8 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



FKKKtTAn 23, 1911. 



ment suggested for backward gigan- 

 teums, you may flower them earlier, 

 but the flower stalks will be drawn and 

 weak and the flowers one-half the size 

 of those opened in a cool house. 



THE LITTLE GODFREY CALLA. 



I noticed in The Eeview of February 

 16, page 9, the inquiry of T. N. in re- 

 gard to the Little Godfrey Calla, and 

 also the r.eply of C. W. I think, like 

 C, W., that this calla will supersede the 



old C. ^thiopica. It is a remarkably 

 free bloomer. I have had an occasional 

 plant that flowered in a 2-inch pot, and 

 it freely produces flowers in 3-inch and 

 4-inch pots. In 5-inch and 6-inch pots 

 it produces more flowers than ^thio- 

 pica and the flowers are just as large. 

 The great advantage of the Godfrey is 

 that any florist can buy small plants 

 and grow them on, the plants paying 

 for their keep while they are increasing 

 in size all the time. 



W. Sabransky. 



EILLABNEY CUTTINGS EOT. 



I took some Killarney cuttings a 

 short time ago and everything was then 

 in good shape, but after they had been 

 in the sand about two weeks I noticed 

 that quite a number of them were be- 

 coming black near the root and were 

 rotting from the ground up, while on 

 others the leaves were wilting and were 

 showing signs of black spot. I should 

 like to know the reason and what 

 should be done in order to stop this 

 condition. W. N. 



</ 



Probably the sand is not of good 

 quality, but contains some decomposing 

 element which has caused bench fun- 

 gus. It is also possible that the drain- 

 age is imperfect, which would cause 

 black spot. Get a good, sharp, clean 

 sand and see that the drainage is good. 

 Do not overwater. Keep the tempera- 

 ture of the sand at 62 degrees and the 

 house temperature at 52 degrees. Shade 

 from bright sunshine, but be careful 

 to remove the shading just as soon as 

 the sun ceases to shine on the bench. 



Eibes. 



SPIDEB ON BOSES. 



We are sending some leaves of roses 

 infested with pests that look and act 

 like red spider, except that the color is 

 different; these are white. We have 

 used nicotine, both the paper and the 

 liquid, and have smoked with tobacco 

 stems' once each week. Also, for the 

 last three weeks, we have sprayed the 

 rose benches with Fir-tree Oil, pre- 

 pared according to the directions on the 

 can, two or three times per week, but 

 have not succeeded in exterminating the 

 pests. Between them and the frequent 

 "doping," the roses are about ruined. 

 Will you please tell us what they are 

 and how to get rid of them? 



A. C. S. 



The leaves are thickly infested with 

 red spider and eggs. There is no bet- 



ter remedy for this pest than syringing. 

 To make this effective, it is necessary 

 to have at least sixty pounds of pres- 

 sure and use a fine spray, taking care 

 to reach the under surface of the 

 leaves. This should be repeated every 

 bright day, choosing the forenoon for 

 the operation, so that the foliage will 

 have time to dry before sunset. 



Eibes. 



WORMS IN ROSE BEDS. 



Under separate cover we are sending 

 you a sample of worms that are caus- 

 ing trouble in one of our rose beds. 

 There are thousands of them. What 

 will destroy them without damaging 

 the plants? The worms seem to prefer 



the surface of the soril,^ for they arer 

 thicker there than in tbe bottom of tk& 

 bench. We never have seen any »f 

 them on the plants. A. C. S. 



These worms are from tike manure 

 and, far from being detrimental, are- 

 absolutely necessary, their function be- 

 ing to convert the manure into a form 

 in which it is more easily assimilated. 



Ribes. 



ASTERS FOR SUMMER BLOOMS. 



When should I sow aster seeils for 

 summer blooming? J, E. W. 



Asters for the earliest planting can 

 be sown at once. Queen of the Market 

 and Early Wonder are good varieties. 

 Successional sowings can be made onee 

 in two weeks until the middle of June. 

 After May 1 the seed may be sown out- 

 doors if preferred. C. W. 



LEFT-OVER LOBBAINES. 



I should like to know what to do- 

 with some left-dver Lorraines in 4-inchi 

 pots. Can they be carried over? They 

 do not look extra well. Do you pot leaf 

 cuttings as soon as rooted, or leave 

 them until they sprout from the bot- 

 torn? Is it too late to propagate them 

 now? J. T. T. 



It will hardly pay you to carry over 

 thic 4-inch pots of Lorraines. Young 

 stoek will give you more satisfaction. 

 It is better to leave the leaf cuttings 

 in the sand until tbe young shoots start 

 to sprout from the bottom; then pot 

 ' carefully in flaky leaf-mold and sand 

 and keep in a warm, moist house until ' 

 established. There is still abundant 

 time in which to paropagate Lorraines; 

 in fact, they can be rooted as late as 

 early June and make nice 4-inch stock. 

 Propagation from soft-wood cuttings 

 is better than fr&m leaves after the endi 

 of February. C. W. 



CUTWOBMS ON CARNATIONS. 



We have a bench of carnations that 

 are infested with worms, resembling the 

 cutworm in size and color, that work 

 on the tender shoots and l3uds. They 

 commenced working at one end of the 

 bench and have gradually worked their 

 way along, taking all the buds as they 

 go. They work at night and bury 

 themselves in the daytime. Please give 

 me some information as to what they 

 are and how to get rid of them. 



E. L. F. 



The pest you complain of is one of 

 the many varieties of cutworm. They 

 are by no means uncommon, and fre- 

 quently do a great deal of damage in 

 the greenhouse. The surest method of 

 destruction is to go through the houses 

 early in the morning, between 2 and 5 

 o'clock, when you can catch them feed- 

 ing on the buds. Another way, which 

 is easier, though not so certain, is to 



mix a mash of bran and molasses^ add- 

 ing to it enough Paris green to make it 

 poisonous. Scatter this around where 

 they are known to be feeding and many 

 will be destroyed. A. F. J. B. 



ON NEWLY BROKEN SOD. 



Is it safe to plant carnations in the 

 field on newly broken sod — sod that is 

 broken in the spring, just before the 

 plants are planted out? Could asters 

 be grown on new soil like that, and 

 would it pay to manure it? S. N. M. 



I would advise against planting car- 

 nations on newly broken sod. The 

 least you should have done would have 

 been to break it up last fall, and even 

 then I would prefer to have it planted 

 to something else for one season, before 

 planting carnations on it. If you are 

 obliged to plant your carnations on this 

 soil, I would not put any manure on it. 

 After the sod is thoroughly rotted will 

 be time enough to manure it. The fore- 

 going will apply to asters as well aa 

 carnations. A. F. J. B. 



