,;.r..,.. ,. ,... f. 



28 



The Rorists^ Review 



Decbmbbb 5, 1912. 



testing the shipping possibilities, that 

 I packed 100 rooted cuttings in wet 

 moss, wrapped them in paper and 

 shipped them 1,200 miles. When deliv- 

 ere<i they relabeled and returned them. 

 It took five days before I ^ot them. I 

 received them in the evening and un- 

 packed them next morning, putting 

 them in the soil, and saved ninety out 

 of the 100. Now, I will tell you how 



to handle the cuttings. The compost 

 should be one-third sharp sand and two- 

 thirds good, rich loam. Do not let the 

 temperature go above 50 degrees and, 

 above all things, give them plenty of 

 water. If you will follow this rule you 

 should save ninety per cent of your 

 cuttings. Don't keep them too hot. I 

 will say in conclusion, try this and see 

 where the fault lies. C. W. Harrold. 



» 



CP 



) SEASONABLE s^ 





ac 



SUGGESTIONS j 



" ■■ ■■ — 



3 



Primula Obconica. 



In order to have Primula obconica in 

 good bloom for Christmas, the plants 

 should be grown in a light, sunny house 

 in a carnation temperature and should 

 be kept as close to the glass as possi- 

 ble. Perhaps you have a lot of small 

 plants which would hardly sell singly. 

 These can be ipade up into pans, taking 

 care to have each pan a distinct shade. 

 If these are made up now, they will be 

 nicely established before Christmas and 

 the New Year, which is the season when 

 they sell the best. 



Primula Sinensis. 



A shelf for a few weeks in a tempera- 

 ture of 50 to 55 degrees will bring 

 Primula Sinensis along in nice shape 

 for the holidays. The scarlet varieties 

 are always good sellers and these, for- 

 tunately, seem to bloom earlier than 

 the white and pink shades. Do not 

 worry if you do not get all in flower 

 for Christmas, as there are many weeks 

 following that date when pot plants 

 of a moderate price will sell. If the 

 plants are well potbound, a pinch of 

 some highly concentrated plant food, 

 like Clay's, Imperial Plant Food or 

 Bon Arbor, will tone them up. 



Primula Malacoides. 



Several complaints have been re- 

 ceived about Primula malacoides damp- 

 ing badly. Correspondents state that 

 they had big, healthy plants, but that 

 now the leaves are rotting badly, and 

 in some cases entire centers have rotted 

 away. For one thing, a mistake has 

 been made in sowing this variety so 

 early. It is a robust grower, and in- 

 stead of sowing the seed in February or 

 March we should wait until May. The 

 plants then would be of more moderate 

 size and would damp less. However, 

 those who have present trouble should 

 keep their plants in a cool, sunny, airy 

 house and run it cooler than the other 

 primulas; a temperature of 40 to 45 

 degrees is ample. Never spray over- 

 head, or you will soon ruin the plants, 

 and in watering take care not to pour 

 any into the center of the crown. It is 

 also necessary to run the hands over 

 the plants two or three times a week 

 and if any decaying foliage is found, 

 remove it. . 



This primula cannot be flowered in 

 good condition for Christmas, but it 

 will be in grand shape for Easter. It 

 is such a beautiful, airy-like subject 

 that we feel sure that any giving it a 

 • little special care will be well j^f paid 

 by the prices they will receive. One 



more point: This primula is a robust 

 grower and needs about three times as 

 much in the way of stimulants as any 

 other variety. 



Schizanthus. 



The earliest sowing of schizanthus 

 is now well established in 6-inch pots 

 and already the plants have some flow- 

 ers open. With the pots full of active 

 roots, they must have lots of water, in 

 addition to feeding twice a week. As 

 they are rather brittle plants, they must 

 have at least one stake each to prevent 

 their breaking off near the pot. Schi- 

 zanthus will not tolerate anything like 

 forcing. If much heat is given, the 

 shoots will become weak and leggy and 

 the flowers will lack substance. A 

 temperatuie of 45 degrees at night is 

 sufficiently high and the plants should 

 be well up to the glass. Then they will 

 be dwarf and stocky, and when they 

 flower the foliage will be almost hidden. 

