788 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



December 



3, 1898. 



WORK FOR THE WEEK. 



WARM ORCHIDS. 



There has been a change in the weather since I last wrote, and now frost is 

 beginning to trouble us. Bat cold nights on various occasions have been followed 

 by warm ones, and such variations in temperature outside are bound to cause a 

 certain amount of fluctuation under glass. Many amateurs are in the habit of 

 driving the fires hard when there is a likelihood of frost, and causing the heat 

 to rise to a degree that is bad for the plants. This mistake can easily be 

 avoided by careful management and regulation of the fires according to the 

 power of the boiler. The kind of fuel used is generally coke, some few using 

 house coal ; both of these are apt to cause fluctuations of temperature if not well 

 managed. Coke, if kept well clinkered, will produce a tremendous heat, and house 

 coal will produce the same if the poker is kept continually in use. Of the two fuels 

 coke is preferable, but I would strongly advise the use of anthracite coal for 

 orchid growing. It may prove a little more expensive, but that is compensated 

 for by the saving in labour and a good steady fire. 



During foggy weather such subjects as calanthes, Dendrobium Phalaenopsis, 

 and Lselia anceps must be carefully watched, and the houses containing them 

 must be kept dry, while a little more heat should be afforded, especially towards 

 evening. Dendrobiums of the nobile and Ainsworthi section that finished up 

 early will most likely be in flower, and it is as well to bring on a few plants in 

 warmer quarters, as such prove useful at Christmas time ; the rest of the collection 

 will now be in their resting quarters. The evergreen species, such as D. fim- 

 briatum, must be placed at the warm end of the house and given very little water, 

 just keeping the bulbs in a plump condition. The temperature should not fall 

 below 55 degrees at night, rising in the day a few degrees higher. Suspended 

 plants must not be kept nearer the glass than nine inches, thus allowing them to 

 escape cold and draughts. Cattleya Percivaliana will have buds in the sheaths in 

 many gardens, and must be placed at the warm end of the cattleya house and 

 given a little more water than allowed the general collection. C. Mossiae and C. 

 Mendeli must be placed at the coolest end and near the glass ; C. labiata must be 

 well watched against the damping of bulbs that have recently flowered ; place 

 them at the warm end for a time, and allow only sufficient water to keep the 

 bulbs plump, in fact a slight shrivelling will be a preventive of damping. C. 

 superba must be given a few degrees more heat to keep it in a healthy condition. 

 — T. Stafford, Tyntesfield Gardens. 



STOVE PLANTS. 



Dipladenias should now be resting in a temperature of 58 to 63 degrees, and 

 very little water will be required, just sufficient to keep the roots from perishing 

 and the wood from shrivelling. The earliest batch will not require to be started 

 until January, and then will bloom in May. A minimum temperature of 

 60 degrees will be suitable for wintering ixoras, and veiy little water will be required 

 at the roots ; yet care must be exercised that the dryness is not carried too lar so 

 that the roots are destroyed. The resting of plants is a very different thing to the 

 drying off of bulbous roots ; the roots of the latter perish annually, so that when 

 the growth is ripened the pots containing the bulbs or tubers may be stored away 

 and receive no further attention until the season for starting them into growth 

 comes round again. The resting of fibrous-rooted stove plants is quite another 

 matter ; when growth is completed they are placed in a lower temperature and water 

 reduced at the root (not withheld), the object being to keep the plant in a dormant 

 state, while the roots are preserved in a healthy condition ; therefore, though the 

 plants are resting, they must receive careful and intelligent attention, that when 

 the season for active growth comes round again they may be in the best possible 

 condition for making a strong and healthy start. These remarks apply to all 

 stove tlowering plants at rest, such as clerodendron, stephanotis, ixora, dip'adenia, 

 aUamanda, bougainvillea, adhatoda, ipomrci, &c. 



As the different batches of gesnera pass out of flower still afford them a light 

 position not far from the glass, and continue to feed them until the foliage shows 

 signs of ripening, when clear water may be applied at further intervals until it is 

 eventually withheld altogether. Poinsettias, as the bracts become fully developed, 

 should be removed to a drier house with a temperature about 55 degrees ; con- 

 tinue U> feed later batches until the bracts are almost fully expanded, but when 

 watering these later plants see that the moisture permeates the whole ball, and that 

 the water used is warmed: in fact, for all plants in warm house the water used 

 for watering *nd syrirgiDg should be at about the temperature of the house. I 

 was asked by an amateur the other day to account for some of his phnts looking 

 unhappy. I placed my hand in his water-tank and asked if he usually watered 

 his plants from thence. Then I learned he sometimes had the tap running at the 

 lime he was using water from the tank ; and as the latter was not placed near the 

 hot-water pipes there was a difference of 15 degrees between the temperature of 

 the water and that of the house. Success in plant growing is attained by attention 

 to a multitude of small matters, and it is only those who attend to them who succeed. 

