614 



The Weekly Florists* Review. 



OCTOBER 23, 1900. 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Frost held ofl' in most of our northern 

 states till the middle of Octoher, giving 

 you every chance to get in cuttings from 

 outside and lift all tender plants. 



Geraniums. 



Geraniums that were potted as cut- 

 tings in September will now be all rooted 

 and nothing benefits them more than a 

 stand over on the bench. A small per- 

 centage is sure to be lost, and many of 

 the larger leaves will be decayed. A 

 move over and cleaning, and, above all, 

 a little stirring of the surface, will help 

 them wonderfully, and from that on you 

 will have a thrifty little plant. 



In the two weeks' trip I have just 

 taken I have noticed a good many 

 methods I entirely, approve of, and a 

 few that were very ungardener-like. 

 Among the latter was thousands of Zonal 

 geranium cuttings put into the sand so 

 thickly that they would draw up thin 

 and spindling and scarcely ever make 

 a good bedding plant. If you don't start 

 right you can't ever make a good plant. 



Azaleas. 



Azaleas have largely arrived, and 

 what I have seen are in excellent shape. 

 I trust you did not forget to soak the 

 ball a few moments in a tub of water. 

 This applies not only to azaleas, but to 

 all plants that have crossed the ocean. 



Azaleas would do finely in a cold- 

 frame, with shade from bright sun for a 

 few days after their arrival. A cool 

 house is just as good, but till mums are 

 cut we are very crowded. 



Rhododendrons will do finely in a 

 deep cold-frame or pit and a little frost 

 does them no harm. The same with the 

 Azalea mollis and deutzia, which must 

 be kept cool till time to force. 



The Azaleas we have summered over 

 are decidedly better than those just im- 

 ported, better budded and always force 

 better. Varieties like Deutsche Perle 

 and Simon Mardner, that are wanted for 

 Christmas, need not go into the very 

 cool house with the Easter lot, but can 

 have a night temperature of 50 degrees 

 when firing really begins. Temperature 

 just now is the most unstable article, 

 and ranges during the week anj'where 

 from freezing to 80 degrees in the shade. 



Hybrid Roses. 



Hybrid roses are no longer foiced in 

 any large quantities, because American 

 Beauty has knocked them out. Still, 

 Brunners and others are grown for Eas- 

 ter. If they have been grown in pots or 

 boxes during summer and have made a 

 good' growth they need now proper hand- 

 ling. Most likely you had them plunged. 

 Now they should be removed from that 

 and stood where they will dry out quick- 



ly after heavy rains. Don't dry them 

 off suddenly. Give water occasionally 

 till we get a good sharp frost; then they 

 will quickly lose their leaves and can 

 be laid on their sides in a frame with 

 some leaves among the pots, where they 

 need no covering till severe weather 

 comes, and then boards are better than- 

 glass. 



Koses that are established as summer 

 grown stock is, will not hurt from se- 

 vere freezing, but don't make that mis- 

 take with roses that have been lifted 

 from the ground and potted in Novem- 

 ber. Last year we had a fine lot of 

 American Beauties in 6-inch pots that 

 had been lifted from a bench end of 

 October. They were looking fine, with 

 wood and eyes plump till New Year's, 

 or just before time to bring them in to 

 force, or rather start, when by careless- 

 ness they got nearly a zero night, and 

 that settled two-thirds of them. No 

 fall lifted rose wants to be subjected to 

 such hard freezing. 



Crimson Rambler. 



I may as well say at the start that 

 the Yellow Rambler is n^o earthly use. 

 and after growing 50 fine plants we found 

 it' out. It is a trumpery fraud. I have 

 several times asserted that dormant 

 plants cut back and carefully started in 

 the spring and grown all summer in pots 

 were the most satisfactory, and if you 

 have any such plants with good canes 

 they should be gradually dried off. or 

 rather ripened, and if started going about 

 New Year's they will force with the 

 greatest ease, be sure to flower profusely 

 and are easily managed. It's true they 

 have cost some labor, but the results will 

 warrant it. 



