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16 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



May 4, 1911. 



comers every year, though there is 

 rienty of room for new sorts of the 

 right quality, especially in fancy col- 

 ors. The English ralflers have sent out 

 some good things, such as Mrs. Hunter, 

 from H. Burnett, Guerns^y^ it is quite 

 up to the standard. In yellow we are 

 still lookipg for a good flower, and we 

 are also >ppini^ /spmetime to find a good 

 striped iHXp. . Otto Dellinger. 



M.l* =^^ 



WIlAK-STI^IiOIED OABNATIONS. 



Can , yon tell nie what is the matter 

 with my carnations? They look well 

 and healthy, but the stems seem quite 

 soft, tis tthey lop over on the braces. I 

 have given them Ume th^e times, 

 usin^about a peck of lime each time 

 to a^ed 7x80 feet. I have run a night 

 temperature of ab^ut 50 degrees, quite 

 frequently runnitf^' as low as .45 de- 

 grees. ■ /i ) ' „ ,■> ; ■ ■ .'- 



The blooflis are quite large, many 

 measuring three and one-half inches, 

 but the stems are very weak. Can 

 you tell me the cause and remedy? 

 E. P. M. 



Without knowing more about the lo- 

 cal conditions surrounding your carna- 



tions, I am sure that I cannot tell what 

 may be the trouble with them. 



At this time of the year, above all 

 others, we expect to have no trouble 

 with weak stems. Varieties which are 

 inclined to have weak stems in the fall 

 and early . winter, now have stems 

 strong enough to hold the blooms per- 

 fectly erect. 



Your letter ^oes not disclose any- 

 thing which may be at the bottom of; 

 the trouble. Your temperature seemtf 

 to be. all right, except that it should 

 not be allowed to run so low. That, 

 however, would cause stiffness of the 

 stemSj rather than otherwise. 



The lime also should have stiffened 

 up the stems. You do not say, how- 

 ever, when this lime - was applied. 



Without knowing more about the cir- 

 cumstances, I hesitate to suggest reme- 

 dies, but, it is a. safe proposition that 

 plenty of water and abundant ventila- 

 tion would do a great deal toward 

 putting strength into the stems. Do 

 not apply a heavy shade on the glass 

 as long as the stems are weak. A very 

 light shade will help to hold the color 

 in the blooms, and that is all that you 

 really want. A. F. J. B. 



SEASONABLE NOTES. 



Adiantums. 



The sun is gaining in power stead- 

 ily, and, in order to keep the fern 

 fronds of a uniform dark color, addi- 

 tional shading will be required on the 

 glass. The two most popular varieties 

 commercially are A. cuneatum and A. 

 Croweanum. The fronds of the latter 

 possess more substance than those of 

 the former, and if the two are used 

 in design work it will be noticed that 

 A. Croweanum keeps fresh when used 

 in a cut state for design or decorative 

 work longer than A. cuneatum. 

 Neither variety will last over an hour 

 or two if picked and used without be- 

 ing first placed in water for some 

 hours. Wetting the fronds, wrapping 

 them up in soft paper and storing them 

 in a cool room will keep the fronds 

 fresh a considerable time, but if 

 weighted and immersed in water over 

 night they retain their freshness the 

 longest. Care must be taken, of 

 course, not to immerse them in tin or 

 zinc receptacles, or the fronds will turn 

 black. ■• 



Plants which me grown in large- 

 sized pots and w^fich had a little rest 

 during the winter will now have a 

 dense crop of young fronds, and any 

 not repotted will be benefited by weak 

 doses of manure water once a week. 

 Sometimes there is an opportunity to 

 plant out narrow benches of adiantum, 

 and in six inches of good loam they 

 soon develop into strong plants. Where 

 snails are troublesome, baits of lettuce 

 or cabbage leaves, or sliced\ potatoes 

 will attriact many. A dusting of fine 



salt or lime among the pots will kill 

 many. Another plan is to remove the 

 plants and soak the bench with boiling 

 water. This, of course, cannot be done 

 where the stock is planted out. 



Poljrpodlum Aureum. 



The distinct bluish color of the 

 fronds on Polypodium aureum always 

 attracts attention. It is a robust 

 grower and, like Cibotium Schiedei, 

 needs a good-sized pot when well de- 

 veloped. If it can be planted out in 

 rockwork, so that its roots can ramify, 

 it makes remarkably fine fronds. W. 

