April 17, 1302. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



735 



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THE RETAIL 



FLORIST. 



A Little of Everything. 



It's good to visit tlie market, not neces- 

 sarily as a buyer, but always the keen 

 observer. Just at present many things 

 can be bought cheaply, but it's a bad bar- 

 gain, that can only produce regrets. 

 "Look ahead" is the most important 

 motto in life, particularly demanded in 

 the florist's business. Many florists con- 

 sider the season over immediately after 

 Easter. It should be remembered that 

 flowers bloom all the year around and 

 people cannot shut out death. 



About boarding plants — well, there's 

 nothing in it for you. No matter the cir- 

 cumstance, better decline to perpetuate 

 smallness in human nature and half life 

 in plants. Both are most injurious to 

 trade. Dignity, with honesty behind it, 

 may suffer at times, but it commands re- 

 spect and always wins out. Therefore, 

 don't crawl in or out of business. Stand 

 up. 



Good-sized privet planted in boxes 

 makes the quickest and cheapest screen 

 for hotels, restaurants, roof gardens and 

 general outdoor work. It has taken the 

 place of ivy (which was too slow). Privet 

 is also becoming a favorite as specimens 

 in tubs in lieu of bay trees, which are 

 too expensive for many people. Newly 

 imported bay trees are to be had. If 

 you intend handling any, might just as 

 well get them early as late. One or two 

 specimens will add beauty to your place, 

 and you need never worry about material 

 for a funeral or presentation wreath 

 whilst bay leaves are available. When, 

 figuratively speaking, you have to put 

 them in the soup, it's because you pay 

 too much for them. 



Deutzia Lemoinei proved to be the best 

 paying forced shrub this season. All 

 growers might do well to note this one 

 hint. But here's another: Don't expect 

 too much for it. A great many of the 

 plants offered for sale are in too large 

 pots. It's a mistake. The right size, 

 the right price, gentlemen. Apropos of 

 the annual tale of woe, tall Kentias will 

 be sky-high in price only next season; 

 far more so than ever before. European 

 growers are already looking for the 

 American "millionaire" florists. Think 

 it would pay us to annex Holland and 

 Belgium and give up the sugar and rice 

 swamps of the Philippines. "There's mil- 

 lions in it." 



A vast amount of the seeds sold in re- 

 tail florists' stores are absolutely useless, 

 and cannot be made to germinate by the 

 most expert. Those who care anything 

 for reputation and the future of seed or 

 plant trade should be careful to avoid 

 doing worse than robbing the people. If 

 you sell seeds, get them from a reliable 

 house and don't offer them for 1 or even 

 5 cents a package. Leave that to the 

 fakirs. You could not sell a withered 

 flower and should not sell dead seeds. 



There are thousands of florists who do 

 a nice local trade. This is the season 

 when most should make a special display 

 of early herbaceous plants — roses, shrubs 



and trees of all kinds. They cost very 

 little, and who can tell what the small- 

 est sale may lead to. 



Good ivies are and will be valuable 

 this season. Thousands will shortly be 

 needed, and variegated vincas will soon 

 be sought. "Whilst any florist might do 

 well to speculate in a large or small de- 

 gree in pansies, but few of the stores can 

 make geraniums pay at this early date. 

 Many growers, of course, rush anything 

 off when it shows a bloom, but the retailer 

 cannot always make a market. They 

 must often "sit down and cultivate pa- 

 tience. Leave tender bedding plants 

 where they are till the frost and snows 

 have surely gone. Nasturtiums were 

 popular last summer, and they will be so 

 the coming one. Nothing prettier for 

 the summer breakfast table, and they can 

 cover a disreputable fence. 



One prominent New York florist sells 

 quite a few forsythias planted in tubs 

 and forced to come into flower the end 

 of March or first of April. He says they 

 cost little, and many people appreciate 

 them in conservatories or hallways. 



Those who have the chance to sell roses 

 for outdoor planting should not forget 

 to recommend a few hybrid teas, for 

 when roses are most looked for — that is, 

 in July and August — the hybrid per- 

 petuals have gone with the June crowd. 

 What if the teas are not hardy at the 

 North Pole? Anything of beauty deserves 

 protection. But in this case very little 

 is required in most sections. Don't nar- 

 row down to Jacques. Every florist 

 should be an expansionist. 



Large white chrysanthemums were 

 shown in a Broadway window last week. 

