JANUAIIV 13, 1»98. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



299 



Bed of Mrs, E. G, Hill Geraniums, 



attention be given to these facts to culti- 

 vate this most beautiful species and to 

 make it financiallv interesting. 

 Short Hills, N. J. F. L. Atkins. 



BED OF MRS. E. G, HILL GERANIUMS. 



The acccinipanying engraving shows in 

 the foreground a bed of the senii-ilouble 

 salmon pink geranium Mrs. E. G. Hill as 

 it appeared at Lincoln Park, Chicago, 

 last summer. Mr. Stromback considers 

 this geranium one of the best of the pink 

 varieties. The habit is nearly as strong 

 as that of Bruantii and it not only blooms 

 with great freedom but carries the flowers 

 well above the foliage and stands the hot 

 weather well. 



The bed is bordered with Alternanthera 

 latifolia, whose foliage is chocolate 

 colored, with rosy tips. It grows about 

 eight inches high and makes a good 

 border. Method of propagation is the same 

 as that of A. latifolia aurea. The bed of 

 Caladium esculentum in the background 

 is bordered with Coleus Verschaffelti. 



COMMERCL\L AMARYLLISES. 



A request has tjeen received for a few 

 notes on commercial amaryllises such as 

 "Johnsoni", vallota purpurea, etc., but 

 the mere suggistion to bring these for- 

 ward to public notice prompts me to ask 

 whether having regard for all that has 

 been done by hybridists on the other side 

 in raising improved and very fine types, 

 we should not avail ourselves of these and 

 by growing them, more rapidly achieve 

 the desired end. Someone may question 

 (he desirability, but he who would do so 

 can hardly be cognizant of the vast 

 strides that have been made along the 

 path of improvement, the magnificent 

 varieties that now exist Ijy the hundred. 



These of course are high priced and 

 outside the pale of profitable commercial 



spheres, but they represent the selections 



from the strain as it exists to-day and 

 amaryllises can be rai-sed by the thousand 

 from seed only slightly inferior in point 

 of merit and of such great beauty that 

 they would assuredly sell on sight, being 

 choice to a degree and show\' beyond 

 measure. Win-, the hybrid amaryllis 

 of to-day embrace so wide a range of 

 color that you can have them in all the 

 gradations of shades from a crimson, that 

 will vie with that of the Meteor rose, 

 down to almost white, the flowers pro- 

 duced in clusters of from two to five at 

 the top of a stout stem, varying up to two 

 feet in height. One could neither imagine 

 nor desire a more gorgeous flower for cut- 

 ting and in this respect it meets the re- 

 quirements of the cut flower trade here, 

 with its fine stem which makes it amen- 

 able for decorative use in a bold and 

 striking manner, added to which the 

 flowers are enduring when cut. 



?"or the benefit of some readers who 

 may not know the amaryllis, I may re- 

 mark that it is a bulbous plant and has an 

 enormous root, as large or even larger 

 thana man's fistwhtn fully grown. The 

 wild species, some of which will be 

 enumerated later, are mostly natives of 

 tropical America, growing chiefly in 

 Brazil. Some of these wild species have 

 been in cultivation in European gardens 

 200 years or more, and are so mixed up in 

 the latter-day hybrids that no one would 

 venture a decided opinion as to their exact 

 parentage. That is a matter of the past 

 and of incidental interest only, but I am 

 convinced that very much might be done 

 with these flowers as we can have them 

 in the present day. Further, their season 

 of flowering is the .season when flowers 

 are in great demand, from Christmas to 

 Easter, so here again is afforded a grand 

 opportunity to grow something that will 

 be a break-away from the conventional 

 lines. 



Seedlings, 



To work up a stock from seed may at 

 the outset appear a slow and tedious pro- 

 cess, with a long and weary waiting for 

 results. I admit this is .so to some extent, 

 and not a few good things are of slow- 

 growth. There is this assurance, that 

 when you have raised your bulbs and 

 brought them to the flowering stage, you 

 can keep them afterwards with proper 

 attention. They have not to be discard- 

 ed as you woidd a tulip. Once you have 

 a stock of flowering bulbs, the raising of 

 a batch of .seedlings gives a zest to the 

 cultivation and by a process of weeding 

 out one coidd work up a strain to a high 

 degree of perfection. 



The best time to sow the seed is im- 

 mediately it ripens, which is during July^ 

 but as the beginner nmst of necessity 

 purchase the seed, the early months of 

 the )ear may be chosen. Although the 

 seeds appear of fair size, the actual 

 germ is small, being protected bv 

 a silky integument, and when sowing 

 them let it be in pots or pans of fine 

 sandy soil. Place each one individuallv 

 a little apart, and if the seeds are slightly 

 pressed in the soil, edgewise, and kept in 

 this position, it will conduce to securing a 

 larger percentage of growth, as when l}-- 

 ing flat the seeds are apt to absorb too 

 nmch moisture and rot in consequence. 

 .\ pane of glass over the seed pot helps 

 to check evaporation, and when sowing 

 operations are complete, if the pots can 

 have the assistance of bottom heat to the 

 extent of So°, the seeds will soon germin- 

 ate. The overhead temperature should 

 not exceed 60° by night, with a propor- 

 tionate rise by day, and as soon as the 

 seedlings appear they should be inured to 

 full light and airy conditions. 



If the .seeds have been sown as advised, 

 a little apart from each other, there will be 

 no need of disturbing the seedlings til 



