902 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



November 23, 1912. 



W'ORK FOR THE WEEK 



THE ORCHID HOUSES. 



MASDEVALLIAS.— Those that were re- 

 potted during September will now be rooting 

 troely, and making fresh leaf growth; but 

 they must still have water given them 

 very sparingly^ as an exce^ of moisture to 

 the roots at any time will re-sult in the loss 

 of many leaves and roots, which means the 

 general decline of Ww |)lants. The hlack 

 markings and spots wliidi often disfigure tliv 

 leaves of ma(>devalliii£s art' j)rincipally caused 

 by excessive moisture at the roots, or an 

 excess of atmot^pheric moi&ture during damp, 

 cold weather. Now that it is necessary to 

 use fire-heat to maintain the tcm]>eratun\ 

 care must be taken to prevent aridity in tlic 

 atmosphere, as a dry, paidied atmosphere is 

 moat harmful at any seu.'.iMi ot the year. 

 Much depends upon the situation of the houFe 

 in which the plants are grown; Hhould it be 

 in a dry, expensed position, more atmosplieric 

 moisture can be supplied by damping between 

 the pots, on the Hoor, etc., than would be 

 requisite if the houne were situated in a 

 moist and damp situation. 



M;T0VA«ENS[S. rvmoved to the cool end 

 of the intermediate liou.se, as advised last 

 month, are now in flower, or fast developing 

 their flower-spikes of pure white flowers; these 

 being produced upon tlio top of the stems, 

 •which vary in length from 4 to 6in., and 

 bring the flowers well u]> above the foliage. 

 Being of a veiy f ree-fiowering nature and 

 of compact growth, it is n valualilo decorative 

 subject. If the plants are in a shaded 

 position in the intermediate house they 

 will i(^7naiu in flower fm .^orne five or 



v-ater. For table decoration this plumbago 

 is unique, and when associated with light 

 fern, or asparagus frondis the effect under 

 artificial light is. charming. The plants will 

 now be throwing up their inflorescences, and 

 should be regularly fed with liquid farmyard 

 manure, alternated with a safe artificial, 

 until the flowers commence to open, when 

 only clear water should be applied. 



EUPHORBIA FULGENS.— This is an- 

 other indispensable plant that requires eVery 

 attention at the hands of the cultivator from 

 now onwards. Flowers will be showing, and 

 the ])lants must l>e kept not far from the 

 rnof-olass, which should be kept cl^-an. I 

 know of no plant more impatient cf being 

 over-watered or over-fed. The soil should 

 Ix* allowed to l>ecome fairly dry before water 

 is niv-en. aiul then it should be of about the 

 ^aii] ' 1e((t|;:'iat ure as the air of the structure. 

 Some manurial assiistance should be con- 

 tinued until the flowers open, but it should 

 be given well diluted, or the delicate roots 

 will be injured. Cow or sheep manure, with 

 soot added and placed in a bag in a tank 

 or tub of rainwater, gives at once a safe 

 and beneficial stimulant to this and other 



. When growu iu fairly large quan- 

 tities, it in easv to make an effective display 

 at this dull season of the year, especially if 

 a f(nv of the brilliant odmit ioda^? are mixed 

 with Iheni. This uia-dex allia .should always 

 be removed when in flower from the house 

 during vaporising, or the tails of the blooms 

 will quickly turn to a hrowui-^h-pink colour 

 and be spoilt. The flower-^pike- should be 

 cut away as soon an tik^ flowers fade, al- 

 though they may produce flowers again, 

 but I think the practice of allowing them 

 to flower more than once is injurious. 



CYPRTPEDIUM INSIGNE AND ITS 

 VARIEITES.— In the intermediate house tile 

 numerous varieties of this most^ useful orchid 

 will for some time onward be in full beauty. 

 In the more southern districts the flowers 

 are pos.<ibIy over l>efore Christmas, but with 

 us in the northern counties they are most 

 valuable for cut flowers at tliat >ea<on. It is 

 astonishing how long the flnwers will last in 

 a cut state if cut when thev havt^ hoon open 

 a reasona]>le time. Perha})s at the present 

 time there is iiot mneli iuduci^ment to grow 

 the true s])e<MVs. esptM ialiv where the better 

 varieties, sucli a- <\ i. Tlarefield Tlall C i 

 Ntupendum. C. i. Ciianti'ui, C. i. Thom'psoni! 

 and -numerous ffther^ amongst the coloured 

 varieties can Ik^ obtained. Besides the 



coloured varieM'(^-. we liav.^ ii.iw in riuantitv 



the beautiful yollow forms, all of which 

 can be obtained at faii'ly reasonable prie?s. 

