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The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



SEPTEMBER S, 1S9S. 



Alsace is here really a very pale yel- 

 low instead of white and is conside-red 

 of no value as a bedder. though a few 

 plants are retained as a curiosity. 



Mme. Alphonse Bouvier doesn't pro- 

 pagate well and the foliage has a 

 sickly appearance. 



Italia. Austria and Burbank havo 

 pretty flowers, liut have no value as 

 bedders here. 



Standard Bedders. 



Following is the list of varieties Mr. 

 Stromback will u.se in his main bed- 

 ding next year; the height of each be- 

 ing given: 



Egandale, 5 feet. 



Chicago, 6 feet. 



Charles Henderson, 4 feet. 



Stella Kansit, 6 feet. 



Brilliant, 6 feet. 



Peley No. 1, 3 feet. 



Flamingo, 3 feet. 



Florence Vau_ghan, 6 feet. 



J. D. Cabos, 6 feet. 



Philadelphia, 5 feet. 



Triumph, 3 feet. 



P. .1. Berckmans, 6 feet. 



Souv. d'Antoine Orozy. SVi; to 4 feet. 



Propagation. 



After the first good frost in the fall, 

 strong enough to singe the foliage, 

 Mr. Stromback takes a sickle and cuts 

 off the stalks of the cannas about a 

 foot above the ground. The roots are 

 then lifted and as the soil is light, but 

 very little soil ha.s to be shaken oft. 

 The roots are then placed under the 

 benches of greenhouses where a tem- 

 perature of 55 to 60 degrees is main- 

 tained. Care is taken to keep them 

 awa.v from the heating pipes so thsy 

 won't dry out too fast. And in water- 

 ing none is allowed to be thrown 

 under the bench. Of course there is 

 some slight drip from the benches, but 

 not enough to start the roo'ts. The 

 naturally moist atmosphere of a 

 greenhouse is about right to keep the 

 roots from shrivelling and still not 

 moist enough to start them. The 

 roots are looked ovei' once in a while 

 and it there appears to be any danger 

 of losing the stock the roots are start- 

 ed up to save them. 



The latter part of January the roots 

 are taken out, cleaned of dead roots 

 and decayed stalks and the large 

 clumps divided, but having each pan 

 large enough to supply three to four 

 growing points to a 5-inch pot. A 

 bench is covered with a few inches of 

 soil, the roots laid on it close together 

 and covered with a little of the same 

 soil. If convenient a little mild bot- 

 tom heat is given which will start 

 them quicker, but care is taken not to 

 overdo the heat. They are watered 

 sparingly till they show signs of 

 growth, and when the shoots are 3 or 

 4 inches high they are taken out. divi- 

 ded further, if necessary, to suit size 

 of pots, and patted in 5, fi or 7-inch 

 pots as needed. They are set back on 

 the same bench and a little bottom 

 heat given, say 55 to 60 degrees, and 

 here they are kept till planting out 

 time. .Abundant ventilation i.= given 



as weather allows and the plants sy- 

 ringed on sunny days. 



By keeping them in this low tem- 

 perature he gets solid, stocky plants 

 'that will suffer no check when bedded 

 out and by starting them thus early 

 he gets a good show of bloom on his 

 beds early in the season. Unless 

 Charles Henderson is thus treated it 

 will be August before it begins to 

 bloom outside here. 



If greenhouse room is not available, 

 the plants can be started in a frame, 

 placing out the latter part of February 

 or early in March. 



THE RETAIL FLORIST. 



The Canna as a Decorative Flower. 



It is safe to say that with no other 

 class of flowers can the same effects 

 be produced as with cannas. They are 

 simply magnificent: It is hard to un- 

 derstand why they are not more gener- 

 ally used. It may be argued that they 

 are hard to ship and are unfit to p'.ace 

 on the market as a rival to the flowers 

 that stand rough handling. Whatever 

 may be said against cannas in this 

 sense does not lessen their great value 

 to the floral artist as material for re- 

 fined work, for many of the more deli- 

 cate class of flowers are all the more 

 valuable because they are delicate. 



