38 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[January 20, 1912. 



The Week' s Work. ^ 



PLANTS UNDER GLASS. 



By Thomas Stevenson, Gardener to 1 Mocatta, Esq., 



VVoburn Place, Addlestoae, Surrey. 



Carnations. — If the work of propagating 

 winter-flowering Carnations has not been com- 

 men d already, a start should be made at once, 

 f tings root much better now than later in 



the season. The shoo are now short jointed, 

 fairlj ho .1, and in a better condition generally for 

 the pin se than they will be later. A b torn 

 h t of i m 60° to 65°, with, if \» hie. an at- 

 mospheric temperature a few d - lower, will 

 provide sufficient warmth for the cuttings to 

 strike. Many prefer nd as a rooting medium, 



but a mixture of sand, leaf >il, with a little loam 



and pounded ei :ks <>r brick rubble is even better, 

 the roots holding on to this mixture rather more 

 firmly at the time of potting than they do to pui 



sand' Where the cuttings have the slight t ten- 



de v to damping, a little ventilation at the back 



of the tram at night will very often prevent it. 



he i ering of the stock plants should be don* 

 irefullv at this season, and stimulants sftould be 

 withheld until growth is more active, when the 

 roo may be led. Tie- quality of the later blooms 

 will depend largely on the treatment afforded the 

 I nts durin t) next month or two. Where 



the plants an- near to the hot-water pip a 



sharp 1 k out must be kept for red S] ler, which 



was verv prevalent on Carnations last summer; 

 with a little exi i lit : t dming February, this 

 } would probably increase rapidly, therefore 

 immedia l\\ or even before, its appearance is 



(|.M« (1, give the plants a good spraying with 

 in insecticide. 



Souvenir de la Malmaison Carnations. ~ 



Lasl yi r's layers of "Malmaison" tarnations 



muld be pi ed in their flowering pots at once. 



1 epta> les 6 inches in diameter are usually large 



enough, and good quality loam with a little char- 



c , broken crocks and lime rubble will form a 



suitable compost. if the loam has been sterilized, 

 so much the better, as there will be less dangei 



►t at .vs from - Iworm, and Bterilizii destroys 

 wire worm. I rly potting will insure the plants 



hi iming well rooted before growth commences, 

 and will make all the difference in the quality of 

 the blooms. Afford the plants all the light and 

 air po iblo. A temp tur-e si btly above freez 

 u point is suitable, provided that the atmo- 

 sphere is dry. Older plants, that were probably 

 potted late last summer, may be given a si . htly 

 increased temperature, and with careful treat- 

 ment they may be had in bloom a month or six 

 weeks earlier than young plants, thus lengthen- 

 ing the season of blooming. 



Sweet Peas in Pots. — Where quantities of 

 ut flowers are required for indoor decorations 



• luring May and early June, a batch of Sweet 

 Peas should be grown in pots. They are a most 

 remunerative crop, three months at the outside 

 being the length of time they will take up much 

 house-room. Seeds sown three or four in each 

 4^-inch pot in September produce the best results, 

 and these should now be ready for potting into 

 10-inch or 12-inch pots in which they will flower. 

 A fairly good compost should be prepared for 

 them, using bone flour as manui ml the plants 

 should be potted fairly firmly. A light house or 

 airy pit slightly heated will be suitable during 

 the first two months after sowing; afterwards 

 hey should be transferred to the house in which 



they will flower. The plant hou should be as 



lofty as possible, as the plants grow very fast 

 after the middle of March. Watering must be 

 done carefully and very little manure iven the 

 plants till the blooms commence to show colour. 

 Too much manure, or too high a temperature 

 often result in bud-dropping, which may mean 

 a fortnight" s delay in blooming. 



Euphorbia (Poinsettia). — Old plants of 

 Euphorbia pulcherrima, from which the bracts 

 have been removed and which have been kept 

 somewhat dry at the roots may be transferred to 

 a < ool house, where they can be stood under the 

 stage, or they may even be stored in a warm shed, 

 as They will not be required to furnish cuttings 

 until the end of March or early in April. 



Bouvardia.— Bouvardias that have finished 

 flowering may also be removed to a cool house or 

 pit and water gradu ly withheld from the roots. 