Now, after saying this I am going to 

 admit that there is another method of 

 forcing the Crimson Rambler. When 

 four or five of the most successful grow- 

 ers in the country pursue with great 

 success a differerrt plaii it is time to fall 

 in with them. Strong field grown plants 

 with well ripened canes," lifted about the 

 second week of November, will make 

 with good management splendid speci- 

 mens for next Easter. The most critical 

 time is the first ten days after lifting. 

 If lifted in a n-ursery, and carelessly 

 handled, s'hipped by freight some dis- 

 tance, and then you allow them to lay 

 around another week, they w-ould be 

 about useless. If bought have them 

 lifted and shipped by express to you as 

 quickly as possible. Do no cutting or 

 trimming, but pot firmly as soon as you 

 can and after one good soaking keep 

 them syringed three or four times a day. 

 The place to stand them is a cool, close, 

 shady house or shed. After ten days the 

 .syriiiging can be dispensed with and 



more light given them and the coolest 

 house you have; a little frost will not 

 hurt, but will not do any good. 



Nothing like forcing must be done till 

 end of December, and then it must be a 

 gradual increase. On this point I will 

 say that from the day you begin to 

 start them growing till blooming time 

 take at least twelve weeks. Now, the 

 tine plants that some see and others read 

 about that are 7 feet high and 4 feet 

 through and sell for .$25 each, are grown 

 from November lifted plants, so the 

 method is all right, only be very careful 

 for the first two weeks after lifting. 



Hydrangeas. 



Hydrangeas are an important Easter 

 ])lant. For this purpose they are usu- 

 ally grown in pots during summer. 

 Don't be afraid of a few degrees of frost. 

 It ripens the wood and fits them for 

 forcing, but the bud must not be injured. 

 When they must come in a few days 

 under a light bench does not hurt them. 

 For plants that are wanted later a 

 greenhouse that is kept at 50 or even 

 45 degrees at night is too warm; they 

 get started, an'd then must be grown on. 

 A deep frame where very little, if any, 

 frost penetrates is a much better place 

 for them. 



Hydrangeas in tubs, and even planted 

 out, are a great ornament in some of the 

 larger cities where the climate will al- 

 low. Those planted out at Newport, 

 and which make such a magnificent sight, 

 are. I believe, laid down and covered 

 during winter with earth and litter. 

 Those in tubs must be kept in a cool 

 cellar and put out of doors after danger 

 of hard freezing. 



You cannot give a Hydrangea Otaksa 

 a day in the greenhouse and expect it to 

 be at all satisfactory for summer use. 

 A cellar will do, but I saw at F. E. 

 Pierson : Co.'s fine Scarlxirough place a 

 plan that I liked very much. A pit was 

 dug at least four feet deep in the ground 

 and about six feet wide, and any length 

 you like. The large tubs of Hydrangeas 

 were being jflaced in that and later this 

 pit would be covered wim boards. No 

 frost to hurt these plants would get at 

 tlirm, and it is altogether better than a 

 cellar. 



I have mentioned these large Hydran- 

 geas because I feel sure there is a grow- 

 ing taste for them and they are going 

 to be an important item with us. 



WiixiAii Scott. 



THE FINLEY LAWN RAKE. 



We recently had an opportunity to see 

 this rotary lawn rake in operation and 

 to operate it personally, and must con- 

 fess we were surprised to see how effect- 

 ive its work was. Following the lawn 

 mower it picked up the grass clippings 

 as cl'ean as a whistle. We hardly expect- 

 ed to see so much better work than a 

 hand rake would do, and discovered that 

 this was evidently due to the broad bands 

 of metal in which the teeth are set and 

 which act in the same way as a fanning 

 mill, with th'e result that blades of grass 



