JULY 26, 1900. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



227 



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THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



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Flowers in Season. 



Let us go to the market and see 

 what there is to be got for the dif- 

 ferent classes of work we get this 

 time of the year. And before we start 

 let us remember that there are many- 

 lovely flowers we will not see on the 

 market because they are too delicate 

 or scarce, and for them we will have 

 to visit the commercial "cranks" or 

 the private gardens. There may be 

 very little demand for flowers in the 

 great cities just now, but it is ex- 

 tremely difficult to procure a good 

 quality in almost any flower, and it 

 is often the case that we have more 

 trouble with the few orders now than 

 the many at other seasons. 



There is such a vast difference in 

 the climate of almost every state of 

 our Union, that from a floral point of 

 view we might consider the most of 

 them as being far away over seas. A 

 flower may be in season in one State, 

 long past or yet to come in another, 

 and it is difl5cu!t to keep track cf 

 the average time of flowering. The 

 New York market we feel sure is suf- 

 ficient to generalize on. 



Roses, 



At the present time good roses are 

 the most asked for. There are no out- 

 door roses here at present, but quite 

 a few growers find it expedient to 

 grow their Bridesmaids and Brides for 

 the second year, and they are usually 

 what the market depends on during 

 June and July. The first crops of th's 

 year's planting are now coming in and 

 some of them are fairly good. Amer- 

 ican Beauty is the finest. The top 

 grade retails at $6.00 per dozen; short- 

 er stemmed Beauties can be had at 

 low prices, and they can be made to 

 look just as good as the long for large 

 bunches or baskets by wiring them 

 onto outdoor grown rose stems, which 

 are easily procured in every section. 



Perles are being discarded, and it's 

 a pity, for it is a beautiful rose. Last 

 week there was quite a hunt after 

 Perles and about 10 per cent of the 

 number wanted was found. They 

 were intended for basket work for a 

 golden wedding. It was amusing to 

 note how many colors were squeezed 

 into some of the designs; they ranged 

 through all the tones and effects from 

 sulphur to darkest orange. Yellow 

 and orange ribbons were used, where 

 it was an easy matter to get and more 

 appropriate to use gold tinsel gauze 

 or ribbon. 



Kaiserins will continue for some 



time to be the best white rose. The 

 finest of them retail for $3.00 to $4.00 

 per dozen; other grades all the way 

 down to .50 cents. As hinted at with 

 American Beauties, fine funeral 

 bunches can be made with short stem- 

 med white roses by using plenty of 

 outdoor rose stems. 



Rose Arrangements. 



Y'ou can do something beautiful and 

 new this way: Get some long, clean 

 branches of Rosa Wichuraiana or any 

 of the fine foliaged climbers, spread 

 them out in sheet fashion, have all 

 ends meet in center, secure them by 

 bands of white ribbon, tie in double 

 short bow, get short stemmed white 

 roses, put them on No. 23 wire and 

 attach them to the branches, have the 

 roses face up and fix them as if grow- 

 ing. No foreign or clumsy foliage 

 should be seen. You can bend the 

 branches, or weight them with green 

 covered tinfoil balls attached beneath 

 the end of stems. If you do this right 

 you can make it a beautiful pall or 

 cover for casket. It does away with 

 the heavy, clumsy wire frame, and it 

 will appeal to the people because it is 

 a sheet of roses and appears more nat- 

 ural. You need not entirely cover the 

 casket. Have it rich and simple and 

 at different lengths at the sides. You 

 can frame the head piece with them 

 in like manner, permitting a short 

 spray or two to hang inside whilst 

 open. 



This manner of arranging roses is 

 the method of the future. Many will 

 say it is not new, but nevertheless it 

 is new when done properly, without 

 adjuncts, and even in the matter of 

 Hat bunches, or wreaths, or for that 

 matter any class of design, you can 

 make finer work by using plenty of 

 Wichuraiana sprays. They can be got 

 almost anywhere, and keep in water 

 for a considerable time; try them. 



Other Roses. 



Good pink roses are hard to g?t. 

 Once in a while you may chance on a 

 few Testouts or La France and can 

 get $3.00 per dozen for them. Brides- 

 maids are poor and pale; the best sell 

 at from $1.00 to $2.00. Meteors are 

 coming in fairly good. Where you are 

 asked for advice on a box of roses it 

 is safest to suggest Beauties, Kaiser- 

 ins and Meteors, or even the two lat- 

 ter, which go well together. 



It's a pity Golden Gate lacks foliage; 

 it will never be popular east on that 

 account. The most of what we have 



seen in New York give the impression 

 of a bunch of petals on a long stick. 

 It is a very beautiful rose for work 

 where you can fix it up with other 

 foliage; it makes a handsome bouquet 

 or wreath and would be a very popular 

 rose if it had more clothes. This is 

 the one case in art where the nude is 

 a detriment. It has had quite a run 

 in some sections among government 

 office holders or sympathizers because 

 it is called McKinley's favorite. Very 

 few of them are grown for New \''ork, 

 and they are scarcely seen at pres- 

 ent. 



There are a few good Carnots com- 

 ing in once or twice a week and are 

 quickly bought up. Liberty is appear- 

 ing, but as yet is not of great im- 

 portance. There has been considerable 

 of this variety planted in all sections 

 of the country and it is sure to bs 

 very popular the coming winter, and 

 good prices will be got for them. We 

 would like to see the Lady Dorothea 

 rose grown more than it is, and feel 

 sure it would be a winner. 



Other Flowers. 



I would not advise anyone to bother 

 just now about white orchids, for there 

 would be trouble in getting them. Or- 

 ange blossoms may be got in limited 

 quantity and you may have to buy 

 the plant right out. It doesn't pay to 

 grow orange blossoms for cutting; the 

 trees when fruited bring more. If you 

 have a call for a flower like this it 

 is worth from 50 cents to $1.00 a 

 spray; it may cost you more than that 

 to get it. 



Stephanotis can be got in a few of 

 the old private greenhouses and that, 

 too, should retail at from 25 to 50 

 cents a cluster. It is the finest flower 

 you could get now for bridal bouquets 

 or sprays. Rhynchospermum jas- 

 minoides or Jasminum grandiflorum 

 can be had from some of the old 

 places, and they retail at $1.00 per 

 dozen. Liberty or Meteor and the lat- 

 ter go well together. There is a lim- 

 ited supply of gardenias, and it is the 

 swellest boutonniere you can make in 

 many cases; you must charge 50 or 75 

 cents each for them. 



Valley ^can nearly always be had and 

 it is choice at all times, and appro- 

 priate for any occasion; you may buy 

 it cheap betimes, but it is foolish to 

 sell it for less than $1.00 or $1.50 per 

 bunch. When good stock is scarce 

 good prices should prevail. We be- 

 lieve in the policy of having two qual- 

 ities; let your customers choose. 



By far the choicest flower at pres- 

 ent on the market is Cattleya Gigas. 

 They should bring at least $12.00 or 

 $15.00 per dozen; second grades, or 

 Gaskellianas or Mossiaes. a few of 

 which are seen, can be sold for less. 

 The greatest care should be taken not 

 to mix cheap flowers with cattleyas; 

 nothing but the finest of valley or 

 roses should be put near them. Their 

 beauty is of a more refined type than 

 that of all other flowers and the peo- 



