Market Nursery Work Series
VOL, IV.

CARNATIONS AND PINKS

. J. FLETCHER, F.R.H.S

BENN BROTHERS,. LTD,

L-IBRARY-AGRiCULTUKE DE

MARKET NURSERY WORK

MARKET NURSERY WORK

BY

F. J. FLETCHER, F.R.H.S.

VOLUME I. GLASSHOUSES AND THE
PROPAGATION OF PLANTS.

The Nurseryman — Greenhouses — Propagation —
Seedling's — Cuttings — Practical Cutting Making
— Potting. [Ready.

VOLUME II. SPECIAL GLASSHOUSE
CROPS.

Tomatoes — Cucumbers — Melons — Grapes —
Sweet Peas— Forcing Bulbs— " Lifted " Chrys-
anthemums—Catch Crops. [Ready.

VOLUME III. ROSES FOR MARKET*

[Ready.

VOLUME IV. CARNATIONS AND PINKS.

[Ready.

VOLUME V. ORCHARD FRUIT CUL-
TURE* [Shortly.

VOLUME VI. THE COMMERCIAL GROW-
ING OF DECORATIVE PLANTS,
TREES AND SHRUBS. [Shortly.

4/6 net each (by post 5/-).
Prospectus of whole series post free on application.

MARKET NURSERY WORK

A SERIES OF SIX BOOKS
ON THE CULTIVATION
OF CROPS FOR MARKET

BY

F. J. FLETCHER, F.R.H.S.

VOLUME IV
CARNATIONS AND PINKS

LONDON: BENN BROTHERS LIMITED
8 BOUVERIE STREET, E.G. 4

1922

MAIN

LIBRARY-AGRICULTURE DEFT.

CONTENTS

PAGE

CHAPTER I. — THE PERPETUAL FLOWERING CARNATION . . i

CHAPTER II.— PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS .. .. 4

CHAPTER III.— POTTING AND GROWING ON . . 9

CHAPTER IV.— SUMMER TREATMENT 16

CHAPTER V.— ENEMIES 20

CHAPTER VI. — CUTTING AND PACKING THE FLOWERS . . 23

CHAPTER VII.— OLDER PLANTS, AND INDOOR PLANTING . . 26

CHAPTER VIII.— BORDER CARNATIONS 29

CHAPTER IX. — RAISING BORDER CARNATIONS FROM SEED 35

CHAPTER X.— LAYERING 41

CHAPTER XL— PLANTING OR POTTING ? 45

CHAPTER XIL— PERPETUAL AND OTHER BORDER CAR-
NATIONS . . 49

CHAPTER XIIL— DIANTHUS ALLWOODII 54

CHAPTER XIV.— GARDEN PINKS 60

INDEX 67

MARKET NURSERY WORK

VOL. IV

CARNATIONS AND PINKS

CHAPTER I
THE PERPETUAL FLOWERING CARNATION

WE dealt very briefly with the earlier stages of the perpetual
llowering carnation in Vol. I of this work, and now it will be necessary
for us to make a closer study of it — its status, uses, and value.
For many long years we grew the old " tree " carnations, but there
is absolutely no comparison between those old stagers and the
splendid perpetual flowering carnation of to-day.

Though not, strictly speaking, a twentieth century creation, the
greatest strides have been made since the year 1900, and it certainly
has become to all intents and purposes the flower of the century.
It is, therefore, only as yet in its infancy, and we may be fully
assured that the future will see further developments and great
improvements, such as we are hardly aware of. It has behind it
a small army of devoted enthusiasts experimenting, fostering,
improving, and studying it, and as it owes much to them in the
past, so it will be through their efforts that progress will be
maintained.

But behind these enthusiasts lies another great forcing power,
and this is the intrinsic merits of the flower as a flower, its great
popularity, and its indispensability. " Carnations all the year
round in great quality and abundance " is now quite common-
place ; is, indeed, expected, and the market grower who, having the
facilities, takes it up in a fairly large way, has a satisfactory prospect
before him and assured returns practically the whole year round.

This latter point may be questioned, but we have in mind the
fact that the perpetual flowering carnation is indeed " perpetual,'*
for it can be quite satisfactorily grown in beds in the open ground,

.NURSERY WORK

and so link up the spring and autumn crops of those grown under
glass. We shall have occasion to refer to this later on.

If we were asked to offer an opinion as to the popularity of the
carnation we should suggest, as one great factor, this quality of
continuity, and as another its very gratifying length of stalk, which
enables it so efficiently to set off its charms and graces. For, we
think, that notwithstanding its many perfections in form, colour,
and sweetness, these would be seriously handicapped if they were
attached to a short, stiff stalk.

This is from the popular point of view. Growers, while endorsing
both these reasons, would add to them others no less decisive.
They find in the carnation an easily grown subject, one of which
the stock can be quickly and readily increased ; one not too prone
to virulent diseases which take so much time and trouble to combat.
Another great merit is that it does not insist upon specially designed
greenhouses in which it must be grown, and if the specialist
has designed the most suitable kind of house in which to grow it
in quantity, the reason is that because he specialises he naturally
makes a special study of what his plants best appreciate. Add
to this that the finished flower lends itself to packing with the
greatest economy of space, that it is not ultra-fragile, and that
considerable value may be easily accommodated in quite a light
package, and the sum total of its merits mount up to a respectable
whole.

The one demerit of the perpetual carnation, which though but one
is rather formidable, is its deficiency in perfume. Most of our popu-
lar dianthus, the pinks and the clove carnation among them, are
deliciously scented, and this was among their greatest merits.
For centuries past the carnation has been so closely associated
with perfume that it seems almost impossible to dissociate them —
a scentless carnation being almost unimaginable — and it is this
long tradition which makes us the more keenly alive to the lack of
it in this modern creation. That this has proved so little derogatory
to its advance in popularity is abounding testimony to its other
high qualities, for though the fastidious may still advance it as an
objection, there is no flower extant which has so quickly and
completely established itself as indispensable. Any florist is more
or less prepared to swear by it, and would emphatically declare

THE PERPETUAL FLOWERING CARNATION 3

his inability to dispense with it if for any reason he was asked to.
And he would be right, for he literally cannot do without it. Can
we imagine his windows shorn of those elegant vases of scarlets and
crimsons, pinks and whites, and bizarres ? Can we suggest to
him an efficient substitute which could make his mid-winter display
as varied and as glorious as that of midsummer ? So, while we
can very heartily deplore this lack of perfume, we cannot see in it
anything likely to interfere with the further development of the
carnation as a great commercial flower. None the less, we trust that
raisers and specialists will explore this matter, even if they have to
take some retrograde steps to do so, and we entertain very lively and
reasonable hopes that ere many years have passed they will be able
to re- endow it with its most precious attribute, which somehow or
other slipped from it in the course of its evolution.

Nor should we refrain from referring, in this connection, to its
excellent keeping qualities. As florists ourselves, with all the
florists' doleful experiences of consigning daily large quantities
of flowers to the rubbish heap, all of which cost hard cash, we can
testify to the fact that our losses in carnations from that cause
have been practically nil, and that during the cooler months of
the year we have frequently found blooms quite saleable after being
cut from the plant nearly three weeks. Compare this with roses
and many other popular flowers, and its economic value is apparent.

CHAPTER II
PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS

IN our brief reference to the propagation of carnations in Vol. I,
we suggested that the growers of a limited number of plants might
with advantage strike them singly in small pots, and that we had
ourselves tried this method with considerable success. But we
have now come to the point where we have to consider the subject
on a much larger scale and introduce methods of " mass pro-
duction." Compared with a brief ten years ago, we think we should
be well within the mark if we expressed the opinion that 1000
plants are now wanted for every 100 in 1911, and that the demand
is rapidly increasing. Nor do we think that the supply should
be left entirely to specialists. There are many nurserymen who,
having the facilities and the will to use them, can raise and find an
outlet for a few hundreds of plants annually as a part of their regular
routine, and the specialists would be the last men in the world to
discourage them. It is for such we write.

In dealing with rose grafting we described the make-up of a
propagating bed, such as is in general use, and a somewhat similar
structure, with a moderated bottom heat, would do well for car-
nations, though instead of making the bed with fibre it should be
made with sand 2 to 3 inches deep. When we have had our own
propagating pit filled with other things we have improvised on the
side benches for carnations, covering the stage with slates, laying
the sand on them, and temporarily fixing covering lights. To
conserve the bottom heat as well as we could we have nailed stout
sacking along the front from the stage to the floor, and this has
prevented its too rapid escape ; but though this proved a very useful
makeshift we did not take the risk of entrusting our very earliest
cuttings to it. We think the end of February is quite early enough
in the season to trust to it. Incidentally, we might mention that
the side benches come in very conveniently for chrysanthemum
cuttings when they are no longer needed for carnations.

The sand used should be sharp and clean, and when it has been
put on the beds it should be given a really good watering, and a whole

PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS 5

day if convenient in which to drain itself before the cuttings are
put in. This settles it well down and solidifies it, so far as sand
may be said to solidify, to make a congenial bed for the encourage-
ment of roots. Loose, dry sand makes but a feeble anchorage for
the cutting, and is no fit medium for growth of any kind.

Now as to the cuttings. Our illustrations are designed to make
clear those points which we cannot lucidly convey in words,
for in the latter we claim no great skill. A healthy, flowering shoot

An

Incorrect-

Cutttrtq-

FlG. I

throws out several side-growths, which is the characteristic of
" tree " carnations, and it is these side-growths which furnish the
cuttings. We show these in Fig. 2. In taking them, the growth
nearest the flower is discarded, as also is the lowest, And why ?
The top one looks good enough for anything, but because of its
position it partakes too nearly of the character of the flower wood,
and despite its present strength would eventually develop into a
weakling. As to the lower growth, it shows nothing like the strength
and vitality of those above it, and as it does not possess these now

MARKET NURSERY WORK

so, experience shows, it never would, and for that reason is of little
use to the propagator. No nurseryman, indeed no propagator, will
seek to increase his stock by the inclusion of any plants which he has
reason to think will not prove satisfactory either to himself or to
any who may purchase them.

Before proceeding with the making of cuttings we must emphasise
the fact that there are very special reasons why none but healthy

stock should be propagated, and only
really good cuttings put in. The
principal reason is that this class of
carnation, being perpetual flowering,
is of necessity perpetual growing.
There is no season of rest, no period
for recuperation ; it goes on and on
till it has expended all its energy,
when it begins to go " off colour "
and quickly deteriorates. It is only
by the regular propagation of really
healthy cuttings that the vigour of
the stock can be maintained by fre-
quent renewal, and this is so essential
that if for some reason or other it
was not regularly followed up, we
should see the perpetual flowering
carnation become extinct almost as
rapidly as it sprang into existence.

This is not meant to be alarmist,
for we are all too much alive to its
interests to see it suffer neglect, yet
it was well to refer to it and to urge
that it should not be overlooked even
by those whose knowledge of the
plant may as yet be small . In this con-
nection there are two other facts of some significance to note, and
these are : (i) The perpetual flowering carnation quickly succumbs
to disease, and (2) that once a plant becomes unhealthy it is almost
impossible to win it back to health ; and this emphasises the need
for care.

FIG. 2.— Growth of Wood
for Cutting

PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS 7

We consider that the best time for taking cuttings is from the
middle of January to the middle of March, though on an emergency
there is scarcely a month of the year in which, given proper con-
ditions, they will not strike. But for practical purposes and to fall
in with the ordinary exigencies of the trade, those months are
assuredly the most convenient and the best. A cutting should be
about 4 inches in length, and should not be taken from the plant
till it has attained that length. Instead of cutting it off, it should
be detached from the plant by an upward pull, and this will
bring it away intact, that is, with a bulge or small heel as shown in
Fig. i a. That bulge is solidly built and is the natural spot for
the emission of roots, being better equipped than the ordinary
joint for the setting up of a separate existence.

