September 24, 1898. 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



619 



Chrysanthemums. 



HOUSING THE PLANTS AND SUBSEQUENT TREATMENT. 



a pout September 25 all houses which are to accommodate chrysan- 

 A u B m? should be ready to receive the plants. Such preparation of 

 1 r*uc" n,ay 4 necessary rtW-M g* 1 



S surest themselves to all who know the importance of a wholesome 

 fiZess. The beds or borders, under staging which has for a long 

 2m Sen occupied with plants in pots, may probably have become 

 •t and I sour which will impart to the house a bad condition of its 

 rtmosphere, and increase the risk of damping of the blooms Any 

 S soil should be removed from the surface, and a liberal sprinkling of 

 fresh lime eiven, to be covered with cinders or clean ashes. 



In large gardens there is often as much difficulty in finding room for 

 a number of chrysanthemums as in small ones, for in proportion to 

 labour and conveniences at disposal so much more is expected and 

 absolutely required to meet the large demands made on the various 



departments of the garden. 



Fruit houses which are cleared of their crops are always available, 

 but in these there is the difficulty of too much shade from foliage, 

 which, unfortunately for many plants that are perforce placed under- 

 neath it in September, does not admit sufficient light until towards the 

 close of the following month. The best way of meeting this trouble is 

 to place such varieties as have formed buds early, and are not likely to 

 extend their growth after housing, under the most shady parts, and give 

 later flower buds the benefit ot the light. Peach shoots may be loosened 

 and the trees pruned too, quite as well as deferring this practice until 

 the fall of the leaves ; the remaining growths may be tied in groups 

 closely together if the wood is well matured, thus admitting a good share 

 of direct light to plants under the trees. Vines may also have all lateral 

 growths removed, and the shoots reduced to five or six leaves in length, 

 which really in the case of early vineries is a good plan early in September, 

 so that the vines may concentrate their forces in building up the buds 

 and elaborating sap which vines, as much as any plant, are supposed to 

 do for the next season's growth. 



All this may be beside the question of housing chrysanthemums, but 

 gardeners have to scheme so much in autumn to accommodate the 

 many things which have been growing in the open during summer that its 

 bearing on the subject is important. It is ruinous to house varieties with 

 soft shoots and late-formed buds under the dense shade of fruit trees ; 

 flowers will ultimately develop, but the peduncles will have become so 

 attenuated and weakly, and the constitution of the plant so impaired 

 through want of light, that they will be of little use for exhibition. 



It is better that all the plants should stand upon boards or something 

 other than the border soil, so that a free outlet is ensured for water given 

 to the roots. All shoots should be kept tied quite erect, or the blossoms 

 will be liable to uneven development, and though such blooms may look 

 nice on the plants, when cut they are found one-sided and awkward to 

 fix m position. Rather than to injure the roots by putting more stakes in 

 the pot, short light pieces of cane some two feet long may be secured 

 below the bud and looped to the main stake. 



After housing, ventilators, doors, and every means of giving air should 

 ot kept wide open until the plants have gradually become accustomed to 

 their crowded condition, and cooler nights suggest the need of shelter, 

 wch afternoon, when fine, give the foliage a light damping over, and 

 continue doing so until the flowers begin to unfold ; this helps to main- 

 tain something of the same moisture as was supplied by dew while the 

 plants were outude, and prevents the change being felt so keenly, 

 umigate thoroughly on two successive evenings, to clear the plants of 

 y thnps or o.fe«r obnoxious insects which may infest them, and also 

 the lower portions of the foliage a good dusting of sulphur. This 



Dcrfr ° nly re< 3 uired as a preventive of the mildew ; it is 



F^nectiy harmless, and is better used as soon as the plants are housed, 



of th ? time when the mildew is most likely to obtain a mastery 

 together leaVCS owin S to the P lants be ing so closely arranged 



tekw dJ 61 " at the r °° tS W ^ not be needed so frequently after housing 

 dearlv aCe ' *r d must be £ iven with careful judgment only when the pots 

 be n2/ lng / ra PPed with the knuckle. Weak liquid manure may still 



sides of the leaves having made its appearance during the past few 

 weeks. This is due to spores having been allowed to scatter some time 

 ago, and now that cooler and moist nights prevail they develop freely. 

