February 5, 1896.] 



Garden and Forest. 



55 



Forcing Hybrid Perpetual Roses. 



ONE of the most important points in selecting hybrid Per- 

 petual Roses for forcing is to procure such plants as are 

 budded well down on the stock ; plants budded high invaria- 

 bly become exhausted much sooner than those budded lower, 

 when subjected to the trying ordeal of forcing year after year. 

 The time to introduce the plants into heat must be regulated 

 with reference to the time the flowers are wanted ; about four- 

 teen weeks is generally required from start to finish. It is 

 necessary that the plants be first subjected to a thorough freez- 

 ing to insure their breaking away freely. Pruning is also 

 important, and in no case should the young shoots be left too 

 long, about three good eyes being sufficient. 



are growing freely, and especially after the flower-buds are 

 set, frequent applications of liquid-manure will be found help- 

 ful, and the odor from the manure will assist in keeping down 

 red spider and help to darken and strengthen the foliage. 

 After blooming, repotting or top-dressing should be seen to. 

 according to the requirements, and the same careful treatment 

 continued, every encouragement being given to the plants 

 until the growths have been matured. They may then be 

 hardened off gradually, and toward the beginning of June they 

 should be placed out-of-doors, the pots being plunged to the 

 rims in ashes. The most suitable forcing varieties are Ulrich 

 Brunner, Paul Neron, Magna Charta, Baroness Rothschild and 

 Earl of Dufferin. The last two varieties are somewhat subject 

 to mildew, and should be placed in the warmest end of the 

 house. 



Tarrytown, N. Y. William Scott. 



Fig. 6.— The Western Plane, Platanua occidentalis. — See page 



A night temperature of forty-five degrees will be quite suffi- 

 cient for the plants at first, increasing to fifty degrees as growth 

 advances and until the buds are well formed. After this time 

 sixty degrees will do them no harm so long as the atmosphere 

 of the house is not kept too dry. The first growth is probably 

 the most critical in the whole process, as duringthat time there 

 is greatest danger from stagnation. If water is applied too 

 freely before the plants have had time to produce fresh roots 

 the result will be a sickly stunted growth in place of the de- 

 sired strong, vigorous break. We find light syringing twice 

 daily and the maintenance of a moist atmosphere all that is 

 required for the first three or four weeks. When the plants 



T 1 



Carnation Notes. 



HE propagation of cuttings for plants 

 for next winter can be begun now. 

 We have already inserted cuttings of one or 

 two slender growers like Lizzie McGowan, 

 as it is well to start these early to have 

 strong plants in the fall. Our main batch 

 of Carnation cuttings will be inserted dur- 

 ing February, although we find that such 

 easily propagated kinds as Daybreak, 

 William Scott and Tidal Wave make 

 sufficiently large plants if not put in until 

 March. If the sand in the propagating 

 bench has been already used for other 

 cuttings it should be removed and fresh 

 material supplied, with which more satis- 

 factory results will be obtained. At the 

 bottom of our bench we put a layer of 

 clinkers and coarse cinders; over this is 

 placed a layer of sphagnum moss, and 

 some three inches of sharp sand is ample 

 for all propagating purposes. This should 

 be pressed down firmly and watered with 

 a rose can before the cuttings are in- 

 serted. From four to five weeks generally 

 elapse before the young plants are ready 

 to box off, and with careful attention at 

 least ninety per cent, of the cuttings should 

 take root. The percentage lessens some- 

 what later in the season. We find a bot- 

 tom-heat of about sixty degrees about 

 right. Care must be taken not to allow 

 cuttings to wilt before being put in the 

 bench, and to protect them from the sun's 

 rays until rooted. Neglect of these simple 

 precautions is the cause of many failures. 

 Too much stress cannot be laid on taking 

 cuttings from the strongest and healthiest 

 plants, those produced on the flower-stems 

 being the best. If plants are weak or dis- 

 eased it is far better to buy stock from a 

 reliable florist who makes a specialty of 

 Carnations than to run the risk of perpet- 

 uating disease, with consequent disap- 

 pointment. 



We have recently boxed off our cuttings 

 rooted for outdoorsummer-bloomini;, a 

 we keep them on a shelf close to the 

 glass. In about six weeks these will 

 potted off singly into three-inch pots, or a 

 size larger if the plants are extra-strong. 

 In this latitude it is risky to plant out until 

 the middle of May. By that time, with 

 >'• judicious topping and careful attention, 



the stock will be of good size. Only ;i 

 limited number of sorts flower satisfactorily out-of-doors. 

 Mrs. Fisher is still the best all-round variety, and with us is a 

 mass of bloom and buds from July to November. Other 

 kinds which have proved a success are William Scott, F. 

 Mangold, Daybreak and one or two unnamed scarlet seedlings. 

 If plants on the benches have not yet been cleaned it is well 

 to get this work done before the spring rush commences. 

 That the plants yield better returns after being cleaned any one 

 can testify who has tried it, yet many growers continue to leave 

 the diseased, decaying and dead leaves on their plants the 

 season through. Such foliage on Violets, Roses or Chrysan- 

 themums is more noticeable than on Carnations, but the health 



