Mat U, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



375 



STIMULANTS FOR 

 FERNS AND FOLIAGE 



PLANTS. 



It is frequently found difl&- 

 on\t to secure well-grown plants 



The soil in 



to fit small vases. 



becomes 



a mat of 



the pots , ^ 1 



fibrous roots, and, when a larger 



pot cannot be employed, feed- 

 ing with some kind of liquid 

 manure is imperative, if vigor- 

 ous growth is to be maintained. 

 For this puriK)se liquid manure 

 from the farmyard is sometimes 

 used- but in a very weak condi- 

 tion.' Unfortunately, its odour 

 is objectionable in a dwelling 

 room, and besides it contains 

 too much potash for many ^\xb- 

 Jects. Peruvian guano is also a 

 ready fertiliser for feeding ferns 

 and foliage plants, and, al- 

 though it may used with ad- 

 vantage for plants in a green- 

 house, its odour is equally 

 unpleasant in the house. 



Where leaf production is the 

 aim of the cultivator, I know 

 nothing better than sulphate 

 of ammonia and nitrate of soda. 

 For plants that like a percen- 

 tage of lime in the soil, sulphate 

 of ammonia will give the best 

 results, as the lime present will 

 convert the ammonia sulphate 

 into nitrate of lime — an excel- 

 lent nitTOgenous plant-food . 

 By far the largest number of 

 green foliaged plants, however, 

 do not like lime, and for these 

 the best stimulant is nitrate of 

 soda. Palms, asparagus, aza- 

 lias, cypress, aspidistras, iso- 

 lepis, smilax, selaginellas, and 

 most ferns quickly respond to 

 its application. Being readily 

 soluble, and immediately avail- 

 able, it usually makes its influ- 

 ence apparent in a brief space 

 of time, especially if the plants 

 have been starving for want of 

 food. Asparagus is a seaside 

 plant, and likes plenty of 

 sodium; and I have had good 

 results by supplying carbonate 

 of soda (washing-soda) to large 

 specimens. 



In all cases it is advisable to 

 exercise great care in the use 

 of liquid manures of a concen- 

 trated nature, like sulphate of 

 ammonia and nitrate of soda^ as 

 the application of a strong solu- 

 tion may prove more inimical 

 than beneficial to the subject 

 treated. The "feast and then 

 a last " system of feeding is also 



uttle crude, as the plant has 

 »i<*re than it can manage at one 

 time, and is starving for food 

 the next. When help is neces- 

 ^^'T, It is better to start with 

 ^ ^ery weak liquid manure, use 

 It every time the plant needs 

 *ater, and increase its strength 

 with time and the plant's re- 

 quirements. 



^'or ferns and selaginellas the 

 ^ngest solutions of nitrate of 



and sulphate of ammonia 

 Should never exceed ^oz. to 



half ^ ^vater. About 



that amount will be 



THE LANCASHIRE CUP. 



ompetition at the Royal International H 

 Exhibition bv the County of Lancaster 



safer 



and generally ample for 



THE YORKSHIRE CUP. 



Offered for competition at the R^yal International 



Exhibition by the County of York. 



all plants of this class. 



liquid manures 



often 



Farm- 

 and 



yard 



guanas, too, are orten very 

 caustic in character, and, unless 

 very much diluted when ap- 

 plied ^ may do more harm than 

 good to the growths they are 

 employed to assist. The root 

 hairs are the feeding organs of 



the soil, and are ex- 



plants in 

 ceptionally 



thing of a 



t4K)-strong 



solution of 



soil, 

 sensitive 



to 



any- 

 burning nature'. A 

 dose of a caustic 

 manures will destroy 



and the 



the root hairs, and the plant 

 will have to wait the develop- 

 ment of others before it can ob- 

 tain its necessary supply of 

 food. It is more often in con- 

 nection with the use of farm- 

 yard manure and guano that 

 mishaps occur than with chemi- 

 cal fertilisers, as the former 

 vary so much in the percentage 

 the plant food constituents 



it is difficult 



of 



they contain that 

 to gauge their strength. 



Another item in connection 

 with these organic manures to 

 be remembered is that, if used 

 for a certain period on the same 

 soils, they will ])roduce organic 

 acids. To neutralise these, 

 lime will have to be einploye<l, 

 and, as this would kill most 

 ferns, it is safer to stick to 

 nitrate of soda instead. Witb 

 its known strengtb, cleanliness 

 of handling, freedom fr(»m un- 

 pleasant smell , and its st i m u- 

 lating properties, nitrate of 

 »cxla has no equal as a food for 

 ferns and plants grown for their 

 green foliage. It can be use<l 

 either in the dry state or in 

 solution; but the latter is de- 

 cidedly the better method, as it 

 reaches all the roots in the 

 strength at which it is applie<l. 

 When sprinkled on the surface 

 of the soil in a pot in a dry 

 state, the roots near the top 

 are apt to get more than is good 

 for them, and those below go 



HiBERNTA. 



hungry. 



Horticultural 



Thunia^S will now be start- 

 ing freely into growth, and will 

 succeed under the same condi- 

 tions, and in the same kind of 

 compost as calanthes, with the 

 exception that thunias like a 

 sunny position in the warmest 

 hou se . Th ey may he grow u 

 singly in pots, or made up into 

 specimens, placing five or more 

 bulbs in a seven or eight-inch 

 pot. Their requirements in re- 

 sjject to drainage are similar to 

 calanthes, and water must be 

 given with the greatest cauti<)n 

 until the flower spike appears at 

 the apex of the newly-made 

 stems. Thunias often fail to 

 flower satisfactorily, and the 

 reason in many cases is an over- 

 abundant supply of water in the 

 earlier stages of growth; after 

 the flower buds are formed in 

 the new growth, an abundant 

 supply is necessary, and the 

 plants then may be watered al- 

 ternately with clear water and 

 weak liquid manure. On hot 

 days the plants may be syringed 

 overhead with advantage, as 

 they are subject to attacks of 

 red spider, especially if kept iu 

 a rather dry at ni (sphere. — J. T, 

 Barker, Tlie West Hill 

 Gardens. 



