572 



The Weekly Rorists' Review* 



March 20, 1902 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Easter Stock. 



The dajs of Man-li have been in most 

 localities very favorable for the ad- 

 vancement of all our Easter stuff, but 

 a change is on and we may get dark and 

 storm}- weather for several days to 

 come; it would be nothing unusual, at 

 any rate in the lake region. No one 

 can hit it just right with every plant 

 of every kind, but with some thought- 

 ful manipulation almost all the stock can 

 be of service at the desired time, and 

 ■with most of us there is a great dif- 

 ference in value between a lily, a 

 Rambler or an azalea on the Saturday 

 before Easter and two days later. 



Two weeks ago I attempted to give 

 you some hints on the care of our lead- 

 ing Easter plants should they be too 

 early. If not early enough, heat, with 

 the blessing of sunshine, is all you can 

 do. Lilies will not only keep a week, 

 but two weeks, in first-class shape, if 

 put in a cool shed with little light, or 

 even in a shaded house with a low tem- 

 perature. Azaleas will do under a bench 

 in a cool house, if you don't have a cool 

 shaded house, but if you put them un- 

 der a bench throw some tissue paper 

 over them. Some varieties of azaleas, 

 notably the favorite Van dcr Cruyssen, 

 have such a mass of bloom that they 

 can scarcely get all the room to expanU, 

 and if a little early, the first opened 

 flowers can be plucked off, for there a.te 

 lots more buds to open. I have put 

 lilacs into a cool, moist cellar and kept 

 them ten days in excellent order after 

 they had been fully out. 



To our surprise, the hybrid roses, as 

 well as the Ramblers, have come along 

 too fast; but two weeks in a night tem- 

 perature of 45 degrees will not hurt 

 them, but rather help them, and the 

 flowers will be larger and a much bet- 

 ter color. The rather unprofitable 

 spiraea, or Astilbe Japonica, which is 

 more correct (and there are now several 

 varieties) is just about right. If they 

 stood in 7 or 8-inch pans and the pans 

 kept supplied with liquid manure, it 

 •will help them greatly. Bulbous stock 

 of all kinds is easily retarded if neces- 

 sary, but really, hyacinths, tulips and 

 narcissus should be well out, or they do 

 not attain their full size. Several other 

 'pretty plants, such as deutzia, rhodo- 

 dendron, cytisus. metrosideros and aca- 

 cia, are all cold-blooded plants, and a 

 week in a quite cool house will only be 

 of benefit to them. 



Be Ready. 



Now there is no doubt that in point 

 of quantity and value there are more 

 plants handled at Easter than at any 

 other day or week of the year, and it 

 is a busy, laborious time, and sometimes 

 on the Saturday afternoon, if business 

 is good, people buying, and you have 

 five or six wagonloads promised to 

 be delivered thst evening, you are likely 

 to feel overwhelmed with work, but it 

 pays to keep cool, and by good organiza- 

 tion, division of labor and svstem vou 



can help things wonderfully. One of the 

 greatest helps to getting a lot of work 

 and business done is to leave nothing 

 that can be done on Monday till the Tues- 

 day, and keep ahead of your work, and 

 every possible job that can be done four 

 or five days ahead must never bo neg- 

 lected. 



You are sure that all desirable, pretty 

 plants that are in the right condition ' 

 will sell, and there is no earthly reason 

 why every pot should not be washed if 

 needed. It is not fair to send a lot of 

 plants, even to a retail florist, with 

 greasy pots. They have less convenience 

 and time than you have, and as for send- 

 ing a private customer a plant with a 

 dirty pot, even if it is trimmed with 

 paper — it is outrageous, and belongs to 

 a past age. Our plants are beautiful ob- 

 jects and they are going into homes of 

 elegance and refinement, and slovenly, 

 shabby or dirty conditions will not be 

 tolerated. 



How much decorating and trimming 

 of plants will be done this year 1 don't 

 pretend to know, but it's likely there 



have a few of every kind as samples to 

 let the customers see how beautifully 

 they can be embellished. Don't under- 

 value the great incentive it is to people 

 to purchase when they see a beautiful 

 plant tastily fixed up with paper and 

 ribbon. It sells many a plant that 

 would otherwise be left to waste its fra- 

 grance on store or greenhouse air. Our 

 goods are not necessities of life; they 

 are the luxuries and extravagances, and 

 if they are not attractive they won't at- 

 tract. 



Two years ago I was writing and ad- 

 vising that your show house should not 

 be a jumble of everything, and although 

 that looks very pretty and is what you 

 expect to see in a private conservatory, 

 and, to my surprise, when I wajiied into 

 our motlest show house 100x20, my hard- 

 working son had just done what I had 

 been condemning. But I say again, it 

 is not as good as to have your Easter 

 stuff in blocks, it is better handled, 

 easier for the purchaser to make a choice 

 and more business-like all around, and 

 I am sure will save you time and work. 

 And this show ought to be made at least 

 a week ahead of time. People will be 

 calling in to order, and if you have a 

 good blaze of color it is a better adv. 

 than all the talk or explanation you can 

 give them. A very prosperous Jf.' P. in 

 our neighborhood gave me the good ad- 

 vice in this homely way: "Wash all you 

 have got and hang out all your wash," 

 and it's good advice in this age of show 

 and display. 



An Easter Plant Arrangement. 



will be as much as ever. How far you 

 are warranted in trimming up plants 

 ahead of time, and the quantity, you are 

 the best judge yourself. The retailer 

 who has only a store will do well to have 

 most all his offerings fixed up with 

 crepe paper and ribbon, for it unmis- 

 takably helps to sell the plant. The 

 greenhouse retailer need not go into it 

 so earlv or extensively, but he must 



Delivering. 



A plan which we have followed for 

 several years, which excuse me repeat- 

 ing again to you, is to set aside a section 

 of bench for your daily deliveries, that 

 is, a place where all Thursday's deliv- 

 eries should be put as soon as ordered or 

 selected, and the same for Friday's, Sat- 

 urday's and Sunday's. It will save any 



