MAY 11. 1S99. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



593 



The conditions under which these 

 bacteria are produced are being care- 

 fully studied by scientific men, and it 

 is well known that the nitrates are 

 produced most rapidly in a warm 

 moist atmosphere. They are therefore 

 not present in sufficient quantities to 

 produce the most luxuriant growth of 



vegetation in the spring of the year 

 when in practice it is most demanded. 

 Hence scientific men generally recom- 

 mend the addition of nitrate to ferti- 

 lizers intended for spring use, and in 

 all cases where it is desirable to start 

 the orop off with a rapid, vigorous, 

 healthy growth. — Gardeners' Magazine. 



Boarding Plants. 



Boarding plants is a timely subject 

 to discuss among the retailers, for 

 now is the time every kind, old and 

 young lady, will send round or carry 

 her plant to you and ask you to keep 

 it for her till she returns from Eu- 

 rope or the country home. This is a 

 puzzling side of our business very few 

 care to have anything to do with, be- 

 cause it is the one side there is the 

 least satisfaction or profit derived 

 from; still we must either take their 

 plants or refuse in a way that will 

 not drive their trade away; in all cases 

 a great deal of diplomacy is required. 



If you sell a person a plant in the 

 autumn it does not necessarily imply 

 that you should care for that plant 

 all the next summer, but if that per- 

 son has been or may be a good custo- 

 mer, it is to your interest to con- 

 sider very carefully what you do. 

 Many florists positively refuse to board 

 plants, except for a few special custo- 

 mers, and they seem to get along bet- 

 ter than those who want to grab all 

 and lose much. There are many occa- 

 sions upon which the average retailer 

 could assert himself, his dignity and 

 independence by refusing to take half 

 dead plants back from customers, but 

 the ghost of his brother florist up the 

 street paralyzes his manliness. Yes, 

 rivalry, with all Its imaginations and 

 deeds, makes us do many a small thing 

 we are blind to ourselves, but which 

 we would be quick to see and de- 

 nounce if done by other professions. 

 That is why we often say, "Oh, yes, 

 certainly," when some lady comes to 

 us with a dead palm with the request 

 that she wants us to make it grow 

 beautiful by fall; if we happen to re- 

 fuse she may say something about your 

 rival, and then, alas, you forget and 

 take it. 



Now, about one of the worst things 



a florist can do is to have old rub- 

 bishy plants about hi-s store, and every 

 grower hates them in his greenhouse; 

 they are a detriment to every part of 

 our business. Of course, there are 

 many good plants we have loaned out 

 and which are still serviceable for 

 decoration; if they have been in a 

 dark house for months they should 

 not be suddeTily put in the full glare 

 of the sun, for that will be fatal to 

 undeveloped leaves; repot and thor- 

 oughly clean them, or better still, send 

 them to your grower if you don't need 

 them for decorations. If you are com- 

 pelled to take plants to board for the 

 summer you can charge 50 cents a 

 month for each plant, or figure out 

 the value of space they may occupy 

 at about one dollar per square ft. for 

 the year; in many cases you can throw 

 the plant away and give your custo- 

 mer a new one for the price it would 

 cost to board it; they need not know 

 you do so and it is generally the best 

 to do when you have no greenhouse. 



Window Boxes, Etc. 



The present warm weather makes 

 many customers anxious to have their 

 window boxes filled, and they all gen- 

 erally want them done at once. Pan- 

 sies, daisies and ivies are the only sate 

 things to put out in the north yet, for 

 we have often had very severe frosts 

 or killing chilly winds up to the 15th 

 or 20th of May. We are still filling 

 boxes and vases with pansies and they 

 are very fine this year. The ivy for 

 hanging vines are put in very thick; 

 it gives a more substantial appearance 

 to the box and they can be left there 

 all summer. When you make up the 

 boxes and vases for summer don't for- 

 get that cannas are very good for the 

 center or background, but there are 

 only a few varieties adapted for this 

 purpose. This is where many retail- 

 ers make the sad mistake of buying 6- 



feet cannas which never bloom; get 

 Pierson's Premier or Queen Charlotte 

 for gold-laced scarlet, Madame Crozy 

 for scarlet, Eldorado for yellow, Tarry- 

 town for cherry red, Charles Hender- 

 son for crimson, Paul Marquant for 

 salmon, Black Beauty or Egandale for 

 red foliage, and John White for varie- 

 gated; of course there are a few other 

 varieties but most of them are tall 

 growers, big-leaved or too dirty-flow- 

 ered tor what we are writing about. 

 Single petunias, Dracaena indivisa, 

 scarlet geraniums, variegated vinca, 

 bright colored coleus. Lobelia gracilis, 

 nasturtiums, hydrangeas and that class 

 of stock is the best to use, but we will 

 refer to this subject again. 



Bay Trees. 



There is an ever increasing demand 

 for Bay trees in this country, and we 

 find that the standard shape is the 

 most popular; though pyramids are 

 best suited to many positions, still the 

 average buyer looks upon the pyramid 

 shaped as merely green bushes and 

 they have not much value in his eye. 

 The tubs these trees are grown in and 

 shipped here are not suited to our hot, 

 dry climate, and it takes a great deal 

 of watering to keep the trees alive 

 if they happen to be in a sunny place. 

 You can overcome this difficulty by 

 putting the tubs into kerose'ne barrels 

 cut to the right depth, and fill the 

 space between the tubs with soil, this 

 will retain the moisture and also 

 keep your trees from blowing over and 

 otherwise enable you to place and 

 grow them on roofs or warm places. 

 When these trees are placed on veran- 

 das or porches, however, where room 

 is very scarce, let them alone in the 

 original tubs but paint these green, the 

 iron hoops black and put a pan under 

 them to hold water. 



Various Plants. 



Large tubs of hydrangeas will be in 

 big demand this summer for country 

 places and seaside resorts, and they 

 certainly make a fine show when filled 

 properly and the tubs nicely painted. 

 The majority of us have to deal in 

 bedding plants more or less. In the 

 New York plant market the growers 

 put 12 assorted verbenas in baskets 

 and sell them for $4 per doz. baskets; 

 these retail for 75 cents to $1 per 

 basket. The growers put the gerani- 

 ums up 12 in a box, mostly assorted 

 colors; they sell them for 75 cents to 

 $1 per box, and they retail for from 

 $2 to ?3 per box. Roses in pots are 

 fine just now, Magnas. Brunners and 

 .lacques; the growers sell for $2.50 to 

 $4.50 per dozen pots; you can get from 

 50 cents to $1.50 each for them. Pan- 

 sies usually come in fiats and they 

 charge 60 to 75 cents a flat for them; 

 you can sell them for 75 cents or $1 

 per dozen. Ivy goes well just now and 

 it's always safe to keep a few; you 

 will pay $2 a dozen for good ones and 

 can double your money on them. 



But let us go back to roses. You 

 know every amateiir asks for monthly 

 roses. Many of you don't know what 



