358 



The Weekly Florists^ Review, 



JAXIAKI 14, 111(14. 



special cause wliicli proiluces siuli re- 

 sults. The fact that the foliage is o f 

 the proper color is evidence that tlie sys- 

 tem of watering is not at fault. 



The e.vcess of blind wood can be ac- 

 counttd for in two ways; viz., by using 

 deteriorated stock, which is a most frnit- 

 ful cause. That this is the cause is 

 partly confirmed by the young growtlis 

 leing of such a weak color. This would 

 also account for tlie buds failing to prop- 

 erly develop. Improper cutting of f'e 

 flower stems will also cause blind wood; 

 where too many eyes are left they 

 usually are too weak to produce buds. 



The correspondent fails to mention tlie 

 component parts of the mulch. The cou- 

 <lition of the Bride buds as described 

 would lead to the inference that there 

 must have been an excess of ammonia in 

 the food supply. This is easily pro- 

 duced by using bone and lime in combi- 

 nation or by using horse manure in the 

 mulch. As regards lime it may be pos- 

 sible that there is already an excess of 

 it in the soil and as the water is hard 

 there may be an excess there also, so it 

 might be well to be careful in the use 

 of that material. 



There is always danger in the use ri- 

 wood ashes, they being of such a concen- 

 trated nature that the plant is not ready 

 at all times to benetit by their use; lise 

 them sparingly, especially on weak stock. 



Be sure that the soil on the bencr 



moistened to the bottom and not merely 

 on the surface under the mulch. Try a 

 gentle stimulant in the form of liquid 

 made from fresh cow manure. Make it 

 ratlier weak for a first application and 

 keep a close watch on the result; if this 

 is favorable, slightly increase the strength. 

 Apply every ten days until the spring 

 growth commences, when it can be used 

 safely once a week. Kibes. 



TOO WARM AND TOO WET. 



I send you a sample of Bridesmaid 

 roses, foliage and buds, just as they are 

 produced in a night temperature of 62 

 degrees. I have treated them fairlv. 

 Wliat is tlie trouble? J. E. E. ' 



The plants from whicli the wood and 

 buds were cut are evidently in such a eon- 

 ditiou that they are beyond hope of ef- 

 fecting a recovery in time to be of anv 

 profit yiis season. The leaves bear evi- 

 dence of having been produced in too 

 high a temperature, accompanied by ir- 

 regularity in watering. By this I mean 

 they have been allowed to become too 

 dry at one time and then frequently 

 over-watered; .56 degrees at night, ami 

 ranging from 65 to 75 or 80 degrees, ac- 

 cording to the intensity of sunshine, is 

 the proper temperature for Brides and 

 Maids. Propagating from such stock 

 would be courting failure. Eibes. 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Starting the Bedding Stock. 



There is no time during winter when 

 conditions for propagating will be more 

 favorable than now and for the next 

 eight weeks, for you will be keeping a 

 good fire heat and the atmosphere of the 

 houses will be cool, ilany plants that 

 are ignored just now will be of import- 

 ance to you in the spring, and it is time 

 that pome of them were propagated. Sev- 

 eral very useful plants you lifted from 

 the ground in September and now cut- 

 tings can be taken and the old plants 

 thrown away. Among these are the 

 acalyjihas of several kinds; Abutikm 

 Savitzi, pyrethrum, ageratnm, lobelia, 

 salvia and others that can be managed 

 that way. 



While it is not well to get your 

 benches loadtd up too early in the sea- 

 son with these bedding plants, it is time 

 to get rid of the old plants and the 

 j'oung plants propagated now, if potted 

 up and kept growing, will give you lots 

 of cuttings for later propagation. M.any 

 of our soft-wooded bedding plants, un- 

 less thty are kept shifted, which would 

 be very unprofitable, will soon spoil and 

 be shabby just when you want to sel' 

 them. So try to have enough plants th.-.t 

 will give you lots of cuttings later on. 



Solving Seasonable Seeds. 

 There are -not many seeds to sow just 

 now, yet there are some. If you want 

 to renew your smilax bed, then sow the 

 seed now. Sow in fiats and cover the 

 seed with an eighth of an inch of light 

 soil, and a few thousand ?cedlings will 



take up very little bench room for the 

 next two or three months. I firmly be- 

 lieve in planting smilax every year and 

 planting good, strong 3-inch plants about 

 the first of July . 



Starting Carinas. 



Canna seed can be sown now. Per- 

 haps you have all the roots you want 

 and if so you need not bother with seed- 

 ling.s, but sometimes we sell out so clean 

 that we are short of stock in, the fall. 

