The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



JUNE 2. 1898. 



making up funeral arrangements. His 

 earliest flowers come from Lilium 

 Harrisii, and now he has several 

 batches of longiflorum coming into 

 bloom. He expects to cut longiflorum 

 up to July. He notes an increasing call 

 for azaleas at Easter. He also sold 

 quite a number of hydrangeas, but for 

 some reason he has been unable to 

 grow them satisfactorily at iiis place.- 

 Pot roses are quite a feature with 

 him for Easter sales. The varieties 

 grown are: American Beauty, Souv. 

 de Wootton and Clothllde Soupert. He 

 considers .Wootton one of tiie very 

 best for the purpose. He will try Me- 

 teor as an Easter plant next year. 

 With the exception of Clothilde Soup- 

 ert he depends for his plants for East- 

 er sales upon those that were forced 

 for flowers the previous winter. These 

 are allowed to ripen up fairly well in 

 the rose forcing houses, then lifted 

 and potted and carried through the 

 summer In frames as nearly dormant 

 as possible. About the latter part of 

 November or early December, accord- 

 ing to the season, the frames are cov- 

 ered with shutters. Ten or twelve 

 weeks before Easter the plants are 

 brought into a cold greenhouse and 

 brought on slowly, adjusting the tem- 

 perature and conditions so as to bring 

 them in for Easter sales. 



THE LARGE-FLOWERED LILY OF 

 THE VALLEY. 



Convallaria majalis grandiflora, or 

 Fortin's large-flowered lily-of-the-val- 

 ley, is a plant with a certain future. 

 As a proof, I send you with this a box 

 containing forced plants of this fine 

 variety; also a photograph of a bas- 

 ket showing the plant in a forced con- 

 dition in winter, and side by side with 

 a pot of a good but old variety of 

 forced lily-of-the-valley, such as is 

 grown in and exported from Germany. 

 In this photo, the vigor and habit of 

 Convallaria Fortini are seen to be far 

 superior in all ways to the variety of 

 lily forced hitherto, and that it is only 

 a question of time before Fortin's va- 

 riety supersedes the older kinds. 



Fortin's variety, when forced, grows 

 from 11 to 12 inches high, and the ra- 

 cemes bear from fifteen to eighteen 

 flowers each. The plant possesses this 

 great advantage, that it bears simul- 

 taneously with the flower's fine leaves, 

 while with the older variety these are 

 formed later. As will be seen by the 

 specimens sent, the flower stems are 

 strong and firm, and remain so when 

 the variety is forced, though they may 

 be a foot high. This is an excellent 

 quality in a market plant. This Fortin 

 variety Is easily distinguishable from 

 the older sorts of forcing lilies. The 

 foliage is a different tint; it is a blu- 

 ish, glaucous green. (The inflores- 

 cence is erect, giving off flowers on all 

 sides (not drooping and secund as in 

 the common form), and larger. — Ed.) 



I do not know how Fortin's lily-of- 

 the-valley would force for Christmas 

 and the New Year, or rather, my ex- 

 periments in that direction have so 



far failed; but for use In January and 

 February, Fortin's variety is superior 

 to the other. The flowers are as large 

 as those of Clethra arborea. — Otto 

 Froebel, Zurich, in Gardeners' Chron- 

 icle. 



SPRING POT PLANTS. 



Mr. Sam Pearce, Chicago, does a 

 large business in the growing of 

 spring pot plants to be sold at whole- 

 sale. After the houses are cleared of 

 Easter plants the majority of them 

 are devoted to spring stuff and these 

 are supplemented by a lot of hot beds 

 and frames. This is the selling sea- 

 son, and we found Mr. Pearce in a 

 rush, but he made time to answer a 

 few inquiries. 



In geraniums the great bulk of his 

 stock is the Bruantii. This ne places 

 at the head as a market pot plant. He 

 also grows in lesser quantities Mrs. E. 

 G. Hill, La Favorite and S. A. Nutt. 

 He has had no trouble from Bruantii 

 coming blind, and finds that all gera- 

 niums do best in a comparatively light 

 soil that is not too rich. 



In fuchsias he grows only two sorts 

 — the old speciosa and Black Prince. 

 He has a few of other varieties, but 99 

 per cent, of his stock consisits of the 

 two noted. In his experience they beat 

 everything else as market plants, com- 

 ing into bloom earliest and being gen- 

 erally most profitable. 



In pot roses his stock consists al- 

 most entirely of Clothilde Soupert and 

 Hermosa. He has tried the Pink Soup- 

 ert, but prefers the old Hermosa to it. 

 The Hermosa is yet to be beaten as a 

 market plant, as it comes into good 

 bloom at selling time and seems to al- 

 ways appeal to the buyer. He grows 

 a lot of these for Easter, and if he 

 does not get them in good bloom for 

 sales at that time he cuts them back 

 and can surely have them in shape for 

 Decoration Day, thus getting two 

 chances for good sales. 



He has several houses full of single- 

 flowered petunias and finds they take 

 the people's fancy for a cheap, showy 

 plant for beds and vases. He is trying 

 a set of Dreer's doubles and thinks 

 they will take as pot plants. 



The ivy leaved geraniums find a bet- 

 ter sale each year. He is growing 

 5,000 plants this season. The varie- 

 ties he grows are Chas. Turner, red; 

 Alice Crozy, dark red, and a light 

 pink one, the name of which he can- 

 not recall. He has sold an immense 

 number of pansies this season at an 

 average of only $2.00 per 100, and be- 

 lieves there is a profit in them even at 

 that figure when handled in quantity. 

 He has great quantities of verbenas 

 ready. Of Salvia splendens he finds 

 market for a moderate quantity only 

 and grows only the one variety. The 

 same may be said of heliotrope. 



For the best grade of plants in 4- 

 inch pots the average wholesale price 

 is $S.00 per 100, and for the second 

 grade $6.00 per 100. 



He graws great numbers of coleus. 

 generally the Verschaffeltii. Harlequin 

 and South Park Gem (yellow). Bego- 

 nia Vernon goes very well *n moderate 

 quantities for bedding. 



Easter Stock. 



He makes quite a specialty of plants 

 for Easter. He notes an increasing call 

 for azaleas. Fully one-half of his stock 

 is Mme. Van der Cruyssen. Other sorts 

 are Vervaeneana and Empress of IndiH 

 and Deutsche Perle for early white 

 and Bernhard Andreas alba for late. 

 Fully half of his Harrisii were dis- 

 eased this last season, and he intends 

 to try Japan longiflorum uext time. 

 For Easter pot roses he grov>-s Ameri- 

 can Beauties that he propagates him- 

 self, and Magna Charta and Gen. 