The trimming of the cutting consists merely of the removal
of the lower, undeveloped grass or foliage, and cutting the base
quite smoothly with a sharp knife. There is no need for the
shortening of the top grass, though this is often practised
with the object of reducing the risk of " damping off," but
we think that those who do so only substitute one risk for
another, as the damaged foliage is naturally more susceptible
to rot. The real remedy against " damping off " is not to crowd
the cuttings. Having made them, do not expose to sun and air, or
allow them to lie about for hours before they are put in, for that
wastes vitality, every bit of which is needed and should be con-
served. As soon as one variety is finished, every cutting should
be immediately put in, and we much prefer to make it a two-man
job — one making the cuttings, the other inserting them as fast as
they are made. Insert at i inch apart in the row, with 3 inches from
row to row, using a rather blunt dibble, not making the hole too
deep, for the base of the cutting must rest on a firm bottom. The
dibble, properly used, will also firm the sand about the cutting,
but the operator should satisfy himself that each one is firm before
passing on to the next.

Thoroughly water the cuttings in so that the sand may again settle
round them, and it will be found that very little more will be
required until rooting has actually commenced. Close down the
lights, but give a little air each morning to carry off the conden-
sation, and after the first week examine them every day to see if

8 MARKET NURSERY WORK

there are any dry places, for though too much moisture is un-
doubtedly injurious, actual dryness is even more so.

Throughout this period the bottom heat should be maintained
at about 60 degrees, but this must be considered as the maximum,
for the carnation, being indeed a hardy plant, is not patient of heat,
and even at this, the earliest, stage of its existence resents excessive
warmth. In fact, as soon as rooting is known to have begun —
which should be 18 to 20 days after insertion — the temperature
must be modified by the freer admission of air and by the actual
removal of the lights for one hour daily. It should never be thought
of as a hot-house plant, for it most emphatically is not, and every
succeeding stage of its growth should bring it a step nearer to those
hardy conditions which are natural to it.

CHAPTER III
POTTING AND GROWING ON

THE last few days in the cutting bed should see the lights removed,
for these cuttings must not be encouraged to make any growth
save at the roots. By the time these are about J-inch long they are
ready for lifting and potting, and this might be done without any
apparent check to the young plants. See Fig. 3 . It involves the warm-
ing of the compost to the temperature of the house, not necessary equal
to the bottom heat of the propagating bed. This compost should
consist mainly of sandy loam chopped fine, with a slight addition
of leaf soil, sand, and ashes from burnt refuse as correctives. This
would be porous, friable, and not liable to run together and set
firm. The pots, too, 3-inch by preference, should be cleaned,
crocked, and warmed. Lift the cuttings carefully without breaking
the roots, shaking off most of the sand which adheres to them,
and pot them firmly, but not deeply, keeping them in the propagating
house and shading until they are well rooted through, after which
they should be removed to a house where the temperature ranges
from 50 to 55 degrees. In this house they should go through a
hardening regime, with the free admission of air at all favourable
times. Coddling at this stage, or at any succeeding stage, would
simply ruin their constitution, and bearing in mind what we had
to say above on this point, no grower will be foolish enough to
take risks. At this particular stage, even if at no other, the plants
should not be too far removed from the glass.

We have now brought a batch of plants through their initial
stages ; but there are other successive batches at short intervals,
because the whole of the cuttings are not ready at the same time.
With but slight modifications to meet the changing weather, the
same regime may be followed, the principal modification being the
more effective shading of the young stock as the sun increases in
power. This applies not only to the cuttings while yet rooting,
but more especially to the newly potted cuttings, and until such
time as they have fairly established themselves in the 3-inch
pots. See Fig. 4.

io MARKETrNURSERY WORK

As the days lengthen and the warmth of the sun becomes some-
thing to reckon with, there is an almost sudden change in the young
plants ; their grass is stronger and larger, their stems thicken, the
colour deepens, and it seems as though they have just discovered
their vocation in life and hasten to make good their start. It is just
now that they are really ready for distribution, and the necessary

FIG. 3.— A Well-rooted Cutting

steps should at*once be taken to dispose of all the surplus, retaining
only such number, as you may need for your own requirements, viz.
for growing on and for the ultimate production of flowers. Every
weak plant should be ruthlessly weeded out and consigned
to the rubbish heap — the cheapest and best method of dealing with
them. Great care should be exercised that not one single unsatis-
factory plant gets packed in any of the orders, for otherwise your
repute as a reliable " carnation man " is at stake.

POTTING AND GROWING ON

ii

With the approach of the warmer weather of April, the green
aphis will inevitably swarm to attack the plants. It comes, appar-
ently, from nowhere, and quickly crowds the top grass. If undis-
turbed, it can work great havoc in a very few days, havoc that may
well be irremediable, but the prudent man has not awaited its
attack — he has foreseen and forestalled it ; his remedies are already
to his hand, either in the form of shreds, vaporiser, or cyanide.
With either of these he makes an intensive onslaught, and after

FIG. 4. — A Cutting newly
Potted

FIG. 5. — Stopped

destroying his existing enemies he prevents the approach of others
by a periodic resort to fumigation at frequent intervals.

A very important operation must be put in hand upon those
plants which are kept, and that is the " stopping,'* and though experi-
ence teaches us that better breaks may be obtained if the plants have
already been potted on, it frequently happens that they are sufficiently
advanced before this can be done, and it is essential that the stop-
ping is done directly the plants are ready for it. See Fig. 5. On
the whole, we think it advisable to select plants for growing on at
quite an early date, and not to lose a chance by holding all the stock
to await the exigencies of sale. To wait and pot up unsolds only
must be the worst policy for anyone who is desirous of making

12 MARKET NURSERY WORK

a special line, and who must have flowers later, but this is perhaps too
often done. So, though we think it quite the thing to do to refer to
" stopping " here, we wish it to be distinctly understood that, in
practice, we make a point of potting the plants into 48-sized pots
and " stopping " them immediately they are sufficiently established.

A young carnation is very brittle, especially at the axil of the
foliage. Its natural growth is, at first, a single stem, which it will
send up 12 or 15 inches and then produce a flower bud ; but we
do not want this, and before it has reached more than half that
height it must be " stopped " if it is ever to become a good plant.
About 7 or 8 inches of growth will be sufficient to develop the stem,
and then its energies in the upward direction must be checked and
diverted to the making of " breaks," which will go to the building
of the future plant. For this, it is not sufficient to pinch out the
leader, as we do with so many other plants, neither is it right to take
away so much of the top so as to have nothing but the hard wood
remaining ; but the correct method is midway between the two,
and this occurs, as a rule, 4 or 5 inches above the soil. And the
way to make the separation is not by cutting, but by pulling, just
as you would pull a pink piping. Take hold of the plant with
the thumb and finger of the left hand just below where you wish the
separation to be effected, and with the thumb and finger of the right
hand just above, and give a sharp pull upward, and the top portion
readily coming away makes the operation complete. This is more
easily done early in the day, before the sun has affected the flow
of sap in the plant and rendered it less brittle.

The next work of immediate importance is the potting on.
Assuming that the plants are still in 6o's. and that they have been
duly " stopped," the time to pot them on is when the new breaks
have started into active growth. Do not let them advance far,
otherwise they may feel the check, and this is, at all times, bad for
them. If, on the other hand, you are able to get on with the potting
before it has become necessary to " stop " them, then the time may
be selected when the establishment in the 60 's. is complete and
an abundance of roots are seen running round the side of the pot.

The vital question here is that of compost. May we, once again,
emphasise the importance of a clean compost ? Let the loam be
pure loam ; the manure free from foreign matter ; the leaf soil

POTTING AND GROWING ON 13

nothing but rotted leaves, and so on. Clean soil is not a new doc-
trine ; greater men than us have always insisted upon it, and we
only follow because we have proved its worth. Here is our formulae
for this second potting, which will be into 5-inch pots : —

1. Six barrowfuls fibrous loam well chopped up.

2. One barrowful old rotted farm manure, through J-inch sieve.

3. Two pecks of sharp silver sand.

4. One peck ashes from burnt garden refuse, through J-inch

sieve.

5. One barrowful sifted leaf soil if loam is too heavy, through

J-inch sieve.

No fertilisers and no lime are added at this stage, as the plants
are mere sojourners in these pots for quite a brief period, which is
not long enough to constitute any serious strain upon the compost.
It may be seen, however, that it is a " good " compost and is calcu-
lated, as it is intended, to build up and foster a strong, firm growth.
To make quite sure the various ingredients are thoroughly incor-
porated, we turn it over three times in the yard, and it gets a further
mixing in its transit to the potting shed. We wash our pots always,
for here again cleanliness pays ; we even go so far as to rinse our
crocks, and if there are those who think we are faddists and too
particular we say, " not so," for if we use clean soil and clean pots
we see no sense in upsetting such a sound rule by using dirty crocks
to which the roots will probably adhere and eventually have to be
broken away. In crocking we allow one larger crock, roughly
1 1 inches in diameter, placed concave over the hole, and around
and over this are about a dozen smaller ones, about the size of a
small French bean seed.

In potting, which, with the batch of young plants we are following,
is done about the middle of April, we disturb the young roots and
the ball as little as we can, merely breaking the bottom where
in a larger pot the crock would be found, and rounding off the sharp
top rim. We are careful not to pot too deeply, for we have a whole-
some dread of stem-rot, so we fill the pot about one-third full of
the coarser portions of compost, and having pressed this well to-
gether we stand the ball with the young plant in the middle of the

i4 MARKET NURSERY WORK

pot, so that the top of the ball is within f inch below the rim of the
pot. We then, being satisfied as to position, fill in around with
soil, and this we press home evenly and firmly, using a potting
stick for the purpose, careful, however, not to make it hard, but
moderately firm. Thus the 5 -inch pot is filled to within \ inch of
the top of the pot, and we consider this is only just sufficient space
to allow for water.

As the plants leave the potter's hands, an assistant, standing at
the same bench, puts a bamboo tip to each and one tie, after which
the carriers with the hand-barrow carry them away and stand them
in the carnation house — at least it is for the present and up till June
the carnation house — after which it will temporarily be a tomato
house. We now no longer look upon them as infants, but as fairly
started in life, expecting great things from them, realising, however,
that they are as dependent upon our care and attention as ever they
were. It is one of the fascinations of carnation culture that they
so readily respond to treatment if it is kept on right lines, and they
never leave us in any doubt as to their satisfactory development.
We see them now occupying both sides of a large, light, and airy
house, the centre bed of which is yet full of one-year plants carrying
a full crop of bloom, and it is here they pass through their inter-
mediate, preparatory stage. Incessant watchfulness and prompt
measures keep them free from insect pests, and if any disease appears
it is promptly dealt with. The watering and ventilation throughout
the tricky month of May occupies the close attention of the grower,
and when May, as it sometimes will, assumes the character of
midsummer, then a slight coat of Elliott's shading over the glass
tempers the effect of the sun, and renders it an easier matter to
combat red spider and thrip — a pair of enemies which generally
run in double harness.

While dealing with their cultivation, which, so far, has been under
glass, we trust that the great fact of their hardiness has never been
absent from our minds, because our general treatment of them at
every stage must be influenced by it. To us it appears to be the
fundamental fact, one we must always reckon with, and it applies
more especially to questions of temperature and of ventilation. While
they are in their earlier and infantile stages, they have practically
but little individuality, and so do not appear to resent a temperature

POTTING AND GROWING ON 15

which at a later period they most emphatically would, and it is only
when they are sufficiently established and " on their own " that
they become more and more insistent upon receiving more natural
conditions. They show by their behaviour that they resent a high
temperature and a close, oppressive atmosphere ; that, in short,
they positively refuse to be coddled, no matter how good may be
the intent. And that is the fact which carnations must never
ignore.

