680 



HORTICULTURE 



November 2, 1907 



BY WIRELESS FROM ROBERT 

 CRAIG. 



Mr. Craig acknowledges that Ficus 

 panduraia is the most profitable plant 

 specialty he ever handled. He attrib- 

 utes the lailure of some growers witli 

 this plant to the fact that they have 

 tried to propagate from single syes, 

 the i-esult being in all cases spindling, 

 feeble specimens. Propagation by 

 mossing the tops of the plants he finds 

 to be the only successful method. As 

 showing the wonderful tenacity of 

 Ficus pandurata and its value in deco- 

 rative work, one specimen may be cit- 

 ed in evidence. It is over 10 feet in 

 height and carries 5G enormous leaves, 

 never having lost a leaf, and all this 

 in a 12-inch tub. 



Among the most sensational things 

 seen at the establishment of the Rob- 

 ert Craig Company are a number of 

 orotons of remarkable brilliancy of col- 

 oring, raised by Edwin Lonsdale. A 

 fact worthy of note is that these splen- 

 did varieties, varying greatly as they 

 do in form of leaf and markings, all 

 came from one seed pod. One of the 

 handsomest has been named Edwin 

 Lonsdale, and it gives promise of be- 

 ing a popular plant foi' holiday basket 

 arrangements. 



"Light-pink Lorraine," the form of 

 Begonia Gloire de Lorraine which orig- 

 inated with Edwin Lonsdale, is much 

 more substantial than the ordinary 

 type, and on this account is preferred 

 by many tor dwelling house use as well 

 as for exhibition purposes, its ability 

 to withstand the conditions of the ex- 

 hibition hall for several days being a 

 good point in its favor. Of the more 

 recent begonia hybrids Agatha prom- 

 ises well, especially for early blooming. 

 The Amerpohl fern fronds are being 

 used extensively in Philadelphia in flo- 

 ral decorative work and bid fair to give 

 .asparagus a tussle for pre-eminence in 

 this respect. This fern planted in 

 hanging log baskets makes a lovely ob- 

 ject. Amerpohlii as a spreading form 

 and Todaeaoides as an upright form 

 will probably displace all the older 

 plumose forms of Nephrolepis, except- 

 ing only the Whitmanii. 



Mr. Craig's selection as the best of 

 the pompon chrysanthemums for cut 

 spray purposes comprises Lula for 

 white and Quinola for yellow. Kitty 

 Bourne leads in the yellow singles; it 

 hears a profusion of daisy-like flowers 

 and was •'all the go" in London last 

 season. 



Mr. Craig has taken up Adiantum 

 hybridum in preference to Croweanura 

 for cut frond purposes. He a-sserts 

 that it is more productive than that 

 popular variety. 



Pere Charon is a dracaena which, 

 when it becomes more plentiful and is 

 more widely distributed, will leave no 

 room for the old terminalis. 



PHOENIX ROEBELINl. 



CROMWELL NOTES. 



In a recent conversation with A. N. 

 Pierson of Cromwell, Conn., we 

 learned from that most astute caid suc- 

 cesslul wholesale grower that he has 

 25,000 plants of Killarncy this season. 

 This with Richmond, Rride, Brides- 

 maid and Beauty constitute the great- 



Phcenix Roebelini, the character of 

 which is so well illustrated at the 

 head of this column, needs no further 

 commendation than the picture dis- 

 closes as to its graceful habit and 

 usefulniess as a decorative plant. Its 



scarcity heretofore has been its only 

 drawback but seeds are now offered at 

 reasonable prices and no florist needs 

 to be without a good sioek r>f this 

 elegant representative of the palm 

 fam.ily, which is at all times graceful, 

 be the size large or small. 



er part of Ills rose stock, althougii 

 there are some Kaiserins and Ivorys, 

 the latter being grafted plants now in 

 the seventh year and apparently as 

 productive as ever, and the former ar^ 

 now about to give way to lilies, which 

 have been started in pots in frame.3. 

 The Beauties are on solid bods without 

 draina.ge, yet are in robiist health and 

 productiveness, and the Richmonds 

 are in their second year, with the cane 

 tied down. Cromwell is a good place 

 to visit in search of practical and prof- 

 itable processes. 



The only glass added this year to 

 this extensive estal)lisliment is one 

 house, 40 X 4.30, which is now full of 

 chrysanthemums. Mr. Pierton i.-s 

 much attached to Early Snow as a 

 first crop white: its flower and foli- 

 age are both excellent. Rosiere is 

 the favorite pink early and Monrovia 

 the best yellow. I'or a crop to follow 

 ^Monrovia and precede Ool. Appleton 

 Zimmer's Yellow is grown. Mr. Pier- 

 son's plan is to set two plants together 

 in each case and allow each to bear 

 two blooms. Among the carnations, 

 which are a leading specialty In Crom- 

 well, Winsor takes the lead in beauty 

 and promise at the present time. The 

 selection in scarlet has been cut down 

 to two varieties — Victory and Beacon. 

 Gardenias in bench are in splendid 

 luxuriance and a steady crop of flow- 

 ers is being cut, the demand far ex- 

 ceeding the supply. A little nitrate of 

 soda is applied with beneflcial results 

 whenever the foliage shows any in- 

 clination to turn yellow. Plants now 



in second year in bench appear first- 

 class and hold their buds even better 

 than those grown in pots. 



PLANT GROWERS ORGANIZE. , 



The plant growers of New York and j 



New Jersey and stu-rounding vicinity, ; 



having met with circumstances whicli j 

 made necessary some means of 

 procuring uniformity and certainty in 

 the customs and usages in their trade 



und of obtaining information as to the i 



standing of the dealers connected with i 



their trade, have organized and incor- ! 

 porated under the name of the New 



York and New Jersey .Association o£ > 



Plant Growers. | 



Among the objects for which the cor- j 



poration w as formed are the fostering : 



of the trade and the interests of its [ 

 members, to obtain and diffuse accu- 

 rate and reliable information as to 

 the pot-p!ant growing and as to the 



standing of merchants and dealers In i 



the general horticultural trade, to pro- | 



cure uniformity and certainty in the j 

 customs and usages in the trade, to 

 piotect its members and customers 



against unscrupulous dealers and to j 



|u-omo1e a more enlarged and friendly | 



intercourse between plant growers and j 



horticulturists generally. ' 



The Association has been very sue- '■ 



cesslul in the beginning of its career, j 



and has so greatly increased its mem- | 

 bership that it now includes almost 



every grower within its jurisdiction. ; 

 New York and New Jersey Association 



of Plant Growers, [ 



W. H. SIEBHFCHT. .iR.. Secretary. ' 