 Constant repression by picking off leaves or parts of leaves whenever it 

 appears, and a syringing with weakly diluted sulphide of potassium is 

 the best remedy I can offer. Burn every particle gathered from the 

 plants, and before they are housed examine each plant thoroughly, so 

 that as far as possible none is taken into the houses. In this way we may 



I — — - » — — — — —» « • » * a a v LA A MM » M m V v » * m m * -» *^ i 



hope to exterminate the disease from our collections. 

 Trent Park Gardens. 



\V. H. Lees. 



Nymph/ea stellata. 



I gladly comply with your request to give some further particulars of 

 our culture of Nymphfea stellata. Being desirous of adding a blue variety 

 of water lily to our collection, I made a tank this spring for its accommo- 

 dation, having doubts of its success in the open water of our lake. A 

 suitable position was chosen where the influence of the sun would be 

 fully exercised. This was at the western end of one of our ranges of 

 glass, where it was easy to make a connection to the existing pipes for 

 the purpose of warming the water in the lily tank. A three-inch flow and 

 return pipe we find to be ample for keeping the water at a ten.perature of 

 70 deg. to 80 deg. The depth of the tank is eighteen inches, its other 

 dimensions being eight teet by six feet, being so arranged as to accom- 

 modate a three-quarter span frame upon the top course of brickwork an 

 inch or so above the water. No further provision in the way of piping 

 was provided, other than that alluded to for warming the water, this 

 piping resting on the bottom of the tank. Some coarse rubble was 

 spread over the bottom, and upon that some rough sods of turf, adding 

 afterwards sufficient soil in which to plant the lilies, this consisting of 

 loam, leaf-soil, decayed manure, and road scrapings, in all to a depth of 

 about four inches only. 



The lilies which had been started in pans in a warm house were 

 planted out on May 21, the plants having only a few small leaves then. 

 Within a week the increase of growth was most marked, and within 

 three weeks the first flowers were opening. From that time to the pre- 

 sent the profusion of flower has been simply astonishing. I have counted 

 frequently from eighteen to twenty-three flowers expanded at one time. 

 The promise of bloom for weeks yet to come is excellent, in fact there 

 appears to be no appearance of cessation or exhaustion. The frame 

 alluded to was taken off and the lilies left fully exposed about the middle 

 of June j it is now in readiness for placing upon them again when the 

 weather becomes sufficiently cool to check the growth. One peculiar 

 feature of this lily is that of sending up its flowers from one foot to 

 eighteen inches above the water, each blossom being practically seir 

 supporting. The fragrance is also another feature ; it resembles that of 

 violets in a marked degree. The duration of the flowers is from three 

 to four days. They open quite early in the morning, and close from 

 three to four o'clock in the afternoon. When the plants were put out I 

 did not think they would grow so luxuriantly, hence they are now rather 

 too crowded. Another season I shall experiment with some of them in 



the open water. 



Gunnersbury House Gardens, 



Tames Hudson. 



SCALDI 



of Grapes 



i w v n „r "Answers to Correspondents" you say, truly enough, that 

 1 J- i. rf^ to the action of strong sunlight upon berr.es that are 

 SCa d 'nf less covered with condensed moisture. It has also been thought 

 m °i e 5fcZ?SJSiS globule of the moisture may condense the 

 and said by some tha ea g Atmospheric air at rest probab y d.s- 

 sun's rays into a burning g v ^ ans werable for 



charges «m»tor fan« 5 1 ° 0 f surfa ces or knobs in the glass are converted mto 



scalding »«2 HMce anything that will absorb or prevent the deposit 

 burning lenses^ Hence any J ^ rf vjneries m mot)on . in 



of the vapour on grapes s *s P.^ & surc antld te to , or 



other words, early or perpc and constant 



remedy, for, grapejddmg There ^ mjoex P ^ . ^ 



ventilation perpetual "» of the burning or scalding lenses re- 

 destroys Ae ^ ^JJXight is the surest remedy. The next best 

 ferred to. Plenty ot air au ■> » ^ ^ ^ ^ tnn a{ , 



be H V ra PP ecl Wlth the knuckle. Weak liquid manure may still " cs "V y = pr entv 0 f air all night is the surest remeay. u;c 



