Jrxi 7. 1913. 
THE GARDENERS’ MAGAZINE. 
421 
WORK FOR THE WEEK. 
t 
❖ 
THE ORCHID HOUSES. 
general remarks.—T he warmer and 
more seaeonable weather has been advan- 
UMU8 to most orchids, although, it has 
caused the rapid fading of most flowers that 
have been expanded any length of time. 
With the more favourable conditions, we are 
enabled to treat the plants in the warmer 
houses more liberally. Extra damping of 
the floors and spraying the plants overhead 
is always desirable when it may be accom¬ 
plished with any degree of safety. This 
work will, to some extent, also check the 
increase of insect pests, but it is desirable to 
spray the plants in the warmer divisions with 
som^ safe insecticide at least once a fort¬ 
night, as prevention is at all times better 
than cure, and if thrips or any other pests 
of this nature once become established, it not 
only takes a very long time to get rid of them 
but also disfigures the plants affected. It is 
advisable also to close the houses reasonably 
early in the afternoon, so that full advan¬ 
tage may be obtained from the sun heat. 
The advantage of a light permanent shading 
on the cattleya houses and others of the warm 
section will be appreciated. The less fire 
heat used the better, and the heating appa¬ 
ratus should only be brought into use to 
counteract the coolness of the evenings; 
with a little heat in the pipes we are able to 
ventilate the houses during the night. This 
must be done with discretion, and be gov¬ 
erned by the prevailing outside conations. 
»Ve prefer using the lower ventilators at the 
leeward side of the houses. 
IN THE COOL DIVISIONS a greater 
amount of shading will be required. It is 
r milord odontoglossums too much 
ngnt during the spring and early summer 
^ntns, as this has a tendency to give the 
loiiage a bronzy appearance, but it will gene- 
J^lly be found that the leaves which turn 
this colour early in the year generally ripen 
n (juickly, and we find ourselves with plants 
unusual and undesirable number 
leafless pseudo-bulbs towards the autumn. 
leaves are affected where 
^ J during the fall 
moi^i^^^^-ii divisions also more 
required to keep the atmo- 
^ possible. It is a good plan 
is h " Winds let down .early when there 
«houff^^vE^i ^ warm day; damping also 
ventilators 
*sain should also be done 
B^v hL the day. The plants 
overhead in the morning 
eotaitw^- afternwn when the outside 
«on IW!„ favourable to rapid condensa- 
niav ® artificial 
•konid possible 
Gardens. J- Chapman, Oakwood 
p„. stove plants. 
TO COOL HOUSES.—With 
"f Ibeir ““<1 frames relieved of many 
®“nv eto^ nKSs^m”'^ kL® months, 
®®oler anar£.o * l>e removed to rather 
t* the^re^?^.^ much-needed room 
opportunitTIfOT cl providing a good 
‘hich flowerin- and rearranging, 
tocarpus amf Pl^'jts as gloxinias, strep. 
a much majr be kept 
=o a coo? ii^Sor season (t removid 
‘ion house, where ventila- 
planU , increased as 
fewer spikes as ®®move aU 
feanty. The eTrui mpfsoms lose their 
pTen cooler tr., caladiums may also be 
^“allv inurii! ‘Tt “*■ ®t tt** ®“me time 
GW>xi\T.« ^.***®“ t® sunshine; 
should be* read/f**®** JS*® spring 
pots, and, Witt ‘“to ^ 
h careful treatment, they will 
be of much value for autumn flowering. Con¬ 
tinue to propagate poinsettias and gardenias 
if a further increase of stock is required. 
Leaves of saintpaulia inser!:ed now will pro¬ 
vide nice plants for flowering from Christmas 
onward. 
ACALYPHA HISPIDA.—Plants raised as 
recommended for autumn and winter use 
should receive their final shift. When estab¬ 
lished, remove the points at a height of 
twelve inches or so, retaining the three 
strongest resulting growths. Remove all 
“ tassels ” as they appear, and keep well 
syringed and under genial atmospheric con¬ 
ditions. Older plants grown for summer de¬ 
corations will be fast producing their racemes 
of flowers, and should be removed to a some¬ 
what cooler house, where syringing and 
heavy damping may be dispensed with. 
EUPHORBIA FULGENS (JACQUIN^ 
FLORA).—The earliest rooted plants may be 
removed to a rather cooler structure, a house 
or pit that has been used for forcing straw¬ 
berries usually providing the required con¬ 
ditions. Keep fairly close at first, shading 
the plants, but admitting light to the house. 
In a short time the final potting will be 
ueoes 8 ar 3 \ Pots seven inches in diameter will 
be preferable; pot firmly. Syringe once or 
twice daily in bright weather. Open the 
roof ventilators a little in the evening, and 
increase the ventilation early in the morn¬ 
ing. Pot up younger plants as they become 
ready, and insert the last lot of cuttings by 
the middle of the month. 
AMARYLLIS.—Seedlings raised last year 
should now be ready for shifting into 6in. 
pots in which they are to bloom. Pot 
firmiy in a compost siniilar to that previously 
recommended, and grow on in an interme¬ 
diate house. Those which have flowered 
should be plunged to the rim of the pot 
within a brick frame, keeping t^ lights on 
only as a protection against rain and at 
night. They will not require much water, 
but should by no means be dried off; syringe 
late in the afternoon, feeding occasionally 
with the object of obtaining good plump 
flowering bulbs for next year.—H. Prime, 
Hatfield House Gardens. 