 DonotsyriDge plants of Euphorbia jacquinseflora that are in flower, and aflord 

 them rather smaller supplies of water ; E. splendens, though not frequently grown, 

 is very useful during the winter months, especially to those who have to provide 

 many buttonholes. Another recommendation in its favour is that it is very little 

 trouble. Gardenias that have been moved to the stove to bring them on will 

 require regular feeding and constant attention to keep them free from mealy bug. 

 Plumeria alba may now be kept quite dry at the root, and alocasias and marantas 

 will require very little water until fresh growth starts, but should not stand near 

 the door where the cold air will strike them. Aeschynanthus should now be 

 induced to rest by reducing the water supply ; these make lovely basket plants, 

 continue in flower during a long season, and always command attention by the 

 brightness of their flowers, which, in different species, are crimson, scarlet, 

 orange. They may be raised in spring from cuttings of the half-ripened wood, 

 about three inches long, removing all the leaves but the two uppermost ; when 

 rooted pot on as necessary until large enough to place in baskets. 

 a n^ eep atm osphere of the stove moist, syringing the plants once a day on 

 dull days; on bright days twice. Where blinds are available let them down on 

 cold nights, this will reduce the necessity for very great heat in the pipes, thus 

 making the atmosphere healthier for the plants. — J. Tunnincton, Ripley Castle 



THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



W,«+ T ^ U A H -i prUniDg 0f roses should » generally speaking, be performed in 



Id^ntZ ^ ' ^ ™l Str ? D g S rowths ' especially of H. P. varieties, may with 

 acnantage be now somewhat shotted ™k;„u„,:m '—Z KmV^n off 



or 



X„ t9 „ "J aQ y ve 'y ««>Dg growths, especially of H.P. varieties, may with 

 hv 2 , L son } eW , hat sho 'tened, which will prevent their being broken off 

 Seto he re S 7 * lo ? sen j D g °f the plants in the soil. Where long shoots 

 tied or LZ ;„ & pegglDg down 01 on climbing or pillar roses, they should be 



ing of half- rotten manure applied as a top-dressing, which mav „i 

 protection against severe frosts should such occur. In the snr!™ ft! aCt - as som e 

 manure may be lightly forked in, or a little fresh soil ^e^ 1 ^™?^ 

 stocks for next season's budding should be collected or ohtSirSi Brier 

 possible and planted in the reserve quarters for working All rnnS, S ? 0n 38 

 the roots should be trimmed away, retaining the smaller roots • P ? rtl ° ns of 

 also require some trimming and shortening. It will be advisable S! TT & wil1 



™! * r 1 ™^t^ vS^LS?' h *^t^ards, sonTe o°f Th^fi^ 



exhibition roses, especially teas, being produced on the latter ; two frit ?„\ fi ? e L st 

 is a suitable length for these and four feet for the former Q hei S ht 



Where 



be 



uc pusiicu "~ - ""^ "ie weacner continues. Although h 



rains have been slight to the present time, most trees and shrubs of S . 

 dimensions may be safely lifted as far as moisture at the root is concerned h»f 

 that may be dry at the base should be thoroughly watered after planting * in 

 making a selection for shrubbery borders and pleasure grounds it is well to K 

 inmind the autumn effects, which are so pleasing in some shrubs that are most 



effective flowering ones also in the spring and summer months 



autumn tints this year have been found 'in the rich crims^^^^ ye^LwfoW 1 

 of the hardy Ghent azaleas, and where the soil is moderatelv Wvht i;™- ; „ _ g 



hardy 



moderately light and lime 



present these should be freely planted. The common yellow and orange-flowered 

 varieties grow very quickly, and they usually attain the highest colour in autumn 

 leafage. Many other shades of crimson, pink, and red are desirable in the flowers 

 and double-flowering varieties are now plentiful. The mollis section is equallv 

 hardy, although perhaps of rather [slower growth. Other flowering and foliage 

 shrubs should include the almonds, which are among the earliest to flower in the 

 spring,and varieties of the double-flowering peach in crimson and rose shades, Lilacs 

 in many varieties are now obtainable, as the dark purple Souvenir de Leon Spath 

 Marie Legraye, white ; Leon Simon and Virginite, double whites ; Jules Finger' 

 double pink, and several others. Laburnums are handsome flowering shrubs, while 

 several of the shrubby spiraeas are also desirable, and mention may be made of S. 