CHAPTER IV

SUMMER TREATMENT

SOME weeks elapse, and then, in June, the time comes for the plants
to receive their final potting. They have been carefully tended ;
had all the air they needed ; have never been allowed to become
dry ; have been protected from the attacks of pests ; have had
additional ties, and now, in the full growth and vigour of their
youth, they have to be transferred to their flowering pots and given
several weeks' open-air treatment. The pots this time are 7 inch
or 8 inch, and the same scrupulous cleanliness as advocated for the
former potting must again be observed. The compost should be
nearly, but not quite, the same, and it should not be so finely broken
up. " The larger the pot, the coarser the soil," is an old maxim.
In this compost we substitute thoroughly rotted cow manure for
stable manure, unless the loam be very tenacious and heavy, and
at the same time introduce two other ingredients, viz. mortar
rubble and bones. Here, again, is the formulae : —

1. Ten barrowfuls of turfy loam, chopped up.

2. Two barrowfuls of old cow manure, chopped up.

3. One bushel coarse silver sand.

4. Two pecks ashes from garden refuse.

5. One bushel mortar rubble, broken small.

6. Half bushel crushed bones, J inch.

The process of potting is exactly the same as before, except that,
this time, we press the compost more tightly into the pot. Without
being as firm as we should make it for a chrysanthemum, it must,
none the less, be tight, for it has to maintain the plant through its
most strenuous and exacting phases. It has to carry a strong feeding
plant throughout the summer, on through the autumn, and the first
stages of flowering, then throughout the winter and spring, not only
producing the flowers and carrying new growths, but imparting
size, substance, and colour to the former (without which their value
would be diminished), and to the latter, strength, vigour and

16

SUMMER TREATMENT

potential productiveness. Therefore the compost must not only
be good, but it must be compressed so that its mechanical action
may be perfect.

We are still writing of young, first-year plants, the cultivation
of which differs somewhat from that we would suggest for the
same plants when a year older, and this is
the reason why we cannot yet talk of
artificial manures or fertilisers. As will
be noted, we have preferred a rich com-
post, such a compost as will satisfy every
requirement of the growing plant until
the season of flowering comes, when,
having reached productivity, the demands
upon the soil will so rapidly increase that
additional food in the form of a fertiliser
becomes essential. But as yet there is a
great store of vigour, the natural vigour
of youth, in each of these plants, and
while we want to exploit this to the utmost
we have to guard against undue coarseness
which invites disease. So, having potted
our plants, we stand them back on their
bed of ashes in such manner as to leave
every one " get-at-able," and for the re-
mainder of the summer lay ourselves out
to nurse and encourage them by strict
attention to watering, tying, cleansing and
cleaning. The watering is important, for
no plant should ever be left to dry itself
out. If but one plant in the whole batch needs water it should
not be too much trouble to go out of the way to give it some.
Whoever is in charge must carefully look them over every day
and conscientiously supply their needs.

If the season happens to be dry and hot — which, after all, are
but normal conditions — our persistent and ubiquitous foe, the red
spider, will be on the war-path. We do not invite you to wait for
his appearance and then fight him. What we do say is : keep him
away by spraying once a week with slightly salted water, which we

pIG< 6.— Plant in Pot
in September

i8 MARKET NURSERY WORK

have proved to be the simplest of all deterrents. Drive this well
up on the under side of the foliage, if necessary laying the plants
on their side to facilitate the operation. Should the red spider
attack in the face of this, and obtain a foothold, fall back on that
old and potent remedy — soft soap, paraffin, and water. This is
a most useful, all-round insecticide, consisting of i oz. soft soap,
i tablespoonful paraffin, and i gallon water, which must be kept
vigorously stirred while being used, or the paraffin will not be
sufficiently diffused.

At the end of August the plants should be immediately housed.
It is no longer quite safe for them outside ; but they must not be
rushed into a dirty house. Do not root up your tomatoes and fill
up with carnations without due preparation, for if you do you will
have ample opportunities for regret. The house must be clean,
absolutely clean. Dig and heavily dress the borders with a soil
insecticide, fumigate with sulphur or cyanide, wash the rafters
and glass with soft soap, and so make everything sweet and fresh
and clean for the valuable stock which has to take up an eight
months' residence in that house. Filth and dirt and pests are
almost bound to come some time, and it is something gained to
give a clean start, for it is much easier to keep clean than to have
to cleanse.

As the plants, showing well for bloom, are being carried in, the
opportunity for feeding with a fertiliser is a convenient one — a
spoonful of a recognised standard carnation manure being admin-
istered to each. Do not persuade yourself to use any but a well-
balanced manure of repute, such perhaps as the great specialists
use. A volatile manure, such, for example, as nitrate of soda,
is far from being the best, for it is swift-acting and its effect is
immediately apparent where you do not want it, viz. in the foliage.
It must be a slower acting agent in which, with nitrogen, the
phosphates and potash are duly proportioned.

When all are safely housed, we have to essay the winter's work,
and this should be to a fixed, though not arbitrary, plan. Let us
see what lies before us. First, there is the perfecting of that crop
of bloom already well on the way ; second, the general good health
and cleanliness of the plants have to be maintained ; third, the
promotion of new growths to produce the succeeding crop ;

SUMMER TREATMENT

fourth, the production of cuttings. But though we keep distinct
before us these four ends, they imply, collectively, no differentiation
in the general treatment, except that the work of disbudding applies
only to number one. They are all entirely bound up in the health
and well-being of the stock, and it is this
and this alone that must have our greatest
consideration. What we have to do then
is to give our charges the best possible
conditions : plenty of light, a moderate
warmth, fresh air, abundant nourishment
without over-feeding ; full attention to their
detailed requirements. We have to sedu-
lously guard them against disease and, later,
against insect pests ; to supply them with
fertiliser as the strain upon them increases ;
to top-dress them with new compost in the
later winter, and keep them up to concert
pitch all the time they are in bearing.
Between their crops of bloom (for their
are slight intervals) they may be cleaned
over and assisted, but never driven, for we
must always remember that they are hardy
plants, and impatient of exotic conditions.
Remember, too, that this< their] first^winter,
is their best, is indeed the time of their
lives, when they make the finest efforts of
which they are capable, and produce larger,
brighter, more substantial and more abund-
ant blooms than ever they will again. From an economical point
of view it matters but little if they go all out at the end, after
having given a sufficiency of stout, healthy cuttings, for on the
whole we incline to the opinion that it is more satisfactory to work
on young stock every year and to depend less upon two-year-old
plants which, while giving an abundance of highly coloured blooms
are, on the whole, of second size and quality — valuable, doubtless,
but still distinctly below the younger ones in value, especially in
times of plenty.

FIG. 7.— Pot Plant
in October

CHAPTER V

ENEMIES

WE have several times referred to diseases, but so far have not
attempted to deal particularly with them. The time has now come
for us to do so, for though the actual diseases peculiar to the car-
nation are few in number, they can be exceedingly virulent. Before
discussing them, we feel obliged once again to insist upon the fact
that they are, one and all, preventable, and that when they attack
plants it is almost always in response to conditions that invite them.
Possibly there are times when those conditions are unavoidable,
but, even so, there is almost sure to be an aftermath of evils. If
we took as many pains to keep our carnations free from them as we
do on behalf of our tomatoes, there would be little to fear. In
the summer we should defeat them by spraying, as before stated,
and in the winter we should call in the aid of sulphur and lime as
our chief agents. Let us glance at them seriatim.

Stem Rot. This is one of the most common, as it is the
most deadly, and it is caused in the majority of cases by
deep potting. We have recently been told that it is also
caused by the use of unsuitable sand for striking the cuttings,
and though we do not challenge that assertion we had never
held that theory and should neither endorse nor reject it until
we have satisfied ourselves by experiments. But it has the impress
of probability about it. But as to the danger of deep potting
there can be no element of doubt. In potting, none of the joints
of the plant should be buried except the basal ones, for it has been
seen again and again that it is at the buried joints that the disease
occurs. Deep potting is unnecessary in any case. Just as the
carnation resents the wetting of its foliage in winter, so does it
object to an accumulation of moisture around its stem at the collar.
Yet this is almost bound to happen when a portion of that stem is
below the surface of the soil, or when the atmospheric conditions of
the house can only be described as humid. This is the case of stem
rot so far as we have traced it, and the way to avoid it is by careful
potting, watering, and ventilating. It is not hereditary, but some

20

ENEMIES 21

varieties of more delicate membrane are susceptible to it, where
those of a harder and more robust nature are not. There is no
known cure.

Rust (Uromyces caryophyllinus). This is entirely due to adverse
atmospheric conditions, and these are often aggravated by the plants
themselves being too crowded, so that they are
unable to benefit by the free circulation of air
between and about them. An equable temperature
is also essential, and this, combined with an ever-
moving atmosphere, will prevent and sometimes
cure it ; but for this we commend our own practice
of cutting off affected leaves and at once putting
them on the fire. As a preventive in bad weather
we blow a thin cloud of flowers of sulphur and
slaked lime through the rows of plants at the pot
level, and leave it to diffuse itself and finally settle
wheresoe'er it will. By the aid of a glass we can
detect it as a thin film covering all the foliage within
an hour.

Spot (Septoria dianthi) and Fairy-ring Spot (Het-
erosporum echinulatum) are very similar diseases, both
encouraged by warm, close conditions, and both
capable of disseminating themselves rapidly by float-
ing spores. Prevent their appearance if you possibly
can by means of the sulphur and lime as recom-
mended for the rust, and should it appear after this,
then remove any affected leaf and burn it. Do not
afford it an opportunity for spreading itself, and if

it is attended to in good time it is easily stamped Fic?" 8-~Car-

T . ,, r . , , nation. Fairy -

out. It is well for carnation growers that these rjng- Leaf Spot

diseases have been thoroughly investigated, are well
understood, and, because of that, easily defeated. No man need
look upon them now as in any way a bar to successful carnation
growing, always supposing that the charge hands are fully alive
to their duties.

We have recently been looking into the particulars of another
disease (Bacterium dianthi), the presence of which is indicated by
yellow spots on the foliage. These can be traced to the ravages

22 MARKET NURSERY WORK

of sucking insects like the aphis or the thrip, which, penetrating
the epidermis of the leaf with the proboscis, apparently leaves a
poison behind, which in time creates a developed disease very
much as poison would similarly do for us. Obviously, the thing is
to fight and destroy these sucking insects, and if this is done
thoroughly we cannot be troubled with bacterium. The disease is
not fatal ; strong plants can throw it off, but it is, so far, not amenable
to special treatment, and we are told that the only way to stamp
it out is to propagate none but the healthiest cuttings and, presum-
ably, to scrap affected plants at the end of the season.

Again and again we have had occasion to talk of insect pests,
and no one can advance very far in carnation growing without
coming up against them. They come in whole battalions in the
most inexplicable way from nowhere, not many in variety, but in
number uncountable. Practically they are but three : green aphis,
red spider, and thrip. Either one of them, if left unchecked for
quite a short time, would completely ruin the best stock of carnations
in the country ; combined, they could bring disaster more complete
and more swiftly upon these than upon any other plant in cultivation.
At least, that is the conclusion forced upon us. Thus they con-
stitute a very serious menace, and no grower must place himself
in a position of disadvantage by being unprepared with remedial
agents. They can all be fought and exterminated by the same
methods. They begin their attacks in the summer weather outside,
and there they must be fought as we earlier described ; but when
winter comes and the plants are under glass the same methods
do not apply. Soft soap and paraffin insecticides must be discarded,
and reliance placed more on cyaniding or fumigating with nicotine
preparations. Very occasionally, and choosing the weather, a slight
spraying from beneath with nicotine extract is effective, and with
these a well-ventilated house, and the fire heat under proper control,
there should be little difficulty in keeping the plants free from
their enemies.

