January 6, 1912.] 



THE 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



7 



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their flowers, but for their beautiful autumn - 

 tinted foliage and their coloured bark, which 

 brightens up the scenery when the plants are de- 

 fulial 1 in winter. Bamboos should be planted 

 more extensively in gardens, but these require 

 shelter, as they are not capable of succeeding in 

 situations exposed to cold winds. 



Bedding Plants in Frames. — Pentstemons, 

 Calceolarias, and Marguerites growing in frames 

 should be afforded an abundance of fresh air 

 during mild weather. Our practice is to dibble 

 the cuttings in frames during the autumn in beds 

 of prepared soil made quite firm. The frames are 

 kept closed until the cuttings are rooted, when 

 fresh air is ven, increasing the amount of ven- 

 tilation gradually until, in favourable weather, 

 the lights are removed altogether. After the cut- 

 tings are rooted the tops of the plants are pinched 

 out, and drier conditions afforded till the side 

 shoots appear, when the plants are treated as 

 before. Early in the spring the plants I have 

 named should be placed in boxes or pots for 

 planting out-of-doors early in the season. 



Violets in Frames.— Frames in which Vio- 

 lets are planted should be freely ventilated at all 

 times, but particularly during damp and mild 

 weather. Remove the decayed foliage and stir 

 the soil lightly. During Very cold weather 

 it will be better to maintain the neces>arv 

 warmth in the frames by means of coverin 3 on 

 the glass in the frames than employ artificial heat. 



PLANTS UNDER GLASS. 



By Thomas Stevenson, Gardener to E. Mocatta, Esq.. 



Woburn Place, Addlestone, Surrey. 



Forewords. 



The year 1912 should b« n. 









memorable one to horticulturists, in view of the 

 great International Exhibition to be held in 

 May, when indoor plants will doubtless form an 

 important feature of the display. Since 1866 

 great ehanges have taken place in garden- 

 ing, and especially in respect to the culture of in- 

 door plants. 

 In 1866 it was 

 the fashion 

 to grow large 

 s p ecimen 

 plants, but 

 n o w a d ays 

 large batches 

 of smaller de- 

 c o r a t i v e 

 plants are 

 cult i vated, 

 some for use 

 as plants, 

 but the ma- 

 j o r i t y for 

 fur n i s h i ng 

 cut blooms. 

 In many es- 

 t ablishments 

 only a few 

 kinds of 

 plants are 

 grown, these 

 bright display 



_j .- T , „ . * -« ovll o. This class of 



plants I shall deal with in my remarks. 



Cleansing Operations. — The plant houses 

 are generally comparatively empty at this season 

 of the v r owing to the demand for decorative 

 subjects in the -dwelling-house, and where this is 

 the case it will afford a good opportunity to put 

 ihem in good order. In addition to cleansing the 

 woodwork and glass, the walls should be lime- 

 washed, the water pipes painted, pipe-runs 

 and tanks cleansed, the stages re-surfaced with 

 ashes or gravel, and the houses made generally 

 sweet and clean, ready for another season's 

 work. \\ here there are several plant houses, it 

 is an advantage to empty one, cleanse it tho- 

 roughly, and then transfer the plants of the 

 next house into it. This will save labour in 

 shitting and re-shifting the plants in the houses 



«cS fV V ° rk J ng , in them - A11 the Pots should be 

 vvasned, and, where necessary, the plants should 



be sponged or sprayed, at the same time taking 

 the opportunity to throw away any plants that ■ 

 have become leggy or untidy, and are not re- 

 quired for stock purposes, this will allow of a 

 little extra space and light for those that remain, 

 ine temperatures of the houses should be kept 



being relied upon to provide a 

 during their respective seasons. 



is cool aa is consistent with the requirements 

 of the plants, as e\» ssive fire-heat often 

 does more harm than good, fur very few plants 

 are in an active condition of growth at this sea- 

 son. The show bouses containing such plants as 

 Be mias, Carnations, Poinsettias, and Chrysan- 

 themums should be kept at an even temperature 

 of about 50° at night, allowing a slight rise 

 during the day. A dry atmosphere is conducive 

 to the flowers remaining for a long time in a good 

 condition. 



or thereabouts 

 peratures should 



houses aa nearly 

 house, 50° to 55° 



THE ORCHID HOUSES. 



By J. Collier, Gardener to Sir Jeremiah Colman, Bart., 



Gatton Park, Reigate. 



Management of Orchid Houses.— Dur- 

 ing damp, mild weather great care is n< ary in 

 regulating the temperatures and the amount of 

 atmospheric moisture in the Orchid houses. On 



bright mornings the bare spaces may be damped 



thoroughly, and, if the floors are damped again 

 about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, this will provid 



sufficient atmospheric moisture until the next 



morn i 11 g. 



— , During dull, 



mild weather 



one damping 

 before noon 

 will be suffi- 

 cient, but 



> when cold 



[ weather ne- 



j ce itates tin 

 ( use of con- 

 siderable fire 

 h o a t the 



amount o f 



, m oisture 



j should be in- 

 creased ac- 

 cord ingly. 



