Deckmbdb 26, 1901. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



151 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



I liri>tiiiit,> is one of our big clfariiig 

 out days and more especially of lale 

 years, when so many flowering' and 

 ornamental plants are sold. The major- 

 ity of us have little time for much 

 gardening until New Year's is past and 

 then there is a great clearing and clean- 

 ing up. 



As you have likely heen Jceeping up a 

 rather high temperature in some of your 

 houses to bring out the flowers you 

 should drop it to its proper temperature 

 at once. It is surprising how the blos- 

 soms open as soon as the demand de- 

 creases. 



Azaleas. | Hi^^S 



All azaleas that have not sold and are 

 still in good order will last a long time 

 if kept in a cool house and never allowed 

 to want for water. Any azaleas that 

 are showing an inclination to flower he- 

 fore Easter may as well be brought along 

 in a house of about ."lO degrees. Tliere 

 will be always a use for them. But 

 keep your Easter plants as cool as you 

 can. They will endure and thrive in 

 any temperature above freezing, and 

 several of the best varieties will be too 

 early if given 50 at night, although mucli 

 depends on weather, and as Easter is 

 very early it will suit azaleas better than 

 usual. They simply want watching, and 

 some want more heat than others. 



Azaleas that have been used for dec- 

 orating and cannot be sold should have 

 the faded flowers and seed pods picked 

 off and be kept in a very cool house for 

 at least two months. Yon don't want 

 them to start growing yet for a time. 



Stevia. 



Don't forget to put a few old plants 

 of sweet stevia in some light cool cor- 

 ner after the top is cut down and sold. 

 They will give you cuttings later on' and 

 this is always a useful phint. 



Poinsettias. 



If your poinsettias have been grown in 

 pots you are sure to have some that have 

 been cut for the flowers. Lay them 

 down beneath a dry warm bench where 

 they will not get a drop of water till 

 next April. Unsold poinsettias you can't 

 put into a cool house to prolong their 

 keeping, as they would soon drop their 

 leaves, so keep them in a warm house 

 and there is sure to be good use for them 

 before Lent begins. The bracts ( so often 

 called the flowers) remain in good order 

 for two months. 



Tulips. 



As soon as you have time after Christ- 

 mas you can bring in the first install- 

 ment of the really good tulips. I dare 

 say that some have forced the Due Van 

 Thol type for Xmas. but it is not worth 

 while. I can remember many years ago 

 when tulip growing was a mysterv- and 

 a guess with many of us, but that time 

 is past, yet there may be beginners who 

 do not "know all about it," and for those 

 I write. 



If you got your tulips and Von Sion 

 narcissus into the flats soon after thev 



arrived, or at least a portion of them, 

 they will now be well rooted, which is the 

 first requisite to early successful forcing. 

 The requisites to produce good flowers 

 are for January and February forcing a 

 steady temperature of 80 degrees top 

 heat; a strong heat at the roots is not 

 necessary. Few can afli'ord to keep a 

 whole house at 80 degrees unless they 

 force very large quantities, so a portion 

 of a bench is used for the purpose. Con- 

 trive to confine the heat about the tulips. 

 This can be done by the covering of 

 cheese cloth or thin shutters, which it is 

 necessary to have over them, a foot or 

 so from the plants. Without this shad- 

 ing the earliest forced tulips would have 

 no length of .stem. 



A moist atmosphere should always 

 surround the tulips, so s.vringe two or 

 three limes a day and water the flats 

 once a day. When the flowers are about 

 fully developed remove the flats to a cool 

 light house, but don't do that too early 



Lily of the Valley. 



I'rom Xew Year's on the new crop of 

 valley can be forced successfully. The 

 conditions are just about the very re- 

 verse from the tulips. For several _years 

 past we have had uniform success from 

 this date till middle of May by placing 

 them in a bed of six inches of sand over 

 four four-inch hot water pipes. The 

 bottom of the bed is slate and the sand 

 is usually about 85 to 90 degrees. The 

 atmosphere is about 55 to fiO. If it was 

 45 I believe the growth and flower would 

 be just as good. Never wet the flower 

 spike after the bells can be seen. 



Tlie flrst ten days we cover them with 

 a wooden shutter, after that with a 

 frame covered with cheese cloth and for 

 a few days the full daylight. By planting 

 say 500 pips every week, or whatever 

 your requirements are, you are nev-er 

 without flowers. Don't cut the roots off 

 too short. I have seen them chopped off 

 to within three inches of the pips. This 

 is wrong. They show little evidence of 

 making fresh roots, but I believe the 

 more roots left on the better. 



William Scott. 



AN INDIANAPOLIS STORE. 



We present herewith exterior and in- 

 terior views of the store of Messrs. A. 

 Wiegand & Sons, Indianapolis, Ind. ; also 

 interior of the conservatory attached to 

 the store. As will be seen by the exte- 



Store of A. Wiegand & Sons, Indianapolis, Ind. 



or you will not get them out. If_you 

 bring in regularly what you can use 

 every week on a certain day you will 

 never find yourself out of them. The 

 trouble is you are liable to forget or put 

 it off some weeks and there is a miss. 



The varieties have been so often writ- 

 ten about it seems needless to mention 

 them, and if you don't have them you 

 can't force them, but you may have some 

 that are not suitable. Don't bring in any 

 of the double tulips till middle of Feb- 

 ruary. The varieties that will force now 

 with certainty if conditions are right 

 are La Heine, Vermillion Brilliant. Cot- 

 tage Maid, Proserpine, Yellow Prince, 

 Joost Van Vondel and a few others of 

 similar color. The Von Sion narcissus 

 is even more desirable than the tulips 

 and forces now easily. 



ricir view. Mr. Wiegand believes in show- 

 ing his goods to the public, and has free- 

 ly decorated the space between the street 

 and the greenhouse adjoining the store. 

 It is certainly an excellent way of at- 

 tracting attention, and a tribute to the 

 character of the Indianapolis people that 

 the display has not been pulled to pieces 

 and largely removed some dark night. 



The store interior seems well arranged 

 and will no doubt be suggestive to 

 others. 



The use of rock work to define the 

 center bed in the conservatory is worthy 

 of imitation. The use of the electric light 

 in such show houses is now a necessity, 

 especially at such seasons as Christmas 

 and Easter, when night as well as day 

 must be utilized to enable one to care 

 for his trade. 



