CARNATIONS 

 Cultural Notes 



305 



Plants which have been growing in the benches from July on 

 will usually produce side shoots at the base of or along the flower 

 stems by November, which, when about 3 in. long make ideal 

 cuttings. No knife or trimming is required. Hold the stem with 

 the left hand and with a sideward twist of the right you can easily 

 remove the shoot its entire length, ready for the propagating bench. 

 Insert in the sand a good inch deep and press the sand firmly. Don't 

 shade the cuttings during December; they won't wilt if the sand 

 is kept fairly moist at all times, and if just a little bottom heat can 

 be had. Inside of a month ninety-five per cent of the cuttings are 

 rooted, ready for 2-in. pots. A house of 50 deg. is all right for propagat- 

 ing as well as for the small stock. By February the plants are 

 ready for a shift into 3s and the removal of their centers so as to 

 avoid developing a flower stem, and to encourage the plants to grow 

 bushy. By the middle or end of April, the plants can be transferred 

 to a coldframe to be hardened off, the first and second week giving 

 plenty of air on bright days and finally removing the sashes alto- 

 gether. Get ready to plant in the field by early May, allowing about 

 10 in. between the plants in the row, and sufficient room between 

 the rows to permit cultivating. 



Fig. 123.— Gabnations m the Field. Some 66,000 plants grown as a substitute 



for farm crops near Washington, D. C, for a retailer in that city. Set out iu April, 



the plants were well along when this picture was taken in July. 



