278 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



FEBRUARY 8. IMO. 



Geraniums. 



About now your geraniums that were 

 shifted from 2 to 3-inch pots after 

 New Year's will be grown sufficiently 

 for you to take a cutting off the top 

 and leave them just as good a plant. 

 A good, experienced hand should han- 

 dle the little plants and do the cutting, 

 as all plants do not afford a cutting, 

 and where stock is not very scarce 

 we "stop" them all, but study the plant 

 first and the cutting next. It is no 

 use cutting the plants so low that you 

 leave no stem to break, so we cut the 

 plant off, leaving it the right length, 

 with two or three eyes to break and 

 make a bushy plant, and this with the 

 great majority will give you a cutting 

 that will make a good plant by end of 

 May. 



There is no need of putting these 

 cuttings in the sand; they are better 

 potted in 2-inch pots at once with good 

 ordinary sifted loam. Be sure to get 

 the soil well firmed around the base of 

 the cutting. Give one good watering 

 and then keep them on the dry side till 

 they make roots. On a light bench in 

 a night temperature of .50 degrees you 

 will not lose 2 per cent, and these 

 make better plants than those propa- 

 gated in the sand. 



The cutting bed should not be idle 

 just now, as it is an excellent time to 

 propagate any of our soft wooded 

 plants that are wanted for summer 

 use. 



Vase Plants. 



There are two plants that we use 

 largely for boxes and vases and propa- 

 gate them in September, viz.. the va- 

 riegated and green striped vinca, and 

 the Abutilon vexillarium. The vinca 

 is one of our great essentials for this 

 use. We have kept them in 2-inch 

 pots up to now and as soon as possible 

 after this we shift them into 3 and 3%- 

 inch pots. They make a great growth 

 towards sjjring, and as it is entirely 

 the foliage that you grow them for, the 

 soil sliould be rich. 



Wo always find lojm for the^e plants 

 along the edge of a carnation or rose 

 bench. There would be properly strong 

 objection to doing this in fall and mid- 

 winter, but with the strength of the 

 plants in the bench at this time and 

 tlie little harm that a slight oversupply 

 of warm water would do. there is no 

 harm done. This is not the ideal way 

 to treat roses and carnations, but I am 

 sure that the profit on the plants that 

 you can stand on the edges of growing 



crops will compensate ten-fold for the 

 little harm that is done. 



Hanging Baskets. 



We believe that hanging baskets of 

 Asparagus Sprengeri, where baskets 

 are at all desirable, will be more 

 sought after than any other kind. The 

 "vine" or drooping part of the growth 

 is about all there is to a basket; flow- 

 ering plants soon perish, and what is 

 there equal to this hardy, vigorous 

 plant? I prefer the wire basket lined 

 with green wood moss to any other, 

 and far better for the welfare of the 

 plants than either the wood or earth- 

 enware baskets. There is yet time to 

 plant three or four good plants of 

 Sprengeri in a 10, 11 or 12-iuch basket 

 and make good plants by end of May. 

 The soil should be a strong loam, at 

 least a third of manure with a good 

 liberal addition of bone dust. The 

 asparagus is the rankest of feeders and 

 there can be no addition to the soil 

 when once in the basket. 



Bulbs. 



Tulips and daffodils brought in now 

 make the finest of flowers. They yet 

 want a little skill in handling, but no 

 such hot box as was needed a month 

 ago; a temperature of C5 to 70 de- 

 grees, with a slight shade, brings them 

 on in the best condition. A few Dutch 

 hyacinths in pots should be brought in 

 every week. 



You might start some bulbs of tube- 

 rous rooted begonias if you wish to 

 have some fine plants for growing in 

 pots, but for the bedding p'ant crop we 

 prefer to wait till the middle of March 

 and then start them in flats of sand, 

 and by the time they need putting in 3 

 or 4-inch pots the hotbeds are ready. 

 There is no place like the hotbed for 

 these handsome begonias, because they 

 not only grow freer, but you can hard- 

 en them off by removing the sash for 

 the last two weeks. We noticed in our 

 beautiful Forest Lawn Cemetery that 

 the neatest and prettiest vase there 

 last summer (and the entire season) 

 was a 20-inch vase of these begonias; 

 of course nothing else with it. It need 

 not and should not have anything 

 mixed with it. This vase was shaded 

 by trees from 9 a. m. till 4 p. m. In a 

 vase without shade they are not a suc- 

 cess, but in the broad svin, planted out 

 in the flower garden, they are magnifi- 

 cent and a change from so much gera- 

 nium. 



Dahlias. 



If you trade calls for dahlias, it is a 

 good time now to prepare for propaga- 

 tion. Place the clump of roots on the 

 bench on an inch of soil or sand and 

 scatter a little earth or leaf mould 

 among the tubers. Very soon a num- 

 ber of growths will start, and when 

 three or four inches long and cut at a 

 joint, they root readily. I prefer to 

 put each cutting in a 2-inch pot of 

 sandy soil and plunge the pot in bot- 

 tom heat, and then the roots are not 

 disturbed; but you can root them in 

 the ordinary propagating bench just as 

 well. Cutting at a joint, however un- 

 important with many plants, is of the 

 greatest importance with the dahlia. 

 WM. SCOTT. 



BOSTON. 



The Market. 



Traffic for the first five days of last 

 week was slow and growers were in 

 despair about the promised season of 

 activity. But on Saturday a much bet- 

 ter demand gave them a hope they may 

 be happy yet. 



Not only are trade waves moving in 

 small ripples, but collections are get- 

 ting harder and harder as the season 

 advances. Retailers in many cases p.iy 

 slowly, passing the blame along to 

 their customers, claiming non-payment 

 of Christmas bills. There are also a 

 few within easy telephone call of 

 whom fears are felt of ever being able 

 to cash up. Things are surely wrong. 



Goods have not been plentiful and a 

 decent sort of a demand would have 

 easily drained all the wholesale estab- 

 lishments at any moment during the 

 week, and as it was there was no great 

 drug of anything but Scott carnations. 

 The Scott has been a statesman in past 

 years and an authority on financial 

 matters, but it looks as if the conjure 

 were gone from the name. Buyers do 

 not want it if they can get "Joost." 

 Still, many good Scotts are coming in, 

 and it does not seem just to turn down 

 so stalwart a warrior. But many of 

 our best carnation growers have a 

 "dark horse" seedling or two which 

 they are feeding and currying up for 

 the race, in hopes it may be worthy 

 the name of some banker's wife. 



Roses have actually been scarce all 

 the week, especially cheaper ones for 

 funeral work, con.'^etiuently one or two 

 grades at the foot of the class have 

 disappeared for the time, having been 

 absorbed by grades worth a little more 

 money. 



News Notes. 



Not much in the line of news. A 

 new store on Portlaml street, and a tip 

 from morning papers that .lolin Hus- 

 band, of Cambridgeport. cannot mak( 

 his books balance for lack of assets o 

 four figures, sums it about all up. One 

 little matter that should have been 

 spoken of last week may be of interest 

 One of the .lew street men in making 

 gesticulations while arguing for lower 

 l>rices at the co-operative market, hit 

 the opposing salesman three or four 



