Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1937-07-10
,%! Hfs@: 81 e e
BY ]. w. WELLINGTON.

BY J. w. WELLINGTON.
Some interesting information re-
Gently has come from Ohio State Uni-
versity on experiments designed to
show how the life of certain cut flowers
may be prolonged. In one test, in
which there were used copper vases,
copper wire, copper shavings, copper
shot and brass shot, it was found that
certain plants, such as aster. godetia,
clarkia, daffodil. stocks, snapdragon,
annual chrysanthemum, calendula,
nemesia, pansy, margold, salpiglossis
and Boston yellow daisy, responded IA
vorably and kept one to nearly three
days longer where copper was used.
Another group. which included schiz-
anthus,. rudbeckia, leptosyne, forget
me-not, feverfew, centaurea and pent-
stemon. showed no benefit, and one
plant. the carnation, was actually re-
duced one day. For practical pur-
poses, the placing Of copper wire in
glass containers was the best practice.
Cutting stems under water instead
Of In the air was helpful in the case
Of snapdragon, carnation, sweet pea.
Boston yellow daisy, aster, annual
chrysanthemum and marigold Ca
lenduls and stocks were cut equally
successfully in air or water Nothing
was gained by irnmersing stems deeply
In water. and, in fact, shallow water
increased the life of the flowers two to
three days in the case of the snap
dragon, carnation. pansy, aster, Bos-
ton yellow daisy, daffodil, salpiglossis,
godetla. coreopsis larkspur and cos
mos. 1t was found by coating the
stem with paraffin that most of the
water is absorbed through the cut end
These data dlspel some of the no.
tions that are the vogue among home
gardeners and other flower lovers and
would indicate certain practices that
may be successfully followed in max
Ing blooms last a little longer in the
home.
Disbudding.
One Of the simple but effective prac-
tices used by the professional florist
in obtaining large individual flowers
Is that of disbudding. Carna tons,
roses. dahlias and chrysanthemums
are among the species that uniformly
are thinned. Skilled home garden
ers resort to the same device to Sc
cure large blooms for the flower show.
Usually one saves the strong central
bud and breaks out the laterals on
the same shoot. This naturally in
creases the leaf surface available to
the selected bud and it responds by
growing much larger than usual
However, one should not gain the
idea that disbudding will of itself as
sure fine, large blooms. Good feeding
and care go hand in hand with dis
budding and, in fact, must accompany
disbudding If there is to be a success
full response. The dahlia Will be the
next garden plant to require dlsbud-
ding. In this species the flower buds
are usually formed in triplicate, one
strong central one and two laterals
To obtain the fine show flowers, the
two laterals should be removed and
also other side buds that appear in
the leaf nodes along the Towering
branch. Disbudding is in fact, a
system of pruning in which one Sc
lects strong flower bud and favors
1t by pruning out competing buds.
The Nasturtium.
The general excitement that greeted
the arrival of the le-flowered
rasturtium appears to have largely
subsidized probably because great
many people have been disappointed
in results of paintings Instead Of
waiting until the double Towering
character was completely isolated,
many seed dealers placed partially
selected stocks on the market. AS a
result. many of the supposedly dou-
BILE plants have failed to yield double
flowers With continued improvement
these imperfect stocks are certain to
yield to genuinely double material
before long.
One of the great trials of the mas
turtium grower is the black aphid,
that seems to prefer the nasturtium
to any other plant. busting with MIC
oGulc uuSG Vi Win ~ tbIii uIu uuSJ
will control this aphid for a week or
more, but repeated treatments are
needed to keep the plants free
One fact that the nasturtium grow
er soon learns is that high soil fer
tility means fewer flowers Just
enough food to keep the plants grow
ing thrifty is all that is needed, and,
in most gardens the soil is already
sufficiently fertile for the nasturtium.
The nasturtium is native OF Peru,
but came to the United States by
way of Europe. Strangely enough,
the nasturtium has been often used
as food. the flowers. the leaves and
the green seeds being used in salads
and the seeds as pickles.
Cultivated Blueberries.
Occasionally one sees the large Gull