.M ARC- 1 1 22. IftOO. 



The Weekly Florists' Review, 



471 



Easter. I 



Variety is not only the spice of 

 life, it is a great incentive to business. 

 No matter if the chances are small, 

 or that you cannot even sell some 

 things at any price, it is good to have 

 a few just for variety's sake and to 

 better show off the good things. Many 

 will differ with us on this point and 

 argue that it's foolish to buy what may 

 not sell, but there are many ways to 

 look at things and our business at best 

 is a continuous speculation. 



To have lots of lilies, azaleas, etc., 

 for Easter is necessary, and peaple 

 may come to your place fully deter- 

 mined to buy one particular kind of 

 plant; this determination often van- 

 ishes at the sight of some old favorite 

 or specially well grown flower, and 

 everybody, even yourself, prefers to 

 deal where there is a large var.ety to 

 select from. Your only danger is in 

 buying too much small stock or too 

 many of a risky kind. No one can ex- 

 pect" to clear everything out. at least 

 it is unwise to buy so close, especially 

 when plants are cheap, still c.ire 

 should be taken to have the surplus of 

 a nature that will detract the least 

 from your profits. There are plants. 

 like azaleas and rhododendrons, which 

 the growers will take back at half or 

 one-third the price. Your largest 

 plants should be bought on this con- 

 dition as a protection to yourself, but 

 you should never take them back from 

 your customers unless you are sure 

 they are willing to pay well for them; 

 that is to say, the price of a new one. 

 There are too many sickly boarded 

 plants in this country; several grow- 

 ers' houses are disgraced with them 

 and the system is injurious to trade. 

 Therefore, when you sell an azalea 

 or genista to your customer, try to 

 avoid conditional purchase. 



Easter plants are the cause of many 

 hopes and fears to grower and retailer 

 alike. In the first place, it is diffi- 

 cult to judge what to grow, and in the 

 second, what and how many to select 

 for your trade. Those who can see the 

 merit of novelties, appreciate them at 

 their full value, and offer them to the 

 public in the best manner, are the 

 ones liable to do the best business. 



There are times when ugly or insig- 

 nificant things are snatched up by the 

 crank and others, when the prettiest 

 and most interesting are ignored by 

 the most fastidious. 



■We are inclined to snub many deli- 

 cate flowers, perhaps because we have 

 no suitable place in our store for them, 

 and the danger of this will be that in- 

 stead of encouraging a more extensive 

 cultivation of variety, we will eventu- 

 ally wind up in having only those flow- 

 ers or plants which will have the duia- 

 billty of leather or iron. We have at 

 present a few fake floral artists in 

 New York who cannot touch a plant 

 or flower without destroying its beauty 

 with artificial humbug; even artificial 

 flowers and plants form a conspicu- 

 ous part of their window decorations. 

 Of course such people will never be 

 able to retard the ever increasing de- 

 mand for the beautiful in nature; it 

 is only that they are mistaken in their 

 profession, and a pity it is. 



We must remember that Easter this 

 vear is very late. The weather is apt 

 to be warm and some of the stock too 

 open. Though it is cold now. and some 

 things appear backward, don't forget 

 that warm days will hasten them on, 

 and that most people, especially 

 in the case of azaleas, prefer to have 

 plenty of buds on their plants. With 

 lilies it is different; few care to pay 

 tor buds, and yet care should be taken 

 to have no old blooms. Longiflorums 

 may not be as profitable to the grower 

 as Harrisii on account of number 

 of flowers, but they are more satis- 

 factory to the retailer and the public 

 because they keep longer. Unlike at 

 Christmas, delicate colors are popular 

 at Easter; this is because spring is 

 soft hued and there is more harmony 

 in tones. In winter, the brighter the 

 object the more it appeals to the eye, 

 wearied with the dismal aspect of cold 

 climates. The growing tendency here, 

 however, as in Paris. Is for bright col- 

 ors at the commencement of every 

 season, and this year you may ex- 

 pect much of your brightest colored 

 stock to be sold first. 



Though white and blue are essen- 

 tially Easter colors, we, as a rule, 

 have too many white flowers in the 

 market. Many growers have a bench 



,,, hoiL-.- iill.-(l Aiih undesir;ilii'- -'"'k, 

 and they compel, whenever they can, 

 the retailer to take a portion of this 

 stock if he wants any of the select; it 

 is always a pleasure to gel even with 

 such people. This year material is 

 pleniiful and much of it is good; be 

 sure you mark whatever extra grade 

 specimens you buy. and if the grower 

 tries to cheat you by sending substi- 

 tutes, refuse to take the stock; we 

 mention this because unfortunately 

 some people practice it, and we advo- 

 cate opposition to everything dishon- 

 est. 



Now. as to what is going to sell 

 best, last week we mentioned a few, 

 and the list could be extended far be- 

 yond all we name. Of late years there 

 has been a marked increase in the 

 sales of palms, ferns and general 

 decorative stock at Easter time. Some 

 people want to appear ultra-practical 

 all the time, and they would rather 

 buy a dish of ferns or a palm, where 

 they should send flowering plants, 

 simply because they begrudge the 

 short period of exceptional beauty a 

 flowering plant usually has, and send 

 a plant which will remain a longer 

 memento for remembrance. You can 

 compromise with this element by mak- 

 ing up composite pans or baskets of 

 plants. Many kinds of plants really 

 require some fixing up or embellish- 

 ment. And in many cases you can in- 

 crease your sales by adding a few- 

 small ferns to this or that plant. The 

 man who grows his own stock can 

 work off lots of material in this man- 

 ner. The important thing is, no one 

 wants a skimpish looking plant or ar- 

 rangement of plants, therefore have 

 all as well furnished as you can. You 

 might make more money out of the 

 modest and inexpensive thing than the 

 gaudy and expensive one; it all rests 

 on the way you present it. 



It may be wise to have an early dis- 

 play, but it is wiser to have and to 

 send out good fresh stock at Easter. 

 Consequently don't rush things; it's 

 foolish to waste your money and 

 plants by making a special display 

 three weeks or even two weeks be- 

 fore the time. Things, even be they 

 beautiful, become monotonous, even 

 eyesores, by a continuous presence; 

 people rarely buy before Easter week, 

 the most of the stock is sold on Fri- 

 day and Saturday before Easter, and 

 that's when you should have it in the 

 best condition. We believe that special 

 Easter displays in the florist's store and 

 window should be kept back until the 

 Saturday before Palm Sunday; even 

 then it should be confined to the win- 

 dow, just to remind the people, and 

 to show them the grade of stock you 

 handle; a pretty basket or vase of 

 flowers will suffice before that time. 

 Particular care should be taken in 

 the case of violet plants. To be sure, 

 you should have an early sample to 

 "sell from, but the violet plants in- 

 tended for delivery Easter Saturday or 

 Sunday should be kept in the green- 

 house as long as possible. A stale 



