14 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



JCXE 20, 1912. 



BOSES ON THEIB OWN BOOTS. 



Will you kindly tell us which of the 

 best outdoor roses make a satisfactory 

 growth on their own roots, and which 

 it is better to bud on stronger growing 

 stock? We desire to try rooting cuttings 

 in a frame about the end of June ac- 

 cording to the method described in The 

 Review some weeks ago. Our location 

 is Jersey. G. V. W. 



All the rambler types of roses, such as 

 Lady Gay, Crimson Rambler, Hiawatha, 

 Carmine Pillar, American Pillar, Balti- 

 more Belle, Dorothy Perkins, Tausend- 

 schon, etc.; the Wichuraianas, rugosas, 

 Harrison 's Yellow, Persian Yellow, Aus- 

 trian Copper, the various Penzance 

 sweetbriers, multiflora and some other 

 robust growing roses are quite satisfac- 

 tory on their own roots. On the other 

 hand, all the hybrid perpetuals and 

 hybrid teas are more vigorous and hardy 

 when budded on the seedling brier or 

 Manetti stocks. This is particularly true 

 of the colder states. Plants on their own 

 roots do well in some sections and will 

 succeed fairly well for a time even in 

 our cold states, but cannot compare with 

 such as are budded. The end of June 

 will be a suitable time to root cuttings of 

 many of the outdoor roses in a mild hot- 

 bed. C. W. 



POOB BOSES. 



Our roses have had an awful lot of 

 mildew this spring. Would you advise 

 putting sulphur on an oil stove until it 

 melted? What would be the effect? If 

 that isn't good, what is? These roses 

 are giving us only short stems. Most of 

 the wood is small, but there is some large 

 growth coming on. It is starting from 

 the bottom. How would you advise treat- 

 ing and cutting them to make good plants 

 for next fall and winter, as we want to 

 carry them over another year or two? 

 Our poll is Iowa black loam. We have 

 only given them a few feeds this winter. 

 Two weeks ago they were given a top- 

 dressing of cow manure. It was spread 

 on by water. The rose plants in one end 

 of the house are dropping their leaves. 

 What would cause that? W. B. 



Careless ventilating will develop mil- 

 dew. As a rule, it is traceable to 

 draughts. If you use steam heat, a little 

 sulphur on the pipes will keep mildew 

 in check. Where hot water is used, the 

 sulphur can be blown over the plants 

 through powder bellows. Boiling sulphur 

 over au oil stove is all right, but you 

 never want to leave the house while it is 



going. I have seen many distressing 

 cases where operators left the house and 

 in their absence the sulphur boiled over 

 and took fire, with disastrous results to 

 the plants in the bouses. 



Without knowing anything about the 

 varieties and the way they have been 

 •treated, it is difficult to give advice on 

 how to treat them. The cause of leaves 

 falling heavily is possibly an ex- 

 cess of cow manure. If this was fresh 

 when applied, followed by a soaking 

 watering, with insuf&cient ventilation to 

 allow ammonia to escape, it is the prob- 

 able cause of the leaves falUngj^Llhe 

 plants should be kept somewha^orier for 

 six or eight weeks, then pruneli back and 

 started up again. Cut the w^k, dead 

 and dying wood when pruningA Avoid 

 keeping the plants too dry at the root 

 and, even when you do not water, use the 

 hose freely on the plants. Eoses rather 

 prefer a heavy soil; one containing clay 

 is especially good, but even in light soil 

 they can be grown well when judiciously 

 fed and carefully treated. C. W. 



OODFBEY CALI.AS. 



Will you kindy let us know through 

 The Review how to handle Godfrey callas 

 that have been grown through the t\ in- 

 ter? M. G. F. C. 



The blooming season now being o-er 

 for this most^,yseful and valuajjle calla, 

 the plants sbdktlFd -be taken outAoors and 

 laid on their sides to ripen off. They can 

 be shaken out and repotted late in July 

 or early in August. You can, if you 

 wish, plant out a lot of the small bulblets 

 in a rich piece of ground, if you want to 

 increase your stocik. Lift and pot these 

 before danger of frost. The callas are 

 of little value commercially after 

 Memorial day and it always is best to 

 let them gradually rest after that date. 



C. W. 



VINCAS. 



Will you please inform me as to the 

 proper procedure," in Michigan, to grow 

 long, full vincas for next spring's sales? 



J. D. L. 



In order to have large, full plants of 

 the green and variegated vincas for next 

 spring's sales the young plants should 

 now be set out in nursery rows, in the 

 field, and given frequent cultivations 

 through the summer. Lift and pot them 

 about the end of September. Stand the 

 pots along the edges of your carnation 

 or other benches. If you have no young 

 plants, you should purchase some and 

 plant out at once. Cuttings do not root 

 as easily now as earlier in the season, 

 and it is getting late to root them for 

 producing heavy plants for another sea- 

 son. C. W. 



T» 



POINTEBS FOB A BEOINNEB. 



Will you please give some pointers 

 to a beginner? 



How should a well grown carnation, 

 say an Enchantress, look now, June 

 15? I mean, what should be the aver- 

 age height and number of shoots? 



The buds, when showing color, turn 

 slightly brown on the edges, so that 

 the full-blown flower has a rather old 

 look. Is this caused by watering art 

 night, or by overhead spraying instead 

 of among the stems, or by supplying in- 

 sufficient water? Or what is the prob- 

 able reason? It is not from fumiga- 

 tion, as there has been no need of that. 



I see that a few big olive green cat-, 

 erpillars have bored holes in a few 

 buds and have been lying curled up on 

 some open flowers. What shall I use? 



C. D. A. 



Your carnation plants in the field 

 should now have from four to six young 

 shoots on them, and should be ready to 

 top the second time before July 1. 

 Then, with another topping about the 

 middle of July and another about Au- 

 gust 1, you will have some fine plants 

 to bench early in August. In case it 



is desired to bench the plants extra 

 early, say before the middle of July, 

 the plants should be somewhat farther 

 along than suggested. In that case 

 extra early propagating is necessary. 

 There is no question that a medium- 

 sized plant is the ideal one for bench- 

 ing. There is less loss of bottom foli- 

 age, consequently less labor, and less 

 trouble all around in getting the plants 

 reestablished than where the plants are 

 extremely large. 



Those brown edges you complain of 

 are due to the ravages of that common 

 and destructive enemy of the carnation, 

 thrips. Instead of there having been 

 no need of fumigating, as you suggest, 

 there has not been enough of it. At 

 least, it has not been effective. It is 

 now so late in the season and weather 

 conditions are so favorable to the pest 

 that it would hardly pay you to start 

 a crusade against them. If they are 

 so numerous that you get no good 

 blooms at all, I would suggest that you 

 tear out all the old plants, clean out 

 the house and fumigate it with sul- 

 phur. Then get it ready and replant 

 with young plants as soon as they are 

 in proper shape. Next fall start in 

 with regular spraying once each week 

 with the nicotine preparations, as a 

 preventive. 



