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1 Northwestern Peony j 
and Iris Society. [ 
I have had numerous inquiries in re- 
gard to Peonies rotting at the surface 
of the ground. This has been an un- 
usually rainy and cold spring in the 
Northwest and the disease has been 
particularly annoying in a good many 
gardens. This disease is known as 
Botrytis or a rotting at the base of the 
stalk. Peonies should be carefully 
watched and if any of the young or 
even nearly mature stalks show wilt- 
ing, the trouble will doubtless be found 
in the stalk being rotted off near the 
base of the ground. The disease 
affects stems, buds and leaves in the 
order given and is always more pre- 
valent during rainy seasons. The rot 
usually does not extend very far below 
the surface of the earth. 
Removal of the affected parts and all 
earth immediately surrounding the dis- 
eased portion of the plant is the best 
remedy for eradication of the trouble. 
A small trowel can be used to good 
advantage in removing the earth which 
should be carefully and thoroughly 
done. After soil has been removed, 
cut off the stem of the diseased shoot 
above the crown or directly below the 
diseased portion. Care should be taken 
that the affected portion of the plant 
does not come in contact with the bal- 
ance of plant or the disease may be 
easily transmitted to the healthy por- 
tion. Destroy the diseased parts and 
replace the soil removed with other soil 
or sand. Fortunately the disease does 
not affect the root of the plant and if 
entirely removed the young shoots 
thrown up the following year will be 
healthy. If disease is not removed 
they will be contaminated by spores of 
the disease that remain in the soil or 
live in the old diseased stalk from year 
to year. This disease is very similar 
to Sclerotina. A little watchful care 
and attention will soon eradicate the 
disease. 
Just a word about preparing Peony 
bloom for exhibition. As stated in 
former articles the process of disbud- 
ding all but the central bud should be 
done when the lateral buds are very 
small, thus throwing all the strength 
in the one remaining bud on each 
stalk. Plants should be well staked to 
prevent being buffeted about by wind 
and rain. About a week before the 
time of intended display of bloom, if 
found that the buds are developing too 
rapidly, the most promising buds 
should be cut and placed in a dark, 
cool cellar. This will retard rapid de- 
velopment and the flower will retain 
its original delicate coloring. Expo- 
sure to sun for a few hours will entirely 
eliminate most of the delicate shading 
and will often cause the identity of the 
variety to be questionable. If neces- 
sary to pack to carry a considerable 
distance they should be placed in flat 
paste-board boxes after having been 
prepared by stripping off the lower 
leaves of each stalk. Each bud should 
be wrapped in tissue paper, care being 
Z3l)e Slower (Brower 
taken to see that there is no moisture 
on the bud which will result in discolor- 
ation of petals. Endeavor before wrap- 
ping the bud to press it carefully so it 
will be as near the original bud form as 
possible. As soon as they arrive at the 
exhibit they can be unpacked and im- 
mediately placed in water, cutting off 
a short section of the stem to permit 
the stem absorbing all the water pos- 
sible. If buds are not fully expanded, 
placing them in warm water will hurry 
the process of development. They 
should also be placed where the 
warmth of the sun will assist in this 
operation. It is well to take a few 
blooms of each variety you intend to 
display in excess of the number to be 
exhibited for the reason that some buds 
may develop better bloom than others. 
The very splendid articles on the Iris 
that have been appearing from month 
to month in The Flower Grower will 
be found exceedingly helpful in the 
growing and propagation of the Iris. 
I consider The Flower Grower one of 
the finest magazines of its kind that 
comes to my desk, and am in hopes of 
seeing its circulation doubled in the 
next few weeks. The untiring efforts 
of its editor in bringing it up to its 
present high standard should be an in- 
centive to all who have the pleasure 
of reading its pages to feel obligated 
to bring in at least one new subscriber 
which would double the circulation. 
W. F. Christman, Sec’y- 
Propagating Choice Gladioli. 
It is, of course, well known that most, if 
not all, of the florist’s varieties of Gladioli 
may be propagated by means of spawn, as 
the tiny cormlets that are produced on the 
larger corms are called, and, although this 
system answers very well for ordinary pur- 
poses, it has the drawback of several years 
having to elapse before the plants resulting 
from these cormlets reach a flowering size. It 
is also fairly well known that corms possessing 
two or more eyes can be cut while dormant 
into as many pieces as there are eyes, with a 
fair hope of success. Here, again, the culti- 
vator has a difficulty to contend with, some 
of the dormant pieces refusing to start into 
growth when planted, or, if they do, the 
growth made is so weak and unsatisfactory 
that nothing is gained by the operation. This 
cutting of the corms will, of course, only be 
resorted to where it is desired to make the 
very most of a variety for some particular 
purpose, as, however successfully it is per- 
formed, the flowers for the ensuing season 
must be forfeited, because, even should any 
appear, it will be wise to remove the buds as 
soon as they are seen. 