CHAPTER VI
CUTTING AND PACKING THE FLOWERS

A NURSERYMAN who does not specialise in carnations and is content
to grow anything up to a thousand or so, naturally does not go to
any great expense in providing special and elaborate facilities for
the packing of his blooms, being quite content to make the best
use of those he has at hand. But the specialist, the grower of
thousands, with whom the packing and marketing of cut bloom
is a very large and important part of the routine, does go out of
his way to provide facilities that are both labour-saving and efficient.
He provides for himself a proper packing shed, the roof of which is
thickly thatched. The building need not be lofty (unless it has
also to be used for packing general nursery stock, which we think
unlikely), but it must be high enough to be airy and roomy. Packing
benches run around the sides, while the centre is fitted with
receptacles to hold water, say, either galvanised or cement shallow
tanks, with numerous movable divisions, from either side of which
the packers can take the blooms without getting in one another's
way. Still, whether it be the small grower with his plugged
flower pots, his pails and his jars, or the large grower with his
permanent tanks, the essentials remain the same — the ventilation
of the shed must be good, the air cool, the water fresh for the
flowers which have to stand a whole day or a night in it before
being packed.

Take those as the essential points. There is a correct time for
cutting the blooms, and this is either in the early morning or at
the fall of evening. To cut them in the day-time, when the sun is
or has been shining, or when the ordinary day-time evaporation
has reduced the moisture within them, is unreasonable and faulty,
for blooms cut under those conditions are not likely to last out their
full term, and this is unfair to the purchaser. Practically the same
non-keeping qualities attach to blooms cut from a plant that is
dry, but this is so obvious that we might feel some hesitation in
referring to it. The grower whose market is so distant that he

23

24 MARKET NURSERY WORK

has to pack and dispatch overnight, would choose the early morning
for cutting, while the more fortunate grower who can pack and
dispatch in the early morning and still catch his market, would
cut his blooms in the evening. The point, however, is that the
cut bloom must be stood in water for several hours, the ends of the
stalks, 2 or 3 inches, being immersed, the heads being well elevated,
held in position by the tank divisions, which are usually strips of
wood laid across.

The blooms should not be left on the plants until fully expanded,
but have something left " to come " after being cut, the stalks, of
course, being long. They should be graded, for one or two inferior
blooms in a parcel will very probably reduce its value considerably,
most buyers being cute enough to seize any excuse to buy cheaply
and take full advantage of a weak sample. To establish a name for
careful grading and good packing is the aim of every grower, for
this is a valuable asset. He knows it is to his interest to take every
precaution to keep to a high standard, and to use special precautions
against bruising or any other damage to his consignments en route.
Those precautions are simple and effective. The boxes used are
3 feet long, 8 inches wide, and 4^ inches deep ; these are lined,
amply, with white or coloured tissue ; then a roll of paper is made
to lay like a pillow across the box about i inch from the end ; on
this roll the blooms are laid, the calyces resting on the roll, and a
wad of cotton wool interposing between the blooms and the end
of the box. Having laid this row, the blooms close together, a
similar roll is made and laid across their stalks, to take the second
row, and so on till the box is half filled, when the process is repeated,
beginning at the other end of the box. The stalks cross each other
in the centre, which allows of the lot being fastened into position
by a cross stick which fits tightly across the box and is pressed
down upon the stalks. Short of being turned upside down, this
removes all danger of their being bruised or damaged, for the
stick holds them in place with a tight grip, and it must indeed
be arrant carelessness or very rough handling that can work them
harm.

Second grade blooms may be similarly packed, a larger number
going to each box, but several growers bunch these much the same
as chrysanthemums are bunched, a dozen in a bunch placed flat,

CUTTING AND PACKING THE FLOWERS 25

either as six twos or four threes. If for any reason more than one
variety have to be packed together, then it is just as well to try and
arrange that the colours are such as not to neutralise or kill each
other, because the box may be " on show," and such points are
not without effect.

CHAPTER VII
OLDER PLANTS, AND INDOOR PLANTING

IF it is considered advisable to carry on for another year with
plants that have gone through their first year, it is perfectly feasible
and is, indeed, largely practised. We did so ourselves for many
years, but have come to the conclusion that it is better and more
economical to work on young stock every year, first because it
fitted in better with our ordinary routine and also because we
invariably got better results. Other growers' experiences may be
different, and these we respect, not for a moment claiming that our
methods must of necessity be the better. But having said so much,
we do not want readers to imagine that we consign our plants to
the rubbish heap directly their season is ended, for our practices
are far less iconoclastic. We take care of them, nurse them in fact
as long as we keep them under glass, and then, very early in May,
we plant the majority of them in the open air, principally for the
purpose of layering them, but also for the very satisfactory cut
bloom they give from the middle of August throughout September.
When it has been decided to carry plants on to a second season,
the fact must be known early, in which case the grower would
not be so likely to let his plants go all out, but would keep something
in reserve. From the moment the flowers are over the plants must
be taken care of. The carnation is such that it will resent neglect
at any period, from the time it is put in as a cutting till it has done
with life for good and all. We remarked, earlier on, that a plant
once allowed to fall into ill-health might just as well be thrown
away, and that is the nature of perpetual carnations, for seldom
will they again make good when once run down. Directly the
season's bloom is over they must be enticed to take a short rest,
though if left to themselves they will plainly show that they mean
to keep going. Remove them to a cold house, cut away all useless
stalks or wood, and remove any yellowing leaves ; but though meting
out to them hard treatment, nurse them. Then after a week or so
they will need to be turned out of the flowering pots, the exhausted
earth shaken away, the roots trimmed and re-potted into good soil

26

OLDER PLANTS 27

in much smaller pots. For a few days after this keep them close
and shaded, but immediately the roots make a start revert to hardier-
treatment. They will then come gently on and a sharp look-out
must be kept for green aphis, for at this time of year — May and
June — they can be terribly destructive. The first week in July
should see them back once more in their flowering pots, after which
they will be subject almost to the same treatment they were given
the year before.

Naturally they will bloom earlier than the young stock, and
because of their more advanced stage it is well to begin feeding them
at the beginning of August, either with liquid manure or with special
fertilisers, or both alternately. They will demand the same careful
watchfulness, the same protection against disease and pests, the
same minute attention to cultural details, and when ready to carry
indoors it will be found that a good crop of bright-coloured flowers
will be maturing for the early market. Thenceforward the treatment
of the two-year and the one-year stock is identical.

INDOOR PLANTING

So far, we have dealt fairly exhaustively with cultivation in pots,
because most growers confine themselves, as a matter of routine,
to pot culture, but there are many thousands of plants increasing
in number every year that are grown in indoor borders or on the
benches. Where suitable structures are erected this method will
supersede pots altogether by reason of the great economies it effects.
The treatment for planted carnations is in all its main essentials
very similar to that obtaining with pots, though in watering and
in fumigating it has its peculiar difficulties. A bed is not so directly
under control as a pot, and we consider that no one ought to attempt
the planting-out system until he has acquired a fairly intimate
knowledge of the carnation and its peculiarities.

The soil, which should be clean and sweet, not left over from
tomatoes, but renewed, should be manured and further be enriched
with crushed bones. The distance from plant to plant in the rows
should not be less than I foot, with ij feet between the rows.
Each plant must have a stake or some other means of support.
Light, air, and moderate warmth are still as important as ever, and

28 MARKET NURSERY WORK

the temperature should be equable. The watering is more tricky
than in pots, and calls for considerable discrimination — the watering-
pot or hose must never get into the hands of a novice. No insecticides
can be syringed on to the foliage to prevent pests, for they would
run down to the root and ill-health assuredly result. A slight
spraying is occasionally possible, but more reliance has to be placed
on fumigation and syringing with clean water.

There is no doubt that this system of growing gives of the best.
The flowers are on the whole larger and more numerous and more
lasting. A large bed of them is an impressive sight as long as all
goes well, but sometimes eel-worm, wire-worms, and other pests
of the soil spoil the fair face of the picture. For some of these, the
ordinary traps of a piece of potato or carrot may prove successful,
but the greatest possible care should be taken to free the soil from
them before it is brought into the house. Sterilising is better under-
stood than it used to be ; soil insecticides are plentiful and reason-
ably cheap, and the prudent grower sees to it that he does not
deprive himself of the facilities offered to rid himself of such
potent enemies.

CONCLUSION

Those who have read so far will be under no delusions as to how
to grow carnations. There are no secret formulae or practices,
no sleight-of-hand, no profound mysteries, no particular elements
of chance ; nothing but sound, reasonable methods, intelligently
and untiringly applied. Common sense is the sole guiding power.
Your plants have enemies — you must destroy them ; they need
food — you must feed them ; they demand light and air — you must
see that they get them ; they want only a moderate heat — you must
control the boiler. As stage succeeds stage so do the immediate
needs vary. The rooted cutting is treated as an infant ; the young
plant in the first strength of untried youth is encouraged ; the
older plants are nourished and sustained. Cleanliness will promote
health ; health will ensure success. But the man who is spasmodic
and uncertain, who is not prepared to give his first consideration
to his plants, who one day coddles, the next day neglects them,
him we beg, for his own sake and for the sake of others, to leave
carnation growing severely alone.

CHAPTER VIII

BORDER CARNATIONS

THE tremendous impetus given to the cultivation of the carnation
by\the advent and exploitation of the perpetual flowering varieties
has not been without its effect upon the fortunes of the parent
stock — the far more better known and even now most widely grown
border carnations. This type, though somewhat overshadowed,
perhaps only temporarily, by its more obtrusive offspring, has lost
none of its popularity, and none of its virtues, but, on the contrary,
has added to both. It is, and will remain what it has been for
centuries, the " good old English flower " ; its cult will never die
out, and the centuries to come will cherish it as warmly as did the
elegant courtiers who hovered like butterflies about our " Good
Queen Bess."

" This fairest of flowers," extolled by the world's greatest poet
more than three hundred years ago, is as full of vitality as ever,
and every year its ardent devotees (we call them specialists
nowadays) who labour so earnestly and assiduously for it because
they love it, are improving it in the right directions. Having
due regard to its outstanding qualities, they sacrifice nothing of
its complete hardiness, or its splendid form, content with its
old and regular outline, its exquisite perfume and its prodigality
of blooms, but adding new shades, new combinations, new
perfections, and increased strength, as become those who have
very near to their hearts the welfare and progress of this their
favourite flower.

In our esteem for the border carnation we hold ourselves as
second to none, but this would not alone justify a lengthy reference
to it in this work. Had we not a profound faith in its commercial
value and possibilities we should have passed it by as we pass by
many other good and useful garden plants which do not possess
that qualification. But more than with most plants the commercial
possibilities of the border carnation do exist ; existed long before
our time, and can boast a far longer record than almost any present-

29

FIG, 9. — Border Carnation

BORDER CARNATIONS 31

day market plant. In the general estimation of those who possess
gardens, it may take second place to the rose, both in popularity
and in the number of plants annually grown ; but if so, it is a very
close second, and this is not to be wondered at when we consider
how much more satisfactory it is to grow, how small the amount
of attention it needs, and its comparative freedom from pests.
Being in the closest possible touch with the trade, we can say this :
that the demand for it, from every quarter of the United Kingdom,
shows no sign of diminution, but rather an increased demand
from year to year.