 Young plants may continue blooming for some 

 time to come, and will provide useful flowers tor 



decorative purposes 



Where batches 



Gloxinias and Begonias.- 

 of these plants are required in bloom early in the 

 season, no time should be lost in starting the 

 plants into growth. Gloxinias should have all 

 the old soil removed from the roots, though in 

 the course of the operation the corms should not 

 be rubbed too hard, as fresh roots quickly 

 develop from the old strong roots that are 

 alive. Afterwards the corms should be placed 

 on a hotbed or in boxes, not quite cover- 

 ing them with a mixture of sand and leaf-soil. 

 Grow them in a house having a stove tempera- 

 ture; they will soon start into growth, and may 

 be potted off in the usual way, preferably in their 

 flowering pots. Begonias may be treated in a 

 similar manner, but it is not advisable to start 

 these plants in a high temperature, for if this is 

 done, growth may be weak. 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 



By Edwin Beckett, Gardener to the Hon. Vicary Gibbs, 



Aldenham House, Hertfordshire. 



Seedlings. — Plants of various kinds of vege- 

 tables raised from seeds sown in pots or boxes 

 in the autumn have made good progress, the 

 weather having been everything that could be de- 

 sired for building up a sturdy growth ; the condi- 

 tions have been such that ventilation has been 

 afforded on almost every day. The plants will, in 

 many « bs, need to be staked and tied and 

 afforded a surface dressing. Stand the plants as 

 near to the roof-glass as possible, whether in 

 houses, pits or frames, and avoid using fire-heat 

 whenever possible, especially in the case of Peas. 



Peas. — Another sowing of Peas should be 

 made now, either in pots or boxes. The plants 

 may be planted out in cool houses or pits or 

 grown and cropped in pots. Although I do not 

 favour very dwarf-growing varieties, there are 

 one or two that lend themselves admirably for 

 rowing in portable frames, and among the best 

 of these is Little Marvel. This is a most prolific 

 variety, producing pods of excellent quality and 

 perfecting its crop splendidly under glass. In 

 warm districts seeds of early varieties of Peas 

 may be sown in shallow boxes for planting out in 

 sheltered parts of the garden. Sow the seeds 

 thinly, afford a copious watering, and germinate 

 them in a cool structure. Never allow the plants 

 to become drawn ; it is far better to place the 

 plants in the open than allow this to take place. 



Broad Beans. — This vegetable is not grown 

 nearly so extensively for producing early pods 

 under glass as its merits deserve. A supply of 

 pods may be obtained easily early in May, if the 

 seeds are sown the previous autumn. The cul- 

 tural directions recommended for Peas should 

 be followed. Fire-heat should never be used, 

 and the young plants should be afforded the 

 lightest place possible, standing them for pre- 

 ference on shelves in a cool greenhouse or orchard 

 house, and admitting an abundance of fresh air 

 whenever possible. If seeds were sown directly 

 in large pots, the plants should now receive a 

 top-dre>sing, but if they were sown in small pots 

 or boxes, the plants should now be transferred to 

 the larger receptacles. Five plants to each 10- 

 inch pot will be an ample number. Three-parts 

 fill the pots with the compost, the staple of 

 which should be good, turfy loam, thus leaving 

 room for surface dressings' later. The large- 

 podded \tarieties are much to be preferred for this 

 purpose than the smaller ones, and Leviathan 

 may be recommended. 



Cauliflowers. — Few vegetables are more ap- 

 preciated or easilv obtained during the spring 

 months than Cauliflowers, and efforts should be 

 made to have them as early as possible. Autumn- 

 sown plants of suitable varieties, such as Early 

 Forcing. Snowball, and Magnum Bonum, should 

 be lifted with plenty of soil attached to the 

 roots from the cold frames in which they have 

 been growing since autumn. They should be 

 placed in 8-inch pots filled with a compost con- 

 sisting of three-parts good, fibrous loam, one- 

 part leaf-mould, one-part manure from an old 

 Mushroom bed with a 4^-inch pot full of bone- 

 meal to every two bushels of the compost. Pot 



moderately firmly and place the plants in a cool 



house or'pit near to tne ro°fgl ass > where a 

 cool temperature is maintained. Some of the 

 batch may be planted out in portable frames on a 

 very mild" hotbed. They should receive an abund- 

 ance of fresh air whenever possible. Make a 

 small sowing of the varieties Magnum Bonum, 

 Early Giant and Autumn Giant in a cool house. 



