J 88 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Dkcrmbei; 23, 189t. 



ation ill the future issues of the Florists' 

 Review; and I will at all times be 

 pleased to reply thmugh the columns of 

 this paper to any questions relative to the 

 design, arrangement or heating of green- 

 houses for any purpose, which our 

 readers ma}' from time to time desire. 

 Hknrv W. Gibhon.s. 

 New York. 



distasteful to their nice discriminating 

 tastes. I will not promise, however, that 

 a taste for it may not be acquired should 

 it be extensively grown and become the 

 first choice. 



There is one class of growers to whom 

 the poinsettia ma}' be specially recom- 

 mended, tho.se who do a lot of spring 

 forcing, because it can be handled in nice 



Illustration No. 6. " Closed in." Packing as a fine art. 



POINSETTIAS. 



One of the most brilliant window- 

 decorations I have seen in a long time 

 was on view recently at one of the lead- 

 ing Broadway stores in New York, poin- 

 settias being the chief feature. Florists 

 here have hardly yet appreciated this 

 plant fully for midwinter decorations, in 

 part because roses are to be had in abund- 

 ance in the desired tones of brightness. 



On the other side, in London especi- 

 ally, the poinsettia is an indispensable 

 factor in the midwinter trade, and right 

 well it conies after the chry,santliemuiiis, 

 opening in all its brightness of color 

 beneath leaden skies that hardly permit a 

 rose or carnation to expand. It has every- 

 thing to commend it to favorable notice 

 here likewise, either in a cut state or as a 

 pot plant, and stands unrivalled in color 

 brilliancy, meeting the wants of the most 

 fastidious in its decisive tones. Further, 

 the public can have it as they want it, in 

 pots or cut, with stems of any length 

 from one foot up to six feet, and with 

 heads or bracts from six inches to 

 eighteen inches in diameter. When one 

 has once become familiar with the routine 

 of cultural details it cannot be called a 

 difficult subject to grow successfully. 



In "Nicholson's Dictionary of Garden- 

 ing," poinsettia is now classed with the 

 euphorbias, where doubtless it belongs, 

 as in common with other euphorbias the 

 plant when bruised or cut emits a milk- 

 like juice profusely, and thanks to this it 

 enjoys a considerable immunity from 

 plant pe.sts generally, insects ever ready 

 to profit by our best endeavors usualh' 

 giving this one a wide berth because it is 



rotation. It has a growing season and a 

 resting sea.son of most complete char- 

 acter, so that when at rest it can be con- 

 veniently stored away in otherwise un- 

 profitable space. 



Assuming that the flowers are now 

 being cut and marketed, the plants to be 

 kept for stock must be gradually dried 

 off by withholding water and may be 

 stored away under the greenhouse bench 

 or in some convenient position, where 

 the}- can rest completely in a temperature 

 of about 55°, for a period of from three to 

 four months. 



When the spring stock is disposed of, 

 say the month of May, is quite early 

 enough to begin growing operations. 

 The plants must then be brought forward 

 by giving them water and a little hotter 

 temperature of about 65° at night with a 

 rise in proportion by day. Young shoots 

 will soon appear and mu.st be watched 

 closely from now onwards, as, if allowed 

 to become too long before cuttings are 

 taken, owing to their softness and the 

 great exudation of juice that follows the 

 cutting, a large proportion may be lost. 

 The greatest success lies in and safety 

 may be ensured by taking the cuttings 

 off with a little heel of the old wood 

 when they have attained a length of from 

 four to six inches. Cuttings taken in 

 this way, inserted in the propagating bed, 

 watered slightly, shaded, and treated to 

 a tempeiature of about 70° should be 

 abundantly rooted in three weeks, when 

 they may be potted up and gradually in- 

 ured to full light to keep them stocky 

 with short jointed growth. 



Cuttings in their fir.st year are best 

 grown right on without stopping to form 



single stemmed plants,, and naturally 

 from these first cuttings the grower will 

 secure his longest stems and largest 

 bracts. When the roots have taken hold 

 of the soil and the plants are growing 

 vigorously, they will need a shift into a 

 larger sized pot, Ijut if wanted for cut- 

 ting only it would be better to plant them 

 out on a bench, this form of culture suit- 

 ing the plant quite well. When well es- 

 tablished they will need abundance of 

 water at the root but never in excess, nor 

 must they ever suffer for want of it, 

 either condition rapidly resulting in a 

 loss of many of the lower leaves with 

 consequent disfigurement and diminished 

 selling value later. 



Air may be admitted to the house 

 freely and the plants should be sprayed 

 overhead morning and evening, whilst 

 slight shading on the glass may be neces- 

 sary to prevent tlie leaves burning but 

 must never be excessive, or long soft 

 growth will result with poor small heads 

 ultimately. .\long towards the end of 

 August overhead spraying may cease, but 

 air in abundance should be given by day 

 with an object of consolidating or ripen- 

 ing the wood, still guarding against ex- 

 cess or deficiency of water at the root. 



This batch of plants may be had ready 

 for the market immediately chrysanthe- 

 mums are past. From later .struck cut- 

 tings similarly treated other batches may 

 be brought along to continue the supply 

 for Christinas and onwards into the new- 

 year. Some of these later plants may be 

 grown on in 6-incli pots making admira- 

 ble material for the Christmas market, 

 and the florist who has much decorative 

 work at that season should find them of 

 great .ser\-ice, as they arrange admirably 

 with palms and ferns, and their bright- 

 ness is especially fi.tted for the festive 

 season, when they can be most extensive- 

 ly used. 



The plant is really amenable to the 

 most varied treatment. I'or example, ex- 

 cellent pot plants with fine heads on a 

 foot of stem may be secured by rooting 

 the tops of plants grown in the manner 

 above described. To secure these about 

 the middle or end of September, select 

 those to be treated and about nine inches 

 below the grow-ing point cut the shoot 

 about half through at the joint. It will 

 bleed .somewhat, though not to an injuri- 

 ous extent and in ten days a little callous 

 will have formed when the shoot may be 

 severed entirely, treated as advised for 

 cuttings, putting the shoots singly in 

 6-incli pots. If kept close for a time, root 

 growth will soon be abundant, after which 

 the plants should be grown on in the or- 

 dinar}' way. 



Similar dwarf pot plants may be ob- 

 tained from cuttings taken from .stock 

 plants during Augu.st. To retard any 

 batches for late work the plants will 

 easily bear comparatively cool night 

 treatment in a temperature of about 50°, 

 but whether early or late, when once the 

 terminal bract appears the plants should 

 have brisk warm treatment with a night 

 temperature of not less than 65°, to ensure 

 good development, with .slight overhead 

 sprayings as external conditions suggest. 



All this so far applies to young stock, 

 but the plant's possibilities are by no 

 means exhausted if the grower so de- 