 A. Manda showed a variety with more 

 finely divided fronds at the late Na- 

 tional Flower Show, under the name 

 of P. Mandaianum, which found many 

 admirers, the fronds being identical in 

 color with the old P. aureum. 



Miscellaneous Ferns. 

 Cyrtomium falcatum, commonly 

 called the holly fern, is an excellent 

 decorative plant, its tough fronds with- 

 standing drying heat well. The newer 

 Cyrtomium Eochfordii is a valuable 

 acquisition also. Plants of this fern 

 in 5-inch or 6-inch pots are salable, 

 and a cool house suits it better than 

 a warm one. Some of the pteris are 

 good for fern dishes and Wardian 

 cases. They also make nice bushy 

 plants for room decoration. The va- 

 riegated P. Victoria; is pretty, but more 

 delicate tlnn some others. P. Wilsoni, 

 P Cretica Mayii and P. Cretica mag- 

 nifica are all excellent varieties of 

 dwarf habit, with crested fronds, as is 

 the finer leaved P. serrulata cristata. 

 Aspidium tsussimense, A. cristatnm, 

 Onychium Japonicum and davallias in 



small sizes are all good for fern dishes. 

 It does not pay the small grower to 

 raise any of these small ferns from 

 spores. Although about all of them 

 are easily raised, they are purchasable- 

 at such cheap rates from fern special- 

 ists that it is best to secure them in 

 this way, and if fern dishes only are 

 15q: be .filled a supply procured in the- 

 4all Ismail that is needed. Any left- 

 over plants can be either potted along 

 "and plunged in ashes in a well shaded 

 coldframe in summer, or planted out 

 in boxes on piazzas, where there is 

 necessary shade. C. W. 



GROWING FERNS IN FRAMES. 



Would you please tell me how to pre- 

 pare coldframes in summer for glow- 

 ing ferns? JWhat size of frames is the 

 most desirable and how should the soil 

 be prepared? A. H. 



We understand this query to have 

 reference to the growing of small pot- 

 ted ferns in frames during the sum- 

 mer. Many of the frames used for 

 this purpose are the ordinary cold- 

 frames, about one foot deep in front 

 and about eighteen inches deep at the 

 back, with a light framework raised 

 about one foot above the walls of the 

 frame, so that the plants may be pro- 

 tected from the weather by sashes, but 

 still have a good circulation of air be- 

 neath the glass. The glass is shaded 

 with a coat of whitewash or paint, to 

 protect the plants from the full sun- 

 shine. 



The bottom of the frame is covered 

 with an inch or two of fine ashes or 

 sand, on which to set the pots, and the 

 chief point in culture is to watch that 

 the plants do not get too dry. A soil 

 that will grow good geraniums or coleus , 

 will answer for the ordinary varieties 

 of ferns. W. H. T. 



BEDDING PLANTS. 



The weather being now warmer, many 

 of the bedding plants, in order to re- 

 lieve congested conditions in the 

 houses, can go into coldframes. Gera- 

 niums, verbenas, fibrous begonias, 

 fuchsias, ageratums, petunias, Drum- 

 mond's phlox, salvias and other sorts 

 will be as well, or better, in frames as 

 in the houses. If plunged a little, all 

 the better, as they will then need less 

 water. On hot days the sashes can be 

 removed entirely, but it will be un-wise 

 to leave them uncovered over night, or 

 to expose them to soaking rains. Coleus, 

 alternantheras, cannas, heliotropes and 

 others of a more or less tender nature 

 will still be better off in the houses, 

 but should be gradually hardened. It 

 is not too late now to propagate coleus 

 and alternantheras. These will root in 

 a fortnight and soon make nice little 

 plants in pots for late sales. 



Late sown seedlings grow fast now 

 and the work of pricking out or pot- 

 ting off will occupy a lot of time. It is 

 always best to do this work while the 

 plants are comparatively small and be- 

 fore they crowd each other and become 

 drawn. Look over the stock of annual 

 climbers, such as coba;as, moonflowers, 

 etc., and tie them up. If they once 

 become entangled, it will take a lot of 

 time and patience to unravel them. 

 The sun is now quite powerful and 

 small pots dry up rapidly. It will be 

 necessary on bright days to look after 

 the water several times. Never allow 

 plants to wilt if it can be avoided. 