Hybridisers do well in not sacrificing " hardiness " to any other
quality, for that stands out as, perhaps, its greatest asset. We do
not know of any division of this country (though possibly there
may be some localities) where the border carnation will not thrive,
or where established plants will not withstand the rigours of winter
where other " hardy " plants, other than herbaceous, will succumb.
Its lance-shaped, grassy foliage, well protected, is not so susceptible
to frost as is the softer and more delicately organised foliage or
leafage of so many plants which do not die down every year.
Hybridisers are also doing great service by extending and pro-
longing its season of blooming, for, years ago, one of the principal
reasons against its more extensive use was the brevity of its season,
which could only be said to last throughout June. Patient and
indefatigable work has prolonged that season until well into
September, and that is an immense gain — in fact, it alniost reaches
the limits of possibility in what is so ostensibly a " border "
plant.

This extension of the time limit adds more than anything else
to its real commercial value, and is responsible for the markedly
increased demand for plants. It can now be employed in schemes
where its erstwhile fugitive character made it " taboo," for the
gardener may now depend upon a display of bloom that will not
fail him throughout the best summer months. Consequently he
can without hesitancy plant more largely of a flower which he
knows to be held far higher in esteem than the great majority
of summer bedding plants. There yet remains something to be
done toward perfecting this continuous blooming characteristic,
but we are quite certain that complete success will be attained,

32 MARKET NURSERY WORK

and that neither at the expense of hardiness nor any other essential
established quality.

There is yet another reason why its popularity is firmly established
and still growing : it altogether outvies the present standard of
perpetual flowering varieties in its range of colours. Possibly
its young and vigorous offspring will in years to come get on level
terms with it, may even dispute the supremacy, but that is not
yet, nor can we see any signs that it will be for some years to come.
At all events up to this winter of 1921, though new colours and
shades and bizarre combinations have been added to the perpetual
varieties, the old border carnation, in its later forms, is yet supreme
in this all-important particular.

With new forms there comes new stamina, and this is in a way
calculated to increase the value of the cut bloom. Formerly,
there was a weakness about the neck and a corresponding weakness
in the calyx, which depreciated the value of the flower, and there
was a measure of unreliability about it. With a weak neck and a
bursting calyx the flower was under suspicion and often ragged and
unlovely. These glaring weaknesses are being improved out of
existence, so that the only disadvantages possessed by the border
carnation as a subject for cutting for market are rapidly dis-
appearing.

In its season, no flowers on the market meet with a readier sale
if a wise selection of varieties are grown. The markets have their
likes and dislikes, and it does not necessarily follow that some of
the more aesthetic varieties which a connoiseur would gloat over
would prove to be good sellers in Covent Garden. It is the more
decided colours which generally find favour there — crimson, scarlet,
pink, yellow, white with a few picotee edged. Anyone planting
for the cut blooms should select these colours, or at least consult
his salesman as to what will sell the best.

What we have said so far justifies our opinion that this type
of carnation has a very considerable commercial value, and that
this opinion only needs emphasising because of the strong advocacy
for the perpetual flowering varieties in the present day. But the
two types do not clash. Though the latter may be grown and is
in fact recommended for outdoor summer culture, it will not, it
cannot, take the place of its parent as a " border " subject. Our

FIG. io.— Grenadier

34 MARKET NURSERY WORK

partiality for the one does not detract from our appreciation of the
other. Both have their place and are alike important to the trade
grower, so as we have dealt at some length with the propagation
and cultivation of the one, so shall we go on, though with greater
brevity, to deal with the propagation and cultivation of the other.

CHAPTER IX

RAISING BORDER CARNATIONS FROM SEED

THE border carnation is not difficult to raise from seed, and those
who care to dip into the lucky bag and be content with what the
gods send them will find this a very interesting occupation indeed.
There is always the chance of a streak of luck, and a real " gem of
the first water " may be discovered, but though this does not often
happen some gratifying results may reasonably be looked for by
those who have wisely procured the best strain of seed. We have
ourselves grown many beds of seedlings for the purposes of the
cut flower trade, and had we possessed the facilities and time for
exploiting them could from time to time have distributed some
sterling novelties ; but though the qualities of the selected blooms
were all that could be desired we were obliged to content ourselves
with layering a few plants for our own use, or to supply to clients
who, wishing for them, were content to purchase them unnamed.

The great drawback to the raising of seedlings is the element
of uncertainty as to the proportion of undesirable plants. A great
many are singles ; many others are a useless semi-double, and all
these have to be weeded out. An expert can usually " spot " these
at quite an early stage by the " weediness " of the grass.

There is always, too, a certain percentage of flowers exceedingly
useful for cutting, but lacking in almost every quality that would
commend it to the carnation specialist. No trade considerations
would warrant their retention and propagation, so, as no reputable
grower would perpetuate third-rate stuff, they are consigned to
the fire after finishing their season of flowering. But there yet
remains a residue worth taking care of, and it is this residue which
is the centre of all our interest. If out of one hundred seedlings
there eventuate five really good and distinct varieties, then the
game has been well worth the candle, and all the time and labour
given to them justified.

The first thing to do is to procure a packet of the choicest strain
of seeds from a specialist source. They will doubtless have been
saved from the finest named varieties, and it is only from the

35

36 MARKET NURSERY WORK

" very best " that the very best may be reasonably expected.
The small difference in the cost of the seeds is not worth con-
sidering, for the value received is many times that of the seeds
gathered promiscuously from an ordinary collection. When one
buys a " specialist's " seeds he buys with it the guarantee which
a reputation can give, and this is always something, for no specialist
is lightly going to jeopardise his reputation by supplying merely
ordinary goods.

The seeds may be sown at any time between January and May,
but we fail to see any special advantage in sowing too early, seeing
that the seedlings do not bloom the same year, the object being
only to raise strong, vigorous plants for planting out in September.
To have a quantity of young seedlings to deal with in February
is to occupy space in the houses so badly needed at that time of
year for many other things. It also means that they have to be
carefully negotiated through the worst weather and so make demands
upon the growers' time and attention when he can less afford
to give them than, say, a month or six weeks later. In practice
we find that by sowing early in March we can get good, strong plants
for planting-out before the beds can be spared for them ; and if a
date be chosen for advantageously planting them we prefer not
to plant until the early part of September, unless exceptionally
favourable weather tempts us to plant a week or two earlier.

SOWING THE SEED

Supposing we intend to sow during the first week of March,
we mix a compost composed of one half sifted loam, one quarter
sifted leaf -mould, and one quarter sifted decayed vegetable refuse
such as may be procured from an old heap of decayed spear-grass.
With this we mix a sufficiency of coarse silver sand to keep it free
and open. We then clean and crock our seed pans, or, failing pans,
boxes not exceeding 2 inches in depth, fill them level full of the com-
post, pressing it down with a flat piece of wood, so that the surface
is perfectly even. A great bulk of compost is not needed, seeing
that the seedlings will occupy it for a very short period, and that
is why we recommend shallow vessels ; apart from this, it is far
more difficult to prevent the damping-off of seedlings in a deep

RAISING BORDER CARNATIONS FROM SEED 37

than in a shallow soil. This is to be accounted for, most probably,
by its better mechanical action, viz. quicker drainage and heating.

When the compost has been pressed and presents a perfectly
even surface, it should be well watered with tepid water applied
through a fine rose, sufficient to saturate it through and through,
then allowed to stand for an hour to drain. It will" then be in good
condition to receive the seed, which should be evenly distributed
over its surface.

Thin sowing is essential — a quarter of an inch should separate
seed from seed, and any which has fallen nearer together should
be adjusted to that distance. Then cover very lightly with the finer
particles from your compost, not unduly burying the seed, but just
enough to hide it well. Stand the pans or boxes on a gentle bottom
heat, or on a stage in a warm house, covering them with sheets of
glass on which brown paper may be spread to exclude the sun.

Now arises an important point, the observance or non-observance
of which may have good or ill effects upon the future constitution
and well-being of the plants. The border carnation is one of the
hardiest of plants. It does not require heat ; more, it resents a
high temperature except that which naturally comes to it in the
summer when it is in the full vigour of its growth and in the fresh
and open air. It will stand but very little artificial heat, and hates
coddling, asking for nothing but to be hardily grown from its
beginning. Thus it is imperative that the seed pans be watched,
and directly there is a sign of movement, which may be looked
for a week after sowing, remove them from the bottom heat or the
heated house and give them cooler conditions even before the
seedlings have fairly penetrated through the soil. Even though
this may impose a slight check upon them, the germination will have
been secured, and the seedlings will quickly adapt themselves
to the new conditions without having to suffer in any way from
the old. The heat, having served to that extent, you must ask
nothing further of it, nor accept anything further from it.

TRANSPLANTING

When the first two leaves, the seed leaves, have fully developed
and the beginnings of another pair are visible, the seedlings should

38 MARKET NURSERY WORK

be transplanted into other pans or boxes, and each plant allowed
2 inches. Still let the vessels used be shallow, and use a compost
similar to that used for the seed pans, only add a little mortar rubble
passed through a fine sieve. When this is available there may be a
corresponding diminution in the quantity of coarse sand. The
drainage provided must be clean and efficient — a very important

FIG. ii. — A Pan of Seedlings. Border Carnation

point which we never weary of urging. Press the compost more
firmly than for seeds, though between " firmness " and " hardness "
it is necessary to discriminate. The soil may be so hard as to be
impervious to the young roots, or it may be so loose that they will
have no grip upon it, but they will enjoy working their way through
a reasonably firm soil and will grow strong and fleshy in the process.
There is a very close analogy between the growth of the hidden root
system and that of the visible top.

We are now at the beginning of April and the newly trans-
planted seedlings will, perforce, still be under glass, either in an
unheated house or in a frame. For a weak the sun should be kept
off them, and a too-free circulation of air be prevented ; probably
a few sheets of newspaper spread over them would be sufficient
protection in either case, but after a very few days they should be
gradually exposed both to sunshine and air, more in keeping with
their native hardiness.

As they become established and begin to put on growth, they must,
if in a greenhouse, be removed at once to a cold frame, where the
lights should be taken off during the day, and a current of air all
night admitted by putting a wedge under each light. At this stage,

RAISING BORDER CARNATIONS FROM SEED 39

the expert will be able to detect those plants likely to throw single
flowers or be otherwise inferior — the quality of the " grass " will
be his guide, and he is not likely to make many mistakes. No hard
and fast description of inferior plants can be accurately and
intelligibly given in writing — it is only actual experience that will
enable a grower to " spot " them readily ; all we can say is that
the foliage is " weedy " looking, generally thinner and more puny
than the good ones, lacking that firm and glaucous character which
the foliage of young carnations should carry. Years ago some
unprincipled raisers of carnations used to send these " Jacks "
to be peddled around the country, unfortunately with names
attached to them, but we believe this unscrupulous traffic has been
nearly stamped out.

But to return. By midsummer the young plants will, if they have
done well, fully occupy the 2 inches of their allotted space, and it
is not advisable to leave them to become crowded. They will, of
course, by this time be standing in the open, and it is the practice
of some growers to leave them in these original boxes all the summer.
This is not fair to the plants ; it does not give them a chance,
and those who are anxious to get the best out of them will do well
to follow one of three alternatives : either to pot them off into 6o's.,
using a compost similar to the last, but with bone-meal added ;
transplant them into other and slightly deeper boxes, giving them
3 inches of space ; or, more economical, transplanting into a
temporary bed of prepared soil, where they can receive daily
attention. For limited stocks we recommend the potting, for stocks
of say 300 to 500 the box method, and for larger stocks the trans-
planting into temporary beds at 3^ to 4 inches apart.

The transplanting into more permanent quarters in September
is a matter of routine. The soil must be porous and well dug.
Manure should be worked in, and mortar rubble, if available,
though not in large quantity. For convenience sake, and to prevent
unduly treading on the bed when tying up the growths or cutting
the bloom, it is not advisable to make the beds more than 4 feet
wide, so that the centre may be easily reached from either side.
We are speaking of nursery beds when we say plant at 8 or 9 inches
apart in the rows, with i foot from row to row. Private growers
in planting named varieties, or nurserymen who plant for stock

4o MARKET NURSERY WORK

purposes, need to allow much more space, but the plants we are
treating of are seedlings, the greater proportion of which will do
one year's service and then make their exit. The space named is
really all a grower can afford, and, we think, as much as the plants
actually need.

