December, 1919 
ments of which any raiser might feel justly 
proud, since it is mainly attributable to these 
that flower freedom is produced and garden 
effect secured. To these, however, are 
wedded even greater attributes, not least of 
them a flower beauty much enhanced and a 
constitution fitting them for the purpose we 
would have them serve. — E. H. Jenkins in 
Gardening Illustrated. (English.) 
Hardiness of the Iris. 
“ Speaking of the tenacity of the 
life of an Iris root : Last August a 
friend of mine gave me eight small 
clumps of Iris. They came to me 
wrapped in paper, and I placed them 
on the top shelf of an outside veranda, 
as I was not ready to set them out that 
day. I forgot all about them and they 
were exposed all winter, their only 
protection being a newspaper. I ran 
across them the first part of May, and 
was going to throw them out when it 
seemed to me that they did not look 
dead, although the leaves were entirely 
withered. I set them out in an odd 
place, and much to my surprise the en- 
tire 8 clumps lived, and three of them 
bloomed (a purple variety.) They have 
now grown to be nice clumps, and have 
been transplanted in a little bed by 
themselves. 
If I did not know this to be a fact I 
doubt if I would believe it. Eight 
months out of the ground and exposed 
to frost and cold and still live. 
A New Jersey Iris Grower. 
Christmas Cactus Culture. 
By bertha Berbert-Hammond. 
[ W ritttn expressly for T'he Flower Grower. ] 
One of the most satisfactory and 
beautiful plants for the winter window 
garden is the Epiphyllum Truncation 
which, because it usually comes into 
flower at the holiday season, is popu- 
larly known as the Christmas Cac- 
tus. The lovely, wax-like, bright rose- 
red flowers are borne at the extreme 
ends of the long, spineless, drooping 
branches and seem limited in profu- 
sion only by the number of branchlets. 
The “ weeping ” character of growth 
of the graceful branches makes the 
plant ideal for use in a swinging bucket 
or hanging basket. 
To be successful in the culture of the 
Christmas Cactus requires no great 
care. In fact, the plant is more likely 
to suffer from over attention than from 
neglect. When properly potted in 
sandy, well-drained soil and given a 
rather sunny position the plant will 
demand little care. Frequent water- 
ing during the winter months should 
be avoided as too much water will 
cause the soil to sour and the roots to 
decay eventually resulting in the death 
of the plant. An application of weak 
lime water once or twice a year will 
tend to keep the soil sweet. When 
the branches of this Cactus begin to 
wilt and turn yellow, it is a danger 
signal that should be heeded at once. 
The roots of the plant should be ex- 
amined. If they have not been badly 
injured by too much moisture, repot- 
ting in new sandy soil will probably 
^Flower (Brower 
save the plant but if the roots are 
found to be in an advanced stage of 
decay, heroic treatment will be neces- 
sary. Cut off such branches that ap- 
pear in good or even fair condition, 
plunge into sand and endeavor to root 
new plants. 
As the Christmas Cactus is apt to 
bloom more profusely when partially 
pot bound, it should not be disturbed 
until the over-crowding of the roots 
interfere with the growth of the plant 
or clogs the drainage. When this oc- 
curs, shift the plant into a pot of the 
next larger size. 
For summer treatment plunge the 
potted plant out into the garden in a 
sunny situation, so that the rim of the 
pot will be entirely beneath the soil. 
Unless the season should be a very dry 
one, the plant will require practically 
no attention until it is time to take it 
indoors before frost. The buds begin 
to form in autumn but these 
“ Dainty buds conceal their color 
Until Santa is on his way ; 
Then they open, brighter, fuller, 
Growing fair for Christmas Day. 
How we watch them counting, summing 
Up the hours their growth consumes ; 
For a glad, glad day is coming 
When the Christmas Cactus blooms.” 
— Mary E. Van Zandt. 
Fertilizing Chrysanthe- 
mums in Greenhouse. 
