74 



The Weekly Florists^ Review, 



December 9, 1897 



unusually tall masses of Golden Rod 



( SoHdago canadensis and S. serotina ), 

 ricinus. Golden Glow rudbeckia, Helian- 

 thus doronicoides, Hibiscus manihot and 

 Amarantluis speciosus, edged by peren- 

 nial phlox. 



At the left the lower point shows 

 ricinus, masses of heleniura, boltonia, 

 New England aster ( purple ), and Dolic- 

 hos japonica climbing to the trees at back. 



The second point at the left has masses 

 of helenium, boltonia. Giant Daisy ( Pyre- 

 thrum uliginosum ), Helianthus decap- 

 etalus, Eulalia japonica. Phlox decussata 

 varieties, and Aster Utvis. 



In the middle of the view is a group of 

 sunflowers (Helianthus doronicoides) 

 which attained a height of twelve feet 

 this sunnner, and bloomed profusely. 

 Prominent in the same section were some 

 plants of Virginia tobacco, much admired 

 for their bold leaves and pretty flowers 

 which continued to appear long after 

 many apjiarently hardier plants had 

 ceased to bloom. 



Among late blooming plants the most 

 remarkable is Aster trinervis, a small 

 shrubby looking plant with leaves lobe- 

 toothed somewhat like a chrysanthemum, 

 medium sized, dark jmrpie heads. It 

 came into bloom late in October and was 

 still in full flower Nov. 15. Last year it 

 had not bloomed when hard frost set in. 



J. H. 



A FEW PERENNIALS FOR CUT 

 FLOWER PURPOSES. 



When we look over the list of hardy 

 plants we are puzzled by the great variety 

 of good things suitable for this purpose, 

 and to select a half dozen of the best 

 species is a rather difficult task, for it 

 .seems almost inipossilile for me to decide 

 on any one of them in preference to an- 

 other. It would be comparatively easy 

 to prepare a list of a hundred species, but 

 the average florist of moderate means 

 has neither time nor space to waste on a 

 large collection and only cares to have a 

 few things perhaps which grow and bloom 

 readily with the least possible care and 

 attendance. 



Below I will mention a few of the many 

 worthy species which will succeed in any 

 ordinary garden soil and require only 

 every day treatment. Anybody may 

 grow them successfully in field rows, 

 hoeing and cultivating them in the same 

 manner as we would a row of corn or 

 potatoes. No protection is needed for 

 them in the severest weather; they can 

 be depended upon to bloom profusely 

 every season and their flowers are ex- 

 tremely useful in the home trade, at least 

 with us, for we can alwa\'s use up the 

 whole of the crop to the last flower. 



Early in spring the hardy candytuft 

 (Iberis sempervirens) furnishes us with a 

 great quantity of very serviceable white 

 flowers which are almost indispensable in 

 making up designs or baskets. They are 

 also much in demand in loose bunches 

 where a cemetery trade is carried on ; be- 

 ginning so early as May, it will continue 

 well into June. The elongated racemes 

 can be cut with stems eight to ten inches 

 long, they keep perfectly fresh for a week 

 or more in water, and are of the purest 



snowy white. Within a small space we 

 may accommodate quite a large number 

 of plants which can remain in the same 

 position for an indefinite period; the older 

 theplants are the more flowers we may ex- 

 pect from them. Propagation by cuttings 

 in autumn, winter or spring, or by seeds, 

 are the means of increasing the stock. 

 Old stools will not divide readily, Init un- 

 der good treatment one-year-old cuttings 

 will form bushy little plants and flower 

 quite freely the first season. Soon after 

 flowering we should not neglect to shear 

 the plants back evenly and rather close 

 to the ground so as to encourage an even, 

 vigorous growth of stout and straight 

 stems. 



I. corraaefolia is several weeks later and 

 has broader, flat flower-heads when first 

 opening becoming elongated as the re- 

 maining buds open out from the center. 

 This is a robust, stout growing species, 

 but somewhat dwarfer than the first 

 named. Both will force readily in winter 

 and years ago were used extensively as a 

 winter cut flower, especially around Eas- 

 ter. Very little heat is required to bring 

 them out and I do not see wh\' they should 

 not now be profitable in the home trade 

 of the average florist. When planted in 

 pots on the approach of spring and placed 

 in a cold frame they will be in fidl bloom 

 at Decoration Day. Good prices can be 

 demanded for well-shaped plants and 

 quantities of them can be disposed of an- 

 nualh- in the retail trade. 



