848 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



May 23, 1901. 



the same 

 tlify are 

 mile, for 

 UN while 

 if they 



Always (oi.i i h. .iiii.irc of vases and 



liaikL'V'tin^l Im I In- planl.-, if there should 

 III' :i liiir. -|iMi ,11 iwo. It acts as a mulch, 

 ]ii,\. iiiinu .■\:i|i. nation, and the roots of 

 jilniii- hna I !i. II way into it. Altogether 

 it, i- im -1 ,|..ii :il.li' liiitli f.ii jpprarance 

 an. I I..11.I1I In ilic |.l;iiii~, - Jniri say you 

 can'l ^rl il III :ilV'iMl II. I n i!l i.'iiiindyou 



oM.T I • ili;it tlir -nil ii-cl in the 



cranjiicil .(inditions should lie very rich 

 to sujiport six times the plants that you 

 would init in a flower bed of the same 

 area. 



\\'(? have never yet found a plant so 

 suitable or satisfactory for the center of 

 a vase as the Dracaena indivisa. It 

 thrives under the hardest treatment and 

 grows stout and symmetrical with wind 

 and sunshine. Cannas are often used, but 

 they grow too tall and exhaust the soil 

 so much that other plants aie starved. 

 Of all the palms, the only one suitable 

 for the purpose is soime of the phoenix. 

 Latania, areca and kentia all burn, be- 

 cause it is impossible to keep them wet 

 enough. Chamerops are fine for the pur- 

 pose, but their price is out of the ques- 

 tion in a three or four dollar vase. 



Many vases, particularly for the ceme- 

 tery, are now filled with one variety of 



get shabby, so unless the place is shel- 

 tered, persuade .\nui' . ii-lmiuT to dis- 

 pense with them. If \ In use so-called 



vines, the hardir-i nnlx -IkuiM be used. 

 Of these the l.r-i ni nil ;ir,. the vincas 

 and Kii,i;li-li iN>. 11 lni-li>. and you are 

 sure till- \,i-'- will III' krpi wi'll watered. 

 There 111. -.mi.iI imlly lliings, among 

 them lubclia, i\y l;iji allium-, money vine, 

 seneeeo, lophospermum, gleehoma (par- 

 ticularly the variegated form of this 

 weed), nasturtiums and several others, 

 all good fur voianda boxes and vases; but 

 if in till' -Mil and wind and neglected' as 

 to wain. ilii\ -nnii i;ct shabby and are. 

 anythiiiLi lail an .nnament. 



Pot Plants. 



Decoration Day with us is more of a 

 plant time tliaii nif tlowers; that is, the 

 majority nt ]hii|iIi- will take out a plant 

 worth J.i ni .111 ri'iits rather than a 

 rag.ycil Iniin li nt llnwrrs. Remember that 

 mam \i-ii I III' ;;iave of a departed friend 

 nil ihi- In They have no opportunity 

 1' J ' 1 1 ' I. ini months and they want to 

 pi, Ml' -niiiit liiiig there, to them the sacred 

 spot. In our liraiilifiil Foii'st Lawn you 

 are not allowoil In .li-iiiiK ihc sod, but a 

 potted plant can In' iilanil I lu'ie and will 

 be respected as luiiy a.i it doesn't look 

 shabby. Thousands of pots of geraniums 

 are taken out, and here is where a well- 

 grown four-inch plant with two or three 

 tlowers sells well at 20 cents each. 



Many, of course, want something 



CYCLAMEN FOR SEED. 



By Paul Kopanka. 

 tRead before the Chicago Florists' Club. May i:.] 

 In* response to the request made by the 

 club at the last meeting, I have pre- 

 pared the following on Cyclamen persi- 

 cum. I am going to say something about 

 the culture of cyclamen for seed in an 

 extensive way. My experience is that 

 the best time to sow the seeds so as to 

 get strong plants for producing seed is 

 during the months of August and Sep- 

 tember. 



Sowing. 



Make a preparation of soil contain- 

 ing two parts of Icafmold, one part of 

 peat and one part of very clean sand. 

 Mix all up well and sift through a fine 

 sieve. Take shallow pans, clean them 

 thorougHly and fill to the top with the 

 above mentioned soil. Press down very 

 lightly and evenly and sow the seeds 

 evenly but not too thickly. Cover seed's 

 with a very light layer of this same 

 soil by taking the sieve and sifting soil 

 over the seeds. Press down lightly again 

 and water with a fine rose. Put on top 

 of each pan a sheet of blotting paper 

 and from now on water only on top of 

 the blotting paper. The blotting paper 

 on top of the seeds has the advantage of 

 keeping the pans evenly moist ; the seeds 

 will come up more evenly and there is 

 no danger of overwatering or getting 

 green moss or fungus on top. 



If you have first class seeds they will 

 sprout in three to four weeks. Label 

 each pan with the name of the variety 

 and the date of sowing of seed and keep 

 ill pans of the same variety together so 

 that no mistake can occur when pricking 

 out begins. Place the pans in a well 

 shaded house near the glass. The tem- 

 peiatuie in August or September is hard- 

 h controllable. Give plenty of ventila- 

 tion but avoid draughts and be careful 

 not to allow the pans to get too dry. 

 Duung the hot weather examine them 

 twice a day to see whether they need 

 water or not. 



\ftpi three weeks take the blotting 

 pi]iii olT. By this time the seeds will 

 be.iii to have" little bulbs and the first 

 leit will be formed. Be careful now and 

 w itei only with a fine rose on the 

 spi inkling can when necessary. After 

 the little bulbs have made two leaves 

 and the bulbs are fully out of the soil 

 prepare shallow flats about two inches 

 deep. Before using the flats white- 

 wash them. Have plenty of holes in the 

 bottom for drainage and put a very 

 light layer of moss on the bottom. Fill 

 the boxes with the same soil as was 

 used in the pans, only add one part of 

 very old rotted cow manure which looks 

 almost like earth; press lightly down. 

 Begin to prick out the little plants from 

 the seed pans, planting in rows one- 

 half inch apart and have the rows one 

 inch apart. When all plants are pricked 

 out place them in a house devoted only 

 to cyclamen. 



C-yclamen Houses. 



The houses should be low two bench 

 houses from two to three hundred feet 

 long. The longer the houses are the 

 easier it is to have good air in them 

 and the floor in the houses should be 

 made of brick, the supports of the 

 benches of iron, the bottom of benches of 

 slate. The slate benches when watered 

 stay longer moist and cool the air, so the 

 floor when syringed stays wet longer and 



