or from 3-inch to 4-ineh, rather 

 than shift two or three sizes at once. 



Calla bulbs should be kept in the light 

 after potting, to induce a short and 

 stout growth. W. H. T. 



BEST BEDDING GERANIUMS. 



I would be pleased to have a list of 

 the best geraniums for general growing 

 for bedding and a description of each. 



E. B. 



A few of the best doubles are: Gen- 

 eral Grant, brigl^t vermilion scarlet; 

 La Favorite, double white; Comtesse de 

 Harcourt, pure white; Beaute Poite- 

 vine, clear salmon pink, shading to 

 bright salmon in center; Alphonse 

 Kicard, rich vermilion scarlet; Jean 

 Viaud, rose-pink, white throat, immense 

 trusses; S. A. Nutt, deep scarlet, 

 shaded maroon, a grand bedder, the 

 most popular of all; Mme. Jaulin, peach 

 pink, with white border; E. H. Trego, 

 brilliant scarlet, velvety finish, large 

 trusses; Mme. Landry, apricot salmon, 

 turning to orange. 



A few fine singles are: Jacquerie, 

 rich crimson scarlet, one of the finest 

 bedding geraniums in commerce; Paul 

 Crampel, dazzling scarlet, a wonder- 

 fully profuse bloomer; Snowdrop, pure 

 white; Richmond Beauty, scarlet crim- 

 son, white center; Dryden, soft crim- 

 Rawson, rich scarlet, upper petals 



son, base of petals pure white; Mrs. E. 

 shaded crimson; Granville, beautiful 

 rose-pink, white blotches on base of 

 upper petals. C. W. 



WINTER GERANIUMS. 



For Christmas sales geraniums are 

 one of the best of flowering plants. 

 Such varieties as Eicard and Nutt in 

 doubles and Paul Crampel. The Sirdar, 

 Jacquerie and Maxime Kovalevski in 

 singles are ideal in color for the holi- 

 days and when rightly grown and prop- 

 erly flowered will outclass any pan of 

 poinsettias in effectiveness. No more 

 disbudding must now be done. Keep 

 a night temperature of 45 to 50 de- 

 grees and a dry atmosphere. Too much 

 moisture in the air will soon cause 

 petals to damp. Avoid using liquid 

 barnyard manure. This promotes rank 

 growth at the expense of flowers. 

 You want the wood firm and hard to 

 flower freely, and a top-dressing of a 

 good concentrated chemical, like 

 Clay's, once a week will be ample food 

 for the plants. Geraniums do not want 

 to be kept constantly moist at the 

 roots. Let them become tolerably dry 

 between the waterings. 



