130 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



JANUARY 5, 1S99. 



some planted on bench and some in 

 pots, and all the blooms turned black 

 at the tips of the petals by the time 

 they -were half open. We had some 

 twenty-five other varieties in the same 

 house and all treated alike, but this 

 was the only sort so affected. We 

 cannot understand what caused the 

 trouble. ILLINOIS FLORIST. 



We presume the trouble Illinois 

 Florist refers to is damping, or as 

 some prefer to term it, burning. This 

 is generally caused by feeding heavily, 

 particularly where much nitrate of 

 soda has been used. The more fertili- 

 zers are used the softer the petals are 

 as a rule, and when the sun strikes 

 them they burn. It is rather peculiar 

 that none of the other varieties were 

 affected, for Bonnaffon does not burn 



nearly so readily as pinks or dark 

 shades. This may be accounted for it 

 Bonnaffon happened to be in a sunny 

 position and very close to the glass. 

 Illinois Florist is the best judge of 

 this, as he knows just the position the 

 plants occupied. 



We are not troubled with damping, 

 because we always spatter a light 

 shading of whitewash over the houses, 

 with a syringe when the buds are 

 showing color. Stop feeding in good 

 season, shade the flowers when ex- 

 panding, and maintain a dry moving 

 atmosphere and damping should not be 

 troublesome. 



If any other reader has had trouble 

 with Bonnaffon this season we should 

 like to hear his experiences. 



BRIAN BORU. 



You will now be able to attend to 

 many things that previously you had 

 to leave alone. 



Astilbe Japonica. 



Pot up all the Astilbe (Spiraea) Ja- 

 ponica you want for Easter and get it 

 going in one of your houses. From 

 New Year's to Easter is but a day or 

 two over 12 weeks this year, and the 

 astilbe is better brought along with- 

 out such a violent heat. Any soil is 

 good enough to grow them in, but don't 

 stint them for pot room or you will 

 have to stand over them with a hose. 

 Don't forget to have some astilbe kept 

 dormant for Decoration Day. 



Lilies. 



Two weeks ago I said a little about 

 lilies, but not all I wished. It is easy 

 to get late with your Easter lot, for 

 you have perhaps not hurried them. 

 You will need to sort them into batch- 

 es, giving some more heat than others. 

 Don't be late in tying them to a cane 

 or cedar stake; it is best done before 

 they get loose at the neck, where they 

 are easily injured. It is pretty well 

 believed now that the bursting or 

 shredding of the petals is caused by the 

 puncture of the aphis when the flower 

 bud is very small. We all know that 

 the greenfly will "hold a convention" 

 or family gathering away down in the 

 heart of the growth, where you cannot 

 see them and where it is almost im- 

 possible for the fumes of tobacco to do 

 much good. It will do great good in 

 addition to fumigating to go over 



every plant every two or three weeks 

 till the buds are fully seen and syr- 

 inge a mixture of the Rose Leaf ex- 

 tract of tobacco in the crown of leaves. 

 Here is where you can use this article 

 to the best advantage. It you use the 

 Rose Leaf extract dilute in 75 parts of 

 water; if "Nicoteen," dilute 200 times; 

 the latter is much stronger and will 

 burn if too strong. 



Azaleas — Rhododendrons. 



The Easter azaleas should be stood 

 over, all that young growth rubbed off 

 which robs the flower buds of their 

 strength, and they should be put into 

 houses as their earliness demands. 

 With the early Easter it will suit the 

 majority of the best varieties to keep 

 them now for the next six weeks in a 

 night temperature of 45 degrees; that 

 will be plenty hot enough. 



There are a few varieties (Emperor 

 de Brazil is one) that will stand to be 

 5 degrees hotter. Easter was two 

 weeks earlier last year and a fine lot 

 of azaleas were just two weeks too 

 early, so this year we ought to have 

 no trouble. Still that glorious variety, 

 "Madame Van der Cruyssen," will be 

 better at even 40 degrees for several 

 weeks to come. 



Rhododendrons will do very well in 

 50 degrees at night. They do not come 

 along so fast as azaleas, and if you 

 see in four or five weeks that their 

 large flower buds show no signs of 

 swelling give them a higher tempera- 

 ture and plenty of moisture, both at 

 root and leaf. 



Acacia Annata. 



We had a few fine plants of import- 

 ed armata last year and found they 

 came along too early to be of use. This 

 year we have many more of a more 

 useful size and they want keeping 

 cool; 40 degrees at night is plenty 

 high enough for six or seven weeks. 



Crimson Rambler Rose. 



At New Year's we brought in this 

 fine rose and, starting very cool and 

 slowly increasing, expect it to be right 

 for Easter. Do not be afraid of its be- 

 ing too early; it will keep a week or 

 two finely after it is open. The forc- 

 ing will depend much on how the roots 

 are. If they were grown in pots all 

 summer they could be brought into a 

 stronger heat .at once and take less 

 time to bring into flower, but if lifted 

 from the nursery in October and pot- 

 ted they will have made no active 

 roots as yet and should not be given a 

 higher temperature than 40 or 45 de- 

 grees at most for the first two or three 

 weeks. As they show signs of break- 

 ing increase the temperature. Keep 

 the canes syringed. Plants that have 

 three or four strong canes, perhaps 4 

 feet long, should be tied around some 

 stout stakes; it will make a more com- 

 pact, handsome plant, and they will 

 break all the better. 



Hybrid Perpetual roses that are 

 wanted for Easter will want the same 

 conditions; twelve weeks is not too 

 long to give them in the houses, for it 

 enables you to bring them along grad- 

 ually, and insures better results. 



Cytisus. 



Shift and shear back for the last 

 time the Cytisus racemosus. Our last 

 size to shift in is a 5-inch pot. Big 

 plants of this don't go with us, but a 

 compact little plant, covered with 

 flowers, sells at a profitable price. An 

 early Easter will also suit the cytisus, 

 for it is generally a little too previous 

 to suit us; 45 degrees will do first rate 

 for the next month. 



Begonia Vernon. 



This has become with us a most im- 

 portant bedding plant, or for general 

 summer use. We raised a lot from 

 seed sown last August; they are now 

 stocky, broad, little plants, and we are 

 going to put five or six in an 8-inch 

 pan and give them a warm, light and 

 dry house, and believe they will be a 

 great acquisition at Easter, for I be- 

 lieve they will be covered with their 

 pretty pink and white flowers. 



Stevia Serratifolia. 



We found it as useful as ever this 

 season. Don't have them all dumped 

 out, but put away a few cut down 

 plants for propagating in March. 



Cypripedium Insigne. 



This is the time to increase your 

 stock of this beautiful and easiest to 

 grow of orchids. Christmas would 

 finish up the flowers and now the 