 T refer to tliat -section whicli iiielud'^^ C 

 Sandera^, (\ i. Sanderianum, C. i. Gloiiv'rK 

 Audenghem, and C, i. Gladys. After tlio^e 

 plants have finished flowering tliev mav be 

 repotted should this be a necessity. Keep 

 them rather dry until the roots enter tlio new 

 compost. By atteudincr to this matter earlv 

 some relief will be afforded in the work of 

 repotting, which pre.^-e, so heavilv in the 

 early dnys of the Xew Year,— J. T. Barker 

 Tile West Hill Gardens. 



STOVE PLANTS. 



Prj'MBAGO l?nsKA.-This useful spe- 

 cies in undouhfedly one of the most beauti- 

 ful of wiuter-floweriuf^ plants, and >>ein<r 

 compact in <rn>\vth. larcro num]>ers may be 

 ^.M-owu in a conip irativ^Mv small space The 

 •■<>^v-M-arl.f (hnvvr^ ;.,e Uo,ne on lon^ spikes 

 am! n m^.tiMMhle value for cuttin- 



pnil.:>,... a. they last for a lon^ time in 



-1 



delicate-rooted plants. 



GARDENIAS.— The plants we depend 

 upon for providing flowers during winter 

 are grown in 24«sized pot^, and they are 

 giving lis occasional blooms, which are much 

 appreciated during the dull days. Given a 

 good holding soil with restricted root-room 

 they produce plenty of stout shoots, each 

 yielding a flower. As is well known gar- 

 <ltenias are gro&s feeders, and when well 

 established in their flowering pots frequent 

 applications of liquid manure are essential to 

 success. A fairly high temperature should 

 also be maintained, accompanied by heavy 

 syringings twice or thrice daily. Cut th^ 

 flowers when about half open, and place in 

 tepul water at once. If allowed to remain on 

 the plant until fully expanded thev quickly 

 turn yellow and fade. 



HIPPEASTRUMS. — Bulbs that were 

 treated as advised in a previous calendar will 

 by now be well ripened, and the pots may 

 he laid on their sides on a dry shelf in an 

 intermediate house until wanted for forcing 

 — H. T. Martin, Warren Wood Gardens. 



FRUITS UNDER GLASS. 



LATE GRAPES.— For the past few weeks 

 the weather in this locality has been very 

 trying for ripe grapes. Generally, Novem- 

 ber IS the most critical month of the year 

 tor ripe grapes hanging upon the vines, 

 therefore take great care to maintain the 

 atmosphere of the house at the proper tem- 

 perature, allow a little heat to be kept in 

 the pipes regularly, and ventilate the house 

 night and day, but in accord with outside 

 climatic conditions. Do not allow the 

 borders to become dry, as this is a praetice 

 that should be heartily condemned; drought 

 has not only an injurious effect upon the 

 roots' of the vines which are still active but 

 It also has a bad effect upon the foliage and 

 fruit. It should l>e borne in mind tliat the 

 Ongor tlie eaves can be maintained, the 

 better and longer the grapes will keep in 

 good condition. When watering is necessary 

 It should be done early on a bright mornin/ 

 with plenty of air admitted to the houses- 

 keep tlie pipes fa rly warm to dispel th^ 

 moisture l>efore night, and maintain a 

 night temperature of from 45 to 50 degrees 

 at all times. Constant c^upervision will be 

 necessary removing at once all berries that 

 show the least sign of decav ; while all de- 

 caved leaves or partially decaved 

 should be taken awav immodiatefy 

 PEACHES AND 



proper placss immediately. This work should 

 be done expeditiously, and the houses put in 

 order without delay, so that no time will be 

 lost when forcing commences. The earlieet 

 house should be closed up at the latter end 

 of this month, but no fire heat will be re- 

 quired for a few weeks; the trees should be 

 lightly sprayed over with tepid water on 

 bright days, early in the forenoon. A tem- 

 perature of 40 to 45 degrees will be suffi- 

 cient, with artificial heat. Proceed with 

 great care at this eeason of the year, as the 

 trees respond very slowly to artificial heat 

 and many failures can be -attributed to the 

 fact that sufficient care and forethought is 

 not exercised at the commenc-ement. 



