CHRYSANTHEMUMS.*

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9327, 30 January 1896, Page 6

CHRYSANTHEMUMS.*

♦ —— _ ■ ' CULTURAL NOTES—WATERING. "Weekly Press and Referee." . Watering bears a very important part in the successful cultivation of all plants, but my experience has .been that often too little attention is given to it, especially in the case of pot plants. Those of us -who -wish to be successful in growing our chrysanthemums as near perfection jis possible must pay a closer attention to watering the plants. Plasts is Pots. Watering plants growing in pots is very different to watering plants growing in the , open ground, and a greater number of condi- ; tions must be taken into consideration. We ; will not discuss watering from the cutting to the bloom—to do that would make this 1 paper too long—so we will talk about ; watering chrysanthemums in their flowering pots. One of the first and most important points in the successful cultivation of the chrysanthemum lies in watering during hot weather; \ in a climate like we experience here, with ', hot winds and scorching sun, the plants soon • get dry, and some means must be used to : prevent the rapid evaporation of the moisture from the roots. Ido not believe for one moment that the ordinary grower ever stops to think how much harm is caused to the tender roots when they get dust dry. We know the roots run to the outside of the ball of soil, and then run round the pot, and when the soil gets dry it shrinks. This is due to the loss of moisture, The heat of the sun then scorches the roots, and the dry air abstracts what little moisture there may be in them. This condition often . kills the tender tips of the roots, and the general vitality of the plant is reduced for - some time. Should this take place at the time of bud formation a perfect bloom can- ■ not be obtained; in fact this is one of the causes of one-sided blooms. Shading. We should do something to keep the pots cool by shading them from the direct rays of ' the sun and the currents of the warm winds. i If we take notice of the chrysanthemum " growing in the open we shall observe each plant shades its own roots by its spreading habit. Yet, when we grow a plant in a pot , we tie its growth up to a stake, and deprive • its roots of their natural shade. Then it 1 will be seen that to expose the pots to the 1 hot winds and scorching sun is unnatural. Plunging. Plunging the pots is often carelessly [ done, and more harm caused than good gained. Yet plunging is the best method, if . properly carried out. I know there are ■ great risks, &c, but these can all be avoided ' if a little consideration is given to the position and drainage. Perhaps the very best, , safest and most successful method of plunging is to stand the pots on a well-drained, ■■ hard bottom (or surface); then put a board 1 on either side of the pots and fill the space around each pot with any loose material, , such as stable manure, leaves or even ashes. : This tends to keep the roots at an even > temperature and the moisture doe 3 not evaporate so quickly as it would without 1 such protection. The greatest danger to plunging is bad draiuage, and no matter how well the pots are crocked, if the place is not well drained where the pots are plunged the soil in the pots will soon become sour, and in wet weather the leaves of the plants will turn yellow, and many fall off. All these dangers are avoided by placing the pots on the surface and putting some material around ! them as I have described. Watering the Leaves. [ Some of those now present may remember . the consternation of several who were present . at the meeting in the Agricultural and PasI toral roome three years ago, when I advocated watering less at the roots and more on 1 the leaves, especially on hot days. We 1 were told by one old gardener that I could not mean to water the leaves of chrysanthe- - mums during a bright, hot sunshine, but ; experience has proved the correctness of the I advice, though, as yet, our members do not pay as much attention to this part of cultivation as they might. Too often we see the , plants receive a copious syringing overhead s in the evening, just at a time when the atmosphere is heavily charged with moisture, ' and this atmospheric moisture would do the • plants more good than the syringe. During , the hours from 10 till sp.m. syringe as r often and as copiously as you like, but after . 5 p.m. leave the syringe alone. I do not [ think it necessary!to debate fully the advantages to be gained by watering the leaves, • because they are so plain to my mind ; but it may be useful to remind our members that plants derive much assistance during a very hot day if their leaves are kept.moist. It is .weil.. known that plants breathe through their leaves, and one of the . functions of the leaf is to give off moisture. A plant cannot grow unless its cells are full t of water. The plant absorbs water by its roots, then it is sent up the stem and into the leaves. The hot sun and drying winds r cause rapid evaporation, and the leaves are ; soon limp from loss of water ; and while the leaves are in this condition the roots cannot i perform their proper work. Now it must . be plain to anyone that while the wind and sun are rapidly evaporating the moisture , from the leaves, if we supply the leaves^ I J with water, either through a syringe or by a watering pot, we are making good the loss ■ the sun and wind are causing, and the "growth of the plant does not suffer the ! check it would if the leaves are left to get dried up. . . ■< . If we use a watering can with a rose on ' its spout it is inu,ob. better for the plants. In ! England several growers never water their plants without having*.a rose on the can. i When they apply liquid manure water, it is . first strained through a sieve to take all the particles of rubbish from the water. Use - the can without the rose as carefully as you i may you will be sure to uncover some of the , surface roots by the force with which the [ water falls on the soil. These small roots are of great importance to the plant, and if i they are exposed to the sun they will most , likely perish. So use a rose on the watering ■ can at all times when watering. Sometimes plants are allowed to get very dry, and here we often make a great mistake; we rush for the watering can, and . give them several applications one after another till the water stands on the top of , the soiL Then we think it has had a good . soaking. Has it? Just take such a pot up, turn it out, and you will find the top of the , soil has been made wet but the other part is as dry as ever. The soil is generally made so firm at the final potting that it takes an hour or more to thoroughly soak a ball of soil through in a nine or ten-inch pot. The best way is to place such dry plants in a tub of water, but this gives too much trouble as a rule. After a few weeks' watering the surface ' soil often becomes caked; this soon be- ' comes dry, and cracks; and these cracks 1 expose some of the top roots to the wind • and sun. A good way to prevent this is to ■ place a layer of broken -rock or any similar material on the surface of each pot, after the final potting has been given. ' This would serve two very useful purposes ; first, it would prevent the water falling direct on the soil, and thus prevent ■ the surface from forming a crust; second, ; it would shade soil and roots from the sun, and conserve much moisture that is too frequently evaporated. This 1 layer of broken rock or small stones would save a number of waterings during the summer, and those whose duties take them away from home the greater part of the day would find it a great help to their plants. Another benefit would be a smaller loss of the plant food we mir with the soil; it is very plain that the more often we water the soil the greater must be the loss of plant food, and this is a strong reason for shading both pots and the soil from the direct rays of the sun and the drying currents of wind, i *A paper read by. Mr W. Jones before the Christchurco Chrysanthemum Club, Jan. 17,1896, j