 Make a sowing now and you will have 

 nice plants for spring flowering. Sow 

 in a flat and pot off singly. In addition 

 to their beauty as decorative plants, 

 schizanthus flowers last wonderfully 

 when cut. The best variety for pot 

 culture is Wisetonensis. 



Tulips and Narcissi. 



Some of the earliest tulips and nar- 

 cissi will now be sufficiently started so 

 that they can be placed in heat. Do 

 not flgure on getting these in flower for 

 the holidays. There are usually a few, 

 grown from French bulbs, that are seen 

 at Christmas each year, but a certain 

 percentage of these fail to flower, and 

 there is really just as much money in 

 them a month later at half holiday 

 prices. The tulips want a dark case to 

 draw them up; one used for forcing 

 valley will be found just right for this 

 purpose. The narcissi will also do bet- 

 ter if kept dark for a few days. 

 La Eeine is the earliest of the tulips 

 and Trumpet Major is the first to flower 

 among the narcissi. 



Storage of Gloxinias, etc. 



To economize space, it is a good plan 

 now to shake the summer-flowering 

 greenhouse tubers, such as gloxinias and 

 tuberous begonias, out of their pots and 

 pack them away for the winter in sand 

 or cocoanut fiber, storing them in a 

 temperature of 50 degrees. Fancy cala- 

 diums are better if left in the pots and 

 they want warm, dry winter quarters; 

 60 to 65 degrees is not too much. 

 Tydaeas, gesneras and achimenes winter 

 well where the temperature is 10 to 15 

 degrees lower and are better if not 

 disturbed now. 



Compost for Winter. 

 We have reached a period in the 

 year when it is well to lay in a good 

 supply of loam, sand, leaf-mold, well 

 decayed cow manure, moss, charcoal 

 and anything else needed in the soil. 

 Although we may get good weather for 

 some time yet, winter may shut down 

 on us at once and it is always best to 

 be prepared for it. We all have ex- 

 perienced some of the pleasures of 

 housing these necessities when they 

 are buried in snow and when zero 

 weather prevails, and we must admit 

 that it is better to get all our require- 

 ments under cover while the weather is 

 warm and pleasantf 



SEASONABLE CTTLTUBE. 



Bedding geraniums, as the weather 

 becomes colder and the proportion of 

 dark days increases, must have more 

 careful watering. It is better to keep 

 them quite a little on the dry side 

 through the coldest months. If kept 

 constantly moist at the root, they 

 make too rank a growth and there is 

 also a greater probability of quite a 

 few damping off. Where a supply of 

 stock plants is on hand in pots or 

 benches — the latter gives the more 

 abundant crop of cuttings — a fresh 

 batch can be secured almost weekly, 

 and now that they can be given a little 

 steady bottom heat, few should damp. 

 Indoor-grown cuttings are, of course, 

 firmer and. far Ig^s likely to, rot tiffin 

 those taken from outdoor plants. If 



the sand in the cutting bench is rather 

 fine and water does not pass quickly 

 through it, break up some charcoal, 

 pass it through a %-inch or even a 

 14 -inch screen and mix it with the 

 sand. This will make a splendid root- 

 ing medium. 



Plants which are wanted in flower •« 

 for the holidays must have a house 

 kept at 52 to 55 degrees at night, with 

 a rather dry atmosphere. Keep water 

 off the foliage and flower trusses. As 

 the pots will be full of roots, a pinch of 

 a safe fertilizer or some weak cow 

 manure water, with some soot added 

 to it, will keep the foliage a rich, dark 

 green color. Do not crowd the plants. 

 Place a few upon inverted pots where 

 you want extra fine, well-leaved plants. 

 Pick the plaht^ over twice a T^leek, re- 

 moving any dead and moldy leaves. 



