I am building another lamplight greenhouse, so I can expand my study of roses under artificial lighting. I had some very astounding results from cuttings made during the winter and, believe it or not, several are blooming at this very moment in the garden.

My failures were also ever present, but from each 1 learned a lesson, be it in rooting mediums, temperature, hardening off, or what- ever problems beset the indoor gardener. One thing I do know is that it works if you know how to properly balance the lights and take certain other precautions.

I bought a dormant rose the second week in March, planted it in a pot and set it alongside my propagating box under lights. On April 27 I cut my first rose of the year, and I believe the first one in this area. It caused quite a commotion. When I told people I raised it in a basement they said I was “nuts.” The rose had never seen daylight until it was cut and brought out of the house.

I am building another lamplight greenhouse, so I can expand my study of roses under artificial lighting. I had some very astounding results from cuttings made during the winter and, believe it or not, several are blooming at this very moment in the garden.

My failures were also ever present, but from each 1 learned a lesson, be it in rooting mediums, temperature, hardening off, or what- ever problems beset the indoor gardener. One thing I do know is that it works if you know how to properly balance the lights and take certain other precautions.

I bought a dormant rose the second week in March, planted it in a pot and set it alongside my propagating box under lights. On April 27 I cut my first rose of the year, and I believe the first one in this area. It caused quite a commotion. When I told people I raised it in a basement they said I was “nuts.” The rose had never seen daylight until it was cut and brought out of the house.

Starting caladiums in the South during March is not a good idea. We do not attempt to start our main crop of fancy leaved caladiums until the weather gets fairly warm; however, it is possible to start a few in a sunny window this month. If planted too early and if the weather remains cool, the bulbs may rot. A safe method of handling is to start the bulbs in a well-drained bed in a sunny spot.

Place the bulbs on a 2-inch layer of a sand-peat mixture and cover with an inch layer of the same mixture. When two or three leaves have developed, lift the bulbs with all the soil that clings to the roots and set them in their permanent places in the garden. If you are growing a mixture of bulbs this method will enable you to determine the colors and make pleasing combinations before setting them in their permanent beds.

A half-and-half mixture of garden loam and leafmold or peatmoss makes a fine soil for a garden bed of caladiums; we always place a handful of sand under each plant to improve the drainage. Caladiums, which are available as named varieties, are among our best plants for summer color. They are well suited to shady spots where many other plants will not thrive.