12 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



Dkcembkk 2. 1897. 



stereotyped custom. I was delighted to 

 see on the market and in some of the best 

 flower stores in New York in the earl}- 

 months of this year, long handsome spikes 

 of the good old-fashioned snapdragon 

 (Antirrhinum majus) in pure white and 



such a tree paeony as Reine Elizabeth in 

 quantity and flowered it under glass two 

 months ahead of its natural season. 



Among many families of flowers that 

 come in May and June normally, espe- 

 ciall}- to be recommended for the purpose 



Vase of Achillea The Pearl. 



\ellow forms, and I believe thev sold 

 readil}-. In a similar way we might have 

 an advance season of many flowers that 

 bloom later in the open air. 

 »i Lily of the Valley is alwa}'s procurable, 

 but wh\- should we not sometimes see its 

 stately and fragrant relative, the Solo- 

 mon's Seal (Polygonatum multiflorum)? 

 Nothing could be easier to force, whilst 

 the graceful beauty of its arching leafy 

 stems, studded with blooms of exquisite 

 sweetne.ss, would -certainly attract to it 

 much admiration. The pa;ony in its out- 

 door season is irresistible with its gorgeous 

 munificence of brilliant colors. It, too, 

 responds to gentle forcing conditions, 

 and the hybrid roses forced for spring 

 would have a strong rival if one only took 



here advocated, are trollius, pyrethrums, 

 megaseas, aquilegias, hemerocallis, ane- 

 mone, and irises galore; these are all 

 adapted to cutting, whilst the possibili- 

 ties with pot plants, assimiing there is a 

 demand and a market for them, are in- 

 finitel}- greater. To be successful with 

 these plants one must secure good strong 

 stock, potting it up or planting into 

 boxes, or even on the bench of the green- 

 house itself, and, beginning in the early 

 days of the year, gradually inure it to 

 forcing conditions. With a home plot 

 where the plants could have good culture 

 one might grow and alwaj-s have good 

 forcing .stocks of the several subjects. 

 A. HerringTon. 

 Madison, N. J. 



ACHILLEA PTARMICA 

 THE PEARL. 



PLENA- 



Some years ago I recommended this 

 plant to a brother florist w-ho was inquir- 

 ing for a good all-around hardy white 

 flower which could be used in bouquets 

 or bunches as well as in the making up 

 of floral designs during the summer 

 months. He planted a bed of them the 

 following spring, and was quite satisfied 

 with the result of the first year, though 

 the plants did not flower as early in the 

 season as those he had seen with us, but 

 they gave him a succession of bloom un- 

 til very late in the fall, and when they 

 came out early again the spring after he 

 was so well pleased that he expressed his 

 thanks in a letter for suggesting this 

 plant. About six weeks after this pleas- 

 ing communication, another one arrived, 

 quite different in character. The bed 

 had ceased blooming, the plants would 

 not keep on growing and flowering after 

 the first crop had been cut. as thej- did 

 the year before, and he wanted to know 

 what he could do for them. I soon found 

 out that the bed had been planted rather 

 closely and was now one solid mass of 

 runners and roots, no space was left for 

 the healthy development of the young 

 stf ms, and the soil had received but very 

 little nourishment since the bed was 

 planted. 1 recommended a liberal top- 

 dressing of fine rich compost and regular 

 thorough watering for about two weeks 

 as the best remedy for the present time, 

 also advising the annual planting of a 

 new patch either in spring or fall and 

 the retaining of the older bed only until 

 the first crop of flowers had been cut 

 therefrom the second season. The younger 

 plants will always give us a constant suc- 

 cession of bloom until verj' late in au- 

 tumn ( I have gathered some very good 

 sprays as late as November lo), still we 

 have to rely on the older bed for flowers 

 early in the season. 



The best results are obtained with 

 this useful plant when planted in long 

 single rows two and a halt or three 

 feet apart. Here the individual flow- 

 ers are much larger and the sprays 

 attain greater dimensions than when 

 their roots are confined within the 

 limits of a smaller bed; each new runner 

 has a chance to develop to full size and 

 will form a many-branched stem with a 

 multitude of perfect shaped flowers. The 

 soil should be made very rich near the 

 surface; the roots have no inclination to 

 go down very deep; about a foot or fif- 

 teen inches apart in the row three or four 

 little runners are laid in, which soon form 

 roots and spread out quickly. As the 

 stems grow and elongate they ma}' show 

 an inclination to fall over; stakes driven 

 in at intervals of eight or ten feet and 

 twine stretched from one to another on 

 both sides of the row, will effectually 

 keep the plants in an upright position; 

 the rain cannot splash the flowers into 

 the dirt when they are thus supported. 



Really well grown achilleas are sel- 

 dom seen anywhere; it is a cheap flower, 

 and not many of our florists care to spend 

 nmch time and labor on them; they are 

 generally satisfied to have a patch on 

 hand to cut from in case of emergency 

 when they run short of white stuff. It 