 Don't know whether the grower wanted 

 a dollar each for them or. not ; but am 

 inclined to think it was unkind to scare 

 the wholesalers with the white ghosts in 

 mid-April. There's a time for even a 

 joke. 



How to decorate a large table in five 

 minutes. This can be solved by sawing 

 off a large azalea close to the branches, 

 stick in a low bowl or flat basket of 

 moss, tie down some of the branches and 

 fill round with light greens. That had 

 to be done in many an emergency, and 

 it often looked better than a studiedly 

 made design. 



A nice group of hydrangeas can be 

 made to look well in your window, and 

 a vase of Beauty roses close by will not 

 detract. You need large flowers betimes 

 to make a show to be seen by the busi- 

 ness man who runs and the lady who 

 rides. Neither carry microscopes. 



Camellias wore brought out of ob- 

 livion somewhat the past or present sea- 

 son, and we wore glad to assist in the 

 good work. Scarcity made them a nov- 

 elty, and, no matter the color, they could 

 bo used most profitably. For gentle- 

 men's or ladies' wear it is necessary to 

 double-wire them, for the camellia is a 

 fickle flower. It will last indefinitely, 

 though, if wired. We used some to great 

 advantage at a critical party, where 

 something exclusive was desired. White 



for men's coats; pink, red or white for 

 ladies' headdress. They are not over- 

 suitable for bunches or corsages. One 

 of them is good taste; two is like super- 

 fluous company. 



This is a particular time, when every 

 florist's counter or table should be 

 adorned by a vase or two of spring flow- 

 ers. There are hundreds of cases where 

 a bunch of 12 or 2.5 flowers can be sold 

 instead of six if the bunches are tied 

 right and you offer them by the bunch 

 and not by the dozen or singly. It is 

 always best to sell spring flowers by the 

 bunch, and you can afford, if necessary, 

 to cut the price on 25 flowers because 

 there's always a loss of time, if not of 

 actual money, when bunches are broken. 

 Of course, if your customer wants only 

 the few, it is never wise to refuse; but 

 there are eases where the bunch would be 

 taken were it offered in the right way. 



There are so many varieties of carna- 

 tions nowadays that the list at times is 

 bewildering. They are all very good, 

 but don't forget there is a demand for 

 cut flowers during the summer. Carna- 

 tions and roses are Avanted all the year 

 round. Ulrich Brunner roses deserve closer 

 acquaintance and a more general and 

 higher cultivation. Dogwood (Cornus 

 florida) or the pink variety is anxiously 

 awaited by those who wanted something 

 good for window or wedding decoration. 

 Where, oh, where is the lovely single pink 

 bouvardia of the early days'? If you 

 know how to grow it, do your best on a 

 bench or a successive house of it for next 

 season. It paid well, and can be made 

 to do so again. Roses, roses and carna- 

 tions may all be beautiful, but they are 

 often also monotonous. Almost anything 

 is welcome as a change. 



Somebody missed Easter with a fine lot 

 of Lilium eandidum, but they are wel- 

 come now, and are particularly good for 

 weddings, church, funeral work or are 

 fine with a few choice roses in any vase 

 or box or basket. Haven't seen so many 

 callas on the New Yoi'k market for many 

 years. They are a good flower for those 

 who sell many funeral flowers, as they 

 keep long and can be used up in almost 

 any design. There is a great swarm of 

 Harrisiis and longiflorums coming in. 

 Bronze leucothoe sprays are good to use 

 among your green when tying up flat 

 bunches. The color adds much to your 

 work. White Dutch hyacinths are popu- 

 lar as a sweet-scented cut flower with 

 many critical folks, and they are good 

 for funeral work. So are stocks. 



In most eases it is easier for you, and 

 there is more profit in designs made of 

 mixed flowers ; but there is mostly always 

 more meaning and beauty about the de- 

 sign composed of one variety of flower. 

 The most expensive and most difficult fun- 

 eral design you can make can be the cas- 

 ket cover, but up-to-date methods and 

 materials have rendered even this easy 

 compared to the architectural structures 

 of former days. Wired toothpicks may 

 be good for the novice, but the flower 

 and wire go on together now, and if 

 the pick is too long cut them in bunches 

 before you start. 



Green-painted bamboo stakes are on 

 the market, and put to shame the old 

 dirty sticks. Growers should know that 

 even a decent-looking stake can add value 

 to their plants. 



Bougainvillea can be used at wedding 

 decorations, and looks very beautiful on 

 a mirror with a mass of white lilacs 

 near by; but it should not be put near 



