92 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Deckmukk 20, 1900. 



Well grown Aidisia cicnulata is one 

 ..f llie l>est thins;s to be offered in New 

 ^^,I■lc 1ln« tiiiip.' Soitin very fine plants 



II ,,],, ;,,,,] .All, .11 ii-iiniiied will bring 



I ,-:; li sill r,i. h : tli..\ are ]>ut in red, 



.,i ,., II ,,i » hiir p.ii li;i-l.,. is with a cluster 

 r,.,x( .,1 li,ili\ III! ribbon ball' way up or 

 ,.,, t .p ni 111,, plant. Keep holly away 

 f,.,iii ili,.iii iMi it only cheapens the effect. 

 Sill, 11 .ir.iiiL^t. trees 'will be po])ular done 

 up ,n ..icin p,,i rovers and trimmed with 

 ,,,,„..,' ...Ml/, or narrow taffeta ribbon; 

 il,,N ^^lll ,-rll at $4 to $10; pans of 

 ,h\,iii ]„.liisettia.i will sell quickly; plant 

 .1 I, ^^ siiiuU ferns or arrange a few sprays 

 ,.r li,,ll\ on the top of the pans; you can 

 ii'j iijipot covers made of Princess pine 

 .11 holly; need not use any ribbon on 

 this plant; good bracts brinj; $1 each, 

 small ones half that. Cyclamen, if well 

 grown, will be good stock to have, and if 

 Ft is poor use it up in basket work ; they 

 will retail at $1.50 to $2.50 trimmed. 

 Azaleas of the Simon Mardner or Verv- 

 aeneana varieties will be offered, but we 

 think thev will go best in made up 

 work; so will ericas and the few other 

 things available. 



Unless a plant is in first class condi- 

 tion better use it up in basket work. 

 Hampers and flat baskets of plants will 

 be a leading feature in every first class 

 florist's store this Christmas. They can 

 be arranged long before the day comes, 

 and there is not so much risk with them 

 as in cut flowers, and most often there 

 is more profit and satisfaction derived 

 from them. The one drawback is the cost 

 of tin-lined baskets. Begonia Gloire de 

 Lorraine will be a very pretty item this 

 Christmas. The stock oft'ered is very 

 "ood. Plants in pans are the best and 

 they can be sold just as they are or 

 trimmed with ribbon ; or put several in a 

 low basket; they will not stand abuse, 

 neither will any other plant, and their 

 great beauty deserves recognition and 



Dealers in baskets can well- afford to 

 stop the joke of annually visiting 

 Europe for novelties. It will pay them 

 better to study the requirements of the 

 American market and manufacture home 

 products to satisfy it; they cannot do it 

 by purchasing abroad. They must sooner 

 or later realize the fact that the present 

 and the long future demands quality of 

 plant, simplicity of trimmings. People 

 do not go to a florist's store to buy 

 baskets; flower or plant should, there- 

 fore, represent at least 75 per cent of 

 what is offered. 



Thorlcy this year is offering one of 

 the prettiest and most sensible plant 

 arrangements ever seen, and it would 

 "ue well to offer it everywhere. A com- 

 mon plant pan is used; the most effective 

 sizes are from 12 to Ifi-incli. In the 

 center is a tall Dracaena terminalis, sur- 

 rounding it are small kenlins, arecas, 

 Pandanus Veitchii, hjghly colored cro- 

 tons, Dracaena Godseffiana. small ferns, 

 selaginella, or anytbin- fluC l.ri-ht 

 and pretty. The plants ;m, , , i i-i i, :illy 

 arranged and put in 1" 1-" |' 'I'li' I'.i" 

 is heavily covered with i.ip'i ni,l ever 

 this is piJt a broad ribbon tied with long 

 streamer and short bow in front. Almost 

 anything in the way of foliage or flower- 

 ing plant can be so arranged, and if 

 properly done will sell readily and at a 

 good price. 



Flat round baskets of primulas or 

 cyclamens are good. Half o|ien hampers 

 of mixed or separate bulbous flowers will 

 go well, too; plant the bulbs in clusters 

 Tn wet moss. A well arranged basket 



or pan "I Dm. Ii l,nll)s will compare with 

 anythiii'-; \.iu , .m l"'! up. The baskets 

 ofplani^ \vill ,1. p. ml on how well yon 

 can iii:il.. ill. Ill .ippi'ar at a small cost, 



and iiliii ujl, :il -I anything can be 



used 11 i .-.iiii.il that some bright 

 flower >.i pl.iai d, i upy the center. Don't 

 smother everything with ribbon, have 

 just enoush to put a festive touch to the 

 design aiul lie eaiefii! of the color. Crepe 

 paper will ii- i l"- "-ed in first clas trade 

 this ( hii-i iii:i - : l..lirr a clean pot than 

 a mu",..l up pip.i cover, besides, the 

 plant i-. ufi. 11 jll.iweil to die for fear of 

 spoiling the iiaper jiot cover. If people 

 don't see it around they will not ask for 

 it; a painted pot, or as suggested above 

 a simple wire frame covered with greens 

 is prettiest and best. Fads like people 

 die when abused. 



Greens. 

 Don't be afraid to have plenty of 

 greens about your store, and make it look 

 as if a live man or woman reigned there. 

 It is an easy and inexpensive matter to 

 introduce some pretty form of exterior 

 and interior decorations at your store; 

 make them attractive: it pays to do so. 

