Green Tree Flower Gardens 
ture. Their colors are dark red, rose, copper, 
crimson, orange yellow, salmon-pink, scarlet, and 
white, according to the variety, some with single 
and some with double blossoms. 
In purchasing your tubers, use for your stan¬ 
dard, quality rather than price, and if possible, 
buy them before the last of March. Two year old 
tubers seem to produce best results. It is well to 
moisten the tubers before planting in the propa¬ 
gating bed, by placing them between two pieces 
of wet (but not dripping) burlap, for about 24 
hours. To prepare your propagating bed; any 
of the following mixtures are used for starting 
the tubers: all leaf mold, one-half each leaf mold 
and river bottom sand; or all peat moss. What¬ 
ever is used must be thoroughly moistened be¬ 
fore placing the tubers in it. Start the tubers 
about February 15th. Arrange your tubers, de¬ 
pressed side up in the propagating soil, with about 
one-half the tuber submerged, not too close to¬ 
gether, place in a cool (60 to 65 degrees) shady 
or dark place well ventilated and keep barely 
moist until there is a good sprout or sprouts ap¬ 
proximately three inches high, and a good root 
system. Do not force your tubers either with 
bottom heat or a warm atmosphere as the vitality 
of the plant is considerably lessened if you do so. 
When they are ready for removal from the 
propagating bed, prepare your potting soil, the 
following formula is one that is frequently used: 
3 parts (oak if possible) leaf mold, 2 parts well 
decayed cow manure, and 1 part river bottom 
sand, with a generous sprinkling of bone meal or 
Vigoro and tobacco dust. Now remove your tubers 
carefully from the bed so that the root system 
is not disturbed and place in a pot not larger 
than is necessary to accommodate the *root growth. 
Use clean moistened pots. The tuber should be 
covered with soil from one-half inch to an inch, 
give one thorough wetting, a good plan being, to 
let the pot stand in water until it is thoroughly 
moistened to the top of the soil. After that do 
not keep too wet but keep in as humid an atmo¬ 
sphere as possible. After the plant is well estab¬ 
lished in its first transplanting, stake it. Pinch¬ 
ing of plants in their early stages will make for 
shapely specimens. Tap the plant from the pot and 
if there is a good carpet of roots around the soil it 
is ready for another transplanting and so on until 
it reaches a five or six inch pot. Fertilize every 
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