The Florists^ Review 



NOVEMBBE 14, 1912. 



; SHIP THEM DRY. 



Will you kindly give us your opinion 

 as to the advisability of sprinkling car- 

 nations ifor shipment? We have always 

 sprinkled roses, mums and almost every- 

 thing but sweet peas and carnations, but 

 recently have been told by a person 

 long in the business that we should 

 sprinkle everything. Any information 

 would be appreciated. , W. T. M. 



The carnations should be shipped dry. 

 Give them h good drink before packing, 

 so that the stems and blooms will be 

 firm and full of moisture; then pack 

 carefully and ship dry. For other than 

 short runs the box should be iced, but 

 only over the stems, with the ice so 

 cleated in as to keep it away from the 

 blooms; it is to keep the temperature 

 down rather than to supply moisture. 

 When the flowers are unpacked they 

 should at once go into water in a cool 

 room to refill the stems and freshen up 

 the blooms. Carnations keep best in a 

 cool, dry atmosphere. 



LOOSENTNG THE SOIL. 



I should like to find out whether it is 

 advisable to scratch the earth or loosen 

 the surface of the soil around carna- 

 tion plants in the greenhouse. They 

 have been planted for two months. The 

 •plants are doing finely, but the soil has 

 a hard surface. Would the loosening 

 of the soil injure the small roots that 

 come to the top A. N. 



After the young rootlets of your car- 

 nations come close to the surface of the 

 soil, it is not advisable to scratch 

 the soil deeply enough to injure 

 them. A better plan is to put on a 

 light mulch of well-rotted manure. We 

 do not mulch much in the fall any 

 more these days, and advocate it only 

 in an extremely moderate way. 



A. F. J. B. 



OAENATION RUST. 



1 am enclosing a few carnation leaves. 

 Will you please tell me what disease it 

 is that shows on them? A few weeks 

 ago there were no signs of it; now it is 

 spreading all over the house. V. V. P. 



Your carnations are affected by the 

 common carnation rust. The raised 

 places on the leaves are the pustules 

 which contain the spores by which this 

 disease is propagated. You will notice 

 the brown powdery substance which is 

 released when these raised places break 

 open. This disease, like most plant dis- 

 eases, is caused by unfavorable condi- 

 tions — atmospheric conditions in this 

 case. I do not know just how you 

 have handled your plants, but the pres- 

 ence of this disease would indicate that 

 your cultural methods have not been 

 correct. 



I would suggest that you dust the 

 plants thoroughly with dry slaked lime 



or Grape Dust. Dispense with all 

 syringing for a time, unless you see 

 signs of red spider. Give all the venti- 

 lation you can and run some fire heat 

 at night right along now. Open the 

 vents, if necessary, to keep the tem- 

 perature down to the right point. 



This is about all you can do, except 

 to go over the plants and pick off the 

 diseased leaves. I would not advise 

 you to do this, however, unless the case 

 is an aggravated one. A. F. J. B. 



CHOOsma a fertilizer. 



Are nitrate of soda and cow manure 

 water good fertilizers for carnation 

 plants? Which of the two is the better? 

 What proportion of soda do you use? 



You will find cow manure, either liq- 

 uid or as a mulch, a much safer material 

 to use in feeding your carnations than 

 nitrate of soda. We do not use either 

 one. The former we are unable to get 

 in any quantity, and the latter we do 

 not care for. We do use a good deal of 

 sheep manure for feeding, and find it 

 effective as a plant food. 



If you use nitrate of soda, dilute one 

 pound in fifty gallons of water and 

 apply as often as your judgment tells 

 you the plants need it. A soft, flabby 

 appearance of the growth and bloom 

 will warn you that too much is being 

 given. A. F. J. B. 



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Rambler Roses. 



If a sufficient number of rambler 

 rose plants for pot culture have not yet 

 been dug, do not postpone the work 

 any longer. The wood is now hard and 

 well matured. Any of the pink ram- 

 blers with soft ends on their growths 

 can have the latter cut back to the 

 hard wood. Do not allow the roots to 

 dry. Pot or tub firmly and tie up the 

 shoots securely. Let the plants stand 

 in an open, sunny spot outdoors and 

 do not house them until there have been 

 one or two moderate frosts. 



Hardy Roses. 



There is no better season than the 

 first half of November for planting 

 hybrid perpetual roses outdoors over a 

 large section of the country. People 

 have become so imbued with the idea 

 that all planting must be done in the 

 spring, when a thousand other duties 

 are pressing, that they have to a large 

 extent failed to avail themselves of the 

 opportunity to carry out fall planting, 

 not only of hybrid perpetual and ram- 

 bler roses, but also many diciduous 

 trees and shrubs and fruit trees. With 

 a few exceptions all these succeed well, 

 provided they are moved some time be- 

 fore the ground freezes and the roots 

 are well soaked by fall rains before 

 that time. Any plants which are moved 

 must have the roots well moistened be- 

 fore the ground is sealed up, or they 

 will die or suffer severely, unless, per- 

 chance, winter thaws permit rains to 

 percolate through the soil. 



Hardy roses — and I do not include 

 the hybrid teas or teas in this class, 

 except in the more southerly states — 

 should be planted deeply. Three to 

 four inches below the bud or graft is 

 about right, and they can hardly be too 

 well firmed. Shorten the canes if long. 

 Compare the results from a bed of such 

 varieties as Jacqueminot, Frau Karl 

 Druschki, Mrs. John Laing, Mme. G, 

 Luizet, John Hopper, Captain Hayward 

 and Mrs. Sharman-Crawford, or such 



ramblers as Dorothy Perkins, Lady Gay, 

 Tausendschon, Crimson Rambler and 

 Hiawatha, planted now, and a similar 

 number set out in spring, and you will 

 find a wonderful difference in favor of 

 the fall-planted ones. 



Antirrhinums. 



It is really astonishing what a won- 

 derful advance has been made during 

 the last two or three years in the cul- 

 ture of antirrhinums under glass. In- 

 quiries for plants and for directions 

 about growing them now come to The 

 Review from all parts of the country. 

 They have jumped into prominence as 

 a market flower, and as flowers are to 

 be had from October to June under 

 glass and the balance of the year from 

 outdoors, the market is really never 

 without thein. 



Many of the chrysanthemums are now 

 gone, and few crops pay better than 

 snapdragons as a succession crop, pro- 

 vided always that the selling colors are 

 grown and a generous soil is provided 

 for them. Add to the old mum soil a 

 good dose of cow or sheep manure, with 

 some fine bone. Mix it well and then 

 plant the snapdragons a foot apart each 

 way. If you want big, strong spikes, 

 allow only three to five shoots to a. 

 plant.. If smaller ones are preferred, 

 double or treble the number may be 

 allowed to grow. Stake them before 

 the shoots can become bent. Wire and 

 cane stakes are often used, but I like 

 to support them with wires and cross 

 strings as in the case of carnations, 

 leaving the squares rather larger than 

 for carnations, A winter temperature 

 of 48 to 50 degrees will grow fine snap- 

 dragons. Finer spikes may be had at 

 45 degrees, but this low temperature 

 brings them on rather slowlv in mid- 

 winter. 



Champaign, 111.— J. E. Yeats, who has 

 opened a branch store on Main street, 

 has also added an automobile truck to 

 his delivery outfit. 