But cannas are not. rightly speak- 

 ing, delicate: they will travel well and 

 last long if cut at the right time, which 

 is in the early morning when the dew 

 is upon them. They should be packed 

 in separate layers and on their own 

 wet leaves. They should never be 

 (hrown into a box like a bundle of 

 sticks. Spend a few minutes in pack- 

 ing what has taken you months to 

 grow; don't pack them in layers un- 

 less you nail slats between. Cannas 

 packed tightly in layers on nice damp 

 leaves will travel a long distance and 

 be a pleasure to look at. We are apt 

 to turn our nose up at many kinds of 

 flowers because they are plentiful, but 

 we all know that our customers are 

 all the time demanding a change in 

 decorations. Cannas are just the thing 

 at present. We can use them for a fu- 

 neral design or to foi-m a wedding ar- 

 bor; they are adaptable to any form 

 of decoration, and nine out of ten cus- 

 tomers will be compelled to admire 

 their beauty if arranged properly. 



There are very few flowers that will 

 make the same effect in a funeral ar- 

 rangement as a well made wreath of 

 the canna Alsace or Alba Grandiflora, 

 Prepare your wreath with wet green 

 moss and green up with asparagus or 

 small ferns, use your canna spikes 

 short, sticking the ends into the wet 

 moss, make your wreath good and full 

 and arrange the flowers to meet in a 

 point as you would a laurel wreath, 

 and tie with a bow of wide white rib- 

 bon at opposite side. This makes a 

 grand wreath: it will be necessary to 

 wire some of your spikes and use 

 sticks, and if you use a few sprays of 

 tamarix flowers where your bow is 

 tied, it will enhance the effect. 



As for cannas in table decoration. 



there is no need to be at a loss for 

 color, for there is the rainbow to 

 choose from, and you can arrange the 

 flowers in many ways. Other foliage 

 will have to be used, for canna leaves 

 are too large and clumsy to use in dec- 

 oration. Of course, whatever form or 

 design you may adopt it is best to 

 have your cannas in water, and this 

 can easily be done by the use of small 

 bottles. If you want to use a large, flat 

 basket, green your basket with small 

 adiantums and stick your bottles of 

 water in the moss, arrange your canna 

 spikes in the bottles and avoid a for- 

 mal arrangement by having some of 

 the spikes a little shorter; be sure the 

 cannas round off the edge of the bas- 

 ket, and have a spike or two rest on 

 the cloth; use flowers of only one 

 color and have the same color lamp 

 shades. Don't have the flowers touch 

 each other: let the ferns show between 

 as they heighten the color effect. Al- 

 ways remember that a small person 

 should be able when sitting down to 

 see clearly over your flowers when a 

 large table is used; with a small table 

 it is not necessary, as people can see 

 each other from the sides. 



Cannas look splendid when arranged 

 in glass bowls, silver or gold vases, or 

 almost any kind of vase the color of 

 which will harmonize with your 

 flowers: that is all important. If you 

 cannot exactly match your flowers use 

 a neutral color, or cover your vase 

 with greens or crepe paper or pongee 

 silk. It is best to use very light strings 

 of asparagus or long fern fronds for 

 green. 



There are so very many varieties 

 and colors of cannas to .select from, we 

 can only mention a few of the best on 

 account of the substance and size of 

 bloom. For yellow, Eldorado; for scar- 

 let, M. Crozy; crimson, Philadelphia, 

 Flamingo, Chas. Henderson; cardinal, 

 Columbia: orange, Florence Vaughan; 

 French and cream whites, Alsace, 

 Alba grandiflora; salmon shade, Paul 

 Marquant; and many others, includ- 

 ing several shades of pink and apricot. 

 Cannas will also be found useful for 

 mantel and other forms of decoration 

 where imposing brilliancy is desired. 



Orchids. 



Dendrobium formosum is the best 

 white orchid obtainable this week, and 

 it is very beautiful; its rich, golden 

 throat rather enhances its pure white. 

 The flowers being short stemmed, it is 

 necessary to mount them on stiff wire 

 or other stems. They make a lovely 

 hand bouquet, fringed with Adiantum 

 Far'eyense, or the very flnest flat 

 bunch for funeral, using A. Farleyense 

 and light asparagus, with a few long 

 sprays of stephanotis flowers. This 

 bunch should be made to face both 

 ways and tie in the centre with a bow 

 of white ribbon. 



Cypripediums look well when ar- 

 ranged with lily of the valley. Cattle- 

 yas are obtainable and are the richesi 

 gems in the flower market. They can 

 be used for any and every occasion, 

 but should never be arranged with 

 poor or discordant colored flowers; 