 Holly seems to be good, and if you have 

 any "left it can be used in many ways 

 after Christmas. It requires an experi- 

 enced hand to make a good' holly wreath, 

 and after all is said and done it is the 

 best thing you can offer for window 

 decorations. " The wreaths sold in the 

 best stores are made specially at a cost 

 of from 75c to $1 each, and they retail 

 at $2,50: thev are worth it compared 

 to the rif-raff bought in the market. 

 Don't begrudge to pay for a good thing 

 providing you can sell it at a profit, for 

 first of ail comes quality, and second 

 cheapness. Make up whatever wreaths 

 you require for special customers and let 

 them see the difference in your work and 

 that of others. Be careful of the delivery 

 department, employ .no careless help, be 

 considerate, good-tempered. A merry and 

 prosperous Christmas to all. Iver.'^^. 



CARNATION NOTES. 



Holding the Flowers. 



I know it is about as useless for me 

 to ask you not to save up your carna- 

 tion blooms for Christmas as it would 

 be to ask you not to raise the tempera- 

 ture in your carnation houses in order 

 to force more of them out. But I do 

 want In caution von not to save them 

 too l..n.j, Tv.ix riiri^lin;,- 111,. re is a 

 ]ot ..I i.... .:: i"l. '• < IH^'Kl'''! «t'ick 

 as i, ,- , , V . ,n, I.. 111.. n,:nk,.l the 

 (lav 1-1 '■• 1 !hi-ii".i~ :in.l it imt only 

 fails to bring good prices hut it also 

 causes general dissatisfaction and' in- 

 jures the florist business, while if it had 

 been sent in a few days sooner it would 

 have brought the grower at least fair 

 and in many cases good returns. 



The length of time one can preserve 

 carnation blooms in l'.huI ,-,iiiilil inn de- 

 pends on the weal 111 1 .,ii.l li..\v ilnv are 

 handled. If the w,.;iili,i 1- .l:iik and 

 cloudy you can stop pi, .Kin..' in. -I varie- 

 ties ten days before you want to use 

 them and it is best to allow them to 

 develop pretty well on the plants and 

 pick them a day or two before sending 

 them in. But if the sun happens to 

 come out brightly after the fourth or 

 fifth day you had better pick them and 

 send them" to the market as the sun will 

 make them soft if left on the plants 

 and it is not good to keep them in the 

 cellar too long. If the days are bright 



you had better not try to save them 

 "up longer than four or five days and 



pick them as soon as fully developed. 



Must nf tlir M-iiilrl- and mauv of the 

 pink \aii,.|i..- will lii-i' llieir brightness 



lung ilnriii..; -niim- wrallier and so you 

 must be careful. " If picked' before they 

 begin to fade and placed in a half lighted 

 celhir of 48 degrees they will usually 

 keep their color and freshness for sev- 

 eral days and increase about 30 per cent 

 in size. And they will be in better con- 

 dition to withstand the handling they 

 usually get in shipping and on the re- 

 tail counter than if they are left on 

 the plants until the last hour. 

 Handling and Packing. 

 As much care and judgment is re- 

 quired in earing for the blooms after 

 they are cut as is required in the grow- 

 ing of the blooms and if the growers 

 would' keep this in mind there would be 

 more good and less poor stock sent into 

 the market. Many a fine lot of blooms 

 is practically ruined by careless hand- 

 ling and packing. If you have ever had 

 many flowers shipped to you you have 

 no doubt seen just such cases and if 

 you are a shipper, your customers or 

 your commission man may be able to 

 "tell you about it. 



Most of the commission men insist on 

 the growers bunching their carnations so 

 they can be handled and counted quicker, 

 and if they are packed properly so the 

 blooms do not get crushed too much it 

 is a good way for average stock. But 

 if you have some extra fancy stock it 

 will pay you and' him much better to 

 pack them singly and in layers. Do not 

 pack one layer on top of another but 

 rather put false bottoms into your boxes 

 if they are too deep for one layer. Cleat 

 them well so they cannot move around. 

 Of course this may take more time and 

 is more expensive as you cannot get 

 as many blooms into a box, but the 

 extra price your stock will bring will 

 make it pay you well to do it. 



Do not be afraid that your commis- 

 sion man will refuse your stock unless 

 it is bunched; he will be only too glad 

 to handle it (whatever way it may be 

 packed) if it is really fine. In packing 

 them you not only want to .^- nid bruis- 

 ing the petals but you also w uif to pre- 

 serve their original form and above all 

 that freshness which is usually so sadly 

 lacking in shipped stock. 



The above would have been more sea- 

 sonable last week but it will reach you 

 four days before Christmas and I hope 

 at least partly serve its intended' pur- 

 pose. 



Reports from various points indicate 

 a shortage in carnations everywhere for 

 Christmas, so handle yours right and I 

 hope you will have a good cut for that 

 day and consequently a Merry Christ- 

 mas. A. F. J. Baur. 



NEW CARNATIONS. 



Kegistcriii bv K. T. Crave, Richmond. 

 Tn,l.-^"Doroniy." color pink, Scott shade, 

 flower large and' symmetrical, built out 

 nicely in center. ' Calyx strong, never 

 bursts. Stems long and stiff, being well 

 able to support its flower. A contintious 

 and very free bloomer from early until 

 late. An excellent keeper and shipper. 

 Dorothy is a duplicate name of an old 

 variety, but the above has been shown 

 and a"dvertised before being registered, 

 and there being none of the former 

 Dorothy grown at this date the name is 



