AiMii. i: 



I'.il 1. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



13 



Getting Out Fourteen Hundred Plant Orders in One Day. 



r iig, and this bars the taking of any 

 sr ii: with a flower or rlowor bud at the 

 !, aa the growth of such a shoot has 

 ;. :idy nearly reached its natural limit. 

 n.i ilie other hand, plants that have been 

 g ■ '.ving rankly will not be able to main- 

 tmi; themselves when suddenly cut off 

 ti'.iii the liberal supply of nourishment 

 ! • which they have been accustomed. 

 limits grown in the shade, with, per- 

 'i.i)is. in addition an excess of moisture, 

 a; II provide watery shoots with little of 

 liic solid substance necessary to the for- 

 iiuUion of roots. 



The ideal material, then, for making 

 niio cuttings must not be too watery or 

 I no rank in growth, but should possess 

 till' inaximuin of solid substance in itself 

 .tiiiisistent with the possession of leaves 

 with their vital lunctions unimpaired by 



The Right Preparation. 



Tiicu a.s to the preparation of the cut- 

 tint,'s. From what has been said above, 

 It. will be seen that if the cutting is too 

 lung, or the leaves too large, failure will 

 result from excessive transpiration, while 



■ f the cutting is too small the formation 

 uf roots will be slow. What is a long 

 I'utting for plants with slender laterals, 

 like the antirrhinum, is short for thick 

 growth like that of the zonal pelargo- 

 'liiun. The shoots should always be cut 

 siiaight across just below a joint, and 

 tins should be done with a sharp knife, 

 '*^ a smooth cut heals over much more 

 iliiickly than a ragged edge. 



Many plants lend themselves to the 

 I'lking of laterals as cuttings with a heel 

 ntiachcd. and such cuttings need little 

 pr'-paration beyond the removal of the 

 l"^M'r leaves c^ose to the stem, and pos- 

 ^ ''.V a trimming of the heel. In the 

 ' ■ lisia it is usual to remove two large 

 ■' ' fs and perhaps two small ones, but 

 ' 'lit- pt^'ntstemon sometimes as many aa 



■ "1- eight. 



" interesting point was raised by 



' '-'ssor George Henslow. in a paper 



before the Koval Horticultural So- 



• in June. 1908,'on "The Absorption 



'''ain and Dew by the Green Parts of 



ts. " He referred to a German 



tist, who. in accord with his theory 



the frequent fading of cuttings be- 



tliev have struck root is to be ac- 



'ed 'for by the fact that the trans- 



'ion from' the exposed leaves is 



Her than the amount of water which 



lit end can supply, recommends that 



the cutting should be longer than usual, 

 and that some of the leaves should be 

 buried to assist in the absorption of 

 water. It is claimed that cuttings of 

 roses, pinks, and others usually not easy 

 to strike, will make good roots in this 

 way if the soil is porous enough to per- 

 mit of the free access of air to encourage 

 the formation of roots before the leaves 

 have time to decay. This is a case where 

 each may experiment for himself, but it 

 is certainly suggestive. 



The Right Time. 



The time for taking cuttings is too 

 various to admit even of generalization, 

 there being no time of the year which is 

 not the best time for some plants, as we 

 take chrysanthemum cuttings from No- 

 vember to March, most things in the 

 spring, carnations and pelargoniums in 

 the summer, calceolarias and pentstemons 

 in the autumn. Many plants will strike 

 at any time of the year, though there is 

 a best time for most, and experience is 

 the best teacher. As a rule, however, 

 most soft wooded plants strike well in 

 the spring. 



The compost in which cuttings are put 

 is in many cases important, though some 

 will strike freely enough in the ordinary 

 soil of the border. Silver sand is one of 

 the best mediums for most plants, not 

 only for mixing with the soil, but for 

 putting round each cutting, as, being free 

 from animal matter, it delays putrefac 



tion. .and, by r(;as(m of its fincno.ss. as 

 sists ill the list; of watrr to tli<! base of 

 tlio cutting. b»!side3 tiiliii;; up every in- 

 terstice so that there is no likelihood of 

 till' (Mil did being siisjtendcd clcjir of con- 

 twcl a fatal error. 



Pols should be tilled iial f full of clean 

 [intslicrds. and roii^^li niatcri.-il put over 

 these. If the soil is dry it .should bo 

 woll soaked and left for sorno time before 

 tlit^ cuttings are |)ut in it. Many cut 

 tings (111 best wlu'ii inserted round the 

 sides I)!' a j)ot, though others do equally 

 will ill any part. 



Later Treatment. 



There is one point about the after 

 tieatiiieiit which is of general apjilication. 

 and thai is that the (Uittings should not 

 be allowed to flag iiioro than can be 

 helped. To compensate for the dimin- 

 ished power of absorbing moisture on the 

 part of the cutting.s, we usually keep 

 them 111 a moist atmosphere, often, in- 

 deed, within a propagating frame inside 

 a greenhouse. 



There is an immense difference in the 

 amount of moisture which cuttings of 

 diflfereni kinds of plants will stand, and 

 a degree which is necessary to some will 

 cause others to damp off rapidly, but the 

 liability to do this is lessened in all cases 

 by a proper airing at least once a day. 

 This applies also when bell glasses are 

 used, as these, when pressed tightly down 

 on the soil, are almost air proof. The 

 air in these is consequently maintained 

 in a very close state, and cuttings of 

 many plants can be successfully raised 

 under them. Some need bottom heat, so 

 that not only the air, but the toil in 

 which the cuttings are put, is kept warm, 

 thus accelerating the formation of roots. 

 Most need shading from the direct ray» 

 of the sun, but an almost full amount 

 of diffused sunshine is beneficial as a 

 rule. If the weather is cool, water should 

 be apj)lied very sparingly, and then onJy 

 enough to wet the leaves, which is usually 

 suflKcient so long as the soil is moi«t 

 about the base of the cuttings. 



THE MAIL ORDER PLANT TRADE. 



Till- IS |iro\iiiy- ,111 I'Xi-ept ioti;i II V 



he.'ivy "-e.-isoli for the Jilaiit ile|i;i it lliell t 

 ol' the Jowa Seed ('o.. I)e- Moines. Tliey 

 tie<(uently fill from ("idii tu l.niii) pl.-mt 

 oiilers ]ier d;i\, but one d.iy last week 

 they tilled ;iiii| jiarkeil tor -liiprneiit liy 

 mail or express 1,400 plant orders. What 

 tli.it iiieaiis during tree/.iiig weather 

 e\oiy |il;iiit shijiper will .ipprei-iate, A 



Greenhouse Employees of the Iowa Seed Co,, Des Moines, Iowa. 



