1940: Horticulture

As weather is one of the most important factors in horticulture, a review of the year may well begin with a few words concerning this perennial topic. It is an accepted generality that gardeners are never satisfied with the weather. Even when full allowance for this fact has been made, it must be admitted that 1940, like 1939, was exceptionally bad in this respect. A wet, cold, unusually late spring was followed by a short witheringly hot period, only to relapse again into many weeks of unseasonably low temperatures and continued wet, with unusually early frosts. Not until late autumn, when many things had been either killed or ruined, did the weatherman grant a reprieve. However, instead of the extreme drought which continued all through the autumn of the previous year, the soil was well saturated with moisture and in this respect at least showed a marked improvement, and promise of a more normal spring in 1941.

Horticultural Interest Increases.

Unfortunately there are no official statistics by which the degree of interest in horticulture can be measured from season to season. Such indicators as are available, however, all seem to point in one direction — that of a decided increase in amateur horticulture. Without question the forty-hour week has been a big factor in this growth. With many persons having two full days instead of one day or a day and a half to devote to gardening each week it is natural that much more planting should be done. This, coupled with improved economic conditions was reflected in better business for seed houses and nursery firms all along the line.

Three other fairly accurate indicators of horticultural interest are the attendance records at the big spring flower shows, the sale of horticultural books and magazines, and the space devoted to gardening in the newspapers. Attendance at the March Flower Shows, now held in practically every large city from coast to coast, showed decided increases over any preceding year. This increase, so far as the writer knows, held without any exception. The International Flower Show at New York passed the 180,000 mark in attendance. The amount paid for tickets for this event is greater than for any other held throughout the year at Grand Central Palace. The huge Commercial Museum in which the Philadelphia Show is held was, for the first time in the history of the show, so crowded at certain periods that it was difficult to move about.

Among garden books, the leading popular title, although now four years old, broke all previous records for sales. The garden magazines all showed increases in circulation, some of them very substantial. The January 1941 issue of one of the leaders in this field broke all previous records for the amount of horticultural advertising carried in a single issue of one such magazine. Several publishing companies which have never previously issued titles in this field have brought out garden books. The number of newspapers carrying garden departments is steadily increasing. Many of these are now run every week in the year.

The Bulb Situation.

The biggest horticultural controversy during the past twelve months was undoubtedly that surrounding the hardy bulb situation. For years, Holland has been the chief source of supply for the spring-flowering or 'Dutch' bulbs — tulips, hyacinths, crocuses and the 'minor' bulbs, such as grape hyacinths, snowdrops, glory-of-the-snow and so forth. Formerly, too, most of our daffodils came from Holland. Under the plant quarantine act these were shut out for several years and as a result an American daffodil bulb industry, located principally in the Northwest where growing conditions are ideal, has been developed. Due to the invasion of Holland and the resulting British blockade, it was impossible to get bulbs from Holland last fall. While these bulbs can be grown satisfactorily in America it has never been possible for American growers to compete with the Hollanders on a commercial basis, principally because of the lower labor costs in Holland.

Some importers of Dutch bulbs, particularly those who were convinced that Germany would have conquered Britain in time for the Dutch crop to be shipped over late in the season, assiduously spread the propaganda that American and English grown tulips, hyacinths and such other stocks as were available, were worthless. As a result many gardeners did not plant even such bulbs as could have been obtained. The supply available, of course, was only a fraction of that which is normally used. The supply of tulips for instance was estimated at 13,000,000 while normally about 100,000,000 are imported from Holland.

According to such reports as are available, the bulb industry in Holland is being maintained under German domination. Whether these bulbs will be obtainable another year of course nobody knows. In the meantime an impetus has been given to American production. There seems to be little reason to doubt that, if foreign supplies continue to be shut out, American stocks will be developed within a reasonable time; but it will take several years, just as it did with daffodils. Despite widespread and persistent propaganda to the contrary at the beginning of the development of the American daffodil industry, it is now generally conceded that the American product is quite equal in quality to the Holland stocks. In fact among commercial growers who force them for bloom during winter and spring, the American stocks quite generally command a premium over the imported.

