i92 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



July 10, iMl 



must aim to do tlie next besl thing — give 

 :i good general impression. 



Often people who liave had a surfeit 

 of greenliouse plants and flowers wel- 

 come a change, no matter what it is. 

 Florists should not always be in fash- 

 ion's wake. They should anticipate and 

 lead the fickle, domineering fairy. 



At i)resent there is an epidemic of 

 Panama liats and the great family of 

 imitations. These an<l Porto Rican and 

 Mexican straw sombreros may be used 

 as favors at large affairs, and filled or 

 trimmed with flowers and ribbons they 

 form a pironiinent feature in the decora- 

 tive scheme. Then again there are tlie 

 ping pong and automobile fads, which 

 must be recognized, and it may be lucky 

 to suggest an affiliation with tliese crazes 

 in your work for the sporty or lively set. 



Notes. 



Sweet Sultan and all I lie large flower- 

 ing centaureas are very po|iular flowers 

 in New York. .They possess two good 

 and essential qualities in c<immeri'iMl 

 flowers — beauty of color, and they pre- 

 serve it long. They occujiy a prominent 

 position in all the leading windows. The 

 white and lavender colors are splendid 

 for cluster work on funeral designs or 

 table or jjersonal decorations. The yellow 

 sort is one of the richest colors you can 

 get. They are all ver/ beautiful and 

 should be grown by all who sell their 

 own flowers at retail. 



Hydrangea Otaksa is quite plentiful 

 at present and they make excellent out- 

 door decorations in tubs by themselves 

 or mrxed with other jdants in vases or 

 boxes. Immense groups of them are seen 

 in the windows during the summer. They 

 keep well, providing plenty of water is 

 given, and we recommend them as a 

 general utility flower. They come in 

 very handy for all manner of decorations, 

 in large basket work, or they can be 

 used for groundwork. 



Vinca minor is being used to advant- 

 age on the tops of tubs containing Bay 

 trees. It makes a prettier effect than 

 the bare soil. 



Jf grass will not grow under windows, 

 etc., try California privet. We have seen 

 it look well planted thickly and kept cut 

 very low. Grass in very small quantities 

 is more or less a nuisance to the aver- 

 age city householder. Privet recuires 

 less atteation and can be made attrac- 

 tive in design. 



Coreopsis, particularly C. lanceolata, 

 has been extensively grown and used 

 this season. It is good for cheap work 

 where you are supposed to give twice 

 the value of what you receive, and it 

 looks remarkably well when used in 

 great masses with very light greens. 



Some of the prettiest windows we 

 have seen lately have been all green ; 

 mounds of adiantum, hanging effects in 

 Uavallia bullata or other ferns and 

 surroundings of clean palms, and, once 

 in a while a vase of some bright flower. 



Aspidistras look well and are much used 

 in windows during hot spells, but they 

 must be kejit well polished. A very lit- 

 tle sweet oil will make the foliage look 

 better. 



There seems to be a great overstock 

 of Bay trees this year. Is it the price 

 or don't people want them any more? 

 There are whole regiments still on the 

 premises of the dealers. Wonder why 

 more don't go west. 



No artist can improve nature. The 

 man made models we may see are nanght 



to the nature made models we do not 

 see. Nature laughs at the vanity of 

 mankind. The best we can do is to fr}- 

 to imitate her. No matter who you are 

 don't be foolish enough to imagine your 

 creations are above hers. 

 ' There are those who cannot do the sim- 

 plest ilesign or decoration unless they 

 <'an surround themselves with an abund- 

 ance of the finest material. We have 

 often said that the only true test of ar- 

 tistic merit is to produce beauty out of 

 chaos or poor materials. Economy in the 

 retail store is a valualile virtue when 

 you consider the great waste that is 

 ]iossibIe. And many a jierson at present 

 engaged in florists' stores w'ould be 

 more careful and moio ;ip|preciative had 

 they til pay tor the stock they handle. 



IVEIiA. 



ROSES. 



Seasonable Hints. 



With till' bright, uariu weather of .luly 

 young roses will rcijuire copious supplies 

 of water to keep them growing vigorous- 

 ly. This is one of the most important 

 matters to be attended to during this and 

 the next month. The plants should never 

 be allowed to suffer the least in this re- 

 spect, but should get thoroughly soaked 

 at least once every bright day. If the 

 urainage is perfect, as it should be, and 

 the surface of the soil frequently stirred, 

 there is little danger of overwatering. 

 This applies more particularly to Beau- 

 ties, Meteors and Ijiberty. Syringing 

 also should never be neglected after the 

 hottest part of the day is over; a good 

 syringing at that time freshens up 

 the young foliage and cools the house. 