Having a few choice varieties last year that 
I particularly wished to propagate, I varied 
the above plan somewhat, with most satis- 
factory results. Instead of cutting the corms 
while they were dormant, they were planted 
whole in a deep box, soil containing a good 
proportion of leaf-mould and Cocoanut fibre 
refuse being used. The box was placed in 
a warm greenhouse (45° to 50°) near the 
glass until the plants had reached the stage 
where the sprouts were six to eight inches 
tall. Some of them had two strong shoots, 
and these I decided to cut, the operation be- 
ing performed with a clean, sharp knife 
from top to base, taking care to secure one 
shoot and a number of roots to each portion. 
The cut surfaces were then dusted with 
powdered charcoal in the orthodox manner, 
and the sections potted separately into 3-in. 
pots, using soil containing one-third leaf- 
July, 1919 
mould and a good sprinkling of sand for the 
purpose. The plants were kept rather close 
in the greenhouse for a fortnight, receiving 
a light syringing overhead daily, and at the 
end of that time they were placed in a cold 
frame, the pots being plunged in ashes and 
the plants gradually inured to the open air. 
After a fortnight or so in the cold frame 
they were planted in open quarters, and at 
the end of the season each cut portion had 
produced a flowering size corm and a num- 
ber of cormlets. 
The corms that only produced one shoot 
were allowed to remain in the box until 
thoroughly hardened, this being accom- 
plished gradually to prevent any check to 
the plants, and then transferred to the open, 
disturbing the roots as little as possible. 
Even where propagation is not desired it is 
a good plan to start choice varieties into 
growth under glass, blindness being thus 
usually obviated. The plants take to the 
treatment very kindly and grow away and 
flower without any check whatever. It is, 
of course, absolutely necessary to avoid cod- 
dling them at any period of their growth. 
This procedure may be regarded by some 
as very elaborate, but one only devises it for 
special purposes, the results, as compared 
with those obtained from cutting the corms 
when dormant, fully justifying the extra 
trouble taken.— H. E. in The Garden (Eng- 
lish.) 
How to Keep Sweet Peas in Flower. 
Many people grow their plants well until 
August is well advanced, when they begin 
to get into an unsatisfactory condition, and 
their blossoming period comes to an untimely 
end. All this may be avoided if a little at- 
tention is given to the plants. Immediately 
deterioration is noticeable in the quality of 
the flowers, all blooms and seedlings should 
be removed, thus concentrating all the 
energy of the roots on the development of 
the growth of the plants. The soil should 
be forked over round about the clumps or 
down the side of the rows, and the plants 
given a copious application of water, to be 
followed immediately by manure water. This 
will stimulate the growth, and if nitrate of 
soda at the rate of half an ounce to a gallon 
of water be applied subsequently, growth 
will be of a very satisfactory character, and 
a new lease of life be given to the plants. 
Should the weather continue hot, it is a good 
plan to syringe overhead with clear water in 
the late afternoon or evening, this also con- 
tributing to their well being. In very open 
and exposed situations, it is a good plan also 
to mulch both sides of the rows, or round 
about the clumps of the Sweet Peas. In 
some cases, where the plants appear to be 
so bad as to be beyond recovery, the grower 
should not despair. By adopting drastic 
measures, it is possible to make even the 
most unpromising plants render a good ac- 
count of themselves for some little time to 
come. It is a good plan in such circum- 
stances to cut back the plants to two-thirds 
of their height, applying water and mulching, 
as advised earlier. It is astonishing what a 
wonderful yield of new growths will respond 
to this treatment of the plants, and we know 
of Sweet Peas that have blossomed well into 
the autumn where these measures have been 
adopted. Those who desire to maintain the 
display in their gardens for some time to 
come may adopt either of the methods above 
suggested with every confidence . — Gardening 
Illustrated. 
A subscriber wants to know how to 
treat Pansies with liquid solution or 
otherwise so as to preserve their nat- 
ural coloring when pressing them for 
preservation. Any suggestions will be 
appreciated. 
