28 



T HE G A R D E N MAGAZINE 



' E B R U A R, Y ,19 13 



Readers' Service 



f M ~yHIS department gives direct personal service to each reader of The Garden Magazine. The most expert advice that the 



m editors of the magazine can receive is thus brought to your door just when you need it. Write out your question, mail it to 



m us, and the manager of the Readers' Service will transmit the desired information, after putting the question before the proper 



-*L authority. This special service has been of real value to many, and it is available to every Garden Magazine reader, upon 



request and without expense, although a stamped envelope for reply is appreciated. 



There are, however, some things we cannot do. We cannot supply plans for garden design or for garden making or for buildings, 

 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, or 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. 



Effect of lime on trees 



Can you tell me whether there is any published 

 list of trees and shrubs indicating' whether appli- 

 cations of lime are injurious to evergreens generally, 

 and to oak, maple, etc.? — C. D., Maryland. 



— We do not know of any completely compiled 

 list of trees that will give you the information you 

 desire. Generally horticulturists regard lime as 

 injurious to all plants of the ericaceous group — 

 that is, the ' rhododendrons, mountain laurels, 

 erica, etc. It is open to question whether the lime 

 is in itself injurious in such a case or whether it is 

 merely that the soil containing lime is too close 

 and heavy. The plants of the Heath family look 

 for light, open, cool, well-drained, but not dry 

 soils, and such soils are not found in limestone 

 regions. The hemlock will certainly grow on lime- 

 stone soils; so equally will pine. The native red 

 cedar is widely distributed over a great variety of 

 soils, and great forests of it are found on lime- 

 stone hills. Oak and maple do rather better on 

 limestone soils than on other types of soils, 

 especially rich loams. Broadly speaking, with 

 the exception of the ericaceous plants, all our trees 

 are indifferent to the presence or absence of lime. 



Dahlia roots drying out 



I find on examining some dahlia roots stored 

 in a dry cellar, frost proof but cool, that they are 

 very shriveled, dry and dead looking. How can I 

 keep the roots from drying out any more? — 

 H. W. M., Indiana. 



— The air of the cellar must be too dry; cover 

 the bulbs with newspapers or old clothes, and 

 sprinkle water on top of the covering. Packing 

 the roots in coal ashes, which retain moisture pretty 

 well, has been very successful in many cases. If 

 the roots are moderately watered as suggested, 

 however, there ought to be no trouble in saving 

 them. But the roots must be watched and their 

 condition, of course, must govern the treatment. 



Shrubs for a shady location 



My house fronts northeast; on the northwesterly 

 end, adjoining the front entrance and next to the 

 foundation, I have thoroughly prepared a bed 

 sixteen feet long and five feet wide for shrubs and 

 other plants. On account of the porch and maple 

 trees this particular place receives no sunlight. 

 For the background I want shrubs not exceeding 

 five feet in height. What shall I plant? — C. J. S., 

 Long Island. 



— The situation you name is an almost impossible 

 one. Flowering plants must have sunshine to do 

 really well, and those things that will exist in shade 

 merely exist but do not flourish. Weigela, Kerria 

 iaponica, highbush cranberry, shadbush, Anthony 

 Waterer spirea, the deutzias and snowberry will 

 grow, but they will not attain perfection 



Phlox blight 



Last year my hardy phlox seemed to be attacked 

 by some sort of a blight, many of the leaves turning 

 brown and dropping off. The blossoms were un- 

 sightly, too. What can I do this year to guard 

 against a similar attack? — J. S. R., New York. 



— The trouble complained of is not uncommon, 

 but no one seems to know exactly how to combat 



it. Its exact character is not recognized. We 

 advise planting so as to give very free air circula- 

 tion to the plant, and spraying with any of the 

 copper poisons — bordeaux mixture or copper 

 carbonate — around the base of the plants. This 

 treatment is efficacious sometimes. Potassium 

 sulphide solution is also recommended. But we are 

 in the position, unfortunately, of not being able 

 to advise properly until somebody determines the 

 exact cause and nature of the trouble. One or 

 two other common plant diseases such as peony 

 and larkspur blight are of the same class. 



The elm leaf beetle 



Every year a Camperdown elm tree that is 

 planted in my lawn is attacked by insects which 

 destroy the leaves, and before August is over the 

 tree is almost denuded. What can I do to 

 destroy the insects? — W. A. R., Pennsylvania. 



— Your elm tree is attacked by the elm leaf beetle, 

 which is devastating the elms throughout the 

 entire country. The only remedy is to spray with 

 arsenate of lead in the spring time and again in 

 August. This little insect winters through, in the 

 crevices, and under any sheltering material that 

 it can find around the place. You can get a 

 circular giving its life history from the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



Pink peonies for a border 



I have a single border of Festiva maxima peonies 

 and wish to make it a double border by planting 

 another variety in the rear. What variety, bloom- 

 ing at the same time is a deep pink and about 

 the same height ? — E. W. O., North Carolina. 