For a second choice I would recommend 

 the pyrethrums, single and double. The 

 China aster-like flowers are borne on long, 

 stiff stems, are of good size and very 

 handsome. They vary in color from 

 white to deep bright crimson and are a 

 most popular flower in their season (June 

 and July), but not enough of them are 

 grown anywhere to supply the market 

 regularly. We can grow them cheaply 

 in field rows and they should remain there 

 undisturbed for .some years. The .stock 

 is increased readily by division in fall or 

 early spring, or also just after the flower- 

 ing season is over, l.iut not much bloom 

 may be expected from newly divided 

 plants, especially where they are cut up 

 to one or two crowns. Rank fresh ma- 

 nure should not be used in the soil, still 

 they like a rich and somewhat moi.st b>it 

 well drained ground, where the individual 

 flowers attain greater size t>nd substance 

 and are also richer in color. As these 

 plants grow two feet or a little over in 

 height, we must provide a support of 

 some sort for them; stakes, at intervals 

 of eight or ten feet, and twine stretched 

 on both sides of the row, as recommended 

 for achilleas, is the quickest and most 

 economical way 1 know of. The stems 

 are stiff enough to uphold the flower in 

 closely planted beds where one plant sup- 

 ports the other, but in rows the wind and 

 rain may break them down if left without 

 the aid of the twine. As soon as the 

 flowering season is past, we should go 

 over the plants and cut out all remaining 

 parts of stems down to the ground. This 

 will induce the young side-growth spring- 

 ing from the old crowns to start more 

 vigorously, and when this is attended to 

 early enough, generally insures a fairly 

 good fall crop of flowers. Some cata- 

 logue descriptions are rather misleading 



by calling some varieties ' 'fiery scarlet" or 

 "brilliant scarlet." I have never seen 

 any varieties which could be considered 

 a scarlet, though many of the sorts de- 

 scribed as such have come under my 

 observation; they are very brilliantly 

 colored, but I can not lind any real 

 scarlet among them. 



The flowers of this most valuable hardy 

 plant can be used in every imaginable 

 way, the same as we employ at the pres- 

 ent season the chrysanthemum; in vases, 

 bouquets, or in all sorts of room or table 

 decorations and designs, they are always 

 attractive and universally admired by 

 everybody. All our attempts to force the 

 pyrethruni during winter or spring have 

 been unsatisfactory, and I doubt whether 

 we ever will be able to offer any of these 

 charming flowers at any other time but 

 their natural flowering season. 



For No. 3, the golden yellow Anthemis 

 tinctoria may be found a profitable sub- 

 ject. Single, daisy-like flowers are always 

 in great demand, and there is no more 

 profuse bloomer of this descriptioii than 

 this composite during the summer months, 

 beginning in July and lasting until fall. 

 It is a compact, bushy grower, and per- 

 fects hundreds of flowers on long, wiry 

 .stems in its sea.son. Propagates quickly 

 by division; small pieces will .soon spread 

 and form large plants in a .single .season, 

 therefore plenty of room should be al- 

 lowed in the rows at planting time; eight- 

 een inches is the average height of the 

 plants, and when the ground is not too 

 poor or dry, a succession of bloom may 

 be expected until late in fall. They are 

 excellent keepers even in the hottest 

 weather, and are generally used in loose 

 bunches for vases, etc. 



The light and airy, rather narrow pani- 

 cles of Phlox suffruticosa in variety are 

 without rival among the summer and fall 

 flowers for general purposes. Their col- 

 ors are more delicate than those we find 

 in the decussata section and the florets 

 are not so closely arranged in the pani- 

 cles. The stem is considerably thinner, 

 the foliage narrow, deep, glossy green, 

 not disfigured by mildew at any time as 

 is the case frequently with the other, and 

 the whole appearance of the panicle is 

 decidedly graceful in every detail. None 

 of them grow taller than eighteen or 

 twentv inches. They flower considerably 

 earlier than the ordinary decussatas and 

 bring a succession of bloom until No- 

 vember. 



Why this section should have been 

 neglected for so long a time is a mystery 

 to me, for thev possess so many superior 

 qualities which should entitle them to 

 universal attention, much more so than 

 the large family of decussatas, of which 

 new varieties of more or less value are 

 sent out everv year, while the undoubt- 

 edly more graceful and slender form has 

 received hardly any additions in the last 

 thirty or forty years, though it would not 

 be more difficult to raise new varieties of 

 this than the other. While the robust 

 growth of the conunon species requires 

 frequent divisions, our favorite can remain 

 undisturbed for five or six years; an an- 

 nual topdressing in early spring is enough 

 to encourage all the underground eyes 

 into healthy growth, and when the first 

 panicles are cut in June, the eyes at the 



