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The Weekly Florists' Review. 



47 J 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Geraniums. 



The month of September ushers in a 

 great deal of work, and for the next 

 few weeks the foundation is laid for 

 many of our next spring's crops. As 

 important as any is the ever- popular 

 zonale geranium, of which, if color 

 is desired, there is no rival. Early 

 September is the time to put in your 

 main crop of cuttings, which will furnish 

 you with strong flowering plants next 

 May. It seems many months to grow a 

 cheap plant, but they do not take up 

 much room or fuel during winter, and 

 can not be grown into a good plant in 

 a few weeks as many of the bedding 

 plants, such as salvia, heliotrope, etc., 

 can. 



For the benefit of the beginner I will 

 repeat the oft-told story. Do not put 

 them in the sand in a propagating bed. 

 It may be quicker work at the start, but 

 more time and labor later on; and what 

 is of more consequence, they draw up 

 weak and never make as vigorous and 

 hardy plants as those put into pots; 214- 

 inch pots will do for most of the varie- 

 ties, and for the stronger growing sorts 

 3%-inch. A good loam, not too light or 

 sandy, and a fifth or sixth part of well- 

 rotted and sifted manure, is the right 

 compost. You don't want these young 

 plants after rooting to grow vigorously. 

 You want them to get well rooted only 

 and to remain rather dormant until the 

 New Year. 



The geraniums in the open ground that 

 I have noticed this year have made a 

 most luxuriant growth, more than is de- 

 sirable for their flowering. The con- 

 tinuous rains of June and July account 

 for that, so the cuttings will be soft 

 and more liable to rot off than usual. A 

 high temperature is also a help to this 

 trouble. Be sure to pot these cuttings 

 firmly; much depends on that. I will 

 repeat once again that it is not on the 

 surface that the soil need be firm; the 

 watering does that. It is down in the 

 soil where the bottom of the cutting 

 rests that the soil should be compact 

 and firm, and that is done by using your 

 fingers as a wedge, and not just "thumb- 

 ing" on the surface. 



One good and thorough watering a 

 few hours after being potted is sufficient 

 for several days, but that will depend on 

 their location and exposure. Don't water 

 them again until they are decidedly on 

 the dry side. They should have a light 

 bench in any house where you have plenty 

 of ventilation. The ideal condition for 

 these cuttings is the same as that for 

 many of our plants, which we don't 

 give them, namely, shade for a few hours 

 when needed and the rest of the twenty- 

 four no shade. A light shade on the 

 glass for the first ten days is all that is 

 required; after that the full sun. I dare 

 gay there are lots of florists who have 

 their benches so full of mums, etc., that 

 there is no space to spare. Then a cold 

 frame will do just as well for these cut- 

 tings, and with the sash raised back and 



front, and the facility for shading when 

 necessary, it is just as good a place as 

 the greenhouse. 



I have been talking about zonale ger- 

 aniums, not all our bedding ger- 

 aniums, and some of them are better 

 handled differently. The variegated and 

 scented types we prefer to put in the 

 sand in the propagating bench, or if the 

 propagating bench is not convenient, then 

 a flat two or three inches deep and filled 

 with sand will do just as well. The ivy- 

 leaf section should always be put in sand. 

 I have recommended early September as 

 the right time to propagate the most 

 important section of these popular 

 plants, because we never have cuttings 

 enough, and by cutting the plants now 

 you will get another fair lot of cuttings 

 in October. Or, if necessary to lift the 

 old plants, they will be in the best con- 

 dition for so doing, and you have all 

 the cuttings you can use; then two or 

 three weeks later they will root just as 

 well. The ivy-leaf varieties we seldom 

 put in till near frost time. Kemember, 

 however, that the florist is too often a 



ilov\n the plants. Cut them down to' 

 within two or three inches of the top. 



Cyclamen. 



As the cooler weather approaches it 

 will be easier to manage your cyclamen. 

 It is about time the earliest had their 

 last shift, either a 5, 6 or 7-inch pot. A 

 frame with a little bottom heat will 

 suit them well -or another seven or 

 eight weeks, and in the frame covered 

 by sash you have the means of shading 

 when necessary better than a house, but 

 are more likely to neglect them in water- 

 ing and syringing. A bench in a house 

 where they will get the fullest light and 

 plunged in a few inches of tobacco stems 

 is a very safe place for them from now 

 on. Some means should be provided to 

 give them shade on sunny days from 10 

 to 3. Syringe every bright morning and 

 never let up on the fumigating. 



Crowding is with cyclamen as big a 

 mistake as with other plants, only a lit- 

 tle more so. Plenty of room must be 

 given so that the form of the plant viriU 

 be naturally developed, and if crowded 

 together it is difficult to get at the aphis 

 with smoke. Remember that if plunged 

 in tobacco stems, and you have occasion 

 to fumigate only once in two weeks, so 

 much the better, because we do not see 

 actual damage to our plants by fumi- 

 gating. We are apt to think that they 

 enjoy it. Not so. When fumigating 

 strong enough to kill aphis we are also 

 giving the plants quite a setback. Al- 

 though it is not plainly visible, it is a 



Thistle Curling Rink, Hamilton, Ont., in which the Trade Exhibit and Floral Fete of the 

 Canadian Horticultural Association was held this week. 



procrastinating creature, and the first 

 intimation of frost finds him in a muddle 

 with fifteen days' work crowded into one. 



Pelargoniums. 



I spoke some weeks ago about pelargo- 

 niums, saying that early September was 

 a good time to propagate. It is, and 

 now it should be done. Putting the cut- 

 tings in the sand is rather the surest 

 way, but if that is not convenient pot 

 them in 214-inch pots, as you do the 

 zonales. The greatest mistake made by 

 those growing pelargoniums without ex- 

 perience is that they are afraid to cut 



check on their vigor, and in plants like 

 cyclamen, that can be so easily sur- 

 rounded by tobacco stems, it shoiild al- 

 ways be done till flowering time. 



' Bouvardia. 



It is now time to lift the bouvardia. 

 xt is a tropical plant, and, although sub- 

 mitting to a lower temperature when 

 flowering than it would get in its 

 native clime, it should never have the 

 roots disturbed in cool weather when 

 growing. If you grow this pretty flower 

 lift them at once and plant on a bench 

 in five inches of soil (light and well 