— For a deep pink peony, use the variety often 

 sold as Lady Leonora Bramwell, a synonym for 

 Dr. Bretonneau (Verdier). In a somewhat lighter 

 color Monsieur Jules Elie is a very fine flower which 

 also blooms with Festiva maxima. In about the 

 same general tone of color, Gloire de Charles 

 Gombrult and Triomphe de l'Exposition de Lille 

 are both fine varieties. Any one of these should 

 answer the purpose. 



Bulbs growing in water 



Is it possible to do anything with daffodil bulbs 

 that have been growing in water? Will they ever 

 bloom again? Are they hardy if planted out-of- 

 doors?— H. B. H., Oklahoma. 



— The hardiness of the daffodils would depend, 

 of course, on the species. If they are the large 

 trumpet kind, they are hardy; if of the so-called 

 Chinese sacred lily kind, they are not. As a rule 

 bulbs that have been grown in water are utterly 

 useless. Sometimes the offsets of extra strong 

 bulbs will retain vitality and those can be grown 

 on for a few years, but the result is usually not 

 worth the cost of the labor involved. Better by 

 far to buy good strong, flowering bulbs. 



Rooting rose slips 



Is it difficult to raise roses from slips? What is the 

 process and the time for doing it? — M. H., New York. 



— The raising of roses from slips all depends on 

 what kind of roses you want to work with. The 

 Wichuraiana hybrids can be propagated from 

 prunings taken in the spring. Just sticking them 



in a light sandy soil will cause them to root. Roses 

 of the rugosa type apparently will not grow from 

 cuttings at all. Many of the tea roses grow fairly 

 easily from cuttings taken in the fall which can be 

 carried over the winter in frames. Read the article 

 on page 252 of the January Garden Magazine. 



American and English holly 



Will holly thrive in New Jersey? In what soil 

 will it grow best? From whom can plants be 

 purchased? Do they grow in tree or bush form? 



— H. S., New Jersey. 



— We do not know whether you mean the American 

 or English holly, The native American holly 

 grows all through the eastern United States from 

 Maine to Florida and therefore will grow in New 

 Jersey. It will grow in any garden soil, even 

 existing in very light and poor sandy soils. A good 

 average garden soil, such as will grow corn, will 

 give best results. Plants can be purchased from 

 any dealer in hardy shrubs. The American holly 

 grows as a small tree up to thirty feet but is com- 

 monly seen in much smaller plants. The English 

 holly is doubtfully hardy as far north as New 

 York — that is to say, it will grow in sheltered 

 places but cannot be depended upon generally. 

 We know it growing on the south shore of Long 

 Island within a quarter of a mile of the ocean and 

 also in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, in sheltered corners. 

 English holly requires a moist, moderately rich 

 soil. It is a tree, slow growing and attains a height 

 of twenty to thirty feet. Plants could probably 

 be purchased from any nurseryman who imports 

 European plants. 



Heating a small greenhouse 



Please give me details for heating a small green- 

 house (19 x 50 ft., 97 feet to ridge, 5 feet to plates, 

 2 feet of glass on sides) with hot water. The house 

 stands lengthwise north and south, is to be used 

 for growing geraniums, and should be capable of 

 maintaining 60 degrees in zero weather. — L. A. F., 

 Connecticut. 



— A house of this size, to give a temperature of 

 55 to 60 degrees during zero weather, would re- 

 quire 550 feet of radiating surface. If the boiler 

 is to be placed at one end and the house has a door 

 in each end, the most satisfactory way of heating 

 would be to have the boiler p'aced in a cellar below 

 the workroom. If this system is adopted and, 

 assuming that regular 4-inch outside diameter 

 cast iron greenhouse pipe is to be used, two coils 

 each of five pipes should be placed underneath the 

 side benches, the coils to be fed by a main of the 

 same size pipe. The coils should be returned 

 around to the door at the outer end. A 7-gallon 

 expansion tank should be placed in the shed. 

 Should it be desired to use 2-inch wrought pipe, 

 two coils of seven pipes each would be required. 

 Should you not care to build a cellar, the boiler 

 should rest about two feet below the greenhouse floor 

 and a 3^-inch inside diameter, overhead main carried 

 under the ridge to the far end of the house, and 

 there divided so as to feed the coils under each 

 bench. The size of the coils would be the same 

 as in the first system described, which would be 

 the more satisfactory. A boiler containing 3 

 square feet of grate area should be used. — Wil- 

 liam Sefton. 



