December 30. V97. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review, 



235 



Bed of Cannas Bordered with Pennisetum. 



biograph}-; what I was going to say to- 

 ilay is for the florist iti small cities, who 

 probably has a sash house without heat- 

 ing arrangement of any kind in which he 

 grows his early chrysanthemums and 

 which he utilizes in winter to store 

 hydrangeas or half hardy roses and 

 shrubs for forcing. He may not want all 

 the room in it for that purpose and can 

 spare a bench here for the old fashioned 

 fringed pink. You can plant the clumps 

 at any time in the winter whenever you 

 can get a chance to dig them up; they 

 w'ill keep dormant and will not start into 

 growth until the sun is higher, towards 

 spring, and usually come in full bloom 

 about Easter time without any tireheat. 

 Of course, after the growth is fairly 

 advanced they want a little attention as 

 to watering, airing, etc., and as their 

 habit and growth is very compact and 

 close they should at no time be watered 

 or syringed overhead, else the moisture 

 may cause rot in the thick mass of 

 branches and foliage. In a cold place 

 like this there is no chance for red spider 

 to take hold, and syringing can safely be 

 dispensed with, but when the soil in 

 which they are planted becomes loo dry 

 water can be adnunistered by pushing 

 the hose under the plants close to the 

 ground, the force of the water being 

 regulated by turnin,g the faucet so as to 

 avoid heavy splashing. Years ago, as 

 many of the older florists will remember, 

 these pinks were grown everywhere in 

 large quantities, but since we have so 

 many good carnations they have taken a 

 back seat and are now only grown in very 

 few places, exclusively for home consum- 

 ing. None are sent to the markets, yet 

 in many instances we miss them for 



making up designs, etc., when carnations 

 are scarce. 



It may happen after the holidays that 

 there is unoccupied space in a moderately 

 cool house for a time, which space could 

 be utilized frequently for forcing on a 

 few of these plants if they were potted 

 up. Their highly .scented flowers will 

 come handy at any time and they are 

 excellent keepers so long as w'e keep 

 them in a cool house. Whoever has a 

 stock of these plants shoidd not neglect 

 to take in a few at least for a trial. 

 Cuttings ma\- be taken any time in winter 

 or spring from plants grown out doors. 

 Anything in the shape of a cutting will 

 root when treated the sime as a carnation 

 cutting. We have frequently chopped off 

 a few old clumps while frozen stiff and 

 covered with a foot or more of snow for 

 the purpose of propagating therefrom, 

 but plants which have flowered under 

 glass will answer as well. When rooted 

 they may either be potted off singly or 

 boxed, and in spring should be planted in 

 a sunny bed, where they will make good 

 busily plants in one season without any 

 pinching in. Such one-year old stock is 

 best for the purpose mentioned; when 

 older, the center of the clumps gets loose 

 and bare and the branchlets become more 

 elongated and weak, causing the flower 

 stems to fall over with the weight of the 

 buds and flowers. Any of the various 

 varieties will answer the purpose. Snow, 

 or the ordinary fringed white, but I con- 

 sider Her Majesty superior to the others, 

 not only for its larger sized flowers, but 

 also on account of its stouter stems and 

 robust growth. When well grown and 

 disbudded it is as large as an average 

 white carnation. K. 



I 



CANNAS BORDERED WITH PEN- 

 NISETUM. 



The bed of cannas shown in the ac- 

 companying engraving, occupied a posi- 

 tion immediately in front of the conserva- 

 tory in Lincoln Park, Chicago, last 

 summer. The cannas were Alphonse 

 Bouvier and the border was of Penni- 

 setum longistylum, a very pretty plumed 

 grass. 



The propagation of the pennisetum is 

 very simple. Mr. Stromback cakes up 

 three or four clumps in the fall, trims off 

 foliage, etc., places in a box and sets 

 them under the bench in a house with a 

 temperature of 40° or 45°. In March he 

 shakes out the soil, tears the clumps to 

 pieces and pots the pieces, placing two or 

 three runners in a 3 01 4-inch pot. They 

 are then placed in a house with a temper- 

 ature of 60° and an even moisture main- 

 tained. They make plants in a short 

 time and are bedded out the latter part 

 of May or early in June. 



The plants can also be grown from 

 seed, but above method makes plants 

 quicker. To start a stock seed could be 

 used. 



OUR GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 



Group No. 4 of our general introduc- 

 tion will appear next week. Subscribers 

 are invited to send in cabinet size photo- 

 graphs of themselves, to appear in these 

 groups, but please do not send us photos 

 that must be returned, as we are obliged 

 to cut them in arranging them in the 

 groups. 



Mr. Dorner's Carnation Notes will 

 be continued next week. 



