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THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



August, 1912 



Readers' Service 



TO SUPPLEMENT the magazine itself we have established the Readers' Service, by which the whole organization of the 

 staff of experts, with whom the editors of the magazine are in touch, is brought right to the door of the individual 

 reader. All that is necessary for the reader to do is to send an inquiry by mail, and every effort will be made to give a 

 complete and satisfactory answer — by return mail, if possible — or, at all events, to put the inquirer in the way of getting 

 the knowledge sought. Only answers of general interest will be published here. 

 This special service has been of real value to many readers, as dozens of letters testify. And it is all available to every 

 reader of The Garden Magazine upon request and without expense (although a stamped and addressed envelope for reply is 

 appreciated). Through this service each reader of The Garden Magazine, therefore, has the advantage of the most expert 

 advice that the editors of the magazine can procure. 



There are some things we cannot do. We cannot, for instance, undertake work that properly belongs to expert professional 

 service. We cannot supply plans for garden design or for garden making or for buildings, because this really requires intimate 

 knowledge of the special conditions and a personal inspection; nor can we make complete planting lists for individual purposes. 

 We are, however, in such cases ready to give references to people who we think could adequately serve the inquirer. 



We are always ready, however, to answer specific questions and to make suggestions regarding garden designs or planting 

 plans that may be submitted to us. Address all inquiries to The Garden Magazine Readers' Service, Garden City, Long Island, N. Y. 



Transplanting Oriental poppies 



What is the best time to move the Oriental 

 poppy? I had supposed August, but have just read 

 that the roots should not be disturbed during their 

 resting period, which is August. — S. W. B., Massa- 

 chusetts. 



— Notwithstanding what you quote, we believe 

 that the Oriental poppy is best divided just after 

 blooming — that is, in late July or August. The 

 plants make a growth in the autumn; therefore 

 plants divided at this time of year will start and 

 become established before the winter. If moved 

 in the spring, they cannot recover in time to flower 

 the same year. 



Perennial phlox reverting 



What is the cause of perennial phlox (named 

 varieties, mostly red and pink) reverting to lavender 

 and magenta shades? I have between fifty to sixty 

 clumps growing in rich black loam, have tried bone 

 meal and nitrate of soda, but one by one they lose 

 color. — W. L. S.. Missouri. 



— The trouble with your phlox is unquestionably 

 the dying of the parent stock, and the succession 

 of volunteer seedlings. There is no difficulty in 

 maintaining phlox true to name if the clumps are 

 kept isolated and divided from time to time. Phlox 

 raised from seed true to name will eventually 

 revert to one of the parent types. There is such a 

 thing as "sporting," which is the sudden develop- 

 ment of some characteristic not normal to the plant, 

 but it is inconceivable that this should occur con- 

 stantly. Be careful to keep the named roots free 

 from surrounding seedlings, lift and divide every 

 three or four years, and do not endeavor to remedy 

 the matter by fertilization which would have no 

 effect whatever. 



Raising pecans 



Is it possible for me to raise pecans on low, wet, 

 flat land (not subject to overflow but underlaid 

 with clay) which formerly had a heavy growth of 

 oak and hickory? How long will it take the trees 

 to bear a paying crop after budding or grafting 

 them on to hickory or wild pecans? — A. A. R., 

 Arkansas. 



— Pecans seem to prefer a moist, rich soil, al- 

 though they are grown successfully on a variety of 

 soils. In Georgia, a sandy loam soil with a clay 

 subsoil is considered best. Trees on clay soil bear 

 well and early, but the nuts are small. A writer 

 in Florida states that sandy pine lands will produce 

 pecans in perfection; while another, that they will 

 thrive on dry lands which are good for corn or cot- 

 ton. Pecan trees may bear a few nuts at an early 

 age, but paying crops cannot be expected under ten, 

 and full crops under twenty years. The annual 

 crop of each tree in full bearing is from one to twenty 

 bushels. A book by H. H. Hume, entitled "Pecan 

 and Its Culture," price $i, would be of interest 

 to you. 



When to sow peony seed 



Do peony seed pods ripen in one year? Should 

 the seed be sown at once or in the spring? How 

 long before the plant will bloom? — A. B. F., 

 Massachusetts. 



— Peony seeds ripen the same year in which they 

 are formed, and can be sown at once or in the 

 following spring, but it will take three or four years 

 ior the plants to attain blooming size. 



Killing a poplar tree 



How can I kill the stumps of several poplar trees 

 on my lawn? Two years ago I cut them down and 

 bored a 2-inch hole one foot deep in each stump, 

 filling them with saltpetre to destroy all life, but 

 they persist in sprouting. — H. E. R., New York. 