CHAPTER X

LAYERING

LAYERING is the universally adopted method of increasing and
perpetuating named varieties. The operation itself is charming
in its simplicity, and, like the budding of roses, is easy enough to
those who know how to do it. There is no trick, no mystery, no
difficulty ; just two or three points to be remembered and observed.

The best time for layering is early in July, though where there
are thousands to be layered the operations continue into August.
It is advisable to fix a definite date, for the old instructions for
layering " as soon as the flowering period is over " no longer
hold now that the said season of flowering is growing more and
more prolonged. There is this much to be said in favour of layering
as soon as the " layers " are ready, and that is that the more time
we can give them the more roots will they make before they are
removed in the autumn. Even the novice will admit the cogency
and value of this.

A healthy plant has not only the central growth which, throwing
up a stalk, terminates in blooms, but also a number of other growths
whose business it would be to throw up flower stalks next season.
It is these that provide the " layers." There may be up to, or above,
a dozen to a plant ; we have layered neglected old plants of the
Crimson Clove variety with as many as fifty, but that number does
not occur on young plants. Our illustration Fig. I2A represents
a plant with the spent flower stalk removed and growths duly
layered. These, all emanating from the one old root, are skilfully
placed so that each will enjoy equal chances.

Layering is neither more nor less than a modified and safer way
of taking cuttings — safer, because the " layers " or " cuttings "
remain attached to the parent plant until they have established an
independent root system of their own, and can thus enter at once,
completely equipped, upon a separate existence when severed in the
autumn. The " safeness " of the method is further demonstrated
in the small percentage of layers which, for some reason or other,
have failed to root, for they simply remain in their attachment

D 41

42 MARKET NURSERY WORK

as integral parts of the old plant and go on for another season.
We can easily see how the necessity for taking cuttings in the
ordinary way is obviated, and how very seldom propagators have
occasion to resort to it.

How TO LAYER

Let us now refer to and make clear the actual process. We
have a bed of plants which has been hoed and kept clear from weeds.
The growths are plentiful, healthy, and
vigorous. We furnish ourselves with a sharp
knife (a budding knife is the most con-
venient) and a quantity of layering pins,
which are like plain hair-pins, made of gal-
vanised wire. Also, a goodly supply of pre-
pared soil is provided, and this should be in
equal proportions of loam, leaf -mould, and
sand. These form the whole of the equip-
ment, excepting a trowel. Scrape away the
loose top soil from around the base of each
plant and replace it with an equal depth
(i inch) of the prepared compost. Select
the longest growths first, those that when
laid down will extend the farthest from the
plant ; remove a few pairs of the lower
leaves, not pulling them but cutting them

close off with your knife ; then, at the
FIG. 12.— A Layer .

most convenient spot, cut into the centre

of the wood and pass your knife upward through a joint, after
which arrange them at regular intervals to form a circle and peg
down firmly into the prepared compost. Cover the denuded
portions of the layers with an inch or two of the same compost
and see that it is pressed firmly down ; then, if sufficient growths
remain, make another tier in the same way, or if but a few, dispose
them to the best advantage so that a mound will be formed in which
every layer is given equal chance. Our Illustration (Fig. 12) clearly
depicts the cut or " tongue," and also the method of pegging down
the layer. Very little practice is needed to make the veriest tyro
efficient in this simple operation.

LAYERING

43

Immediately all the growths on a plant are layered and covered,
they should be watered, for the presence of moisture in the interior
of the mound will cause the layers to root quickly and strongly.
There will be no necessity for shading them, seeing that their full
vitality is maintained by their parent, so that they are as indifferent
to sun as they were before being touched ; but, all the same, it is
very helpful to them if during dry weather they can be kept regularly
watered. They must also be kept free from weeds. We have
known many instances where, through pressure of other work, the
mounds have been allowed to become literally smothered with
weeds, which taking away all the moisture from the layers, have

FlG. I2A. — Layering-

prevented their rooting. After going to the expense and trouble
of layering, it seems rather foolish to nullify the work for the sake
of a few hours' weeding.

Early in October the layers should be sufficiently rooted to make
a start in life for themselves. Gently insert a fork beneath them
and lift, shaking the soil away and exposing the young roots. You
will find that these have all, or nearly all, been formed on the
" tongue " of the upward cut. The severance should be made
about i inch below this, and care should be taken not to injure
the young roots. Any layers without roots may be left to remain
with the old plant . The rooted layers, now really plants, ought to be
strong and of high promise ; and we should have pointed out that
at layering time all puny, unhealthy, or other unsatisfactory growths,

44

MARKET NURSERY WORK

should have been removed from the plants, giving to the healthy
layers all that the parent plant was capable of giving ; thus, and
thus only, can we make sure that our stock is as vigorous and good
as it ought to be.

FlG. 13.— A Well-rooted Layer

CHAPTER XI

PLANTING OR POTTING ?

HAVING now a goodly stock of fine, young, healthy plants, we arc
confronted by the question of how best to winter them. Shall
we plant them out in the beds, trusting to their vigour to withstand
the winter, or shall we give them the advantage of a partial shelter
till spring ? The old method — and it was a good, old, safe method —
was to winter them in pots (two plants in a 54) and stand them in
cold frames or in a cold house until the end of March. This plan
is still followed by growers in districts where the rigours of winter
are something to reckon with, and this extends over a very large
area, almost everywhere north of the Thames, except a few favoured
localities.

The other method — that of planting straight away into the open —
is generally adopted with impunity throughout the Southern
Counties. So long as safety is not in the balance, it is not only
the more economical, but is also the better plan, because the plants,
put out in October, immediately establish themselves and are ready
to respond to spring conditions and begin their year's work before
it is considered safe to transfer to the open ground those wintered
under glass. But " safety " is a great consideration, and though
it is our practice to plant out in October, we do not commit ourselves
entirely to it. Nor could we, for two reasons. The first is that if
the winter is mild and damp we lose a certain number of plants
through " damping," and if the winter is sharp and dry we lose a
few by frosts, and we like to have enough plants in a safe place to
fill up the gaps. But our second reason is the greater. When we
plant out we make it as early as we can. Throughout October and
November orders for plants are coming in, and again in February,
March, and April. We do not care to deplete our beds or have
great gaps made in them, so we put a large proportion of the rooted
layers into pots/executing all orders from them, and filling up any
vacancies in the beds in the spring. What few plants are left over
at the end of April we then plant out. That is an adaptation of
both methods and is very well suited to our particular circumstances.

45

46 MARKET NURSERY WORK

PLANTING

Now as to planting. With our scarcely veiled enthusiasm for
the border carnation, we naturally give it a prominent position
in the nursery. It is not planted away out of sight nor in odd
corners. We do not " hide its light under a bushel," but select
for it a position where its merits can be displayed ; in fact, we
make the plants advertise themselves, and this they can do better

FIG. 14.— A " Layer"
Potted

than any advertisement of ours can do for them. Throughout the
early summer we hardly get a visitor who is indifferent to the
lure of the carnation beds, and many a hundred orders have been
booked for plants without any solicitation from us. Visitors
whose thoughts have not run on carnations have been impressed
when seeing them in bloom, especially the outstanding varieties,
and have suddenly discovered that they can find a spot somewhere
in the garden where they could be fitted in. Approached in the
ordinary way in the autumn by means of a catalogue, the appeal
would leave them cold, but when this appeal takes the form of a
perfect flower, rich or dainty in colour, exquisitely perfumed,
displaying its hardiness, and the ease with which it can be grown,

PLANTING OR POTTING ? 47

it is irresistible, for it speaks with a voice compared with which
our eloquent eulogies are but faint and cold.

The soil in which we grow them is but indifferent in character,
though we are improving it year by year. It is light and gravelly,
but we add heavier stuff with crushed bones as often as we re-make
the beds. When they are originally prepared we dig as deep
as we can, adding a light dressing of old mortar rubble because the
soil is deficient in lime. We keep a store of this commodity by us>
and are always keen to avail ourselves of an opportunity for procuring
a few loads, for it is of great value.

The beds are made 4 feet wide, raised several inches above the
paths, and this ensures quick drainage. We have seen beds planted
on the level, in soil less free than ours, and during a wet winter
water has stagnated about the plants and frozen there, the consequent
loss of valuable plants being certain.

As to soil for carnations generally, we are little inclined to dog-
matise, but we do insist upon good and deep digging and cultivation.
There is scarcely a soil upon which we have seen them refuse to
grow, and have ourselves grown them by thousands on the Lan-
cashire coast around Southport, where the staple soil is pure sea
sand ; and we have grown them in equal numbers on the heavy
clay found at the foot of the Cotswold hills. In the alluvial soils of
the Thames Valley, where it has the consistency of putty for one
half the year and the closeness of bricks for the other half, it has
thriven marvellously, and plants from that district have been
distributed north, south, east, and west by us, and now that we
are on the East Coast with light, brashy, gravelly soils we do them
equally well. So who, after this varied experience, dare insist
that a carnation must have such and such a soil ? Naturally, it has
its preferences, and if we were in a position to select our own soil
for them we should select a fairly heavy loam, not too consistent,
but containing a fair proportion of silica. It need not be rich
with organic manures, but lime, either as rubble or in the form of
crushed bone, should be supplied. Such a soil will produce short-
jointed, vigorous growths, making splendid layers, and, eventually,
ideal plants. Let us here and now advise whomsoever it may concern
to plant none but strong, vigorous plants, for from weak and weedy
layers nothing can come but keen disappointment.

48 MARKET NURSERY WORK

Keeping in mind that all our plants have to be layered, and
that the layers spread themselves out, it would be a grave error
to put the plants too closely together. Anything less than i foot
apart in the rows, with 15 inches from row to row, is out of the
question, for it would unnecessarily cramp the operators and crowd
the layers, especially where the plants were well grown and each
had a number of growths. Not only this, but in a nursery there
must be room to move about among them for sticking, tying,
disbudding, etc., so that the space signified, though perhaps ample
does not err on the side of generosity.

If the soil in which you are planting happens to be on the heavy
side, there will be little need to firm your plants down, for something
may be left to the settling down of such soil ; but in lighter soils
it is very essential that they be well firmed when planted, their
after-growth and well-being depending upon it. Do not plant
too shallow, neither plant too deeply, but if you sink your plants
so that the first pair of leaves are at the ground level, you cannot
do wrong. Almost invariably any leaves partly buried will soon
part from the plant, and that is always a pity, for foliage always
has its own functions to perform, and should not be let or hindered.
On a young carnation the foliage never exceeds the requirements
of the plant, and care should be taken to preserve it rather than
to injure.

CHAPTER XII
PERPETUAL BORDER CARNATIONS, AND OTHERS

IN the preceding pages we have had occasion to make certain
references to the gradual lengthening of the season during which the
border carnation will bloom in the open. We have perhaps been
more or less guarded in our observations, because we desire above
all things to keep to the bedrock of fact rather than of possibilities
or visions. For a moment or two we would like to more particularly
direct our observations to this remarkable and promising develop-
ment, which in the course of a very short time must, if it justifies
itself, prove of considerable commercial value.

