462 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



i K ' I < h:i:k :,. ixii'.i 



out of the strongest young plants 

 when not over 15 inches high. 



F. elastica is a tropical tree, but will 

 exist in our greenhouses in winter at 

 a temperature of 50 degrees or even 

 lower, but when rapid growth is want- 

 ed 70 degrees at night is the tempera- 

 ture, and when growing those speci- 

 mens spoken of above it is never less 

 than that and possibly 100 in the day 

 time. 



The rubbers thrive in a comparative- 

 ly small pot and for our sales should 

 not be overpotted. A good, open, turfy 

 loam, with a fifth or sixth of manure, 

 and to this compost add one quart of 

 bone meal to every bushel. 



Propagation is by two methods- 

 cuttings and what is generally known 

 as "mossing." The latter is much the 

 surest way. Sometimes cuttings root 

 very well, and again under the same 

 conditions they don't. Cuttings seven 

 or eight inches long, with several 

 leaves, always the latest growths, and 

 cut just below a joint, inserted in a 

 2-inch pot of sand and loam, the end 

 of the cutting well down to bottom of 

 pot and the pot plunged in some mate- 

 rial where the bottom heat is 80 de- 

 grees, will usually meet with success. 

 Keep the cuttings after the first water- 

 ing only moderately moist. As the 

 leaves are much in the way a small 

 stick is inserted in the pot to which 

 the leaves are drawn up. If this were 

 not done they would take up a great 

 deal of room and be inconvenient to 

 water. They should be well rooted in 

 the small pots before being shifted. 



Late spring is a good time to propa- 

 gate by cuttings. 



By the mossing system failure is al- 

 most impossible. August and Septem- 

 ber are favorable months for the oper- 

 ation because the wood is about right 

 then, but it can be done at any time. 

 The tops of young plants can be taken, 

 although large branching trees are 

 usually kept where they are propa- 

 gated in any quantity. Nine or ten 

 inches from the tip of the shoot, where 

 the wood is not too green nor too hard, 

 a cut is made in the wood upwards 

 about an inch and a half long from the 

 bark to about half way through the 

 shoot. Sphagnum moss is inserted to 

 keep the cut open and more moss 

 wrapped round to entirely envelop the 

 stem where the cut has been made. If 

 the moss when tied on is as large as a 

 hen's egg you have enough on. Keep 

 the moss syringed daily. 



In five or six weeks you will see 

 roots protruding through the moss. 

 Let them get well rooted and then 

 sever from the plant just below the 

 moss, and pot. The young plants 

 should be kept from sun and draught 

 till they take hold of the new soil. 



Most florists are pleased to inform 

 their customers that this is the plant 

 that produces the rubber of commerce, 

 and a slight scratch on a shoot will 

 soon show the milky sap, but they are 

 mistaken. Ficus elastica is a native 

 of the East Indies, and our rubber 

 comes from Brazil and from a tree that 

 is very unlike Ficus elastica. 



Roses. 



During a rainy time followed by a 

 few warm weeks, which often occurs, 

 roses that may be ripening their wood 

 and going to rest will start to grow 

 and break at the ends and spoil their 

 use for forcing. We have seen this 

 occur to our loss. 



Hybrid perpetuals and the climbers 

 that are intended for bringing into 

 the heat after New Year's should be 

 laid on their sides and gradually rip- 

 ened off; not too suddenly, but slowly 

 till their leaves are gone. When 

 plunged out of doors in summer, which 

 they usually are, you should see that 

 their roots are not grown out among 

 the plunging material or the ground, 

 or their roots will be feeding away 

 vigorously while you want the plant to 

 finish its growth, and ripen its wood. 



Fuchsias. 



Stock plants of fuchsias that are 

 plunged outside should now be encour- 

 aged to ripen their shoots, and are 

 best left outside till we are in danger 

 of getting a frost. When brought in 

 and rested for a few weeks prepara- 

 tory to starting they will give you all 

 the better cuttings if the shoots have 

 been well matured. 



Pansies. 



You ought to have all your pansies 

 planted in frames by this time, but 

 don't cover them with glass. The long- 

 er you keep that off the better they 

 will winter. 



Pansies that are wanted to flower 

 this winter should be on the bench, six 

 inches apart and growing strongly. Al- 

 though the pansy flowers in fall and 



very early spring, to produce flowers 

 in December, February and March they 

 must have the lightest and sunniest 

 bench, and will not flower if kept be- 

 low 45 degrees at night and 55 to 60 in 

 daytime. They are not considered a 

 very necessary crop with the florist, 

 but are very attractive in winter time, 

 and many people like them. 



Sweet Peas. 



If you have not already sown sweet 

 peas for early spring flowering it is 

 time they were. I have never tried 

 them in a rose house temperature, but 

 in a carnation house they do very 

 well. I know I shall meet with the 

 disapproval of some excellent men by 

 advocating growing peas on a carna- 

 tion bench, but they take up so little 

 room and encroach on the carnations 

 so little till early in January that little 

 or no harm is done, and supposing you 

 do lose a few flowers, you have made 

 it up ten times over on the peas, for 

 they are really in great demand in 

 April and May. It is middle of June 

 before we get any sweet peas out of 

 doors and you will have at least six to 

 eight weeks' picking before the outside 

 crop begins. 



My experience is that they do not 

 make much growth till the February 

 suns brighten up our houses, although 

 it is an advantage to get them started 

 in good time. Another point is that a 

 trial of them in deep, rich soil was a 

 failure. The four to five inches of the 

 carnation bench suits them well. I 

 might add that to sow a continuous 

 row on a carnation bench, especially 

 on the south side, would be folly. We 

 have 1-inch gas pipes supporting the 

 purlins on the edge of the benches, 

 eight feet apart, and so there the vines 

 are supported, which gives no damag- 

 ing shade to the carnations. 



Sow a dozen seeds in a 5-inch pot 

 (every seed does not grow), and put 

 them on some light bench. When a 

 few inches high thin out to two strong 

 plants and plant in the bench near the 

 pillar or iron support. There are now 

 many magnificent varieties, and 

 though you cannot grow them all in 

 the limited room that a greenhouse 

 affords, you might try a few of each 

 to test the popularity of them with 

 your patrons. The pure white and 

 pink will be most in demand, but here 

 is a list of a dozen which we grew this 

 season, and till the terrible dry weath- 

 er told on them they sold well: 



Emily Henderson, white, and 

 Blanche Ferry, pink, are the two 

 standards in those important colors. 

 Katherine Tracy, a beautiful "Day- 

 break" pink; Blanche Burpee, white, 

 very fine; Lovely, fine pink and rose; 

 Mrs. Eckford, primrose yellow; Little 

 Dorrit, rosy pink, white wings; Au- 

 rora, pink, striped; Celestial, laven- 

 der or mauve; Her Majesty, carmine; 

 Mrs. J. Chamberlain, white and pink 

 striped; America, white and red 

 striped; Ramona, very light pink: 

 Golden Gate, lavender; Mars, crimson; 

 Royal Rose, grand pink; Stanley, dark 

 maroon. All of the above are very fine 

 flowers. 