— Poplars are the most difficult of all trees to kill 

 and success is attained only by persistent attention 

 and the exercising of every possible means of sup- 

 pressing the grow-th. Never allow the sprouts to 

 get any headway; dig them up and root them out 

 as far as possible. 



What makes a peony's color fade? 



I have a fine tree peony which has bloomed for 

 eight or nine years. For the past two years the 

 color has changed from a deep pink to a faded 

 pinkish white. What is the matter with the plant 

 and what can be done to it? — R. N., Virginia. 



— The change of color in your peony may be due 

 to one of two causes — either a sport (that is, the 

 sudden appearance of an entirely new variety). 

 or the growth of the stock on which the original 

 plant was grafted. In the first case, the remedy 

 would be to cut out the portion that is now pro- 

 ducing the pinkish flowers; in the second, there 

 would be no remedy, as the top is dead. 



To carpet the bulb bed 



Is there not some hardy perennial that might be 

 grown in a crocus and tulip bed without disturbing 

 the bulbs? The bed is on the east side of the house, 

 has plenty of sun in the spring, but in summer is 

 shaded by a scarlet oak on the south side. — 

 G. W. H., Ohio. 



— For a permanent carpeting plant for the bed 

 indicated, we suggest the mountain spurge (Pachy- 

 sandra terminalis), which will give a very dignified 

 effect. The objection to Phlox snbulala, which 

 is more generally grown, is that it makes an extraor- 

 dinary blaze of color in the spring and while ever- 

 green does not make a perfect mat of foliage all 

 through the season but becomes somewhat lumpy 

 in appearance. It is an ideal edging plant espe- 

 cially where it has an opportunity to run on banks 

 or over rocks. Of course, any carpeting plant 

 over a bulb bed needs attention to keep it from 

 making too dense a mantle. Vinca minor is a 

 reliable evergreen, but its foliage is too dark and 

 lacks character, and the creeping honeysuckle 

 becomes an abominable weed. .: . 



Why dahlia flowers fail 



What makes the buds on my dahlia plant blast 

 during July and August? — H. A. U., Pennsylvania. 

 — Probably the cause of this is that the plants 

 have made an effort to flower before they have 

 a sufficiently strong constitution. They have 

 reached the flowering stage just as the hot weather 

 strikes, and consequently are unable to build up 

 flowers. This forms the basis for the strong 

 advocacy of late planting. If you do not plant 

 until the first week in July the plants do not 

 endeavor to flower until after the very hot days 

 of August. Of course, if the summer is cold, early 

 planting will result in early flowers; but in the 

 average year this blackening and failure to bloom 

 properly would be avoided by late planting. 



Raising annuals to sell 



How are annuals raised in a hotbed for selling, 

 and which ones transplant the best? — L. B. P., 

 Kansas. 



— As a rule annual plants do not bear transplant- 

 ing, and the plan of work must be laid out accord- 

 ingly. Sow seeds in flats or drills in a coldframe, 

 transplant into pots or boxes when very small and 

 let these boxes or pots be the receptacles in which 

 you will sell them: they can then be knocked out 

 of the pots or boxes with the roots intact. Prac- 

 tically all the common plants may be handled in this 

 way with the exception of mignonette and poppy. 

 Annuals forced in the hotbed do not transplant 

 well, with the exception of zinnias and other late 

 seasoned kinds which require warm soil, but cold- 

 frame treatment is the best. See the articles by 

 Mr. Kruhm, now appearing in The Garden 

 Magazine. 



The hollyhock disease 



The leaves of my hollyhocks are covered with 

 brown specks and the plants seem to be failing. 

 How shall I treat them? — S. I. P. Connecticut. 

 — The small brown pustules on the under-sides 

 of the leaves of the hollyhocks are the common 

 hollyhock disease, which is one of the most difficult 

 diseases to combat. Some thirty years ago it 

 practically cleared out the hollyhock as a popu- 

 lar garden plant. Destroy by burning every plant 

 in your neighborhood. Refrain from any attempt 

 to grow hollyhocks for one year, and after that time 

 make a fresh start with healthy stock from an out- 

 side source. Thorough spraying with bordeaux 

 mixture from the very moment the young plants 

 appear above ground and persistently keeping 

 the ground covered with bordeaux all through the 

 season, may do some good. Tobacco is absolutely 

 useless. The Puccinia, which is the fungus causing 

 the disease, sends its minute, threadlike growths 

 throughout the entire tissue of the plant, traveling 

 inside. The little pustules seen on the leaves are 

 the fruit capsules, every one of which contains 

 perhaps thousands of spores. 



