24 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Mabch 14, 1912. 



are attended to. These hotbeds may be 

 scouted by big growers, but there are 

 many country florists to whom they 

 would be a great help, for not only 

 geraniums but many other plants can 

 be grown in them. 



OLOEY OF CINCINNATI. 



Please give the best method and time 

 for propagating Glory of Cincinnati 

 begonia and its requirements as to 

 shade and temperature. R. E. M. 



This fine winter flowering begonia 

 propagates readily from either leaves 

 or shoots. To secure a good supply of 

 shoots, remove the flowers, cut back the 



plants halfway, run them pretty dry 

 for a time and then give them a warm, 

 moist house and they will start to pro- 

 duce cuttings in good numbers. A 

 warm propagating bench, with a steady 

 bottom heat of 75 to 85 degrees, should 

 be used. The cuttings must be shielded 

 from sunshine and no direct air cur- 

 rent should reach them. Neither these 

 nor Lorraine begonias should have a 

 house heavily shaded, or they become 

 drawn and attenuated. A minimum 

 temperature of 60 degrees should be 

 given after potting. Use a compost 

 largely consisting of rather flaky leaf- 

 mold for the earlier pottings, and use 

 considerable leaf -mold even for the final 

 potting. C. W. 



PREPARATION OF YOUNG STOCK. 



Removing From the Sand. 



Much of the success of the rose 

 grower depends upon proper care being 

 given to the young stock in the earliest 

 stages. The experienced propagator 

 can usually tell almost to a day when 

 his cuttings are fit to be taken out of 

 the sand and potted. The beginner will 

 probably have to lift a plant or two 

 and examine them before commencing 

 to pot. As a general rule, roses and 

 other plants are more likely to be left 

 too long in the sand than to be lifted 

 and potted too soon. While sand is an 

 excellent medium for "drawing" roots, 

 it is bad for maintaining the health of 

 the young plants, and when, as some- 

 times occurs, the plants are left in the 

 sand until the roots are a couple of 

 inches or more in length, they receive 

 a check from which it takes several 

 weeks to recover. 



To obtain the best results, young rose 

 plant roots should be running in heavy 

 loam just as early as possible. By this 

 means only will the earliest, youngest 

 shoots have the necessary vigor. When 

 half an inch, or even less, of root has 

 been made from the callus, the plants 

 are ready to pot. When possible, have 

 soil and pots near the propagating 

 bench, so as to prevent the drying out 

 of the roots. The dry, cool air and 

 drafty conditions of the ordinary pot- 

 ting shed are not good for the tender 

 young rootlets. 



The First Potting. 



A good, heavy loam, with a 6-inch 

 potful of bone meal to each barrow 

 load if the soil is poor, makes a good 

 compost f©r the young stock; never 

 use a light, sandy soil. If too dry to 



firm well in the pots, sprinkle and turn 

 the soil, but do not wet it sufficiently 

 to make it stick to the hands of the 

 operator, or to make it cake. 



In potting, make the soil tolerably 

 firm by pressure of the thumbs, and 

 finish just below the rim of the pot. 

 If kept too low the plants are apt to 

 become too wet when damped over 

 daily, as they must be should the 

 weather be bright. 



The grower who ships plants in large 

 numbers uses a small thumb pot or 

 beds his young roses out on benches, 

 but I am not writing for him, as he 

 usually knows his own business. The 

 small grower, who propagates only a 

 few thousand plants for his own use, 

 will find it most convenient to pot at 

 first into 2-inch and later give a shift 

 into 3-inch. Quite a large number of 

 these pots can be got into a small 

 bench. Whatever else is neglected, see 

 that the young stock is given a light, 

 sunny bench. The temperature should 

 be the same as for the permanent rose 

 plants — around 60 degrees at night. 



Shading. 



Coming, as they do, from the shade 

 of the propagating bench, the young 

 plants cannot at first stand full ex- 

 posure to the sun; so, if the weather 

 is bright, they should be lightly shaded. 

