Plants and Flowers For Next Easter— By w. c. McCoiiom, 



New 

 York 



THIS SEASON'S GREATEST OPPORTUNITIES WITH THE GREENHOUSE —MAK- 

 ING PLANS TO CONTINUE THE GARDENER'S INTEREST INTO THE DULL 

 MONTHS — PROFITABLE COMPANION PLANTS FOR THE SINGLE GREENHOUSE 



A 



Cineraria 



UGUST and 



greenhouses? 

 Seems incon- 

 gruous, per- 

 haps; but now is the 

 time to prepare for 

 flowers next Easter. 

 The greenhouse 

 activity begins as the 

 active outdoor work 

 wanes. Thus it is that the true gardener 

 needs must have his little house to fuss 

 over during the winter and provide flowers 

 at the holiday time. Moreover, with a 

 greenhouse hosts of plants can be raised 

 for setting outdoors later, and tender 

 plants can be carried over. What more 

 enjoyable than a little house full of brightly 

 colored and sweetly scented flowers, to 

 say nothing of a few forced vegetables? 

 You readers who have already known the 

 joys of the outdoor hardy garden should 

 now turn your attention to the possibilities 

 of the greenhouse. 



THE KIND OF HOUSE 



With proper management and an in- 

 telligent selection of companion crops, a 

 small greenhouse — perhaps one 18 x 25 ft. 

 — is capable of wonders. For Easter you 

 can have heather, acacias and azaleas; 

 or at another time, such pot plants as 

 cyclamen, cineraria or calceolaria. And 

 always pans of tulips, hyacinths and 

 narcissus, as well as cut flowers for all 

 purposes. Not everything at once — Oh, 

 no! Of course you put together crops 

 that require similar conditions. You can- 

 not for instance, grow roses and cinerarias 

 successfully in the same house. If you 

 must have both a two-compartment house 

 is essential. And take care that the com- 

 partments are not so small as to be im- 



practical. There is too much fluctuation in 

 temperature in a small compartment. If 

 the sun is shining with the ventilators closed 

 the smaller house quickly heats to a danger- 

 ous degree, or if the ventilator is opened a 

 trifle too much, it cools off just as quickly. 

 My advice is against anything much smaller 

 than 18 x 25 ft., each compartment, or 

 one house for general purposes; but close 

 attention and proper management of ven- 

 tilation will produce the finest results in 

 even a much smaller house. It sounds 

 curious but it is true, that the smaller the 

 house the greater and the more constant 

 the attention demanded, in proportion. 



But, after all, results from any green- 

 house depend largely on the ingenuity of the 

 handler. The skilful operator will have a 

 rotation of flowers, each one occupying 

 bench space for the minimum time; he 

 will also transgress on the laws of nature 

 by growing plants in a temperature or 

 under conditions not wholly to their liking. 

 The beginner, however, should select plants 

 that require the same general conditions, 

 as given in the tables that supplement this 

 article. Observe the temperature figures 

 — soil and moisture can be controlled for 

 each plant. 



Practically every single plant demands 

 individual treatment in some small detail 

 in order to grow to its highest state of 

 perfection; but we do not assume that the 

 amateur has in mind any such thing as 

 growing greenhouse flowers for exhibition, 

 but rather that he wants a reasonable 

 abundance of bloom over as long a season 

 as possible — flowers for indoor decoration 

 and to shame the neighbors. With a two- 

 compartment house it is perfectly possible 

 for any one beginning right now to have in 

 flower for Easter all the various plants 

 enumerated in the following tables. 



Calceolaria 



The temperatures 

 given are ideal, and 

 nearly all the plants 

 can, as a matter of 

 fact, be grown success- 

 fully with a difference 

 of 5 degrees in either 

 direction. Be it noted 

 that the figures given 

 are the night temper- 

 atures (all plant growing temperatures are 

 stated at the ideal minimum); there will 

 be a normal rise of 8 to 10 degrees at 

 all times during the day; when the sun 

 is strong and there is plenty of air on, 

 a house can be allowed to run 20 degrees 

 higher with no bad result to the contents. 