 Anthony Waterer, S. arircfolia, S. Douglasi, S. confusa, S. Lindleyana, and s! 

 prunifolia fl.-pl. A few other subjects will include the white and yellow brooms" 

 including Cytisus Andreanus ; several of the single and double-flowering hawthorns 

 in scarlet, red, and pink shades ; Philadelphus grandiflorus and P. coronarius • 

 Prunus myrobalana fl. pi., and P. Pissardi, with its handsome purple foliage ; 

 Liquidamber styraciflora, the foliage of which attains very bright autumn colours 

 and many of the acers for summer effect, as A. palmatum, A. p. sanguineus' 

 A. p. septemlobum elegans, the latter with foliage of a greyish green in early 

 summer, changing later to a deep red. These are a few only out of the many 

 subjects that may be selected. In planting make the soil about the roots thoroughly 

 firm by well treadinp or ramming, and standards or other tall specimens requirirg 

 stakes should be made secure without delay. — C. Herrin, Dropmore Gardens. 



HARDY FRUITS. 



In my last notes I dwelt upon the importance of having all planting done as 

 soon as possible, and that advice still holds good, for we have not had any severe 

 weather to interfere with the work. To my previous advice I would add the 

 importance of giving newly-planted trees a mulch to keep frost from the roots, as 

 it will be found newly broken ground is quickly influenced by severe weather. For 

 mulching I do not advise he^vy, wet manures, but a light, porous material that 

 excludes frost. There will be plenty of work now among the older fruit trees, and 

 wall trees may now receive attention. With peaches and nectarines the work will 

 not be great, if the advice concerning the removal of old fruiting wood was carried 

 out, but even now arrears may be made good rather than leave the work to the 

 spring. Much will depend upon how the tr^es are trained ; if to wires, the small 

 growths which are needed for next season's f*uit should be untied, as by free 

 exposure the flowering period is retarded, and the crop will be saved. In my 

 opinion much more may be done to save crops by hardening the wood and 

 retarding the buds than by covering them when in bloom. Trees trained to wires 

 are frequently affected in severe weather ; the bark is discoloured, and the next 

 season canker will set in at the part which touched the wires. I am not in favour 

 of wired walls, having suffered badly in the colder parts of the country from the 

 cause noted above. Nailed trees should also have the youn? wood detached, and 

 only the main supports left to hold the trees in position ; the wood is then cleansed 

 by heavy rains, and pests lodged in the wall do not obtain much shelter. It is also 

 an excellent plan when the trees are at rest to syringe the walls with an insecti- 

 cide ; we use Bentley's Soluble Petroleum, and then are not much troubled. There 

 should be no further delay in having these trees lifted where at all grc ss, and if 

 any need new surface soil now is a good time to do the work, as by the removal 

 of old surface soil now a certain amount of insect life will be destroyed. 



As apricots flower early they may now be pruned, but, like the peach, with 

 attention paid to stopping there will be little pruning at this season ; on the other 

 hand, much may be done by reducing the old spur growths, as these are often 

 much too crowded and do not give any return, for the wood may be too weak to 

 bear fruit, and this crowds the better growth. We find it a good plan to remove 

 a portion of weak spur growth yearly, as this encourages a much stronger, cleaner 

 growth. Apricot trees that have lost branches may be retrained, and this will 

 often much benefit the trees, as by rearranging the branches to fill up the wall- 

 space the wood receives more light and sun. Our best apricots, I mean the most 

 reliable in our light soil, are the Hemskerk and Large Early ; the latter will grow 

 when others fail. The same remarks are applicable to apricots, concerning top 

 dressings at this season, as advised for peaches, but here a richer material may be 

 given. We use bone meal freely, with burnt refuse or old mortar rubble, and it 

 will be found the nearer the rcots are to the surface the better in every way. We 

 prune and nail our trees at the same time, as these trees are the earliest to bloom, 

 and there need be no delay in starting all kinds of pruning as soon as tne 

 leaves fall. 



Fig trees on open walls reoay protection in many parts of the country, as in 

 severe winters they may be killed to the soil, and it takes years to bull ° U P, , 

 fiuiting wood. Of course it will not be wise to do much pruning now, but i a 

 not think there is any gain in leaving wood that may be in the way next spring 

 The fruit next year will be secured from the points of the new growths maa ^£ 



season 



r , consequently these are the parts needing protection. — 

 covering material we find it advantageous to untie the branches, draw tnerr i 

 into bundles of half a dozen or more together, and secure them to the wall. i i 

 use hay bands or straw, I have never found a better protection than dry brac*^ 

 especially if it is cut in a green state and dried, as it is then very *touc*M 

 not confine the wood too much. Many grow figs in pots and remove i them ina 

 during the winter; this is a good mode of culture in localities * h * x *™*^ cetlW 

 not fruit well on open walls. Such may now have the thin wood in tft ce 

 removed and the trees cleansed whilst in a dormant state ; tree ^ n ^f VTnft s f 



any 



may 



Syon Gardens. 



b y a good cleansing previous to covering. 