 Newspapers are always handy and are 

 generally used for shading, and they 

 answer the purpose, though a line of 

 muslin about a foot or so above the 

 plants is better. In either case, re- 

 move the shading entirely as soon as 

 possible, usually about the third day 

 after potting. Plants that have their 

 foliage softened by heavy or long con- 

 tinued shading are more likely to be 

 attacked by mildew and insect pests 

 later, and are less able to withstand 

 these attacks than others with hard, 

 robust leaves. 



Discretion in Watering. 



Watering is a subject upon which no 



definite instructions can be given. 

 Everything depends upon the weather, 

 the class of soil and other conditions, 

 and these have to be watched and- the 

 treatment altered to suit individual 

 cases. As a general rule, I like to be 

 abje to water the young plants once 

 daily, as it freshens them up and 

 keeps them growing, but if it is found 

 that the daily waterings overhead are 

 making the plants too wet and causing 

 a scum to form on the surface of the 

 soil, then let them dry out a little and 

 water less heavily. But young roses 

 must be kept moist. If they are 

 allowed to dry they go to rest, the 

 stems becoming hard, and it is difficult* 

 to get them started again. Watch 

 carefully for the first signs of mildew 

 and keep a little sulphur on the pipes, 

 to check it or to act as a preventive. 



This may seem a long list of appar- 

 ently unimportant details, but the man 

 who attends to just such seeming trifles 

 is he who gets there with the best stock 

 in the market. 



AMERICAN ROSE SOCIETY. 



The American Rose Society has re- 

 ceived, through President Farenwald, 

 a proposition from the head gardener 

 of the city parks of Hartford, Conn., 

 as follows: 



We are considering the feasibility of estab- 

 lishing, in connection with our rose garden here, 

 a public trial or testing ground for hardy roses. 

 The object would be to invite foreign and domes- 

 tic growers to send new varieties for a test 

 covering sufficient time to establish thoroughly 

 the merits of the variety, at the conclusion of 

 which the plants would be returned at the 

 owner's expense, or if of sufficient merit, would 

 be given a permanent place in the garden. 



The rose garden tiere has attained considerable 

 prominence in this country, and this, coupled 

 with our climatic conditions, should make an 

 Ideal location for a test garden that could in 

 time be made to assume national Importance. 



If the American Rose Society would coftperate 

 with us to the extent of judging the exhibits 

 and mailing the awards, it would give the affair 

 a wider scope and make its standing official. 



We are of the opinion that America needs an 

 official trial ground and, with the cooperation of 

 the society, feel that the outcome of our efforts 

 would be certain of success. If the matter were 

 presented to your executive committee early and 

 they should approve of It, we would have suffi- 

 cient time to secure some exhibits for spring 

 planting. Alex. Cummings, Jr. 



This proposition was laid before the 

 executive committee and the idea was 

 endorsed as a plan well worth support- 

 ing. There is such a garden in the city 

 of Paris, with thousands of varieties 

 on exhibition in blooming time. Hart- 

 ford has a climate well suited for the 

 growth of roses. 



The guarantors of the prize awards 

 for the exhibition held in Detroit, of 

 whom there were thirty-four, paid up 

 in full. Poehlmann Bros. Co. sent 

 twice the amount requested and ex- 

 President Elliott sent us four times as 

 much as we asked. This sort of sup- 

 port speaks volumes for the solidity 

 of the American Rose Society. The 

 EUwanger & Barry sweepstakes prize 

 has been sent to A. N. Pierson, Inc., 

 Cromwell, Conn. The Alexander Mont- 

 gomery cup for the best American rose 

 originated during 1909-10 was awarded 

 and sent to Stockton & Howe, of 

 Princeton, N. J. 



The effort to do something to in- 

 crease the interest of amateurs in the 

 rose has met with some success. One 

 gentleman sent in a check of $50 with- 

 out any reservation, to be used toward 

 that end, and four amateurs have 

 bobbed up with an annual subscrip- 

 tion, which we are glad to have. 



Can anyone send me for record the 

 name of roses Originated in America 

 since 18601 



Benj. Hammond, Sec'y. 



