10 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



December 2, 1897. 



Baronne de Poilly is an excellent vari- 

 ety with flowers of a rich orange sahnon 

 which open out very full, and are beauti- 

 fully rounded. 



Vice-Pres. Luizet has flowers of a rich 

 cherry red with carniitie reflex, conspicu- 

 ous by its peculiar color and wealth of 

 bloom . 



Some of the older varieties which 

 showed up finely were Furst Bismarck, a 

 bright fiery red; Franz Buchner, deep 

 orange suffused with scarlet with broad 

 gold band. 



Paul Meylan, a vigorous grower with 

 beautiful orange red flowers, which 

 though smaller than Madame Crozy is 

 very desirable on account of its unique 

 color. Beaute Poitevine is still the ideal 

 crini.son bedder, perfect in every way. 



Adjoining the field proper a strip was 

 set ajxirt for the purpose of testing new 

 varieties as well as for comparison with 

 the older sorts, all of which were planted 

 in rows of six plants each, side by side. 

 Over two hundred varieties were thus 

 planted, the most notable new sorts be- 

 ing Furst Hohenlohe, which promises to 

 be the iileal yellow bedder, short com- 

 pact growth, immense bloomer, with 

 pure yellow flowers with the exception 

 of the low-er petal, which is slightly 

 marked with red, fine compact truss. 



Goliath, a velvety dark crimson, ileeper 

 in color than Bouvier, with large flowers 

 and .spike. 



Sam Trelease is the gem of the collec- 

 tion, a variety raised by Mr. James Gur- 

 ney. Superintendent of Tower Grove 

 Park, St. Louis. It has the habit of 

 Madame Crozy, with a large rounded 

 flower of a rich glowing scarlet or the 

 nearest approach to that desirable color. 



Secretaire Chabanne, orange with 

 deeper shadings, good bloomer and 

 large flower. 



Depute Ravarin, deep garnet, and 

 Madame Favrichon, bright vermilion. 



A large collection of the new Italian 

 cannas were also tested, the most promi- 

 nent being America, with its beautiful 

 striped flowers and handsome dark 

 foliage. 



Allemania, with huge scarlet and yel- 

 low flowers, often measuring over six 

 inches in diameter. 



H. Wendland, a beautiful scarlet with 

 golden border. Africa, La France and 

 Pluto are all beautiful, with magnificent 

 dark foliage. 



In the dark foliaged Crozy varieties 

 the best are Egandale, currant red; Ad- 

 miral Avellan, orange red; and F. 

 Neuvesel, beautiful carmine; the latter is 

 an old variety but one of tlie best and 

 most effective. J. D. 



MISCELLANEOUS SEASONABLE 

 HINTS. 



Chry.santhemuins are largely gone, and 

 flowering plants for Christmas will de- 

 mand our thoughts for the next few 

 weeks. For several weeks pa,st the 

 weather has been just the reverse of what 

 is desired to nuike sturdy growths and 

 brilliant flowers -dark, gloomy, and wet, 

 and not cold enough to need strong firing. 

 For almost all plants when the weather 

 conditions are .such, a good heat on the 

 pipes and a little air is always the correct 



thing to do. To let a house be damp and 

 close because it is not ver\- cold outside 

 is the poorest economy. 



Azaleas. 



Azaleas for Christmas should lie show- 

 in.g color now. Deutsche Perle, the beau- 

 tiful double white, is the easiest of all to 

 get in bv the holidays, but Vervieneana, 

 the irre.gular growing fine pink, and Si- 

 mon Mardner, red, come in all right. A 

 good syringing on the under side of the 

 foliage will help them along and cer- 

 tainh- help to keep down thrip and red 

 spider. 



The Calla. 



The calla (Richardial is now consid- 

 ered by many as quite unprofitable, but if 

 you do grow it, don't forget that it should 

 always have a night temperature of not 

 less than 6o°, liberal pot room, and a 

 light house. 



Harrisii Lilies. 



