12 



Tlic Weekly Florists' Review. 



Afbil 18, 1911. 



IN FAS ALBEBTA. 



Probably the average florist, if he 

 knows where Alberta is to be found on 

 the map, mentally ijegards it as next 

 door to the jumping-off place, but the 

 fact is that many a prosperous florist 

 is to be found in this western province 

 of Canada. At Lethbridge, on a branch 

 of the Canadian Pacific railroad, Frache 

 Bros, made a start in 1910. The accom- 

 panying illustration shows their estab- 

 lishment. It consists of two houses, 

 one 32x140 and the other 32x200. Car- 

 nations are the only cut flowers that 

 are grown. Ferns, smilax, lettuce and 



tomatoes, the latter during the summer 

 season only, occupy the balance of 

 the space. The houses are of semi-iron 

 construction, with concrete walls and 

 concrete benches, iron purlins and iron 

 purlin supports. The houses are heated 

 with steam carried at a fairly high 

 pressure in the boiler and regulated by 

 a pressure reducing valve to the desired 

 low pressure carried on the coils. The 

 condensation is taken care of by auto- 

 matic return traps, and altogether the 

 plant is strictly up-to-date. Business 

 has been good ever since the houses 

 were completed, and an early addition 

 to the range is anticipated. 



BEDDING STOCK. 



With Easter flowering plants out of 

 the way, it is now possible to give the 

 geraniums the space which they have 

 sorely needed for some weeks. All of 

 them, unless late propagated, should 

 be in 4-inch pots. The latest batch 

 should not go beyond 3-inch. They will 

 not retail for as much as the larger 

 ones, but even if customers are not 

 found for them all they will -come in 

 useful to plant out for stock. When 

 spreading out the planter,- 'pick them 

 over and remove any weeds. If any, 

 perchance, have a slimy surface, scratcli 

 them over. This sometimes happens, al- 

 though it should not if the plants were 

 properly watered. If any of the earliest 

 potted batch are showing signs of 

 starvation, a light top-dressng of fine 

 bone mixed with loam, or a watering 

 with nitrate of soda or weak cow ma- 

 nure, will tone them up. A pinch of 

 Clay's fertilizer will also have a mag- 

 ical effect on such plants. It can be 

 safely applied once in ten days, either 

 in liquid form or as a top-dressing. 



After the middle of April it is per- 

 fectly safe to place a quantity of the 

 largest geraniums in frames. If a few 

 inches of warm manure and leaves are 

 moistened, well mixed and tramped firm- 

 ly, and if a layer of fine ashes three to 

 four inches thick is spread over this and 

 the geranium pots partially plunged, 

 you will be surprised to note how well 

 they thrive. Greenhouse space is valu- 

 able until Memorial day is past and the 

 coldframes make a valuable overflow, 

 which can now be fully appreciated. 

 Some covering will still be needed on 

 cold nights, but ventilation can be free- 

 ly afforded on all pleasant days. 



Unless there is a demand for plants 

 early in the season, it is better to keep 

 the flower trusses picked oflf until to- 

 wards the end of April. 



Some growers make quite a little 

 business in geraniums at Easter and 

 there is every reason why they should 

 be more used at this festival. They are 

 something people of moderate means 

 want and can easily grow and nice 4- 

 inch pots carrying a good truss each 

 should sell, especially if the varieties 

 are up-to-date and embrace the most 

 popular shades of color. 



GERANIUM FOLIAGE SCALDED. 



Can you tell me what is the trouble 

 with my geraniums, of which I send 

 some leaves? The trouble started last 

 January near the heater and on a level 

 near the top and I thought some hot 

 water must have come from overhead 

 and scalded the leaves. About a week 

 or two ago the trouble got much worse 

 arid I risked spreading it by moving the 

 I^ants and it is a little better. Callas, 

 where the geraniums stood, now have 

 their leaves badly spotted. Can you 

 tell me what causes this? J. F. T. 



A number of the leaves had a much 

 scalded appearance and the mere fact 

 that callas placed where the geraniums 

 had been growing were similarly af- 

 fected, would go to show that hot water 

 was the probable cause of the scalding. 

 The spots on some of the leaves (in 

 batch No. 2) may have been caused by 

 a sun scald, due to inferior glass, or 

 may have been induced to some extent 

 by growing the plants soft and warm 

 and keeping the atmosphere too damp 

 and stuffy. The compost, too, has to be 

 taken into consideration. If you have 

 used much decayed manure in your soil, 

 it promotes a rank and soft growth, 

 which falls an easy prey to disease. On 

 the other hand, by using little manure 

 and that old and well decayed, and 

 some fine bono at the rate of a 4-inch 

 pot to each bushel of soil, you will pro- 

 mote a firm growth which will give you 

 short-jointed wood, which will flower 

 freely. Then again, you should always 



pot firmly. Loosely potted plants .re 

 never a success. 



Geraniums are not usually troul ed 

 with any disease if soil and other eoi U. 

 tions are to their liking. Never co(, He 

 them; 45 to 50 degrees at night is ivu m 

 enough. Do not treat them as seal- 

 aquatics, but; let them dry out well Se- 

 tween waterings. Do not make a hadt 

 of playing tne hose on the foliage. T! ey 

 do not need it and if you have soiie 

 poor glass, scalding may be the o it- 

 come. Ventilate freely and never et 

 your house have a close, stuffy feeliig, 

 as such conditions are exactly wLat 

 geraniums dislike. Pick off all the badly 

 affected leaves. Give as much space as 

 possible. Pick over weekly, and any 

 which may have a starved look will be 

 improved by a weak dose of nitrate of 

 soda water. C. W. 



CUTTINGS. 



Making and Booting. 



Cuttings may be made of leaves, 

 shoots, branches or roots, but for the 

 purposes of these notes I shall only deal 

 with the cuttings of soft-wooded plants 

 and those which are to some extent 

 hardy, the whole subject being large 

 enough for a small book. The time and 

 manner of taking cuttings, the. kind of 

 parents they are taken from, the mate- 

 rial in which they are placed, the treat- 

 ment to be given them afterward, and 

 many other details are so varied that I 

 can do no more here than mention a few 

 general principles upon which success in 

 rearing cuttings rests, says Alger Petts 

 in an article in the Gardeners' Magazine. 



First, as to the best kinds of material 

 for cuttings. When a piece of zonal 

 pelargonium, for instance, is separated 

 from the parent plant, if the cutting, aa 

 it now becomes, is put into a suitable 

 medium, a thickening, or callus, is formed 

 along the cut edge, and from this roots 

 are subsequently emitted. If the shoot 

 had remained on the plant the leaves 

 would have continued elaborating plant 

 food for use in the formation of new tis- 

 sue in all parts of the plant, including 

 the roots. As tissue-forming material 

 cannot get down to the roots of a new 

 cutting, it gets as far as it can — the cut 

 end — and there accumulates. 



The Bight Cuttings. 



The cutting selected, then, must have 

 enough inherent energy not only to main- 

 tain itself while it is without roots, but 

 also to form roots; in other words, the 

 substance of the cutting must contain a 

 sufficient proportion of solid matter, witb 

 leaves in the full vigor of plant life. It 

 is obvious that if a shoot is not in a 

 condition to make fair growth while on 

 the plant, it will not be able to grow and 

 form roots in addition when made into a 



Establishment of Frache Bros^ Lethbridge, Alberta. 



f 



