April 2i. 1902. 



The Weekly Florists' Review, 



771 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Hardy Plants. 



We have had a long, liugering, cool 

 time since we first thought spring had 

 come. This has been very favorable to 

 nurserymen and those doing planting, 

 and the season can always be prolonged 

 by correct and careful work. Deciduous 

 plants should be moved and planted as 

 soon as possible. Florists have very 

 little to do with fruit trees, but many of 

 us do handle shrubs, and the ordinary 

 flowering shrub is very tenacious of life. 

 When you make a plantation for a cus- 

 tomer it is well to let them see the shrubs 

 before cutting back, but insist that you 

 be allowed to prune them hard back di- 

 rectly after planting. So shrubs even 

 when started into leaf can be transplant- 

 ed if well soaked at planting and given 

 a good cut back. I am not a crank on 

 pruning by any means, for after a shrui> 

 or tree is once started to grow few of 

 them are improved bj' any pruning, but 

 at the transplanting time it is the salva- 

 tion of our trees and shrubs. 



Don't make the mistake of being in a 

 hurry about planting or transplanting 

 evergreens. There is nothing gained, in 

 fact it is a disadvantage to disturb coni- 

 fers, so-called evergreens, till they are 

 ."just starting into growth. In our lati- 

 tiidc this is usually about the middle of 

 May. 



Bay Trees. 



We notice that our customers who 

 have not traveled on the other side of 

 the Atlantic are not aware of the hardi- 

 ness of our imported sweet bays. And 

 some florists are too much inclined to 

 coddle them up. Get them out of doors 

 into the sunshine and rain. A few de- 

 grees of frost does them no harm, and if 

 luey have been kept in a cool shed 10 de- 

 grees would do them no barm, but it all 

 depends on what treatment they have 

 had during winter. We have had some 

 expensive experience in this line. The 

 Laurus nobilis (silver bay) is a hardy 

 evergreen in the south of England and 

 milder parts of the British Isles and 20 

 degrees of frost does it no harm, but if 

 you have been keeping these tub-grown 

 plants in a greenhouse at, say, 40 to 50 

 degrees at night, and then suddenly ex- 

 pose them to 10 degrees of frost, they 

 will give up the ghost. 



Hydrangeas. 



Hydrangeas that have been kept dor- 

 mant all winter will want to grow wheth- 

 er you have them in a cold shed or base- 

 ment or any other place that is a few de- 

 grees above freezing, and if they grow 

 under glass or any other shelter the 

 growth will be soft and unsuited to make 

 a good show during summer. Get them 

 out of doors as soon as possible. The 

 less growth they make under their winter 

 fiuarters the more satisfactory they will 

 be during summer. 



Next Week. 



There is a greater number of subjects 

 1 would like to exchange views on, but 



time forbids, and I can only promise that 

 next issue I will give you fourteen ehap- 

 lers on seasonable subjects. 



William Scott. 



DISEASED GERANIUMS AND RUSTY 

 VERBENAS. 



A -correspondent who we will call "N. 

 C. M.'" sent a plant of Heteranthe geran- 

 ium and a rusted verbena to the editor 

 who gave his version of the trouble and 

 about covered the ground, and I can 

 improve but little on it. The verbena 

 rust is an old enemy and is not worth 

 fighting. Named verbenas are a thing 

 of the past as beds of one color are no 

 longer asked for. Therefore seedlings 

 are raised vrith one-half the expense and 

 are always healthy and vigorous. And 

 as good a strain of colors can now be 

 depended on from seed obtained from 

 our reputable seedsmen as the named va- 

 rieties, so why bother with anj' method 

 but raising from seed? 



The trouble with the geranium is not, 

 I think, any bacterial disease or attack 

 of insects. Neither is it the result of 

 any peculiar soil or treatment, it is sim- 

 ply the habit of the variety. This is not 

 a scientific explanation, but it is good 

 enough for practical purposes, because 

 any attempt to remedy the trouble in the 

 plant would be waste of time. These 

 blind shoots, which, instead of making a 

 normal growth, form a tuft of small 

 leaves, is peculiar to a few varieties and 

 when it appears to any serious extent 

 get rid of the variety and substitute 

 something better. 