THE GRAPE ROOM.— Keep the tempera- 

 ture as near 45 degrees as possible, and if 

 this can be secured without the aid of arti- 

 ficial heat, so much the better. Carefully 

 look over the bunches several times a week, 

 and remove all berries that ^how the least 

 sign of decay; keep the room fairly dark 

 and the atmosphere as dry as possible.— 

 Henry R. Farmer, Cardiff Castle Gardens. 



THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



THE WATER GARDEN.— The decayed 

 foliage of plants growing at the water's side 

 should now be removed. Keep the pools 

 theme^elves free from dead leaves'. When it 

 is intended to plant nymphseas in the spring, 

 it is well to mark the vacant spaces at once, 

 so that there will be no difficulty in placing 

 the plants in the right positions. Aquatics 

 can be divided and replanted during open 



various plants that grow 

 so luxuriantly near the water's edge can be 

 treated in the same way. Among those suit- 

 able for this position the following should 

 always be included: Astilbe Davidi, Spir^a 

 aruncus and S. palmata, Lythrum roeeum 

 superbum, a most effective subject; Rod- 

 gersias in, variety, and Saxifraga peltata; 

 Lysimachia clethroides and Funkia Sieboldi, 

 both especially attractive; while Iris Kaemp- 

 feri, I. sibirica, Osmunda regalis. Primula 

 japonica, hemerocallie^ and senecios in 

 variety are quite indispensable. This selec- 

 tion only includes a few of the more desir- 

 able subjects for the purpose. The soil 

 around the plants should l^e Kept free from 

 grass and weeds, and in many cases they 

 will derive benefit from a top-dressing of 

 rich soil or well-decayed manure. 



LILY OF THE VALLEY.— Crowns of this 



leaves 



^1 .1 .1 ^f'^TARINES. — Push 

 on th. hin>Ii u-,tlu>nt dHay the work of prun 



lug, whu-h should only "consist of the re-' 

 uu>val with a sharp knife of all surplus w<id 

 not reqinred to form a welbbalaneed Tr^e 

 Thoroughly clean... the trees with .oanv 

 water or some approved insecticide- tvuh 

 down the gias. and woodwork ^v^tlV^^^nS 

 soapv \\i\irr uid fimlNr i li 



strActure down ith 4i w l ^^^"^^ 



forcibly with the garden e linr wh-?^^^'^ 

 the walk nnxl ..^"''""/"g^'""*". uhitewash 

 rue walls, and tie the trees out into their 



lovelv flowering subject can be planted now. 

 and m choosing a site for them it is well to 

 have a fairly shaded position such as under 

 a north wall. The ground should be liberally 

 enriched with manure, and where it is of a 

 heavy, retentive character, add a good 

 supply of leaf-soil. Plant the crowns' so 

 that their tipts are on a level with tba surface, 

 and apply a top-dressing of leaf-soil two 

 inches thick after plantin.tr. 



CHRISTMAS ROSES.— It is desirable to 

 grow these in beds where they can be easily 

 covered with frames in order' to protect the 

 blooms, otherwise they are frequently spoiled 

 by the weather. Isolated plants are easily 

 covered with handlightts, and when so treated 

 ^-F P^^^^^*^ &^d blooms by Christmas. 

 Iidy up the beds and remove anv decayed 

 tohage around the plants. After the soil 

 has been lightly pricked up with a fork a 

 mulch of decayed manure placed around the 

 plants IS a great advantage. 



• — These noble plants ar^e fre- 

 quentjy a source of much beauty in gardens 



7 „ *^^y succeed. To grow them success- 

 tuliy they require a deep, rich medium loam, 

 and the site should be sheltered and well 

 drained. They look well in shrubbery bor- 

 ders, or in the semi-wild garden where there 

 IS a suitable background to show them off 

 to advantage. They may be planted now, but 

 in preparing the station.s for them great 

 care is necesfiary. If the natural ©oil is of 

 a tenacious character remove it entirely to 

 a aepth of three feet, and use a speeially 

 prepared comport lli.if .]„,uld lx< light and 



ii«-fi. It IS desiral,l<. nmtect the crowns 

 with coal ashes during the winter.— J. 

 (GARDNER, Batsford Park Gardens. 



