Th€ Garden Magazine, August, 1923 
363 
UNDER GLASS ACTIVITIES WITH AN EYE TOWARD WINTER 
See to necessary repairs in glass structures which will soon be needed 
for winter crops. This is indeed the beginning of the new year in 
the greenhouse. 
Seeds for Present Sowing 
Annual Gypsophila and Clarkia grown in flats and disbudded to single 
stems, make fine material for table decoration during October. 
Sow succession batches to maintain supply. 
Schizanthus for Christmas to be sown after middle of month. 
Sweet-peas may be sown about the middle of the month for flowers by 
Thanksgiving. Be sure that winter-flowering strains are used for 
this. Calendulas sown in a coldframe or cool greenhouse will 
provide cut blooms at Thanksgiving. 
Sow Mignonette in 2^-inch pots for planting to be benched next month. 
Young plants of Asparagus Sprengeri may be planted to perma¬ 
nent quarters in the benches. Root cuttings of Ivy, Zonal Gera¬ 
niums, and Show Pelargoniums. 
Winter-flowering Stocks to be sown for subsequent transplanting to 
flats, and then to small pots, and finally benched or repotted to 
flowering pots. 
Sow Cineraria stellata for flowering next Easter and Primulas for late 
winter and spring bloom. Allow about seven months from date 
of sowing until blooming time and sow accordingly. 
Roses Indoors 
Roses are in a critical period right now. Hot, muggy days combined 
with cold, clammy nights are not conducive to the welfare of the 
plants. Fire heat will be essential at times and a little sulphur 
painted on the heating pipes will assist checking mildew as will 
“grape dust” blown over the plants with a pair of bellows. En¬ 
courage growth and give all necessary care to induce free breaks 
to lay a foundation for the winter work. 
Chrysanthemums Now Growing 
Keep Chrysanthemum house well watered at this stage. It is not 
enough to just wet the tops of plants during extra hot spells. Get 
the water under the leaves, on the walks and under the benches. 
After August 15th, buds may be “taken” on most of the midseason 
varieties; while those of the late varieties may be “taken” during 
next month. This means, of course, the selection of the flowering 
bud and removal of all others. 
Fertilizers may be applied in moderation after the buds have formed 
and before they show color. Excessive feeding is the cause of 
imperfect flowers and cracked stems. 
Orchids to Have Attention 
While we may have warm weather for some time yet, the days are 
getting shorter, and the nights perceptibly cooler; and some humid, 
cloudy weather will be experienced before the month is out. There¬ 
fore, see that the shade on the house is not too dense. If on a 
cloudy day the house looks dark inside, the shading is too dense. 
Under such conditions Cattleyas will have nice green foliage, but 
will not flower well. Water during the morning. 
Temperature is a variable quantity during August, but keep as near 
6 o°- 65 ° as possible. It will run higher some nights and no harm 
will accrue if it falls to 58° on cool evenings. Do not close the 
house up tight on a cool night. 
Fruit Houses 
Borers are liable to attack Peach and Nectarine trees inside just as they 
do those in the orchard. At the first sign of dust coming from the 
tiny hole, promptly either cut out the borer or kill by running a 
piece of wire into the hole. 
Grape vines will have been making unrestricted growth (with no little 
benefit to the roots) since the crop was removed from the early 
vinery. Water the border well, and give the roots plenty of food 
in the late vinery where the berries are fast swelling. If a mulch 
is already there, give clear water first, then dust on the fertilizer 
and water that. Pinch out all sub-laterals and give an eye to 
red spider, sponging the foliage at once when that pest is found. 
It may not sound very seasonable to speak now of Tomatoes for winter 
work, but in sections where early frosts occur it is not too soon to 
make a sowing to keep up a supply after the outdoor crop is done. 
If grown in pots until a later sowing comes into bearing, they 
do not occupy any permanent bench space. 
SEEDING THE LAWN AND KEEPING THE GRASS 
S TRANGE as it may seem at first thought, August is one of the 
favorable months for seeding the new lawn, but—and it is a 
big but—the result is in the control of nature and not in the 
hands of the gardener. Nine times out of ten the August sown 
lawn comes through, but on the tenth time the prevailing 
weather conditions defeat germination of the weed and nothing that 
the gardener can do will overcome the handicap. 
It is of no use to water. The germination conditions are bigger 
things than a jet of water from the end of a hose. 
The seed bed for the August sown lawn must be made with the same 
care and depth of tilth that is called for in the spring made lawn, and in 
every respect the work is handled in the same way. August sowing 
is merely taking advantage of the possible, nay, probable, weather 
conditions. Is it worth the gamble? That is for each one to decide 
for himself. 
Grass plants need feeding, the soil must be properly enriched so that 
the young plants can start off with a fair chance in life. And humus 
(which spells decayed vegetable matter, such as stable manure 
thoroughly well rotted) is the very best kind of sponge to catch and 
hold water that is in the soil. 
Weeds are the bugaboo of the lawn maker. Weeds come in as grass 
goes out, therefore, sow early. Five bushels to the acre is as little as 
should be used. The weedless lawn of which much has been heard dur¬ 
ing the last couple of years is a practical possibility, as has been shown 
by the Rhode Island Experiment Station—provided you do not want 
a blue grass lawn. Blue grass thrives best in an alkaline soil and 
the alkaline soil invites Clover, Dandelion, Plantain, etc. The 
acid soil condition brought about by the use of sulphate of am¬ 
monia, which is in itself a good fertilizer, encourages the fine 
leaved Bents, and dressed early in spring on a dry day with a 
mixture of sulphate of ammonia, acid phosphate, and muriated 
potash, 2so pounds to the acre, the acid soil grasses will be encouraged 
and the weeds discouraged. 
You take your choice, alkaline soil, blue grass, and the fight against 
weeds. The Bent grasses, acid soil, and no weeds. 
The effect of fertilizer treatment is not sudden but slow and sure. 
Lawns may be top-dressed with bonemeal or wood ashes, or both. Apply 
on a wet day; or just before rain, if possible. Weedy growth will be 
practically terminated for the season and this is a good time for any 
renovating. 