The bottom 

 I v e n t ilators 

 I should b e 



! opened to ad- 



— niit lush air 



on every pos- 

 sible occasion. I endeavour to have one or more 

 of the bottom ventilators open for an inch 



always. The following tern- 

 be maintained in the various 

 as circumstances permit: — Cool 

 by day (with sun neat the ther- 

 mometer may be allowed to rise to 60°) and 50° 



at night : Intermediate house, 50° to 53° by day, 



rising with sun heat to 66°; at night 57°: 

 Ooft/ej/a house, 60° to 65° by day. rising to 68° 

 with sun heat, and at night 58° to 60° : and Bast 

 Indian kau . 65° to 70° by day. rising to 75° 

 with sun heat, and at night 65°. The tem- 

 peratures I have given should be governed 

 more or less by the w*eather conditions; when it 

 is extremely cold a degree or two below those I 

 give will cause less harm to the plants than ex- 

 cessive fire heat. The warmth from the hot- 

 water system may be economised with advantage 

 by utilising some protective covering over the 

 roof exterior, but the covering should always be 

 removed as early as possible in the morning, or 

 it will form an obstruction to the light. When 

 water is necessary, select, if possible, a bright 

 morning for the work, always remembering that 

 careful watering is one of the secrets of success 

 in the cutlure of Orchids, 



Cleansing the Houses.— If the cleansing 

 of the houses has not been done already, the 

 work should be attended to at once. The wood- 

 work and glass should be w ashed thoroughly both 

 inside and out, first removing the plants from 

 the stagee, so that they may not become splashed 

 w T ith dirty water. When this operation is over, 

 the plants should be sponged with a suitable 

 nicotine insecticide, taking care to dislodge any 

 scale-insects that may be present on the leaves 

 and rhizomes. After this has been done, scrub 

 the pots and replace them in position on the 

 stages, arranging the plants to the best advan- 

 tage, so that the houses have a smart appear- 

 ance. This overhauling of the plants affords a 

 favourable opportunity to determine anv that 

 need re-potting; it will probably be found that 

 very few subjects will need potting at this stage, 

 but I always repot any plants that need it, even 

 in winter. Removing the plants will show the 

 haunts of cockroaches and woodlice which must 

 be destroyed. 



■ 



FRUITS UNDER GLASS. 



By E. Harriss, Frail Foreman, The Royal Gardens, 



Windsor, 



Preparations for Forcing.— The work of 

 pruning and cleansing fruit trees under glass. 

 should be pushed on as quickly as po ible. Peach 

 trees especially should be pruned and trained at 

 an early date, as the buds will >oon be swellin 

 and are then easily injured. The heating system 



should be 

 o v erhauled, 

 if tliis has nnfc 



» 



been 



done 



ii hiding 



already, and 

 any defects 



remedied. In 

 many of th< 



older fruit- 

 booses t li o 



heating ar- 



r a n genients 

 are inade- 

 quate t a 

 maintain the 

 requisite tem- 

 pera tures 

 during very 



severe wea- 

 ther without 

 having the 



pipes exces- 

 sively hot, 



which ex- 

 poses the plants to injurious infl 



an early attack of red spider. In some of the new 

 fruit-forcing houses at Krogmore there are no 



fewer than 12 rows of hot water pipes, whilst 

 many of the older houses have had extra pipes 

 added. We find no difficulty in maintaining suit 

 able temperatures, and, at the same time, are en- 

 abled to promote a moist, genial-growing atmo- 

 sphere. The cost of the fuel, too, has been 1. 

 duced considerably, as the fires never need to be 



driven to excess, as is the case where the hi atin 

 surface is limited. 



Late Vines.— The bunches should all he cut 

 from the vines by this date, so that the houses 

 may be thrown wide open for a few weeks pre- 

 paratory to starting the vines again into growth. 



I he roots will, no doubt, be in need of a good 

 watering and, if they are in a healthy condition, 

 au application of weak liquid manure will be 

 beneficial. Any vine borders which are in need 

 of renovation should be attended to at once. 

 Old vines which appear to be thoroughly worn 

 out will often produce excellent crops if the roots 

 are lifted carefully and replanted in fresh 

 soil. Where both inside and outside bor- 

 ders exist, the roots in the one border may be 

 attended to one year and those in the other the 

 following season, thus avoiding too great a 

 check. The work of renovation should be done 

 expeditiously, preserving as many roots unin- 

 jured as possible. The pruning of the vines 



liould be no longer delayed ; in dealing with *ary 



old vines it is advisable not to shorten the shoots 

 too much. 



Early Peaches and Nectarines in Pots. 

 Trees of Peach and Nectarine which were 



early in November will he on 



placed under gl 



the point of blooming. At this stage they should 

 be fumigated with a nicotine compound to de- 

 stroy any aphides that may be pres. t. Whilst 

 the trees are in flower a minimum temperature 

 of 55° should be maintained in order to 

 create a warm, dry atmosphere suitable for the 

 free dispersal of the pollen. At this time of the 

 year the flowers need to be pollinated by gently 

 dusting them with a rabbit's tail on a stick. 

 Keep the atmosphere dry till the flowering is 

 finished, and endeavour, by paying careful atten- 

 tion to the ventilation, to keep the temperature 

 equable. During the time the trees are in flower 

 the house should never be quite closed. Although, 

 it is necessary at this season to be sparing 

 in applying water to the roots, the soil must never 

 be allowed to become dry ; when water is neces- 

 sary give sufficient to wet the mass of soil and 

 roots completely. If the trees were repotted in 

 the autumn they will not need stimulants until 

 the fruits have stoned. Fresh batches of trees 

 may be placed into heat as required, and all the 

 trees which are at present out-of-doors should be 

 placed in a cool house. In the case of early 

 Peach trees planted in permanent borders, make 

 sure before the flowers appear that the roots are 

 not suffering for want of moisture 



