■ ■' I 



Mat 4, 1911. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



17 



RAMBLER ROSES. 



The bulk of growers now pot up 

 their rambler roses in fall, but some 

 wait until nearly time for forcing be- 

 fore 80 doing. A few only pot them 

 up in the spring. This latter plan 

 means more work on them in summer, 

 but they will repay for the additional 

 outlay, as they start earlier and break 

 stronger than fall potted stock, and 

 this is an advantage, especially when 

 Easter comes as early as April 7, which 

 is the date for it in 1912. Fresh field 

 stock should be potted in 6-inch, 7-inch 

 or 8-inch pots, according to their 

 strength. Cut them down to within a 

 few inches of the pot. Place in a sunny 

 house, where they will soon send up 

 an abundance of shoots. These will 

 need reducing to three to five in num- 

 ber, the pink varieties especially being 

 profuse in sending up new canes. Keep 

 the shoots tied up and keep indoors 

 until June. Then plunge outdoors, and 

 if possible tie them to a light fence, so 

 that the canes can be tied up so as to 

 ripen well, and also get all necessary 

 syringing to keep spider under control. 



It was noticed in the east this season 

 that few Crimson Eamblers were grown 

 for Easter, but that there were large 

 quantities of Dorothy Perkins, Lady 

 Gay, Excelsa, Hiawatha, a lovely single 

 crimson, White Dorothy Perkins and 

 Tansendschon. This latter was espe- 

 cially popular, and no one will make 

 any mistake in potting up a good batch 

 of it. For outdoor purposes it is also 

 one of the best, as it withstands 5 to 

 10 degrees below zero without injury. 

 We get occasional inquiries about a yel- 

 low rambler for forcing. Aglaia, the 

 so-called yellow rambler, is sulphury 

 yellow when expanding, later turning 

 creamy white, and is not really a yel- 

 low at all. The so-called Blue Bambler 

 will probably be tried next season. Its 

 color, however, is not at all a popular 

 one and few people will be likely to 

 fancy it. 



CHEMICALS FOR ROSES. 



Can you give me some information 

 as to the use of chemical fertilizers? 

 Cow manure is becoming a scarce ar- 

 ticle and I should like to try some 

 chemicals for my roses. The roses are 

 in good condition. How many ounces 

 of nitrate of soda to one gallon of 

 water could be used without hurting 

 themt W. J, W. 



Chemicals for roses must be used 

 with extreme caution, or they will do 

 a great deal more harm than good. 



The largest and most successful rose 

 growers prefer to buy good cow man- 

 ure, paying in some cases as much as 

 $8 and $10 per cord for it, rather than 

 resort to chemicals. So many growers 

 have ruined their crops by the use of 

 bone, blood and bone and nitrate of 

 soda that I rather hesitate to advise 

 their use. Nitrate of soda, while stimu- 

 lating and quick in its effects, is not a 

 safe chemical to use right along. The 

 growths, while strong to look at, are 

 soft and wilt easily under strong sun- 

 shine, while the flowers also lack sub- 

 stance. If you cannot readily seciixe 

 the cow manure, try liquid made from 

 pulverized sheep manure. This is an 

 excellent liquid. 



In using nitrate of soda, one pound 

 to fifty gallons of water is sufficiently 

 strong. Instead of using a second dose 

 of the nitrate, try a top-dressing of 

 dried blood, following this with sheep 

 or cow manure. If some imported soot 

 is soaked with the latter manures, it 



will assist in keeping the foliage dark 

 and lustrous. Bone in the form of top- 

 dressings is sometimes used. Its quali- 

 ties are variable and, unless in skilled 

 hands, it is better left alone. Of 

 course, top-dressings of cow manure 

 are of great value, and even if you 

 need to give a rather stiff price for 

 your cow manure you will find this 

 form of feeding and mulching prefer- 

 able to chemicals. C. W. 



BAYS AND BOX TREES. 



Bays and box trees should now come 

 out of the cellars, cold greenhouses or 

 storehouses in which they have been 

 kept for so long. Some of the box trees 

 will no doubt look brown when first 

 taken outdoors, but a good syringing 

 and plenty of water at the roots daily 

 will presently induce a crop of new, 

 tender shoots to break out. Some of 

 the bays will now no doubt have 

 stretches of brown running over them. 

 These will need careful trimming, and 

 a syringing twice or thrice a day will 

 soon clean the plants, and to improve 

 their growth further remove some of 

 the old soil from the tubs and give 

 them a liberal top-dressing of loam and 

 well-rotted manure, to which can be 

 added some bone meal. 



Other evergreen plants of doubtful 

 hardiness in the northern states, such 

 as green and variegated hollies, 

 aucubas, Irish and English yews, bay 

 laurels, Araucaria imbricata and any 

 other coniferous plants, should now be 

 placed outdoors. Play the hose on them 

 freely to remove any dust and dirt, and 

 keep well sprayed for the first few 

 days. 



'♦^'^^^^.'♦^^♦^'♦^.'♦^'<^.'^r»l><»^'<-^'fer»>'fer»)'-yr»!)'fer^ 





SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



^^^s^^^^^^m^sm^ 



I 



n'»^.<<^.'^»^.'»^.<»=^ 



i 



Gladioli. 



This is an excellent time to plant a 

 good sized batch of gladioli to follow 

 the earliest batch, which will now be 

 well above ground. Plant the corms 

 not less than six inches deep; later in 

 the season eight inches will be even 

 better. Do not place rotted manure or 

 other fertilizers so that they can come 

 in close contact with the corms, or the 

 latter will be injured. It is too early 

 yet to make the latest planting of 

 gladioli; a month hence will answer 

 well for that. 



Nerlnes. 



Nerines should now be placed in a 

 coldframe, where they can get all pos- 

 sible sunshine. As soon as the foliage 

 starts to turn yellow, reduce the water 

 supply gradually. When the leaves 

 have all turned yellow, lay the plants 

 on their sides in a dry, sunny place for 

 the summer. The same treatment sug- 

 gested for nerines applies with equal 

 force to Belladonna lilies. Apply liquid 

 manure twice a week until the leaves 

 are getting quite yellow. 



Stevlas. 



If a sufficiently large batch of stevia 



cuttings has not yet been put in, there 

 is yet ample time in which to root a 

 number more. Pinch the tops out of 

 the strongest plants of the early batch 

 and be sure not to stand them where 

 they can get any chill. Stevias are 

 killed by the least breath of frost. If, 

 instead of planting all the stevias out- 

 doors, some are kept potted through 

 the summer, or even put in boxes in six 

 inches of soil, they will be better under 

 control and more satisfactory in every 

 way than the outdoor grown plants. 



Annuals for Cutting. 



A good sowing of a number of an- 

 nuals can now be made outdoors. Mig- 

 nonette can still Jbe sown, but would 

 have been improved had it been started 

 two or three weeks ago. Such useful 

 cutting subjects as larkspurs in shades 

 of pink, white and lavender, lupines, 

 giant candytuft, schizanthus, Shirley 

 poppies and others should go in the soil 

 as soon as possible, being sure the land 

 is well pulverized first. Poppies are 

 fleeting subjects, and in order to have 

 a succession of flowers several sowings 

 in the season are necessary. These 

 subjects are steadily gaining in favor 

 with the public. 