We have not yet sufficient evidence to commit ourselves to all
that is claimed for this improved race of border carnations ; we
express no doubts upon it, but that this is a development to be
watched must be apparent to all. For many generations, running
back into centuries, it has been what we have known it to be in
our own times as regards the duration of its season. This may have
been due to our own conservatism in dealing with it, and also that
of our forbears. Traditions were woven closely over our cherished
flower ; at all costs we considered we had to preserve its faultless
form as a sacred trust committed to us ; we guarded it with a whole-
hearted devotion which forbade our playing fast and loose with it,
or experimenting outside fixed limits. We concerned ourselves
mainly with improvements as they affected its substance, its colours,
its freedom, its vigour, its powers for resisting disease, and the
strengthening of its flower stalk and calyx. It seemed sacrilege
to go beyond, and we stealthily looked askance at the American
perpetuals. Of late, others, perhaps not less reverent, but certainly
less conservative, less bound to tradition and more greatly daring,
have broken through the crust and directed their efforts toward
improvement in quite a new direction, and that with the greatest
promise of success. What they have achieved is already startling,
and the auguries for the future are undoubtedly gratifying.

Yet this development is a perfectly natural one, and what might
have been expected. It has already happened with roses, and the

49

50 MARKET NURSERY WORK

results all round have been most felicitous. The advent of the
hybrid teas, with later developments, introduced to our gardens
a race of perpetual blooming roses which has popularised them
far beyond the wildest dream of rosarians of half a century ago.
It may so happen with the border carnation with equally felicitous
results, for the cases appear to be analogous. The development,

FIG. 15 —Border Carnation in Pot

therefore, should arouse no susceptibilities among the cult (among
whom we are proud to class ourselves), but should rather appeal
to them, for that it opens up a vista of increased usefulness and value
for the object of their solicitude.

The " Old Guard " will very rightly consider it a duty to zealously
protect all that for so long a time has been held sacred, so that
not one jot or tittle of the old time excellencies shall be sacrificed

PERPETUAL BORDER CARNATIONS, AND OTHERS 51

to the newer qualities. That much we may rely upon, and it will
be a guarantee that as the new class increases in number, as it now
shows every disposition to, the new comers will be judged by the
quality of their flowers alone, and not by the longevity of their
season. Subject to this we believe the perpetual border carnation
will prove a commercial success, and that raisers of stocks will do
well to give it considerable attention. Up till recently the carnation
has been looked upon as a flower useless in the garden or the
market after July. That has been the only objection to it, and has
militated greatly against its more general planting ; but with that
gone there remains no other, and the increased demand for plants
is a dead certainty.

Picotees must not be confused with Fancies. Their white or
yellow ground should be clear, and the edging of the petals with a
brighter colour clean and regular. For some reason it has never
become a really popular market flower. It is ofttimes difficult
to account for market standards, and this is a case in point. Pretti-
ness, of itself, does not appear to be a marketable commodity,
for if it was the picotee would long since have been a prime favourite.
Still, the growers of carnation plants will find there is a steady
demand for picotees amongst their clients, both for the white or
yellow ground, and if no one else grew them, the exhibitor would
still have to. In a general collection of carnations, the radiant
distinct edgings stand out clearly and add a vivacity and attractive-
ness which are all their own.

Bizarre and flaked carnations might more simply, for all practical
purposes, be called striped carnations. Fancies, very similar to
them, are not so distinctly striped, but suffused, striped, and edged
with colour. We have always found the latter to be as suitable
for the border as any carnation can be, but the two former must,
for utility, be classed with the picotees.

The old Crimson Clove stands in a category by itself. It has
been put there by the traditions and affections of more than one
generation. It will remain a prime favourite long after some
of the beauties of to-day have given place to others. It is being
improved, sometimes under new names, but whether in the old
type or in the newer stocks the old Crimson Clove will remain
the old Crimson Clove, no matter what other name you give it.

52 MARKET NURSERY WORK

Of course it accords with the laws of progress that the old-
fashioned, unimproved type must give place to the newer and the
better, and there are existing forms which we already greatly prefer ;
but they carry the same old valued characteristics as the type.
The powerful perfume is unabated, its deep crimson hue is as deep
as ever, its outlines are the same, its healthy vigour has not been
sacrificed ; only its blooms are stouter and larger and " improved,"
without a deviation from the type. Naturally when we- now
propagate the " old " Crimson Clove we do not use the old but the
newer forms. Soon, a few old-fashioned enthusiasts will be setting
out on a pilgrimage to rediscover the real old favourite of their
fathers, but they will not have far to go, even though they delay
their setting-out for a score of years. They will find it in every
English village, in nearly all the cottage gardens where their perfume
has throughout so many years made the evening air redolent.
And if they look closer and closer they will find the roots firmly
embedded in the hearts of the cottagers, who year after year take
the " slips " and rejuvenate and increase their stock, gladly giving
plants to their friends and neighbours who lack them.

MALMAISONS

Malmaisons are a very old and well-known type of carnation,
characterised by possessing stouter and thicker foliage and large,
massive blooms borne on stout stalks. It is more a plant for the
greenhouse than for the border, for though it will grow in the border,
its blooms are seldom perfect unless opened under glass. In fact,
it demands almost the same conditions as those given to the perpetual
flowering carnations. The old varieties stood out as giants compared
with the ordinary border varieties of their day, but the disparity
between them is being gradually wiped out as the latter increase
in size and substance.

We always grew them in pots, either from cuttings or layers and
looked to get them into their flowering pots by July. We wintered
them in a cool vinery, under the vines, on dry, airy shelves and gave
them dry treatment until the spring. Before the vines made too
much foliage the plants were in bloom, say at the end of April
and throughout May. More than one market grower of our

PERPETUAL BORDER CARNATIONS, AND OTHERS 53

acquaintance specialised in Malmaisons, and did well out of them,
but the coming of the perpetual flowering carnations, which have
now embraced several Malmaisons, tended to detract from their
value as a special line. In a very short time we think that the
perpetual Malmaisons will entirely displace the older kinds, and
so for all practical purposes we may begin to allow them to merge
into that larger class which require the same conditions and
treatment.

CHAPTER XIII

" ALLWOODII "

ANY treatise dealing with the carnation would now be incomplete
without some reference to that new and useful introduction,
Dianthus Allwoodii. Evolved and placed before the horticultural
world by a firm which is perhaps the most enthusiastic of all our
carnation specialists, this hybrid between the perpetual flowering
carnation and the old garden pink established itself almost immedi-
ately entirely on its merits ; and not only so, but constant and
rapid improvements are practically placing k on a plane entirely
its own.

In the fusion of the parents the result has not been a compromise
— the carnation has yielded none of its own graces and perfections
in order to meet the pink half-way, but rather, it is the pink which
has come all the way, bringing with it what was its best, and blending
it with all that was best in the perpetual carnation, so that in some
varieties we get flowers equal to the latter in form, size, and useful-
ness, with a habit of growth which, approximating that of the pink,
has inherited some of the characteristics of the other parent.

The history of this hybrid may well be left for those to tell who
know it far better than we do ; we have only to concern ourselves
with its commercial possibilities, and here we say, at once, that
these are very considerable indeed. We can call to mind no other
introduction within our experience so promising, nor any plant
more likely to become " everybody's flower," because its merits
lie not alone in its chaste flowers continuously produced, but in
its adaptability to various conditions of soil, situation, and climate,
the numerous uses to which it can be put, and the ease with which
it is propagated.

With regard to the latter point, we venture upon a warning note.
It is no small testimony to the esteem in which it is held, and the
belief of the Trade in its future, that it is being intensively pro-
pagated— and herein lies a possible danger. It has been proved to
be possible that a too intensive propagation can impart weakness
and so affect the constitution of plants that it virtually opens the

54

FIG. 16.— Allwoodii

56 MARKET NURSERY WORK

door to disease and deterioration. Now carnations are already
susceptible to certain diseases and this should be borne in mind.
It will suggest to the more prudent propagators that, while it is
up to them to increase their stocks to the utmost while the glamour
of novelty still stimulates the demand, it would be highly imprudent
to endanger the future welfare of such a promising infant by taxing
it beyond what it can reasonably bear.

The more natural method of propagation is the same as that
of the pink in June, July, and August, but (and this justifies our
warning) it is really being propagated from February till October,
inclusive. In the earlier and later months indoor treatment is
given. That it readily roots in all these months is a proof of its
hardihood, as distinct from hardiness, yet though propagation is
rushed through that prolonged period, W7e know as a matter of fact
that some nurserymen, at least, cannot keep pace with the demand.

It will perhaps save a more detailed description as to how to
treat cuttings if we say that throughout the summer we strike them
in cold frames alongside of violas, and that both need the same
treatment, viz. shading, closeness for a short time, and daily
sprinkling. These cuttings root in from four to five weeks, and in
another week are ready for planting out in beds, or potting. Up
till now we have preferred the latter, as they can then be packed
and dispatched at any time. So far as we can do so, we prefer to
hold all plants until after we have stopped them and seen them
break.

Indoor propagation, which we follow whenever cuttings are
available, requires but a gentle heat. It is well known that the whole
genus resents hot treatment, so we see that the bottom heat is only
moderate and that the top heat is but about 10 degrees above the
outside temperature, unless it happens to be freezing. The later
batches are struck singly in small pots ; the spring batches in stores,
pans, or boxes. As nearly as possible we give these the same
conditions as the summer frame cuttings enjoy, viz. equable tem-
perature, closeness for a short time, and moisture. We strike the
perpetual carnations in exactly the same way, and indeed they are
often joint occupants of the propagating pit.

Allwoodii is also an easy subject to layer. Its growth, being denser
than that of the carnations, is much more compact, and they cannot

" ALLWOODII "

57

be extended like the latter. Still there is ample space to set each
of the growths and give to them there modicum of soil. The
whole operation of layering as described for carnations applies in
every detail to Allwoodii, therefore we need not recapitulate ;
there is only this difference, that whereas we do not disturb carnation
layers for nearly three months, we can take up Allwoodii in about
six weeks after layering and find them splendidly rooted.

The after-cultivation of the plants is identical with that we give
to our best garden pinks. We say " best " garden pinks advisedly,
because it is a fact that the real, old-fashioned garden pink,
once planted, is too often left to itself for a series of years, and

FIG, 17. — Dianthus Allwoodii as Growing

while it is quite possible that its latest successor might prove
equally indifferent to such neglect, its much greater value impels
us to treat it more generously.

Allwoodii easily substantiates its claim to be almost perpetual
flowering ; but we would rather put it that from successive batches
of plants flowers may be cut in profusion from March till December.
We obtain our first flowers from plants struck in April, potted and
grown on during the summer without being permitted to bloom,
then stood in a cold house in November, where they are protected
from severe frost and enjoy an abundance of fresh air. After the
middle of January a current of heat is turned on, but so moderate
that what the plants obtain cannot be termed " forcing," but only
" gentle assistance." Even this, in a temperature not exceeding
50 degrees, unless it be from sun-heat, these quickly responsive

58 MARKET NURSERY WORK

plants will give us their blooms in March and April, not by ones
and twos, but in sheaves. We freely admit that we have found
500 plants of " Harold " in 32*5. pots a paying proposition at that
time of year, for to all intents and purposes every bloom is nothing
more or less in appearance than a medium-sized perpetual carnation.
Our success with plants lifted from the open ground in November
and planted in a cold house and also in frames were a more qualified
success, but even so the experiment was worth the making.

In May the young and the established plants in the open beds
become a mass of buds. Acting on the advice of the raisers we
remove the central bud, with the result that when we cut a stalk
we cut a spray of blooms with it, and these we find are easily disposed
of in the market. The length of stalk which it has inherited from
the perpetual carnation makes it a very acceptable florist's flower,
and this is a prime recommendation for any market flower. We
have used it very largely in bouquets and designs, and found we could
utilise it in place of carnations at considerably less cost to ourselves,
and therefore at greater profit. These points are of value to all
growers for market.

Our latest flowers, from October till December, are culled from
plants in the cold houses or in frames. We purposely prevent the
plants from flowering until we need them, and as they persist in
their efforts to bloom they come along directly we allow them to.
The plants we use for this purpose are young, lifted from the beds
and potted up at the end of August and grown on in frames, or
as occasion offers, in a cold house. The remnant of our last year's
crop were gathered in Christmas week.