The finest semi-double pink zonal gera- 

 nium we had for years was Emile de Ger- 

 ardin, but it became latterly so troubled 

 with this blind shoot business that we 

 were glad when Frances Perkins came to 

 town, for it is better in every way. He- 

 teranthe is not a valuable variety. In- 

 stead of any attempted treatment as a 

 cure, all you can do is to throw away 

 every plant showing the slightest sign of 

 this form. We used to plant out some of 

 the jdants, thinking they would grow out 

 of it during the summer. Don't do it; 

 you are Only perpetuating a diseased 

 plant. W. S. 



ROSES. 



Preparing Soil for Planting. 



In order to have soil in good condition 

 for planting, it ought to be collected in 

 good time. If the collecting has not been 

 done in the fall it should now be done as 

 soon as possible. For my own growing I 

 prefer soil collected during spring, as it 

 is not so liable to grow green scum on 

 the surface as that which has lain in the 

 pile all winter. 



The top spit, 4 or 5 inches deep, of old 

 pasture land, where the soil is of a yel- 

 low loam, is in my experience the best 

 for nearly all varieties of roses. This 

 should be built in a neat pile and not 

 thrown loosely in a heap, keeping the 



sides as nearly vertical as possible by 

 building up with sods until it is about 

 a foot high, keeping count of the num- 

 ber of loads ; then on top of this to every 

 four or five loads spread one load of rich 

 old manure (cow manure if it can be 

 had) ; then begin another layer of sods, 

 alternating with the required proportion 

 of manure, till the pile is complete. In 

 about three weeks the pile will be ready 

 to chop up. By using a well sharpened 

 spade it can be cut into any size required. 

 For roses it is best not to have it too 

 fine; the sod and manure should be cut 

 into pieces of about 2 or 3 inches in 

 diameter. 



After eight or ten days the pile should 

 be turned over so that the soil and ma- 

 nure will be thoroughly incorporated; if 

 time allows, it will be all the better for 

 a second turning. In preparing the soil 

 it is well to remember that it should 

 never be handled when in a wet condition, 

 nor when it is raining. The piling and 

 mixing should be done on ground that 

 is a little elevated in order to keep the 

 bottom dry and sweet. If bone is to be 

 used it is better to add it when the soil 

 is on the bench. 



It was with great pleasure I read the 

 able article on "Thrips" in your last 

 week's issue. This is the kind of infor- 

 mation so much desired by progressive 

 growers. Few of us have the opportuni- 

 ties and facilities for acquiring such 

 knowledge. Instructive articles like this 

 confer a lasting benefit to the craft. We 

 hope to see more of them. Eibes. 



CARNATION NOTES. 



Cultivating. 



Please ask Mr. Baur which is the best 

 hand cultivator of which he writes in the 

 April 10th Eeview, page 700, for hand 

 cultivation of carnations in the field. 



C.W. 



I am not prepared to say that any one 

 special make of hand cultivator is better 

 than all others. There are a number of 

 different kinds on the market, and it is a 

 matter of opinion which will suit him 

 best. We have two Planet, Jr., and both 

 are giving excellent service. We espe- 

 cially like the one called "Gem of the 

 Garden," because it has five separate 

 teeth so arranged that they pulverize the 

 soil thoroughly as it is pushed through. 

 It can also be arranged to fit in either a 

 wide or a narrow row, thus saving your 

 going through the same row twice. No 

 doubt there are other makes and your 

 hardware dealer can supply your wants. 

 There is no tool in our possession that 

 saves us as much time as do these hand- 

 cultivators. 



Planting in Field. 



We are having a dry spell just now 

 such as I spoke of not long since in these 

 notes, and the young plants are begin- 

 i)ing to show the effects of it in spots 

 where the soil was just a trifle rough. 

 When you plant be sure and dig up the 

 soil with your trowel until you can set 

 the young plant in moist soil, and when 

 finished planting rake a half inch of 

 loose soil over that which has been 

 pressed around the plant. This will hold 

 the moisture in the soil just like a mulch 

 holds it in the benches inside. If you 

 are compelled to water the young plants 

 after planting be sure and do the same, 

 as it will keep the soil from baking and 

 doing more damage than if no water 



