OCTOBER 18, 1900. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



581 



Arrangement of Orchids and Foliage. 



feet or more, which you can get only 

 by keeping the buds off, before the 

 wood gets hard. This I find is the 

 only secret in growing Liberty. If 

 my advice on this point is strictly fol- 

 lowed I 5o not think anybody need 

 have any fear of Liberty not grow- 

 ing. 



Be careful about your details, such 

 as watering and ventilation. Tliey re- 

 quire about the same temperature as 

 Brides and Maids, but can stand a lit- 

 tle more water. I give mine a night 

 temperature of 58 to 60 degrees with a 

 ten degree increase on bright, sunny 

 days. 



Up to this year they have been al- 

 most black spot proof with me, but 

 the one house I have this year, shows 

 me that they are like most all Hybrid 

 Teas, subject to that dread disease. If 

 attacked, be careful that every spotted 

 leaf is removed and do so at once. As 

 soon as you see a few spots do not wait 

 until your whole plant is infested; then 

 It will be too late to check it. I find 

 by using carbonate of copper dis- 

 solved in ammonia and about one gill 

 to a watering can of water, a preven- 

 tive, but not a cure. It is used by 

 syringing two or three times a week. 



In conclusion I would say, do not 

 look for real good colored Liberties be- 

 fore the weather gets cool. I have 

 never had good blooms before No- 

 vember, and you will get them a good 



deal finer in December, and January, 

 when Liberty is at its best. 



If I have by this been unable to 

 make it clear to your readers how to 

 grow Liberty, I am at all times willing 

 to answer any question upon the sub- 

 ject they may ask, and would ask as a 

 favor of all those who visit New York 

 to come and give me a call to see with 

 their own eyes that Liberty is as 

 represented. My foreman and myself 

 will gladly give all desired information 

 to visitors. E. G. ASMUS. 



West Hoboken, N. J. 



ROSES FOR CUT FLOWERS. 



BV Pl{.\NK J. PiLLMOUK. 



[Bead before the St. Louis Florists' Club, Oct. 11] 



Mr. President and fellow members: 

 As I have been requested to prepare an 

 essay upon the growing of roses for 

 cut flowers, and the best varieties, I 

 have done so to the best of my ability 

 and experience, and though I have 

 succeeded fairly well in growing the 

 "Queen of Flowers" I know there is 

 plenty of room for me to improve. But 

 I will get to my subject. 



The Cuttings. 



I will start with the cutting as this 

 is the foundation of rose growing. I 

 use nothing but the very best of wood 



for this purpose as like begets like 

 and therefore the best is none too good. 

 I usually make the cuttings with one 

 eye although when I have plenty of 

 wood I make them larger, leaving from 

 two to four leaves attached. 



The propagating bed having been 

 previously prepared by having a good 

 coat of hot whitewash and about 3 

 inches of sharp, clean sand placed 

 upon it and firmly pressed and thor- 

 oughly watered, the cuttings are in- 

 serted to the depth of about an inch 

 and about 1 inch apart and 2i/^ inches 

 between the rows, the sand being firm- 

 ly pressed beside the cuttings as each 

 row is finished. They are then thor- 

 oughly watered. I usually sprinkle 

 them each morning, and in case of 

 hard firing and continued bright 

 weather they need watering almost 

 every day. They are shaded from 

 bright sunshine with newspapers until 

 they begin to root. I then shade only 

 for a couple of hours when the sun is 

 bright. The temperature of the bed 

 should be about 60 degrees and the top 

 heat about 10 degrees less, with a 

 range of 5 degrees. I usually ventilate 

 a little each day in favorable weather. 

 As to time for propagating, if you 

 want good, strong plants New Years is 

 late enough. 



PotUng. 



In about four weeks or a little less 

 they will be ready for potting. It is 

 much better to handle them when the 

 roots are one inch long than when 

 they are two inches or more. Even 

 if only half an inch long they are all 

 right as they can be potted more quick- 

 ly and there is less liability of break- 

 ing the tender roots. I consider this 

 potting one of the most important 

 parts of rose growing. If it is not care- 

 fully done the loss will be quite seri- 

 ous. A careless man should never be 

 intrusted with it. I have always done 

 this work myself and as a rule the av- 

 erage loss of cuttings is only about 5 

 per cent. They are potted in 2-inch 

 pots, firmly but gently, in soil com- 

 posed of three-fourths rotten sod and 

 one-fourth well rotted manure, with 

 a little sand added. Run through a 

 sieve with a half-inch mesh: this fa- 

 cilitates potting and is better for the 

 young roots than if too rough. 



The little plants are then set away 

 in about the same temperature as be- 

 fore and treated the same as regards 

 watering and shading. In about ten 

 days the shading can be discontinued 

 and plenty of air given. In about six 

 weeks after potting all the strongest 

 plants are selected and repotted into 

 3-inch pots, using about the same soil 

 as before, running it this time through 

 a coarse screen. And if planting has 

 to be done as late as the 20th of June 

 and later the strongest will need a 

 shift into 4-inch pots. They are never 

 shaded from the time they are estab- 

 lished in 2-inch pots. They are given 

 plenty of water and are well syringed 



