Uecember 'J, 1897 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



75 



Ibcris Sempervirens. Perennia's for Cut Flowers. 



base of the old stalk will in turn form 

 new flower stems, thus keeping up a 

 succession until frost stops all further 

 growth; but where the flowers are left to 

 mature and decay on the plants we must 

 not expect a great quantity of flowers after 

 their first blooming. They are propa- 

 gated either by cuttings or divisions, 

 preferably in the early spring. 



In August and September the helian- 

 thuses are generally in great demand. 

 Various good sorts may be recommended, 

 but if only one kind is to be planted, H. 

 laetiflorus is by all means the one which 

 takes best in the market. The flowers 

 are of medium size, very regularly shaped, 

 brilliant yellow in color, and the heads 

 are just heavy enough to slightly bend 

 over the stems so as to add to the general 

 graceful appearance of the long sprays. 

 Two rows of petals make this a semi- 

 double variety, otherwise it very nearly 

 resembles H. rigidus in h bit and growth. 

 About five feet is its height. It is easily 

 increased by division; no special care is 

 needed in successful!}' growing this plant. 



but too dry a situation should be avoided. 

 As I am restricted to but half a dozen 

 species, we are nearing the end. Only 

 one more is to be mentioned, and with so 

 much material to select from, considering 

 everything, I decide in favor of the often 

 mentioned Anemone japonica. We can 

 work these up everywhere, m large and 

 small decorations, in vases, baskets, or 

 designs, with long or short stems. They 

 are never objected to, and come at a time 

 when desirable white flowers are not 

 overplenty. I have seen it recommended 

 many times to give these plants a place 

 partially shaded by trees, but have never 

 seen them in such situations to grow as 

 vigorously and bloom so abundantly as 

 they will in full exposure to the sun. Old 

 plantings will attain a height of six feet, 

 tlie whole sides and tops a mass of buds 

 and bloom and the foliage large and 

 luxuriant. No such results can be ex- 

 pected for the first two years after plant- 

 ing, whether we use small young plants 

 or several well developed old crowns in 

 a hill to start with. If we are in posses- 



sion of only a] few old plants, root cut- 

 tings an inch or so long can be potted 

 singly in small pots, and this is a quick 

 way of working up a stock. In spring 

 the young plants should be planted out in 

 their permanent position; these will gen- 

 erally bloom freely the first fall and 

 increase their crop with every succeeding 

 year. Nobody can afford to do without 

 a row or bed of this useful and profitable 

 plant. K. 



SUPPORT OF FLOWER SHOWS. 



In a report of the New York Gardeners' 

 Society's exhibition published in a con- 

 temporary, it is written that "it is evident 

 that the key to New York's appreciation 

 and support of flower shows has not yet 

 been discovered." It strikes me very 

 forcibly that tlie same may be said of any 

 other city's appreciation and support on 

 this continent. In none of the accounts 

 does it appear that the shows have aroused 

 that enthusiasm which brings everybody 

 —young and old, rich and poor— out to 

 see them. I am not one of those who be- 

 lieve that this enthusiasm can be aroused 

 in a single year, but I do believe that the 

 key that will unlock the first and most 

 important door of the safe in which this 

 enthusiasm is stored is nothing else than 

 the p?-/ee of aduiissicm. Of course the 

 show must be a good one — they gener- 

 ally are good, though more attention 

 might be paid to small details than is usu- 

 ally done — but what is the use of having 

 a good show if the people don't come and 

 see it ? In this city when the show was 

 open on Thank.sgiving dav the hall was 

 always simply jammed both afternoon 

 and evening, the price of admission being 

 twenty-five cents; the people were all out 

 for a good time and they did not mind so 

 nnich what money they spent. But this 

 year the show was held earlier by two 

 weeks, and it was a better show, but the 

 crowd did not come, the reason being I 

 contend that the crowd thought they 

 could not afford it. The show was open 

 frei: for a few hours on Sunday- afternoon 

 (this not being advertised unti'l after 8 p. 

 m. on the Saturday! and an admiring and 

 most orderly crowd filled the building all 

 the time. I mention this instance to 

 demonstrate the fact tliat the crowd wants 

 to attend these shows but (except on a 

 holiday) cannot or will not pay the ad- 

 mission fee. 



Twenty-five cents certainlv does not 

 seem to be nmch, and to those' who always 

 attend any way it does not amount "to 

 much, but to by far the larger portion of 

 the population of a city who live fully up 

 to their income it ainounts to a great 

 deal, especially when the wife, mother-in- 

 law, daughters, cousins or aunts have to 

 be taken too . 



Now no show is really successful unless 

 it is attended by a great number of peo- 

 ple, in proportion to the population of the 

 city in which the show is held. Those 

 who love flowers and have plenty of 

 money can be easily brought, and some 

 will come to show their good clothes, but 

 there are those who love flowers and have 

 very little money, and many more who 

 don't know anything about flowers into 

 whom it is desirable to instil the love for 