The soil we use is that which we described in detail for perpetual
carnations, with perhaps a little more lime. Periodically we dust
a little lime about them and this dissolves when watered — they
appear to appreciate it and it tends to keep the soil sweet and free
from worms. It is well to attend to these details, the more so because
of its remarkably floriferous propensities, for so abundantly does it
produce its blooms that unless well looked after it would rapidly
exhaust the soil and would give smaller blooms. Sustenance must
be given on light soils more frequently than on heavy.

We have frankly placed ourselves among the admirers of this
pink X perpetual carnation hybrid, and that admiration is for its

" ALLWOODII " 59

individual intrinsic merits as Dianthus Allwoodii, and not as a
carnation. It is not going, it is not intended to, take the place of
the carnation, especially of the border varieties, but it may fairly
take its place beside them. It may be, nay it is, equally valuable.
The perpetual carnation surpasses it for continuity of bloom ;
the border carnation remains above it in form and substance ;
both surpass it, as yet, in their delightful range of colour, and
these are important points to which we attach their fullest value.
We want to be quite level-headed in this matter, not allowing
our admiration to run away with our reason, but with a due sense
of proportion to accord to each class those merits and that position
which indisputably belongs to it. With us, personal preferences
do not count ; even sentiment, though it will obtrude itself at
times, is at a discount, the only touchstone brought to bear being
that of commercial value. This, in turn, rests chiefly on merit.
If a thing is really good it will be demanded, and this enhances
commercial values.

Whatever Dianthus Allwoodii may or may not be we cannot
deny that it has already become exceedingly popular, first because
of its utility and beauty, and secondly because it is a genuine
novelty and is proving itself to be all that its raisers claim for it.
The rate at which it is now being propagated and distributed is a
sure guarantee that by and by there will scarcely be a garden in
Great Britain without it ; that it will become as familiar to the
mansion and the cottage as either of its parents, and that being
so it commends itself as a subject to be exploited by the Trade, to
which the general public will naturally look for its supplies.

CHAPTER XIV

GARDEN PINKS

WE have trespassed so much on the subject of Garden Pinks in
our treatment of Allwoodii that there remains but little to be said.
That little we hope to say. It is a flower long endeared to us by
age-long associations, for it has come down to us through many
centuries, and is seen in the same form as when in Tudor and still
earlier times it brightened the monastic gardens. We have it, too,
in better and improved forms, most of which have been acquired
within comparatively recent times — important improvements in
size and in rich colouring. Allwoodii being a hybrid, we are
perhaps not entitled to look upon that as an improvement in pinks,
seeing that the carnation claims its share in its production, so we
will leave that in a category by itself, as it can afford no real indication
as to the probable development of the true pink. We, who had
already a considerable experience with the pink before the first
great improvement came in, Mrs. Sinkins, can compare its severe
limitations of that time with what it has since become, and though
its improvements have not been so rapid or so marked as that of
carnations, we may not be found too optimistic in pointing out that
these, important as they are, are but an augury of what may yet
be done.

It is unthinkable that the old form be improved out of existence,
that the delicately fimbriated flowers should give place to those of
rounded and regular outline, that its greatest asset, one of the most
agreeable of perfumes, should be changed into something different.
The newer varieties have perpetuated these and, so far, have
preserved to the pink its distinctive features.

The one great fault hitherto of the pink is the briefness of its
flowering season. We doubt if even the " ever-advancing per-
petualists " can remedy this without spoiling the habit of the
plant. But we look in rather a different direction, and while we
see the introduction of larger and more variously coloured forms
we are hoping to see some more tardy in blooming to lengthen the
season to an appreciable extent. The very fact that some plants

60

GARDEN PINKS 61

of Mrs. Sinkins and His Majesty will throw up fugitive blooms
as late as August and September, removes this from the category
of the impossible. These, however, are more or less intelligent
speculations, engendered by our interest in the future of a flower
which, as much as the rose and the pansy, has been beloved by our
forefathers for hundreds of years, and we cannot complacently
contemplate a future time when the evening air of June shall be
no longer redolent of its perfume and it shall no more offer its
modest charms which make a stronger appeal than those of many
a more pretentious and gaily dressed companion. So we will leave
that and come to business, for sentiment and tradition, likes and
dislikes, are not going to contribute to the successful upkeep of
our nurseries, or pay our men their weekly wage.

It is principally as an edging plant that the pink is held in high
esteem, its dwarf and compact habit marking it out for that purpose.
Its steely-grey foliage, so distinct from the green, gives it a decorative
value throughout those many months when it is flowerless.

We have regretted the shortness of its season ; it is shortest
when it is dry and hot. In times of exceptional drought and heat
we have seen whole beds come out into full bloom and go off again
within a week or ten days. In cooler, damper weather they will
last three weeks. It is a fact, too often taken advantage of, that the
pink will grow in almost any soil, no matter how shallow, how light,
or how poor. We do not contradict this, but what we do urge is
that it will thrive and do its best, last longer, and carry larger blooms
if it is in a good, deeply worked soil. We would beg this much
consideration for it wherever it is practicable, and so give this
much neglected flower a fair chance.

The finest pinks we ever saw were a magnificent lot growing
along the edge of a raised vine border in a private garden. The
soil was of the richest, as of course it would be, and it was 3 feet
deep. We cannot even approximate those conditions for our
ordinary beds of pinks, but that object lesson convinced us once
for all that they will generously respond to better conditions and
that because they refuse to die in poverty they will thrive and excel
themselves when properly provided for. Ever since we saw those
pinks in the vine border we have always used beds, double dug,
manured and limed, and shall never again go back to the more

62 MARKET NURSERY WORK

stinted regime. The roots will run a considerable distance in search
of moisture and food, but it is not that entirely which we value.
What we recognise is that the deeply dug soil remains moist and
cool at flowering time, when too often the shallow and ill-prepared
soil of most beds burns and dries, and is practically rendered sterile
by the heat of the sun. Under these latter conditions we saw
thousands of plants in the early days of the drought of this year 1921
on which every bloom had given up within two days of opening,
while others in well-prepared soil held out for a fortnight. Neither
pinks nor carnations can thrive under excessive heat if further

FIG. 18.— How to take a Piping

aggravated by aridity. There are other dianthus, of the Alpine type,
which can be made to do so, but even these, when removed to more
genial quarters and conditions, will quickly voice their appreciation.
The garden pink lends itself to easy and plentiful propagation,
for it is most profuse in producing the growths from which the
cuttings are made. We have often taken not less than fifty from a
plant two years old. In Vol. I of this work we described in detail
how to take pipings or cuttings, and what to do with them ; there
is, therefore, no need for us to recapitulate. It is the quickest and
most convenient method of propagation for the nurseryman, for
it produces well-rooted and well-shaped plants in about two months.
Many, however, prefer to take " slips " either in early spring or

GARDEN PINKS 63

early autumn, the latter by preference ; this simply means the
rending of a growth from the parent plant with a small strip or heel
of the old wood attached. These are then planted thickly in rows,
and so tenacious is the plant of life that quite a surprisingly small
percentage of these slips fail to take root. Almost invariably is
this the method adopted by private growers whose requirements
are not very large and who are not called upon to raise neat and
well-rooted plants for trade purposes. These " slips " are virtually

FlG. 19.— Pink Piping

" rough " cuttings. They strike best in an open, sandy soil if it
is well and finely worked. What stems they have must be inserted
in a nick or small trench opened for them, covered with soil, and
trodden slightly to firm the soil about them and to keep them in
position. The tops must rest evenly, the first pair or set of leaves
just touching the soil.

Layering is also resorted to. It is an eminently safe mode of
propagating them. The layering is done, as laid down for carnations,
early in July, and under favourable conditions the plants are saleable

64

MARKET NURSERY WORK

in September. We cannot say that this is the most expeditious
method of propagating pinks, but we resort to it ourselves with all
our finer and newer varieties, and consider that the extra time
taken up by the operation is fully compensated for by its safety and
the cent per cent results. It is usually somebody's fault if any layers
fail to strike . Layered plants are lifted toward the end of September,

FlG, 20.— Pink (above, A Slip)

the layers severed and planted straight out into beds. Note again :
we always dig the soil deeply and prepare it well. For selling pur-
poses we plant at 6 inches from plant to plant and 9 inches between
the row. In taking up orders, we take first every alternate row,
and then every alternate plant from the remaining rows, so that
should any be left unsold they remain as stock and have ample
room in which to grow.

x

GARDEN PINKS 65

As a market flower, its great disadvantage is that, coming all at
once from almost all quarters, it gluts the markets and does not realise
its full value. But it always sells. Everybody has a soft spot for
it, and if nothing else would sell it, then it would be bought for its
exquisite scent. In provincial towns, where gluts are very unusual,
better prices are obtained than those of large central markets ;
but these are usually supplied from outlying villages and districts,
especially since the canny villager has ascertained that they have
a market value. His fathers would have scoffed at the idea, but
the villager to-day (like his father) is what circumstances have
made him.

INDEX

Allwoodii (Dianthus Allwoodii).

disbudding 58

"Harold" in pots ... 58

its cultivation ... ... 57

its origin 54

its propagation 56

its value as a florist's flower 58

layering 56

length of season 57

over-propagation, dangers

of 54

soil 58

Border Carnations 29

Bizarres ... ... ... 51

commercial possibilities ... 29

Crimson Clove ... ... 51

for market 32

Fancies and Flakes ... 51

Grenadier 33

Hybridisers 31

"Jacks" ... ... 39

layering ... 41

new forms 32

pan of seedlings 38

Perpetuals 49

Picotees 51

planting ... ... ... 39

45

Potting 45

sowing the seeds 36

transplanting seedlings ... 37

Garden Pinks

as edging plants .,
as market flowers
in vine border
planting ...

60
61

65
61
64

Garden Pinks-
propagating by layers ... 63
propagating by slips ... 63

the type 60

shortness of season ... 60

to withstand drought ... 62

Malmaison Carnations ... 52

Perpetual Flowering Carnations.

a florisst' flower 3

a well-rooted cutting ... 10

"Bacterium" 21

cleanliness 13

compost for 5-in. pots ... 13

compost for 7 in. pots ... 16

cutting bed 4

cutting the flowers ... 23

enemies ... ... ... 20

evil of deep potting ... 20

fertilisers 18

good and bad cuttings ... 5

housing the plants ... 1 8

how to stop 12

indoor planting ... ... 27

in its infancy i

insect pests 22

insecticides 17

lack of perfume 2

packing flowers 24

packing shed 23

potting 12

pot plant in September ... 17

pot plant in October ... 19

propagation by cuttings... 4

red spider 17

re-potting 26

rust 21

" spot" disease 21

68

INDEX

PAGE

Perpetual Flowering Carnations-
spraying 28

" stem rot " ... ... 20

stopping ... ... ... ii

summer treatment ... 1 1

temperature 14

Perpetual Flowering Carnations-
treatment in May ... 14
treatment in winter ... 19
treatment of older plants 26

ventilation 14

watering 28

Printed in Great Britain at
Tht Mayflower Press, Plymouth. William Brendon & Son, Ltd.

THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE
STAMPED BELOW

AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS

WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN
THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY
WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH
DAY AND TO $1.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY
OVERDUE.

APR 14'-ff«»

JUN 23 1947

LIBRARY USE

APR 17 1952

' 3 0 1975 1

REEL Cfl^ nrr i »

•-** VIA, Ul^ ± 1

5

RFC CIR APR ?D 77

MAR \ R toco

1 * D iyg3
••'flcirc. jiiA|0o lg

T

LD 21-95m-7,'37

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY