May 0, 1912. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



21 



Primulas Grown by Lewis J. Brundagr, Dundee, N. Y., One Plant to a 5-inch Pot. 



growth the young plants must be al- 

 lowed full sun and plenty of water. 

 Often a flower bud will show as soon 

 as the growth starts, and this must 

 be at once removed and the growths 

 pinched early, in order to induce 

 a stocky, bushy growth. Pot firmly at 

 all times, as firm wood is needed, and 

 this does not follow potting in loose, 

 rich soil. The best kind of compost in 

 the early stages is a good, sound loam, 

 with plenty of fiber from rotted sod; 

 if this cannot be had, leaf-mold, peat or 

 well-decayed manure should be added 

 to the soil in its place. A plentiful 

 sprinkling of sharp propagating sand 

 must also be given. 



At each potting it will be best to 

 pinch the growth, to maintain a bushy 

 habit and prevent the formation of 

 flower buds, for the gardenia is of so 

 free-flowering a character that these ap- 

 pear at every break. 



On the Bench. 



To have good stock for planting on 

 the benches, a shift may be given to the 

 3-inch size, while, if the plants are to be 

 raised in pots, the 5-inch size should 

 be reached before allowing them to 

 flower. Some growers never pot their 

 plants for bench work at all, but bed 

 them out thickly on a stock or growing 

 bench and lift them again for trans- 

 ferring to their permanent quarters. 

 Time is saved in this way, but in the 

 hands of unskillful growers the young 

 plants often receive too much water in 

 the earlier stages, and they are safer in 

 pots. 



A frequent mistake is giving too 

 great depth of soil. About three inches 

 is ample for the start, and this can be 

 added to in the form of top-dressings, 

 which will cause the roots to come to 

 the surface and ramify freely, giving 

 hundreds of feeding points which are 



mighty useful to the plants. Here, 

 again, the soil must be free and open, 

 but firmly placed and rammed. Loose 

 soil means soft growth, which is fol- 

 lowed almost invariably by bud drop- 

 ping. 



Feeding. 



With soil of good texture, as already 

 described, feeding is not usually needed 

 until the flower buds show in the points 

 of the young growth, and it is then, if 

 ever, that a little shading may be 

 needed, in order to get length of stem. 

 But strong, healthy plants will usually 

 be long enough in stem without the 

 shading, and the substance of the 

 flowers will be better. 



Almost any form of manure is suita- 

 ble for feed, but soot is one of the finest 

 in existence. Nothing I have ever tried 

 has given such substance to the flowers 

 and such rich, glossy green to the foli- 

 age as soot water, and it is almost 

 impossible to overfeed with it, provided 

 the soot is at least one year old before 

 use. A little sheep manure and soot 

 mixed, placed in a sack and allowed 

 to steep in a tank, makes an ideal food 

 for gardenias. 



Sprajring with Soot Water. 



A form of feeding not much prac- 

 ticed, but highly suitable for gardenias, 

 is by means of spraying overhead be- 

 fore the flowers show, and here, again, 

 soot is fine for the purpose. Pure, old 

 soot is steeped in water and well 

 stirred; then it is allowed to settle and 

 the clear portion at the top is dipped 

 or siphoned off. This is mixed with 

 clear water until the mixture is the 

 color of weak tea or a pale amber, and 

 this is sprayed on the plants two or 

 three times a week. Pale foliage cannot 

 exist where this form of feeding is prac- 

 ticed, and it makes insects of all kinds 



so uncomfortable that they leave the 

 gardenias alone. 



PRIMULAS AT DUNDEE. 



With Lewis J. Brundage, proprietor 

 of Sunnyside Farm, Dundee, N. Y., 

 primulas are something of a specialty 

 and the accompanying illustration 

 shows some of his plants. These are 

 all single plants and grown under ordi- 

 nary conditions without any special 

 feeding or forcing. The upper row 

 shows on the left P. obconica grandi- 

 flora fimbriata and P. obconica grandi- 

 flora. The lower row shows P. obconica 

 gigantea Kermesina, P. obconica gigan- 

 tea fimbriata and P. obconica gigantea 

 rosea. ' ' We read a great deal about 

 making up pans of those plants," says 

 Mr. Brundage, ' ' but it seems to us that 

 if more were said about shifting this 

 kind of plants as fast as possible into 

 .5-inch and 6-inch and even larger pots, 

 more profit would come to the grower. 

 1 think the majority of growers stop 

 at 4-inch. This makes a cheap plant, 

 and pretty for a time, but not as last- 

 ing as where more room has been given 

 to the development of the plant. 

 The plants shown are in 5-inch and 6- 

 inch pots. I will continue experiment- 

 ing sind think it possible to fill even 

 10-inch pots with a single plant. I 

 think we have greater possibilities in 

 this plant than we yet know about." 



Geneva, N. Y. — J. P. Welsh says busi- 

 ness is so good he will add another 

 house 20 x 125 during the coming sum- 

 mer. 



Randolph, Vt.— H. M. Totman, the 

 widely known florist, is secretary of 

 the Randolph School Building Commit- 

 tee, which is putting up a high school 

 of three stories, each 66x144 feet. 