Staking and tying will now occupy a 

 good deal of time. This ought to be 

 done while the plants are small, as it 

 is then so much easier to stretch the 

 wires without damaging the plants. The 

 neatest, best and most economical mate- 

 rial to use for this purpose is galvaniz.ed 

 wire, both for stakes and horizontals, us- 

 ing No. 16 for horizontals and No. (i for 

 stakes. Stakes for Brides and Brides- 

 maius should be about 3 feet 3 inches 

 long; for Beauties, 4% feet, with an 

 overhead wire to support the longer 

 stems. 



Tying should be done in a way to give 

 freedom of circulation among the leaves, 

 and not bunched together in broom fash- 

 ion. Neiitness and taste in this operation 

 considerably improves the appearance of 

 a house. Ribes. 



DISEASED ROSES. 



Many of our roses li:n'e got little lumps 

 aoout the size of bird shot on the roots. 

 I send you a sample. Is this club root, 

 and, if not, then what is it? On some 

 two-year-old plants some of the lumps 

 are as large as a walnut. What causes 

 thisf If the lumps are all picked off 

 would it be all right to plant these plants 

 again and run them over another vear? 



The spe<:-imens sent were so shriveled 

 and dry when I got them that it was 

 rather difficult to examine them prop- 

 erly. 



'These little tubercles are the cysts of 

 eel-worms. The microscope shows each 

 of them to contain from one to mree tiny 

 worms, very much like eels. Hence the 

 name. They are so small as to be invis- 

 ible to the ordinary naked eye. The 



larger callosities arise from the .same 

 cause, althougli at present they contain 

 no worms. 



These plants should be thrown out and 

 burned, the benches should be thoroughly 

 washed and given a good coating of hot 

 lime wash, the house should be replanted 

 with young, healthy stock. I do not be- 

 lieve it is safe to use stock propagated 

 from plants affected with this tnudjle, 

 however nice they may appear, as the 

 vitality is so reduced that they easily 

 become a prey to any rose enemy. 



RiBE.S. 



CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



Specimen Plants. 



Specimen plants, if not already i)otted 

 up into their blooming pots, should bo 

 attended to without delay; lU to lli-inch 

 pots are, in our opinion, plent.v large 

 enough for the final shift. 



These specimens are not grown to any 

 extent by the commercial florist, who 

 argues truly enough that they don't pay 

 )um to b<ither with, but they are more or 

 less in evidence on all private places 

 where the gardener happens to be inter- 

 ested in mums. The soil for this last 

 shift should consist of two parts of good 

 fibrous loam to one part of well-rotted 

 cow manure, with a fair proportion of 

 bone added. Be careful over the drain- 

 age, for if your plants get waterlogged 

 they may as well be thrown out. Over 

 the crocks in the bottom a little green 

 sod turned upside down is effectual in 

 ])reventing the soil from working down 

 among the crocks. For pink and red va- 

 rieties charcoal should be added. Pot- 

 ting should, of course, be firmly done, 

 leaving ample room at the top for a 

 future top dressing when the pots are 

 filled with roots. 



The principal shoots .should at this 

 time be got down into some kind of 

 shape, so that when pinching ceases the 

 final growths will come away straight, 

 and not have to be bent and twisted in 

 every direction to get them into position. 

 Pinching shoulil be kept up till the cml 

 of the month, running over the plants 

 every day and stopping the leading 

 shoots, the idea being to get all the 

 breaks possible before stopping ceases. 



Grow your ]dants inside if it is any 

 way possible to make room for them, as 

 such plants will do far better than if 

 they had to be grown outdoors, exposed 

 to the fury of thunder storms and the 

 baking heat of an August sun. If the 

 house does not have bottom or side ven- 

 tilation put your plants down by the 

 cloor to get all tin' air possible. 



Single Stem Plants 



for six-inch jiots should also be jiotted 

 u]) as soon as they are ready for the final 

 shift. They, too, will be far better 

 grown inside, where possible, as the foli- 

 age will keep better and the growth be 

 neater and more even. It is no child's 

 play to set up a batch of these plants, 

 well flowered, with the foliage absolutely 

 perfect down to the pot. Varieties like 

 Robinson or Nellie Pockett are ideal for 

 this work. 



Stock that has been planted outside 

 with the idea of being lifted and potted 

 up in September, should not l>e neg- 

 lected. The copious rains this year have 

 kept such stock from needing any water- 

 ing, but they should be kept pinched and 

 where black fly appears dust liberally 

 with tobacco dust. In a wet season like 



