68 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



JUNE 14, 1900. 



school should not be made more mem- 

 orable than they are. 



The educational authorities shou'd 

 be seen and forcibly impressed with 

 the importance of a floral display. In 

 the rural schools the children should 

 be encouraged to gather their own mi- 

 terials, and in the cities the florists 

 should meet the departments of edu- 

 cation with generous and feasible 

 propositions. It doesn't matter if it 

 were only bunches of wild da's'.es 

 given to the children on school c"os- 

 ing day, it would show them the im- 

 portance and influence of floweis 

 which would be beneficial all through 

 life. School commissioners who are 

 also florists (and we know many such) 

 should advocate a greater use of flow- 

 ers at school; they need not appear 

 mercenary in doing so. Much of the 

 trouble with florists is that they have 

 no use for small things which require 

 any expenditure of patience. Most of 

 them would prefer to throw a dozen 

 roses in a box and get a big price for 

 them, depending on the flashiness of 

 the box as a partial excuse for the 

 high price. They prefer not to ar- 

 range the flowers because — well, be- 

 cause it's tiresome (that's the most 

 charitable term); that's the element 

 which reduces the flower business to 

 a common, ordinary trade, whereas, in 

 fact, it is an art demanding the high- 

 est in a profession. 



Floriculture is fast reaching a point 



where it will be necessary to pay more 

 attention to detail, every possible out- 

 let will need to be watched and taken 

 advantage of. There are many ways 

 in whicli florists could induce moie 

 trade — a greater use of flowers, but 

 the immediate recompense stops them 

 from attempting to push trade. In 

 the flower business it is impossible to 

 measure possibilities. The flower un- 

 thinkingly given a child or stranger 

 may bring you many good returns 

 which you may not nttribute to the 

 real source. Flowers are a perishable 

 but all-powerful coin of exchange be- 

 tween hearts and memories. Be gen- 

 erous in your dealings with schoo s, 

 for remember you are not treating 

 with one person, you are creating a 

 lasting impression, good or bad, with 

 several hundreds. 



For graduating exercises baskets of 

 flowers were once the most popular 

 form of presentation offering. They 

 will in many cases, particularly with 

 short-stemmed stock, be in use this 

 year. But the most desirable and pret- 

 tiest forms will be large, loose bunch- 

 es, either with or without ribbon. 

 Where ribbon is used the date and 

 school title should be painted on th? 

 end. because girls like to preserve 

 such souvenirs. Outdoor flowers, espe- 

 cially roses, are the most appropriat'. 

 and just a cluster of forget-me-nots 

 in some prominent place will talk for 

 itself many days to come. IVERA. 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Azaleas. 



■We find much to keep us busy as 

 soon as the rush is over and many 

 things to do at once without delay. 

 Our azaleas that were shortened back 

 after Easter or before have made a 

 good growth and should now go out- 

 side. We had such excellent results 

 with similar plants last year that any 

 deviation from it would be foolish. We 

 plunged them in frames where water 

 would not stand in wet weather and 

 the plunging material was well up to 

 the rim of the pot. And what is par- 

 ticular, they were in the broad sun. 



A good soaking every evening will 

 do them, except perhaps in hot spells 

 in July and August. When you water 

 don't forget to give the foliage a good, 

 hard syringing; it keeps down spider, 

 thrips and mealy bug. About the 

 middle of July we put an inch of 

 mulch on the surface of the pots, 

 which was half-decayed cow manure 

 and half sheep manure, and to this 

 mulch I attribute a good part of the 

 vigor and health of the plants last 

 fall. 



I just want to say here that some 

 large growers of azaleas now import 

 their plants in the spring. These they 

 do not let flower, but pinch off the 

 flower buds. Neither do they trim 

 back the growth so hard as we do on 

 those we have flowered; they merely 

 pinch the stronger growth. "This plan 

 has much to commend it, for the 

 plants get well established during 

 summer, force better and are more 

 satisfactory to the customer than the 

 newly imported plants. 



Acacias and Metrosideros. 

 The acacias and metrosideros that 

 you cut back this spring want precise- 

 ly the same treatment as the azaleas. 

 I must confess that the growing of 

 these is discouraging, for however 

 well they are grown and flowered 

 their sale is slow, and although it is 

 nice to have a few dozen if they were 

 absent they "never would be missed." 



Hydrangeas. 



Hydrangeas that are intended for 

 next Easter should have been already 

 shifted and plunged, but perhaps you 



have not had time and we have done 

 it as late as this with success. Give 

 them a 6-inch pot, rich, heavy soil 

 and the broad sun. plenty of water 

 and plenty of space that the sun and 

 air can get among them. There has 

 been a good demand this spring for 

 hydrangeas ,for summer decoration. 

 Forced plants, even if they are not in 

 bloom till the end of May, are useless 

 for this purpose. They look very 

 handsome in large pots or tubs when 

 first sold, but the sun i»nd wind soon 

 spoil their tender flowers and then 

 they look like a hen that has taken a 

 bath. 



Unsold plants this spring which are 

 in 7 or S-inch pots can be cut down 

 low and plunged in a frame and will 

 make a good growth during summer. 

 These, if taken care of, will make fine 

 plants for next summer's work. The 

 difficulty is where to winter them. If 

 kept in the ccolest greenhouse they 

 will get tco much of a start in spring. 

 A cool, light liasement or cellar is the 

 place and they shouM not be allowed 

 to start till you can stand them out of 

 doors to come along naturally as do 

 the hardy shrubs. Then they are not 

 in full flower till July and are really 

 decorative plants, for they last a long 

 while. 



Primroses. 



If you have not already sown prim- 

 ula do so without delay and don't for- 

 get that P. obconica is most useful 

 and P. Forbesii sells well and is a fa- 

 vorite with all. I prefer to keep the 

 Chinese primroses in the greenhouse, 

 but obconica and Forbesii do very 

 well plunged in ashes out of doors. 

 They make strong. rol)Ust plants wh n 

 they have had the full sun and light 

 iluring July, August and September. 



Palms. 



Large palm growers pot up their 

 stock during May and June. If you 

 have any young kentias, arecas or 

 latanias, shift them as toon as p ssi- 

 ble. Don't over pot them, and be sure, 

 especially in the case of kentias, that 

 you don't put them too low in the soil. 

 Pot flrmly and let the soil be pretty 

 well to the top of pot, for they need so 

 much syringing that it too much space 

 is left for water they are very apt to 

 get an overdose. A good loam with a 

 fifth of rotted manure will do but In 

 addition to the ordinary manure add a 

 twentieth of sifted sheep manure. 



If the young kentias are large 

 enough to sell to your retail trade the 

 coming fall then they should have 

 space to spread and arch their leaves, 

 which makes them so attractive; but 

 if in 4-iach or less, they can be stood 

 quite close together without harm. 



Chrysanthemums. 

 Planting chrysanthemums will be a 

 very important part of the work for 

 the next two weeks. The planting is 

 an easy gentleman's job, but hauling 

 in the soil for the benches is not 

 quite fun. Wherever you put them 



