ipVERY person owning a small green- 

 house is anxious to have something 

 that, not costing much, will add to the 

 variety of flowers that can be procured from 

 the house. A great many garden flowers 

 can be forced in the greenhouse but they 

 require close attention and skilled culti- 

 vation, and this is just what the beginner 

 tries to avoid. He is seeking something 

 that is not exacting, which can be depended 

 upon to flower even though here and there 

 a little bit of neglect crops up in their 

 cultivation. 



The "rough and ready" nature of the 

 plants named below makes them popular; 

 but their greatest asset to my mind is the 

 fact that they fill in well when a person finds 

 that he has room for more, or where, through 

 the finishing of crops or other causes he 

 wants something that will produce quickly 

 and which does not have to be thought 

 out and provided for a year in advance. 



There is no finer flower of this type any- 

 where than the dainty, chaste, and delicate 

 little baby's breath {Gypsophila elegans), 

 a garden annual which for cutting purposes 

 is unsurpassed. A continuous supply of 

 flowers can be had all winter by sowing 

 seed every two or three weeks. I usually 

 start sowing seed about October ist and 

 make a point to sow it every three weeks 

 during the entire winter. Not much need 

 be sown at one time — a seed pan will be 

 an abundance for ordinary needs. Sow the 

 seeds thinly and water carefully until they 

 are large enough to handle, when they can 

 be transplanted into boxes or directly into 

 the greenhouse bench. A night temperature 

 of 45 to 50 degrees suits them best. Plant 

 the seedlings about four inches apart each 

 way and have a good rich soil. Use 

 almost one half sifted cow manure in 

 preparing your soil. Plant just enough 

 of the seedlings each time to supply 

 your needs until the next sowing comes 

 into flower. The plant is very frail 

 and delicate, and care must be taken 

 in watering. A few strings run along 

 the rows will serve to support them, 

 although I have always got along 

 without them. After the flowers are 

 cut the roots can be torn out and the 

 space utilized for something else. 



The schizanthus has become very 

 popular of late years, for which the in- 

 troduction of many new varieties has 

 been responsible. It is one of the showiest 

 of all pot plants when well grown, attaining 

 a height of from three to four feet and being 

 absolutely covered with beautifully colored, 



By W. C. McCollom, York 



orchid-like little flowers. It is an easy 

 plant to grow and can be had in flower 

 at all seasons. 



Start sowing schizanthus seed during 

 October and sow a small amount about 

 every four weeks. The young plants, 

 when large enough, must be transplanted 

 into pots or benches. The better way is to 

 pot up all you need in thumb pots. When 

 they are well rooted, the ones wanted for 



The stock, though one of the really old fashioned flow- 

 ers, is as great a favorite today as ever it was 



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WKWMWB 





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The 



tobacco plant is better for winter than for summer flowering 

 as the blooms do not close up in the dull days 



pot use can be transferred to larger pots; 

 the others can be planted in the benches, 

 about one foot apart each way. A rich 

 soil, as recommended for gypsophila, should 



55 



be used. These plants are not troubled 

 with insects of any kind — only the cus- 

 tomary green fly which, however, is easily 

 kept in check by spraying or fumigating. 

 A night temperature of about 50 degrees 

 suits them best, and plenty of liquid feeding 

 just before flowering starts. A 6 or 7-inch 

 pot is large enough to flower them in. 

 Quite a range of colors can be had in this 

 plant. 



Something rarely seen in greenhouses 

 during winter is the tobacco plant (Nicoi- 

 iana data, or Sanderce hybrid), which forces 

 well and the hybrid varieties contain a fair 

 range of color. It is of such easy growth 

 that it could be easily called "weedy." It 

 requires about the same general care as 

 the schizanthus. 



The rhodanthe is a nice little flower for 

 pot work. It has delicately colored flowers 

 of the everlasting nature, and being a sort 

 of trailer requires a simple support of some 

 kind to keep it upright. The vine is a 

 very graceful one and makes admirable 

 material, when cut, for table work. About 

 three sowings of this will carry you through 

 the winter. The plant should always be 

 grown in pots. A simple method of sup- 

 porting it is to place about four stakes 

 around the inside of the pot and lace a 

 few strings around the stakes. 



Although it has been before us for years, 

 the old-fashioned stock still holds its own. 

 It is a good thrifty pot plant and has a wide 

 range of colors. Some people grow it in 

 pots, flowering the plant in a 6 or 7-inch 

 pot; others have it in a much smaller pot, 

 feeding freely at flowering time. This 

 method gives quicker results. Others would 

 never dream of having it any place else than 

 in the benches. Personally, I grow 

 stock in pots of the larger size and 

 bench a fair proportion for cut flow- 

 ers. For winter flowers, start stock in 

 August and sow about every four 

 weeks. You can use the "cut and 

 come again" type, but my experience 

 has always been that the finest flowers 

 are always to be had from the second 

 cutting, and it takes this stock al- 

 most as long to come into bearing 

 again as it would if you had a nice 

 batch of young, healthy plants all 

 ready to bench as soon as you had com- 

 pleted your first cut. Stock thrives 

 in a cool house, about 45 degrees 

 suits it best, but you will get more flow- 

 ers at a night temperature of 50 degrees 

 and the soil can hardly be too rich for 

 them. 