The Bernuida or Harrisii lilies are now 

 in flower with us, and there should be no 

 difBcultv in keeping up a good succession 

 of them from now on. I have noticed 

 for several years past there has always 

 been a good demand for them at the holi- 

 days, not so many ask for pot plants as 

 the cut stems for decorating. With the 

 later crop of these, particularly the Eas- 

 ter plants, I adopted the plan pursued 

 by an eminent Philadelphia grower, viz., 

 to pot the seven to nine bulbs first into 4- 

 inchpots. When they have made a growth 

 of three or four inches you can tell 

 whether they are going ,to be healthy 

 plants. Many of mine are now just 

 in that condition and in a week or so will 

 be shifted into 6 and 7-inch pots. You 

 can also pick out three plants of the 

 same size pot into a 9-inch, and be rea- 

 sonably sure they will all three flower 

 at the same time. There are certainly a 

 few of your customers who will give you 

 three dollars for a fine pot of lilies. This 

 plan of handling the lilies twice may 

 seem more labor than putting the dry 

 Imlb at once into its flowering pot, but 

 it has many advantages to commend it. 

 It must be a saving of soil, and wdiat is of 

 far more value, space. I have never been 

 afflicted with more than ten per cent, of 

 diseased Bermudas, but have learnt that 

 it is of no earthly use to allow them to 

 encumber the bench after they once show- 

 signs of disease. I don't think it is in- 

 fectious from plant to plant, but the 

 disease develops with the growth of the 

 plants, and any lingering hope that you 

 will perhaps get perfect flowers from a 

 diseased plant is futile, Consign them 

 to the dump pile without delay, and re- 

 turn with a .smile to put something else 

 in their place or to grow to perfection 

 what is left. 



Poinsettias. 



The poinsettia has for a long time been 

 a popular and assuredly profitable plant 

 with us. Don't leave them without a 

 stake and a tie until they have cur\-ature 

 of the spine. They want and deser\-e a 

 support. You know, of course, they are 

 a truly tropical plant and want a hot 

 house, but perfect li,ghl, or they will 

 grow spindling and to an unsightly length. 

 They are now showing their brilliant 



scarlet bracts, some three or four inches 

 long, and if they show signs of exhaus- 

 tion by their bottom folia,ge turning yel- 

 low, don't make the big mistake of shift- 

 ing them at this late day; that will only 

 add to their distress. Water them twice 

 a week with liquid manure, and if it 

 comes from the cow-stable there is none 

 better for these strong feeding plants. 

 About a hop, step, and a jump from where 

 I am writing there is a batch of about 200 

 poinsettias that ten weeks ago .gave 

 promise of being an extra fine lot; if 

 thev had been then shifted into 6-iuch 

 pots they would have been, but that op- 

 eration was deferred to about a month 

 ago with the consequence that now they 

 are a wreck. I don't look at them; we 

 never speak as we pass by. Right across 

 the bench is a big batch struck two 

 months later and shifted two months 

 ago from a 3', to 5-inch pot; they are 

 fine in every respect with the deep green 

 leaves that .so finely set off the bracts. 

 While speaking of leaves in this ad- 

 vanced age of floral taste and arrange- 

 ment, what flower is there that is valued 

 or appreciated without perfect foliage? 

 I know of none; eveit the humble violet 

 must have its embellishment of healthy 

 leaves. 



Cyclamens. 



Cyclamens will soon be in their prime. 

 They are often badly troubled with green 

 fly. A mild fmnigating does not hurt 

 them, but a good preventive of the aphis 

 is to raise each plant on an inverted pot, 

 giving each plant a good circulation of 

 air, and on the bench spread two or three 

 inches of tobacco stems. If fly is once 

 killed the .stems scattered among the plants 

 will keep them down for a long time. 

 About 50° at night is cool enough to 

 flower cyclamens well. 



Fuchsias. 



There are not many cuttings to put in 

 just now, as most of the bedding plants 

 can be increased so rapidly later on. But 

 fuchsias, if you grow tliem largely, should 

 be propagated as early as }Ou can. When 

 "struck" two months later the cuttings 

 are so anxious to flower that they do 

 not made good-sized plants. 



Begonias. 



If you grow that once highly-prized 

 but now so common plant, the Begonia 

 Rex, and its many varieties, you should 

 now have them in the sand, as it will 

 take them all their time to make useful 

 sized plants by end of May, the time 

 when they are useful for baskets and 

 veranda boxes. Be,gonia metallica and 

 other begonias nearly allied should be 

 propagated without delay. 



Cytisus Racemosus. 



Cytisus racemosus, that once favorite 

 plant, should also be started to get a good 

 plant for Easter of '9S. 



Bulbs. 



I have invested this fall in a few thous- 

 and French Von Sion. I was unac- 

 quainted with them, but was talked into 

 them, and from the early start they are 

 making in the beds outside it seems that 