 I don't know of any better way to make 

 tlie "Indian shot" grow than to soak 

 the seed in hot water for twenty-four 

 hours and then, with a strong, sharp 

 knife, slice off a small piece of the hard 

 shell and sow in drills in the propagating 

 bed. Cannas come largely true from 

 seed. I mean by this that if .vou buy of 

 a reliable seedsman canna seed saved 

 from Antoine Crozv or Tarrytown, your 

 young seedlings will turn out to be those 

 varieties. 



AVhile on the subject of cannas, let me 

 remind you to keep an eye on the roots 

 that are i-esting beneath, perhaps, a car- 

 nation bench. If you laid them on boards 

 they will be all right, but if on the 

 damp ground the.v are sure to start grow- 

 ing, which is a great mistake and a lo.ss. 

 and moving tliem will cheek the roots 

 getting a start. 



Asparagus Sjed. 



Tliose verv us I'ul liaiits Asparagus 

 jilumosns and A. Sprengeri can be sown 

 now or as soon as you t-an get fresli 

 seed. Tliere is nothing iiiorc useful for 



fc!'n dishes than plumosus. We are asked 

 frequently to 101 a fern dish entirely with 

 it. The customers know how well it 

 Ibsts in the uncongenial environments of 

 a warm room. And as for Sprengeri, 

 we have not yet heard of its being over- 

 done anywhere. These plants are ad- 

 vertised at a very low figure, but you can 

 raise them as cheaply as anyone. I 

 seldom blame the seedsman when faihtre 

 ensues with the sowing of very small 

 seeds, such as calceolaria, begonia, etc., 

 but if you keep the flats in a temperature 

 of 60 degrees and these asparagus seeds 

 don 't come up you can rest assured that 

 you have got hold of some ancient seed, 

 that perhaps was taken info and out oi 

 the Ark or passed through the same or- 

 deal as poor Jonah. 



Storirg Poinsettias. 



Poinsettias seem to have been very gen- 

 erally grown this winter; for many years 

 the.y were not. They are about over 

 now and those cut down or unsold should 

 rest beneath a warm, dry bench till the 

 middle of April or first of May. Lay 

 tiiem down and, if grown in pots, leave 

 them in the pots. If grown on the bench 

 put them in flats with some dry soil 

 around the roots, but let root and stem 

 get as dry as a warm house and the en- 

 tire absence of water will make them. 



The Easter Plants. 



Easter is eany this year, in the first 

 days of April. This suits some things 

 and some people; for the man who wants 

 space for his summer flowering plants 

 it is a blessing. You will have to look 

 over your Easter azaleas now, and again 

 six w-eeks later. All the fall imported 

 jdants have an inclination to send out a 

 growth, even if kept cool, and if that 

 growth is allowed to get a start the flow- 

 er bud will jierish and you will have a 

 \ery healthy looking azalea without any 

 flowers. These growths must be pinched 

 or rubbed or pulled off. Its a little early 

 yet to say anything about the azaleas 

 being just right in bloom for Easter, but 

 a reminder will do no harm, to the effect 

 that while some varieties such as Van 

 dor Cruyssen will be in time for Easter 

 if kept at 40 degrees for the next six 

 weeks, later varieties can be kept 5 or 

 ]0 degrees higher. Usually azaleas are 

 rather' carl.y for Easter, so this year it 

 will not be much trouble to be right. 



Seldom do we have Spii-fea (Astilbe) 

 japonica in flower too soon. Get it into 

 the pots and if you are crowded it is 

 just as well beneath a bench for flu-ee 

 or four weeks, or until the leaf growth 

 is started. I have heard friends and 

 neighbors say they could force them in 

 six weeks. We have not been able fn do 

 it, and believe they are better brought 

 along without such violent forcing. They 

 are by no means a very profitable plant, 

 but we have to have them. 



WiLLi.iM Scott. 



CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



.1. il. Tlioilmrn & Co.. New York, 

 seeds; Wm. Elliott & Sons, New York, 

 seeds; M. IT. Walsh. Wood's Hole, :Mass., 

 roses; H. H. Berger & Co., New York, 

 bulbs, seeds and plants: Amzi Godden 

 Co.. Birmingham, Ala., seeds; M. Craw- 

 ford Co., Cuyahoga Falls, O., grapes: D. 

 M. Andrews, Boulder, Colo., seeds and 

 plants; Thos. Meehan & Sons, Dresher- 

 fown. Pa., nursery stock; Wood, Stnbbs 

 Sc Co.. Louisville, Kv.. seeds; Leonard 

 Seed Co., Chicago, seeds; W. W. Wil- 

 more, Denver, dahlias. 



