76 



The Weekly Florists' Review, 



Decehbek 



1903. 



FROM OUR ENGLISH EXCHANGES. 



The Gardeners' Chronicle. 



The Kew Belladonna. — The super- 

 iority of this form of Amaryllis Bella- 

 donna over the other two, viz., the type 

 and that known as blanda, may now be 

 seen at Kew, where all three are flower- 

 ing in the border against the south wall 

 of the orchid house. There are twelve 

 flowers open on one scape of the Kew 

 variety, whereas on the others not more 

 than live can be found. The flowers are 

 larger and the color a' richer shade of 

 rosy-crimson than in any other Belladon- 

 na. The origin of this fine plant is 

 doubtful. It is supposed to be the result 

 of a cross between Brunsvigia Josephinse 

 and a Belladonna lily; but Mr. Baker, 

 after carefully examining the plant, was 

 of opinion that it was nothing more than 

 an exceptionall}' fine variety of A. Bella- 

 donna. The cross between these two has 

 since been carefully made at Kew, and 

 the progeny will soon be old enough to 

 flower; we shall then see if there is any- 

 thing in the story of the origin of the 

 Kew Belladonna. It is certain, at any 

 rate, that this cross can be made. 



Ipomoea Eubro-coerulea. — This love- 

 ly convolvulus is sometimes seen in hot- 

 houses, but rarely in the open ground. 

 Being a native of southern Mexico, it 

 requires to be started in a warm tem- 

 perature; but when the plants have at- 

 tained a height of eighteen inches to two 

 feet they may well be used for the deco- 

 ration of the conservatory, or even plant- 

 ed against a sunny wall in the open. 

 There are over 300 species of ipomoeas, 

 the majority of which are not in cultiva- 

 tion, but none exceeds in beauty the sub- 

 ject of this note. The large flowers, 

 from three inches to four inches in diame- 

 ter, are of a lovely pale-blue tint, and 

 are rivaled in hue by no other plant 

 in the open garden. The plant is an an- 

 nual, but will continue to flower under 

 glass protection, where sufficient heat is 

 afforded, until December or January. In 

 the open its season of beauty is naturally 

 of shorter duration; but there is no rea- 

 son why it should not be used to orna- 

 ment warm walls through August and 

 September. The present summer has been 

 exceptionally wet, dull and windy, yet 

 for the past five weeks this species has 

 afforded a charming picture on a south 

 wall, where its twining growths ascend 

 perpendicular wires to a height of four 

 feet, and charm beholders with numbers 

 of pale-blue flowers. The plants are put 

 out in rich and porous soil in mid-July, 

 when the first flower-buds are just 

 formed. They are grown singly in 4%- 

 inch pots, and care should be taken not to 

 disturb the ball in planting. Few are 

 aware what beauty they miss by not em- 

 ploying this lovely annual convolvulus 

 for affording color to southern walls with 

 its clear blue flowers in late summer and 

 early autumn. 



KNIPHOFIA RUFA. 



Several species of the red hot poker 

 plant have been introduced from South 

 Africa recently, including that under 

 notice, which hails from the Orange 

 Kiver Colony. I should not recommend 

 it for those who believe only in big 

 heads, such as are produced by the 

 common K. aloides, but it nevertheless 

 has a beauty of its own, and bears its 

 stems much more gracefully than the 

 heavy-headed ones, says a writer in the 



Gardening World. The spikes vary from 

 two and one-half feet to three feet in 

 height, and bear a raceme of flowers 

 rather sparsely placed over the stem, 

 so as to form a sort of open spike. 

 These flowers arc dusky red at first, but 

 they change after expansion to a clear 

 bright yellow, except the short lobes at 

 the mouth, which are nearly white. 

 The three-edged leaves are narrower 

 than those of the common species, and 

 of a light glaucous green. It is well 

 worthy of cultivation for late summer 

 and early autumn effect. 



PANDANUS VEITCHII. 



To have well colored plants of this 

 useful stove subject it is necessary to 

 keep up a stock of young plants. As a 

 rule, when they become old they lose 

 the variegation which is their chief 

 characteristic, says the Gardening 

 World. Those that have become green 

 or too large to be of service may now 

 be destroyed, and the highly colored 

 suckers pulled off from the base, tak- 

 ing pains to retain roots where possible. 

 Insert these singly in small pots; a 

 suitable compost consists of three-fifths 

 good friable loam to one each of peat 

 and leaf-soil, adding some nodules of 

 charcoal, silver sand, a little bone-meal, 

 and a handful of lime. Plunge in a 

 frame or propagating pit, and when 

 well rooted place on a light shelf and 

 grow on gently all the winter. No re- 

 potting should be performed until the 

 following February, when they may be 

 shifted on into a size larger pot and 

 grown on in heat freely. A fruitful 

 source of green foliage may be attrib- 

 uted in great measure to over-potting 

 and over-watering. 



Pewahkee, Wis. — iFrank SchoU will 

 embark in the greenhouse business on 

 Ormsby street, this town affording a 

 good opening for such an enterprise. 



I THINK it only right and just to en- 

 courage you in your work of editing the 

 best florists' paper in America, by say- 

 ing that if I coiild only afford one paper 

 it would be the Review. — A. J. Booth- 

 man, Adams, Mass. 



PACIFIC COAST. 



Eedlands, Cal. — The City Nurseries 

 have opened a flower stand at Spoor '& 

 drug store, in charge of Mrs. A. F. 

 Parker. 



PLANT NOTES. 



Japanese Stock. 



The season will soon be at hand when 

 large shipments of trees and shrubs will 

 be received through the San Francisco 

 custom house from Japan. The taste of 

 the public has undergone somewhat of 

 a change in the past ten years regarding 

 Japanese stock, and such articles as fancy 

 leaved maples, cedars, single camellias, 

 junipers and azaleas are no longer in 

 great demand at fancy prices in this sec- 

 tion of the country. We depend upon 

 Japan, however, for cheap camellias, 

 rhapis, cyeas, aspidistras, sword-ferns, 

 fern baskets and several varieties ot 

 hardy palms. 



Before laws regarding scale bugs 

 and injurious insects were so strictly en- 

 forced as they are at present it was al- 



=THE AMERICAN= 



CARNATION 



HOW TO GROW IT. 

 FULLY ILLUSTRATED. 



By C. W. WARD. 



A PRACTICAL work on Carnation grow- 

 ing: complete in every particular, 

 including the full calendar of operations 

 for the year, with chapters on Soils. Ferti- 

 lizers. Insects. Diseases. Heating. Each and 

 every phase of commercial Carnation culture 

 treated clearly and comprehensively. The 

 book contains 290 large pages, finely printed. 

 It should be in the hands or every grower. 



Sent esrrlaee paid on receipt of $3.S0. 



Florists' PublishiDg' Company, 



Caxton Bldg. , Chicago. 



The Florists' Manual 



A Complete Reference Book for 

 Commercial Florists. 

 Over 200 larg'e pag'es. 

 Haiidsom,ely illustrated. 

 Following' is a list of the 8n1)> 



Roses 



SaU-ia 



Santolina 



Sedum 



Seed Sowing 



Selaginella 



Shading 



Skimmia japon'a 



Smilax 



Soils 



Solanum 



Stephanotis 



Ste\-ia 



Stocks 



Store Manage'mt 



Swainsona 



Sweet Peas 



System 



Thunbergia 



Torenia 



Tropaeolum 



Tuberose 



Valotta 



Vases 



Ventilation 



Veranda Boxes 



Verbena 



Vinca 



Violet 



Watering 



Zinnia 



