90 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



February or March we bring these clumps inside and let them thaw out. 

 Then we divide the root and pot them into two and a half or three inch 

 pots. Planted in the field early, they grow rapidly and furnish an abun- 

 dance of long stemmed good sized daisies that are very welcome. 



A short row of double white petunias, and one of double alyssum, 

 every florist should have. 



Sweet peas are another good summer flower though at our place we 

 have them all winter and make a specialty of selling the seed in the 

 spring; we do not pay as much attention to the production of the cut 

 blooms in summer as we would otherwise. 



We grow some, however, and find them profitable. One mistake that 

 is made in growing sweet peas is to plant too many. If your planting is 

 so large that you do not need all the flowers produced you are pretty sure 

 to neglect the picking and then it is only a short time until they stop 

 blooming and you have none. 



We have a number of other good things that might be included un- 

 der this head. The peonies and hardy phlox are both desirable and prof- 

 itable. Those varieties of peonies that will bloom by May 30th are our 

 money makers. The spring of 1911 was an exceptionally good one for 

 peonies with us. 



Weather conditions were such that the crop came in just right for 

 Decoration day and we sold $600.00 worth of blooms from a plot of ground 

 not as large as an ordinary city lot. Last season they were later in 

 blooming and we realized about half that amount, though we had as 

 many or more blooms a^ we did the year before. We do not know of 

 any way to get them into flower sooner than the natural conditions will 

 permit, though we believe that early and constant cultivation helps some. 

 The phlox are not so valuable on account of the bad habit they have of 

 dropping their florets. Still when weather conditions are in their favor, 

 they make some grand heads of bloom that help out the store window 

 nicely. Now I have not tried to cover the whole list of desirable summer 

 flowers in this paper, or give directions for the culture except in a general 

 way in some instances. If some of you have summer flowers that you like 

 better than the sorts I have mentioned I would be glad to know of them, 

 and assure you that I am as ready to receive, as to give instruction, at 

 all times. 



DISCUSSION. 



Mr. Harrison: You did not mention the iris, I wonder why you over- 

 looked those? 



A. We do not handle those, and I just mentioned those that we 

 grow. 



Q. Well, there is nothing better for Decoration day. 



Mr. Williams: Iris do not ship well. 



Mr. Harrison: No sir, they do not. 



Mr. Williams: In the summer time the florist is called upon for 

 flowers for funeral purposes and we must grow just certain stuff that we 



