36 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Ju.SE 6, 1!)01. 



ties. The showy cinerarias, the iKnuiti- 

 ful Chinese primroses, the extraordinary 

 mignonette of Dailledouze or May, and 

 such advances in the carnation world as 

 the Lawson and Prosperity are not the 

 result of chance, but are due to patient 

 and painstaking effort on the part of 

 their growers and originators. 



Such labor is not lacking in interest 

 and sometimes is productive of capital, 

 too. Of course there will be disappoint- 

 ments in tlic various attempts that may 

 be made, just as there was in the first 

 experience of the writer as a hybridist. 

 Tliis occurred many moons since, when it 

 seemed to the youthful mind tliat there 

 was a crying need for a variegated abu- 

 tilon with white flowers, and various 

 crosses were made with this in view, 

 the resulting seed pods being carefully 

 guarded and the seeds sown as soon as 



termed Cordyline australis) and is one 

 of the easiest plants to manage and also 

 one of the most enduring. It is also 

 useful as a window plant, and for deco- 

 rating, while a large specimen is a most 

 attractive object when planted out or 

 plunged on the lawn. 



Seeds of this plant should have been 

 sown in the fall or during the winter 

 and the seedlings either pricked out into 

 flats or potted into small pots as soon 

 as they were large enough to be con- 

 veniently handled, and should then have 

 reached size enough to be planted out in 

 the open ground about June 1. This 

 method gives stouter and stronger plants 

 in one season than may be had by keep- 

 ing them in pots and under glass 

 throughout the .season. 



Many variations are liable to appear 

 in a lot of seedlings of the cordyline, and 



plant around a bed of taller 



This plant, is of quite bushy 



Utlier variegated plants that are fre- 

 quently useful for the sake of variety are 

 Kohdea japonica variegata, a tough 

 leaved plant of which Japanese gardeners 

 are very fond; Ophiopogon Jaburan var., 

 a dense growing, striped leaved plant 

 tliat also produces a number of spikes of 

 small purple flowers, and Antherieum 

 vitfiitum variegatuni, the latter being 

 iinuli the most common of the three. All 

 of these are cool house plants, and may 

 be kept in good condition during the win- 

 ter in a night temperature of 45 degrees. 



Ivies are favorite house plants in many 

 localities, and while the ordinary English 



Table of Caladioms shown by Golden Gate Park, not for competition, at the San Francisco Exhibition, May 16 to J9. 



they were ripe. The seedlings came up 

 freely, and numbered some hundreds, but 

 there were but two in the lot that had 

 variefrateil foliage and the tlowers of 

 th, -."», M ,i.,i the right color and were 

 \\,i ;. ' ! .: in size, lint tliese little 

 1, \. I , 1. t.^.|uently met, with in the 

 liiM I . .J' I iiiient. and ou^ht not to 

 deter any entliusiast from continuing his 

 investigations. 



And these reminiscences may perhaps 

 be pardoned on the ground that they, 

 too. are decidedly side issues, although 

 it was not intended in the beginning to 

 give this article ^ueh :i direction, the 

 intention ' ■ ' ,:,'i-,,- tf. oll'er a sugges- 

 tion or t- iiie useful plants 

 that nni;, ■!'' issues in the 

 preparati. ■ i : . u-iness. 



There are a variety ot uses to which 

 one may put Dracaena indivisa, that very 

 well-known narrow leaved species that 

 is so often seen as a center plant in 

 vases (and which is now correctly 



among them is sometimes found that 

 variegated form known as C. Doucettii, 

 a very pretty plant and one that has 

 never become common. 



One of the bamboos, Amndinaria 

 japonica, also known as Bambusa Me- 

 take, has been spoken of as a useful 

 plant for decorating, having been used 

 for thi- ]iiii|i(.-e iM'ilnq.s ini>ie frequently 

 in l'".iirci]i.' 111. in in .'in "\\u .-ountry, but 

 when ii-i'l in ilii- \\;i\ llic |ilants should 

 be in a well liaideiie,! ..n, liti,m and also 

 should not be permitted to suffer from 

 lack of water, for the foliage of a grass, 

 to which family the bamboos belong, will 

 not stand much drouth. This very grace- 

 ful plant is also valuable for outdoor 

 planting, being quite hardy in the vi- 

 cinity of Philadelphia, and some seasons 

 almost evergreen. 



Another of the bamlxios, A. Fortune!, 

 is a handsomely variegated plant of 

 quite dwarf growth and may be used to 

 advantage in tilling porch boxes or as an 



ivy is all that is necessary in some places, 

 yet there are others in which some varia- 

 tion from the ordinary stock may be ap- 

 ineciated. Where this latter remark ap- 

 plies it might be worth while to try 

 a few sorts that are less common, and 

 among the broad-leaved ivies, Hedera 

 algeriensis and H. poetica can.be safe- 

 ly recommended, both these varieties 

 having large and handsome leaves and 

 being vigorous growers. Two small 

 leaved ivies that are distinct and pret- 

 ty being found in H. Donerailense and 



digitata, both of 

 e window plants. 



rhich 



accept- 



iiiri 1>\ Ml' I'll- "I '111 I 111^- t v\" or three 

 ji.iiila ' iu leii-lh. til.,' rnltiuys being 

 planted in flats containing sand or sandy 

 soil, kept moist and placed in a sheltered 

 frame, preferably on the north side of a 

 Iiuilding. When rooted the cuttings may 