If you can get fresh cow manure to feed 
the ‘Mums with it will be one of the best 
foods for the plants obtainable. When prop- 
erly used it will help to make a fine stem, 
heavy foliage and large flowers and the 
average grower who doesn’t need exhibition 
stock will, to my mind, run less chance in 
giving his plants an oversupply of food by 
using liquid cow manure than if he em- 
ployed any other fertilizer. This is not to 
say that there is nothing else as good or 
even better and plenty of ’Mums are grown 
to perfection without cow manure, but for 
all that, wherever it can be had good results 
can be obtained by its use. A good sized 
wheelbarrow full for a 50 gallon barrel will 
give you 150 gallons of liquid and if left in 
a rough or coarse bag you won’t get any of 
the solids in the manure to spoil the good 
looks of the bench. This is meant for the 
smaller grower ; the larger one and the 
specialist have other means of applying the 
manure, but with the florist, who has just a 
few benches of ’Mums it doesn’t take long 
to give them a feeding and if with the aver- 
age plants this is applied now once a week 
until the buds start to show color you are 
sure to get good flowers ; that is, if the 
plants are in good condition at the time you 
start feeding them. As I have repeatedly 
said it is the wrong thing to try and get into 
shape a sickly plant or one stunted through 
neglect all Summer by heavy feedings ap- 
plied now at the eleventh hour. It can’t be 
done, but good plants are benefited by food 
and should have it. Light applications every 
week is the best way to give it to them. — 
Fritz Bahr in Florists’ Exchange. 
Catalogues and Price Lists. 
Brand Nursery Co., Faribault, Minn., a most ar- 
tistic catalogue descriptive of Brand's American 
Peonies and a selected list of the new and standard 
varieties from other growers. Also Irises and hardy 
shrubs. Every Peony grower should have one. 
A. B. deGroat, Bath, Steuben Co., N. Y.— Retail 
catalogue and price list. Some rare varieties are 
listed with brief descriptions and retail prices. 
133 
THE DAHLIA. 
Lifting and Sorting Dahlias. 
The bulletin of the American Dahlia So- 
ciety has the following to say about the care 
of Dahlia roots: 
After the plants are cut down by frost in 
the autumn, it is customary to allow them 
to stand for a week or two, on the theory 
that the roots may thereby perfect their 
ripening for the winter and that they are bet- 
ter off in the ground than they would be in 
any cellar. However, if there is much ten- 
dency to throw up suckers or new shoots, it is 
probably better to dig the roots at once, as 
the new shoots are likely to weaken the 
roots by drawing away more than they give 
back. And one must remember that it is 
from the crown or the stem base rather than 
from the roots that the shoots for next year 
are to come and that this crown might be 
damaged by a freeze that would not injure 
the lower-lying roots themselves. 
When the lifting time comes or a few days 
before, the stalks should be cut close to the 
ground, using a large knife, sickle, or bush 
scythe, and making a smooth clean cut. As 
a root with a broken neck is commonly use- 
less, much care should be exercised in lifting 
the roots. It is best to use a spade and to 
drive it down for twelve inches or so all the 
way around at a distance of twelve inches 
or more from stalk, and then lift the whole 
mass carefully by forcing the spade deeply 
under the center. It is an advantage if two 
persons can work together and lift at the 
same time fron opposite sides. Though not 
so important as the preservation of the neck, 
it is also advisable not to cut off the tip of 
the fleshy root, as it is from this end that 
the first and most vigorous fine roots are 
likely to come the next spring. Moreover, 
cuts and abrasions of the surface give the 
rot-producing fungi a better chance for at- 
tack. 
After lifting, it is well to let the roots dry 
off for a few hours, with a view especially of 
removing any excess of sap or moisture 
from the pith or hollow of the stump, as this 
loose fluid might prove a culture medium for 
the spores of moulds and perhaps might 
prove injurious in other ways. Some Dahlia 
experts, in packing away roots for the winter, 
turn the stump downwards so that any ex- 
cess moisture can drain out. This seems to 
work well, though in turning the clumps up- 
side down, there is more danger of breaking 
the necks of the roots than in leaving the 
clumps in the more natural upright position. 
It is not necessary or desirable to shake off 
all the adhering soil before carrying the roots 
to the cellar, as any naturally adherent earth 
appears to help prevent drying out and 
shriveling during the winter. 
In a cellar without furnace heat, Dahlia 
roots usually keep all right when stored 
away on shelves or in boxes or barrels with- 
out any special covering. In cellars with a 
furnace it is usually better to wrap the 
clumps in newspapers or to cover them with 
sand, coal ashes, or with fairly clean soil, 
from the field or garden, but soil containing 
much decaying organic matter is to be 
avoided for this purpose. When the roots 
are covered in this way and when the con- 
tainers are placed as far away from the fur- 
nace as is consistent with safety from freez- 
ing, the roots commonly come through the 
winter in a vigorous and plump condition. 
However, roots that have shrunken much 
and show no buds or sprouts at planting 
time are often viable, as may be determined 
by test. If sprouts have started and are 
more than two inches long, it is usually best 
to break them off and depend upon new 
buds for the future plant. Long cellar- 
shoots commonly develop into weak hide- 
bound stems. 
