CINERARIAS IN WINTER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22628, 20 July 1935, Page 24

CINERARIAS IN WINTER

• These popular plants need very careful treatment throughout winter if they are to produce the fine display of which they are easily capable. They are peculiarly susceptible to extremes of drought and moisture. If a plant is allowed to wilt, it rarely recovers its health, and stagnant soil will soon encourage sickly foliage, with a consequent loss of vitality. The safe plan is to examine the plants daily, as early in the morning as-is practicable, and try to maintain them in a uniformly moist condition. If the pots are well filled with roots, the plants will easily assimilate plenty of good food, and so a weekly dose of liquid and diluted manure, or of an approved fertiliser, will keep them growing steadily. This is especially necessary with cinerarias, as a check of any* kind is very harmful. For this reason, the gardener should never hesitate to pot a plant, even in the depth of winter, if it has outgrown its accommodation

There is really no comparison between plants grown generously and others starved for soil and food. Six-inch pots, or a size larger, will grow fine examples, but if really large specimens are desired, they are readily grown if provided with the necessary root-run and a generous diet. A star cineraria, three to four feet in height, or even more, and with a huge branched flower head, is a most effective plant for decoration. Cinerarias are first-rate room plants. Do not use too much warmth. Within reason, the cooler the conditions under which they are grown the better they are. A minimum night temperature of 45 deg. should be the aim of the grower. Plenty of ventilation, without draughts, is also most essential. The top ventilators should be entirely relied upon during the winter months, and these should not be quite closed on mild nights. A “ crack ” of air will promote a fresh and buoyant atmosphere. Cinerarias are lovers of light, and so the glass must be kept scrupulously clean. If the greenhouse is in a foggy area, it may be necessary to wash the roof several times before the longer days are here. Each plant must have ample space. Cineraiias soon become weakly and spindly in growth if deprived of room. There should be a clear space of sever;\l inches round each plant. The surface soil may be very lightly pricked over with a pointed stick or label. If this is done at short intervals, it will have a very beneficial effect; a plant cannot be healthy if the soil is covered with moss or slime. Keep the plants as near the glass as possible. If the house is a lofty one, it will be of some assistance to elevate the plants on inverted pots, and this will also do some good by permitting the free circulation of air round and under the plants. When cinerarias are in flower the conditions should be as coo] and airy as possible. Treated in this manner they last in beauty for a very long time. A lovely effect may be produced by grouping the plants with ferns and other suitable foliage subjects. Feeding may be more intensive when the days are lengthening, and when the flower spikes are in course of development. But once the flowers are expanded all feeding should cease. Occasional light fumigations will keep in check the attacks of aphides, and, should the leaf-mining grub appear, it should be eradicated in the early stages by pinching between the finger and thumb. An occasional spraying with diluted clear soot water will go far to keep this pest at bay. The foliage must not be wetted in any but mild and bright weather, and the spraying should always be done in the early morning, so that the plants may dry during the day.

The staging, the material on which the pots stand, the pots themselves, the

walls and paths of the structure must all be kept spotlessly clean. Dirty greenhouses are extremely bad for all plants, and scarcely any other greenhouse plant so urgently needs good hygiene as does the cineraria.—R. E. A., in Amateur Gardening.