FRUITS UNDER CLASS. 
GUAVAS (PSIDIUM POMIFERUM).—An 
occasional dish of this fruit makes an agree¬ 
able change to the general collection of 
choice fruits. The shrub can be grown with 
a fair amount of success, and very little 
trouble, on the back wall of a vinery. I 
prefer growing them as cordons planted at 
about la inches apart, and supported by 
strings. Cuttings may be inserted now and 
placed in a brisk heat. A fibrous sandy loam 
with plenty of dry cow manure and a small 
quantity of old mortar rubble makes an 
excellent compost in which to grow the 
plants. 
COOL ORCHARD HOUSE.—The shoots of 
orchard-house trees, having had their points 
removed at the fifth or sixth leaf, are 
strengthening rapidly, and sending forth 
fresh growth which, in turn, must be pinched 
back to one, two, or three leaves, according 
to the strength of individual trees. Proceed 
to thin the fruits of apples and pears as soon 
as they show signs of swelling. Plums need 
to be thinned very cautiously^ and it is best 
to defer the thinning of cherries until after 
stoning is completed. A light surface mulch¬ 
ing at this stage will be very beneficial, and 
save much watering^. Damp the paths and 
between the pots several times during the 
day. Thoroughly syringe the trees with soft 
water on bright ahernoons, using a little 
quassia in the water occasionally as a safe¬ 
guard from aphis. There is no need to com¬ 
pletely close the ventilators after this date 
EGG PLANTS.—Young plants of Solanum 
melongena growing- in three-inch pots are 
now ready for their final shift into six or 
seven-inch pots. Use a light, rich compost, 
and place the plants in a sunny' position. 
Syringe overheaa twice daily, and maintain a 
temperature of from 63 to 75 degrees. Aa 
soon as the fruits have formed^ water the 
plants occasionally with weak liquid farm¬ 
yard manure. When the fruits are fully 
coloured gather and send them to the 
kitchen. 
EARLY FRUIT TREES.—Tree® in pote 
which have been cleared of ripe fruit should 
be placed outside and made secure from 
strong winds. Assist them to develop plump 
buds in readiness for another season by tak¬ 
ing pains to keep the foliage in a healthy 
condition. If tlie trees are in no way gross 
they may be given stimulants in a weak form 
about once a week. — F. Jordan, Warter 
Priory Gardens. 
THE FLOWER CARDEN. 
SPRING BEDDING PLANTS.—As the 
majority of plants used for spring bedding 
are raised annually from seed, the operation 
of sowing is an important matter, and it is 
now essential that it should receive attention. 
The present will be found a very suitable 
time for sowing wallflowers, myosotis, pan¬ 
sies, violas, aubrietia, double daisies, etc., 
which are always in demand for spring dis¬ 
plays. Some are advocates of sowing the 
seed of these about the middle of May, which 
probably is the right thing to do in cold dis¬ 
tricts, but, ‘Otherwise, if delayed until now, 
the plants are not 00 liable to become over¬ 
grown, and in the case ef wallflowers, leggy, 
and unable to stand rough, wintry weather. 
If it is decided upon to sow the »eed in the 
open ground, the soil should be worked into 
a fine condition to receive it; this done, draw 
out shallow drills twelve inches apart, and 
sow the seeds thinly, afterwards covering 
lightly and keeping the soil moist until ger¬ 
mination has taken place. When any diflfi- 
culty is experienced in raising seedlings in 
this manner, sowing the seed in frames re¬ 
cently vacated by bedding plants should be 
resorted to; here thev will be more under 
notice, and can readily be given conditions 
suitable for germination. Sweet williams 
and Canterbury bells cannot be classed as 
spring-flowering plants, but they can be 
treated advantageously in a similar manner 
when raising them. 
MYOSOTIS DISSITIFLORA, a most desir. 
able early flowering kind, ofttimes proves 
very uncertain in ^rminating, and this may 
be because the seed is a season old; it germi¬ 
nates more freely when sown directly after 
it has been gathered. 
SPRING-FLOWERING SHRUBS.—Many 
of these have now passed out of flower, and 
as with but few exceptions they flower on the 
current season’s wood, every encouragement 
should be given them to produce growth suffi¬ 
ciently matured for flowering another season. 
It is most marked how some shrubs flower 
very profusely one season, and sparingly the 
following; sometimes this is due to climatic 
conditions, but more often to the constitution 
of the shrub becoming overtaxed. In this 
latter case a top-dressing of some rich mate¬ 
rial and applications of liquid manure will 
do much to counteract this condition. Rho¬ 
dodendrons and azaleas are frequently 
affected in this way, and can be greatly as¬ 
sisted by having their flowers removed 
directly they are over; this entails a great 
deal of time, and can only be practisft in 
the ordinary way on choice varieties. Many 
shrubs are liable to become overcrowded, and 
produce as a result weak and unripened 
growths; here the old wood must be thinned 
out directly they have passed out of flower. 
Such treatment especially recommends itself 
when dealing with Ceanothus dentatus, deut- 
zias, kerrias, weigelias, shrubby spiraeas, etc. 
Then, again, we have flowering shrubs which, 
if allowed to grow at will, soon become un¬ 
sightly, and eventually get broken about and 
die. Some of these are much improved by 