Plant Breeding.

American hybridizers have been slowly but surely wrenching leadership in this field from the plant breeders in Europe. One very important group in which this has been particularly true in recent years is that of the hardy lilies. American production, too, is giving us cleaner and more disease-free bulbs. The work of breeding strictly American types of roses continues; America is safely 'on her own' so far as the Queen of Flowers is concerned.

A new type of spring-flowering sweet peas has proved successful and in many localities is making it possible to grow this old favorite again with some assurance of success. Four new colors have been added to this type for introduction in the spring of 1941, and within another year or two a full range of the lovely shades associated with this flower should be available. Among the new annuals for 1941 the marigold Isabelle Firestone is of particular interest because it is the first fertile seeded double hybrid resulting from crossing the African and French types. It is also the reddest large-flowered double marigold.

Among the yearly trials of new introductions carried on by the All America Selections Committee, European novelties were this year conspicuous by their absence. A double purplish colored petunia, called Blue Brocade, from Japan won first place; but from Europe there are almost no novelties, and of the few submitted, seeds or stock is not available for 1941.

The fragrant gladiolus Carrie Jacobs Bond, marks another step forward in the development of this popular flower. Together with one developed a year ago, it marks the beginning of a new race which is sure to become popular.

In the field of science so far as it applies to horticulture, two very large bubbles, given widespread publicity during the last couple of years, have been very definitely punctured. First of these is the marvelous results reported to be obtained from the use of Vitamin B₁ in transplanting and in growing plants. Despite the adverse reports received, almost from the beginning, by experiment station experts and other reliable sources, the public, which is always gullible, was duped into spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for scores of Vitamin B₁ preparations. Several of the concerns which at first made enormous profits out of these preparations, through extravagant claims with no foundation in fact, have gone bankrupt.

The second bubble which has gone much the same way was the theory that by means of the drug colchicine, plant breeding was to be revolutionized almost overnight, with resultant new races of flowers and fruit doubled in size and stamina. Colchicine in the hands of the scientific plant breeder is another tool which is proving of some help, but so far little in the way of practical results has been obtained with it.

Hydroponics, or soilless plant culture, another fad which reached its height two years ago, has continued to decline in importance so far as the amateur horticulturist is concerned. With proper equipment, commercial growers, especially of roses and other cut flowers, are finding a place for it, and its use in this field is constantly being extended.

The hydroponics vogue however has resulted in new knowledge concerning plant foods and the use of balanced preparations applied in liquid form. Both for plants grown in the ordinary way in soil, and for plants grown in gravel, sand or other non-soil mediums, this method of supplying plant nutrients is gradually finding a definite and worthwhile place. To the amateur the use of soil nutrients of this sort for starting seedlings in pure sand has simplified the work and made it much easier to control seedling diseases, particularly the dreaded 'damping off.'

Future Trends.

Without much doubt the most definite shift in horticulture for 1941 will be an increased interest in vegetable growing. There is not yet in sight any hysteria about 'war gardens' and the plowing up of well established front lawns to attempt to grow potatoes and cabbages under entirely unsuitable conditions, but there is decidedly an awakened interest in producing at home more of the vegetable food supply of the family. Entirely aside from any connection with the war this is a basically sound and desirable shift in horticultural interest.

The increase in the amount of planting done in the fall is another marked trend in American horticulture. A very large part of the planting of trees, shrubs, hardy perennials, roses and many other items ordinarily done in spring, can be carried out in the fall with equally good or even better results, leaving more time at the beginning of the growing season for things which can be done only at that time. Lawn making, particularly, is better done in late August or early September than in the spring.

All in all, the year 1941 finds American horticulture in a very sound and promising condition and likely to make decided forward strides during the coming year.