682 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



NOVEMBER 2-1, 1898. 



bright color in a flower sells it, even 

 if it is not going to last more than 3G 

 hours. It "goes," and that is what is. 

 known as "intense Americanism." 



Spiraea. 



I have occasionally heard of small 

 failures in Spiraea Japonica. I like to 

 call it spiraea because I believe it is, 

 and for another reason: When forty 

 years ago I knew this pretty herba- 

 ceous plant, it was little grown in Eu- 

 rope, and in this wild country not at 

 all. Now, from forty years ago it has 

 risen from a choice plant cultivated 

 only by the specialist to be the most 

 common of our Easter plants, in fact 



so cheap that I have heard that some 

 of the Dutch ships take the spiraea 

 for ballast. It is scarcely worth pen- 

 ning any words about it. 



When received, don't keep them in 

 the original packages. Put them in 

 boxes and cover the crowns with an 

 inch or two inches of any material 

 you have at hand; old hot bed or loam 

 or anything that you have will do, and 

 let them get the benefit of the ele- 

 ments, which is natural to them, till 

 you want to pot them and begin to 

 force, which is quite early enough if 

 you begin January 15. 



WM. SCOTT. 



Plants for the home will demand 

 much of our attention this time; our 

 wealthy customers are returning to 

 their city residences and want plants 

 in the house at once. What have we 

 to recommend? Well, the plant busi- 

 ness is a most peculiar one. If we 

 have the good fortune to own a green- 

 house in connection with our store, 

 then we can offer a good stock of a 

 large variety of plants we have picked 

 up at bargains among the growers, but 

 if we haven't the greenhouse, then the 

 plant business is a costly one, for we 

 can only have by us the few varieties 

 that will withstand our dark stores 

 and rough usage; and it requires a 

 large amount of money to buy a stock 

 of plants, particularly those of speci- 

 men quality. Large palms are scarce 

 and the growers are realizing tremen- 

 dous prices for them, consequently we 

 must be careful not to loan such plants 

 unless we are satisfied that we will 

 get a fair return for them. 



First of all, we require a variety of 

 plants, and let us visit the grower 

 and see what he's got. Here's a lot 

 of tall arecas and kentias, they have 

 not much body to them, having been 

 grown closely together; we'll take one 

 or two of each and some smaller 

 plants and will make them up into 

 larger pots, nere's a lot of Boston 

 fern, they are fine, some of them are 

 in pans, others are in pots — we'll buy 

 the ones in pans, for those in pots will 

 not last half so long. The Boston fern 

 loves a pan (surely growers should 



know this). Asparagus Sprengeri 

 makes a lovely hanging basket and we 

 had better take a few for that purpose; 

 some of those Livistona rotundifolias 

 and latanias, a Pandanus Veitchii just 

 for its color, and for the same reason a 

 few dracaenas. Phoenix? Of course 

 we'll take some, for they are strong 

 and hardy. Ficus? Yes, please, we 

 prefer the bush ones, they look more 

 like plants. Ivy? Yes, and don't take 

 those newly potted, for they turn yel- 

 low if allowed to dry, which they are 

 sure to if some of our customers get 

 them. A few hardy ferns will go all 

 right, we might need them, and some 

 Cocos Weaueliana, some miniature 

 kentias and arecas, and don't forget 

 Selaginella Emiliana. 



Now we get our stock to the store 

 and having arranged them to show 

 their best qualities, prepare for our 

 customers, who consist of all manner 

 and varieties of human nature. If it is 

 at all possible sell your plants out- 

 right, but if you cannot, then charge 

 a fair price and one that will cover the 

 money you invested. Most people love 

 plants but few appreciate them at their 

 full value. 



Mrs. Society, the wife of the mil- 

 lionaire, has a small conservatory at 

 her city house and wants it filled with 

 fine plants. Wants us to fill it hand- 

 somely and keep it in good condition, 

 and stipulates that some flowering 

 plants should always be there — and 

 please send her an estimate. That 

 estimate is the snag we meet in our 



business, for whilst the customer may 

 not intend to take her trade any- 

 where else, still she writes the same 

 letter to several florists, merely to see 

 if you are robbing her; the conscious- 

 ness of this makes us pare our prices 

 down far below what they should be, 

 for we consider her cut flower trade 

 is worth considerable, and one or two 

 of her decorations may give us a 

 chance to make our account balance. 



Mrs. So-and-So wants to rent a 

 palm, a very handsome, tall one for 

 her reception room, but it must not 

 cost much — here is where we are ex- 

 pected to buy a $50.00 kentia and loan 

 it and care for it for a few dollars a 

 month, perhaps at the end of a month 

 she wants it returned, it comes back 

 minus a leaf or two and is ruined 

 from a salable point of view. Mrs. 

 Smartee, who is a great shopper ana 

 never buys anything until she goes 

 the round of the city, will come to 

 you and criticise each plant as you 

 place it before her, and often comes 

 at your busiest time and when your 

 best customer is in the store. Well, 

 we've got to tolerate this kind of per- 

 son because her tongue is a strong 

 one. 



We have lots of good stories to 

 relate in regard to the plant trade, but 

 of course you know many of them 

 from your own experiences. The plant 

 trade is at all times amusing and 

 vexatious, most of all expensive, and 

 still a good one: it requires keen 

 judgment and critical knowledge. A 

 poorly grown, cheap plant is dear at 

 any price, and the retailer will do 

 well to be very circumspect on what 

 he buys from the auctioneer. If you 

 have a plant trade, employ a good, 

 practical plantsman to attend to it, 

 and educate your customers on the 

 best methods of caring for plants; 

 this is best done by having a small 

 treatise printed, and give one to every 

 purchaser of plants. IVBRA. 



ATTENTION! S. A, F. 



Owing to numerous complaints re- 

 garding delays in passing plants 

 through the New York custom house, 

 the New York Florists' Club, by reso- 

 lution passed at their la?t meeting, re- 

 ferred the whole matter •it the Legis- 

 lative Committee of the S. A. F. The 

 committee desires that all Qortsts who 

 have suffered by unnecessary delays in 

 passing goods through the New York 

 custom house, or whose invoices have 

 been raised beyond purchase price, 

 shall communicate the <'acts in writ- 

 ing at once to the chairman of the 

 committee. Patrick O'Mara, 35 and 37 

 Cortland t street. New York City. 



LOUISVILLE, KY. 

 The firm of Nanz & Neuner had an 

 elegant mum show on Nov. 10, 11 and 

 12, that was well attended. Their 

 store was tastefully decorated with 

 plants and cut mums, and there were 

 visitors from all over the state of 

 Kentucky. S. 