 It is, in fact, beneficial; but note the condi- 

 tions — strong sun and free ventilation. 

 Those two factors must always be taken 

 together. 



PLANTS TO GROW TOGETHER 



There are endless combinations of good 

 things that can be grown in a one-compart- 

 ment house. Experiment as much as you 

 like within the proper limits of tem- 

 perature, but don't try impossible com- 

 binations, such as calceolarias and roses. 

 Bear in mind, ever, that in forcing plants 

 you are tampering with nature and you 

 can go only just so far. 



With roses as the main feature, there 

 can be cyclamen, bougainvillea, azalea, 

 acacia, lilies, lily-of-the-valley, spirea, 

 calla, freesia, amaryllis, begonia, and helio- 

 trope. 



Carnations being the principal crop (and 

 taking a lower temperature), there could 

 also be stocks, cinerarias, primulas, deutzia, 

 forsythia, rhododendron, lilac, tulip, hy- 

 acinth, narcissus, snapdragon, mignonette 

 and Marguerite. 



TENDER PLANTS TO GROW FROM CUTTINGS 



"V^7TTH very few exceptions these plants can be had in flower all winter, and by good treatment can be had in the very best of 

 » * condition for Easter. Plants that have been producing all winter want plenty of food toward spring, when the days begin to 

 lengthen. In winter when the weather is dull and the fire heat makes the plants move slowly, liquid feeding must be done sparingly, 

 but during the spring you can use food very freely and get good results. 



COMMON NAMES 



NAME 



WHEN TO 

 PLANT 



HOW TO PLANT 



HOW TO HANDLE AFTER 

 PLANTING 



NUMBER MONTHS 

 TO FLOWER 



TEMPERA- 

 TURE 



REMARKS 



Begonia 



Begonia 



Mar. or 

 Apr. 



Pot cuttings when root- 

 ed and grow on in 

 pots 



Keep shifting into larger pots as re- 

 quired. Use good light soil mixture 

 with plenty of leaf mold 



8 to 9 



45° to 50° 



Do not overwater and so get soil sour. Feed 

 very lightly when flowering 



Cherry pie 



Heliotrope 



Mar. or 

 Apr. 



Pot cuttings when root- 

 ed and grow on in 

 pots 



Keep shifting into larger pots as re- 

 quired. Use good rich soil; keep 

 well sprayed 



3 to 4 



40° to 45° 



Keep flowers pinched off during summer and 

 feed well when flowering starts 



Daisy or 

 Marguerite 



Chrysanthe- 

 mum frutes- 

 cens 



Mar. or 

 Apr. 



Pot cuttings when root- 

 ed and grow on in pots 



Keep shifting into larger pots when 

 plants get potbound. Use good 

 rich soil 



8 to 9 



"40° to 45° 



Keep growing. Feed freely when flowers appear. 

 Keep plants in sunny place and well turned 

 to flower evenly 



Geranium 



Pelargonium 

 hortorum 



Mar. or 

 Apr. 



Pot cuttings when root- 

 ed and grow on in pots 



Keep shifting into larger pots as re- 

 quired. Use good rich soil and feed 

 freely when growing. Spray well 



3 to 4 



40° to 45° 



Keep flowers picked off and plant well pinched 

 during summer for fine specimen by fall 



Geranium, Mar- 

 tha Washing- 

 ton 



Pelargonium 

 domesticum 



Mar. or 

 Apr. 



Pot cuttings when root- 

 ed and grow on in pots 



Keep shifting into larger pots.' Use 

 good rich soil and keep well sprayed 



8 to 9 



40° to 45° 



Keep potted on and ripen up in winter by par- 

 tially drying ; then repot and start into growth. 

 Feed freely when growing 



