Wire baskets allow perfect drainage and we prefer them also for some orchids like Laelias. 
We offer the best wire baskets made. Painted wire baskets soon rust out. Ours are 
galvanized, polished, not soldered but welded. 
Place a thick layer of wet sphagnum on bottom and sides of basket. It should be 
well compressed and at least 1” or 2” thick. For the center one can use a mixture of 
peat, leaf mould and sand—or any soil formula favorable to the plant. For certain 
Orchids, Episcias and sometimes other plants, we use only sphagnum thruout. 
Fertilizers for pots and baskets. The soils recommended above are low in fertility. 
One cannot add enough to last an entire season. Such an amount would burn the young 
roots as rapidly as formed. A small quantity of dry, powdered dairy manure is safe but 
we seldom use it. We prefer to add 1 tablespoonful of bone meal which is slowly 
soluble and slow acting and a level teaspoonful of blood meal, which is strong and quick 
in action, to each 6” potful of soil. Too much blood will burn. When plants are in full 
growth, they may be fed with weak liquid manure, color of weak tea every 3 to 4 
weeks. Spoonit supplies a more complete ration, better balanced and more convenient. 
Use of inorganic forms of nitrogen can have bad results. 
Temperatures and light exposure are discussed with the listings. 
Sources of Further Information. Always consider the source of your information. 
Experience is worth more than reading knowledge. Commercial growers usually have 
had the experience. Please note our Garden Reference Books. Join local Garden Clubs. 
Subscribe for as many Garden Magazines as you have time to read. We especially recom- 
mend The Flower Grower, Dept. H., Albany, N.Y., Popular Gardening, Dept. H., 
Albany, N.Y., Horticulture, Dept. H., Boston 15, Mass. 
GARDEN REFERENCE BOOKS 
Bailey’s Cyclopedia of Horticulture. This 3-vol. set of over 3,600 pages describes 
almost every cultivated plant and has a wealth of culture information. Price $52.00. 
Hortus Second (Bailey). A concise Dictionary of Gardening. This 778-page volume 
lists and describes nearly every plant offered in catalogs, and some that are not in the 
Cyclopedia of Hort. It contains a few culture hints. Price $12.50. 
Amaryllis and How to Grow Them, by Peggy Schulz. This book was written for 
amateurs and by a well known amateur. It contains much useful information. 128 pages, 
many line drawings, photographs and two colored plates. $2.95. 
Enjoy Your House Plants. Excellent handbook of window gardening by Dorothy 
Jenkins and Helen Van Pelt Wilson. 238 pages. Price, $3.00. 
The New Greenhouse Gardening for Everyone, Ernest Chabot. Important factors are 
noted, including correct temperatures for forcing plants, bulbs, and orchids. $4.75. 
How to Grow Rare Greenhouse Plants. A new book on greenhouse gardening by 
Ernest Chabot. Complete directions for greenhouse culture of 260 rare plants. Everyone 
having a greenhouse should have both books. 182 pages. Ilustrated. $4.00. 
Geraniums, Pelargoniums, by Helen Van Pelt Wilson. 248 pages, 7 color plates, 
many drawings and illustrations. Best book on this subject. $3.95. 
Gloxinias, and How to Grow Them, by Peggy Schulz. Illustrated by colored plates 
and line drawings. Many Gloxinia relatives discussed, 128 pages. $2.95. 
Tuberous Begonias, by Worth Brown. Mr. Brown is one of our most important 
hybridizers and wholesale growers. His book is a complete guide for the successful 
growing and propagation, outdoors or as house plants. 128 pages, illustrated. $3.50. 
How to Grow Orchids, by Cecil Houdyshel. A 12-page pamphlet, no illustrations, 
carefully explains requirements of easily grown orchids. Price 25c. 
How to Grow Cattleya Orchids and a few others is told briefly in our 1949 Orchid 
Price List. The listings are now all cancelled. Price, 15c. 
The Complete Book of African Violets, by Helen Van Pelt Wilson. This is completely 
new and gives best information on hundreds of varieties. 29 Saintpaulias are shown in 
full color. 256 pages, fully illustrated. $3.50. 
How to Grow African Violets, by Carolyn Rector. 94 pages, paper-board covers. 
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