Mushrooms. — Maintain a temperature of 

 about 50° to 55° in houses where the beds are in 

 bearing. Endeavour to promote a moist atmo- 

 sphere by avoiding fire-heat as much as possible. 

 Manure intended for successional beds should be 

 turned frequently, so that it may become fairly 

 dry before the bed is formed. 



THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



By J. G. Weston, Gardener to Lady Northcote, 



Eastwell Park, Kent. 



Sowing Seeds. — Biennials are much more 

 extensively employed for bedding purposes than 

 formerly, and these give more satisfactory results 

 when treated as annuals. As they require a Ion 

 season for their full development, an early start 

 should be made. If the seed order has not been 

 despatched to the seedsman, no time should be 

 lost in sending it, as the pressure of business may 

 cause delay in delivery. 



East Lothian Stocks. 



favourites 



—East Lothian Stocks 

 are iavouni.es in every garden, the plants 

 ommencing to bloom early and continuing in 

 flower until the autumn. They may be had in 

 distinct colours, and are most effective when 

 massed or grouped in separate .shades. Many 

 sow the seed in the autumn, and accommodate 

 the plants in frames through the winter. If 

 this practice has not been followed, .seed should 

 be sown now in pans or boxes. All seeds should 

 be sown thinly, and this applies particularly 

 to choice flower-seeds, because, not only is there 

 a waste of seed, but the seedlings become drawn 

 and weakly if this precaution is not taken. 

 Cover the seeds lightly, with finely-sifted loam, 

 mixed with plenty of leaf -mould and sand. The 

 seed pans should be stood in a warm house until 

 the seeds have germinated, but the seedlings 

 should be grown in a cooler place, and kept 

 well up to the roof-glass. 



Antirrhinums. — Antirrhinums have been 

 greatly improved of late years, and are very 

 desirable subjects for the flower garden, includ- 

 ing those of the tall, intermediate and dwarf 

 sections. I have found that those of the inter- 

 mediate type are the best for massing, and the 

 colours embrace delicate shades of pink, 

 oral-red, yellow and crimson, besides white. 

 The taller varieties attain to a height of 

 3 feet, and are effective when disposed in clumps 

 in the mixed border or in groups for 

 brightening the shrubbery. The best of the 

 Tom Thumb varieties are White Queen, 

 Yellow Prince, and Crimson King, and these 

 form fine subjects for edging to flower beds; 

 they are, perhaps, seen at their best when used 

 in conjunction with the taller varieties. 



The Propagating Pit.— Owing to the dry 

 summer and autumn, there was a scarcity of 

 cuttings of bedding Pelargoniums in many gar- 

 dens, and old plants were potted for stock pur- 

 poses. Where these latter have been encouraged 

 to grow in a warm house they will now furnish 

 a supply of cuttings, which "should be dibbled 

 singly into small pots filled with suitable sou. 

 They" should be struck in heat and afforded re- 

 latively dry conditions, until roots have formed, 

 after which a dry, well-ventilated house will be 

 the best place in which to grow them. 



Stock Plants. — Bedding plants, such as 

 Coleus, Iresine, Ageratum, and Heliotrope, 

 hould be kept growing actively in a suitable 

 temperature. As the days lengthen a start should 

 be made with their propagation. An early start 

 is a great advantage, for a well-grown plant, pro- 

 perly hardened, is worth several inferior ones 

 at planting time, and will give almost imme- 

 diate effect. 



Cannas.— Seeds of Cannas and other kinds 

 of plants with hard seeds should be sown i 

 once, as their germination is very slow. The> 

 may be assisted in this respect by making » 

 notch in the hard testa with a knife or file. 

 Grevillea robusta and Melianthus major, re- 

 quired for sub-tropical bedding, or as dot plants, 

 should also be sown. 