*» faS'th* aS ? e flowers commence to unfold increase the strength of fe " e , d ™J Riding is to give air at the top of the vinery before 



SbTaS? Wh,ch are not liable to " damping," until the blooms are « ltldote h t ° £g3 t he temperature a single degree. , By adhering to th s 



KreJ ? artS deveI °Ped> when clear water only is required. the sun haS ■ • ' - <' ™* amrt " nt o{ a,r * ,vcn necd n0t be 



envelooe th u ^'i 1 be found that one of the lar S e £ reen se P a,s which 

 'engthens X u _> oes not release its hold, and so as the flower stalk 



attended to t ' S pulled s,i 8 h tly over to one side. If this is not 

 regain its • l" 06 ' the conse quence will be that the flower will not 

 attemnt tn c P f rit> - 1 pos,tlon ' and wh en once the stalk has hardened, any 



Those ^rl ra ' 8hten jt results in breaking off the bud entirely. - , , e lJnaer su .» , 



f <*nd with ers Wlth sma11 convenience for housingi their plants are often by the leaves u i no wQrst sQrt jnevitable< \ iy training eac 

 f °r.but of L ° rC plants in September than they have sufficient room intense, and sea Wing ^ q{ ^ lass roof icaldmg of thi 



• ^r to "L t00 ' w,th sever al which are scarcely worth crowding in. It i«»M^ £a SmSSS ' ¥ " 



ones th UP u SUCh plants at once than to injure the well-being of would be wholly prevente 

 Uken tooTt undue crowding, Such, for instance, where buds 

 W 'H not m f may be very stron £ P lan ts, and require room that 

 tf^'ts are uL v 0 / occupying, or any weakly, unsatisfactory looking 

 Oc£Ln,!f r u ft outside altogether. 1 



tne sun ^.\~~~--7 r feared . T h e amount of air given need not be 

 rule no scalding nee * ^ dQwn as ^ morning vcn tilation, being ahead 

 much, but the rules here ^ 



of any rise in temperature^ ^ mechanicaI causcs for the leaf and 

 There are yet otner a ^ bunches are often crammed so 

 berry scalding of vines ^ q{ ^ wate air is blocked 



close to the glass that tn ^ t conditions the heat becomes 



uaer • • - By training each rod 



" is sort 



lood 



Pos 



. i5 n^ari Peas.— A few days since I cleaned up the ripe produce 

 Productive V**J\ dwarf and medium height peas that had been grown 

 of some ten rows ot aww- ^ ^ and ]aid on the groun(i . 



for trial in rows ******* nQte how very muc h some excelled others in produc- 

 Tr was very interesting i ^i„-,; wn ,.« i n Hir9t#»s rlearlv the ood produce for 



t, - """I'Urtant it^ K * — " ■■ ~ *.v.w» *»«wm« tasuy man iu a ijwujv. • 



and to i^ lng to ward o ff heavy rains and dews from opening 



r ' '• . / n ']: t,(i lhe plants from frost ; or, with sticb early ones, if 



* in ; *iU do for a ;°° great ' the shelter of an ou thouse at night, or during 

 htar from ' carr y in g tnem outside when fit. 



many quarters of the brown rust fungus on the under 



tiveness, ana oi cou - of Qlhers were Sutton ' s Dwar f i )e hance and 



gathering. Mat ^iLpe's Triumph, Webb's Senator, President Garfield, and 



^-t, Bonum, may have been causes in some cases 



Majestic. Certain ly instance) gr0 wth in the spring not being good, 

 out indifferently, as, .. in s i ie G f po d, that real averag 



We 



