NOVE.MBKB 27, 1902. 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



Hotise of Chatenay at Peter Reiaberg's, Chicago. Benched June JO. Photographed Oct. J4. 



what from strong prevailing winds. 

 Plant out young, healthy plants from 

 small pots as early in May as is safe. 

 When they have started to grow fairly 

 well take a sharp knife and stop the 

 main leading shoot back to within seven 

 or eight inches of the ground. In a 

 short time it will throw out quite a 

 number of shoots. Tlie.se should be al- 

 lowed to get six or eight inches long. 

 Then reduce these to seven or eight, 

 leaving, of course, the strongest, and 

 in thinning them out leave them so that 

 the plants have about an even amount 

 on all sides. These shoots that are left 

 and which are to form the main basis 

 of the plant should in turn be shortened 

 back to five or six inches. After this 

 the plant will make very rapid growth, 

 and the weak lateral shoots should be 

 carefully cut away and the stronger 

 ones allowed to grow on till the buds 

 are all set. 



If these details are watched carefully, 

 a large bush, two feet or more through, 

 will be nicely formed. At this stage 

 staking and tying sufficiently to pre- 

 vent storms breaking the branches will 

 be necessary after the buds are set. Thin 

 these out by carefully pinching out all 

 except five or six from each shoot of 

 the larger flowered varieties and for the 

 small button flowered kinds eight to ten 

 buds can be left on each shoot. This 

 will allow the individual flowers to de- 

 velop to perfection and be much larger 

 and of better color than when all the 

 buds are left on the plants. A shoot 

 with a stem from twelve to eighteen 

 inches long, having from five to ten 

 nicel}' developed flowers, makes an ex- 

 ceedingly attractive spray. For this 

 purpose the earlier blooming varieties 

 are especially desirable, as the above 

 treatment will generally bring them 

 into full flower before there are many 

 of the larger chrysanthemums in bloom, 

 though all the varieties are equally ben- 

 efitted by the little additional care. 



The above method of culture is appli- 

 cable to all who do not possess a glass 

 structure of any kind. For those who 

 are fortunate enough to have cold frames 

 or cool greenhouses in which to protect 

 their plants from storm and frost their 

 season can be extended until the end of 

 November, or later, bv making a selec- 



tion of both early and late blooming 

 varieties. For growers so situated the 

 best method will be to grow only the 

 very earliest varieties planted out in the 

 open ground, and for the later varieties 

 grow them in pots or boxes. For this 

 method of culture take plants of the 

 same class as for the open ground, pot 

 them into a larger size, using a good 

 loamy soil, with only a small amount 

 of fertilizer added for this shift. Cut 

 the leading shoot back to four or five 

 inches above the soil. When it has 

 started outside shoots one or two inches 

 long, shift into another pot two sizes 

 larger than the one it now occupies. 



As soon as the roots get a fair start 

 into the new soil they can be stood 

 outside on a bed of coal ashes and grown 

 on steadily, attending to the thinning 

 out of shoots, etc., as advised above. 

 By the first week in July they will be 

 ready for their last shift. For this last 

 potting a somewhat richer compost will 

 be necessary than for the earlier stage. 

 Tlie smaller or weaker growing varieties 

 should not have more than a 2-inch lar- 

 ger pot than before, while the stronger 

 and more robust growers can be put 

 into pots three or four inches larger 

 than the size they were occupying. But 

 in each case the pots should be well 

 drained with broken potsherds, or simi- 

 lar material. After this potting con- 

 siderable care must be exercised not 

 (o overwater them till the roots have 

 taken possession of all the new soil. In 

 fact, they should never be allowed to get 

 too much water during the entire sea- 

 son or they will lose most of their lar- 

 ger leaves and get a severe check. As 

 soon as bad storms are due in the fall 

 they should all be removed from their 

 open air position, either to a cool green- 

 house or cold frame, where they can be 

 protected. In all other respects they 

 .-ihould be treated as described for the 

 better class of plants in the open 

 ground. Plants gro^vn this way will 

 make nice ornaments for any decorative 

 work. 



The varieties of pompons are now so 

 many and so varied in their general 

 size," color and form that to enumerate 

 varieties would only be superfluous. 

 Take the earliest for the open air cul- 

 ture and whatever colors strike yoiu 



fancy for the pot culture. They are all 

 exceedingly attractive and beautiful and 

 will well repay anyone for the little 

 time and attention required to produce 

 them in abundance. For selling as cut 

 flowers grown in the open ground, the 

 following I have found very desirable: 



Oneita, yellow; Vera, white; La Pu- 

 rite, small white; Little Pet, small yel- 

 low-; Delicatissima, white and bluish 

 pink; Caritas, shaded pink; Julia, deep 

 shaded red; Mr. Astic, soft yellow; An- 

 gelique, pure white, and one of the old- 

 est varieties kno\vn to cultivators. Bob 

 should still find a place in every collec- 

 tion. 



This list could be extended almost in- 

 definitely and the enthu.siast cannot 

 make a mistake by adding any or all the 

 varieties to his collection, as the taste 

 is undoubtedly greatly on the increase 

 for these little gems for late autumn 

 decoration of the garden, the conserva- 

 tory and the homes generally, of the 

 rich and poor alike. This is one of the 

 few flowers that can be enjoyed by every- 

 one having a plot of ground a few feet 

 square. 



BORDER CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



BY PATRICK O'MAEA. 



[Presented to the Chrysanthemum Society of 

 America at the Chicago convention.] 



It is a somewhat difficult task to pre- 

 pare a paper, brief as it must of neces- 

 sity be, on the subject given. The first 

 snag is that this being read ))efore a 

 national society, it ought to be so pre- 

 pared as to be applicable to the entire 

 country. To follow the curves and waves 

 of the isothermal lines which the maps 

 show on the United States is a task 

 beyond me; to say that this or that 

 variety would do well here and not 

 there is to invite in advance challenges 

 as to accuracy of statement from which 

 I shrink. 



This preamble is based upon the as- 

 sumption that the coiner of the title as- 

 signed to me had in mind the prepara- 

 tion of a paper on hardy chrysanthe- 

 mums for the border. Perhaps his idea 

 was to obtain a paper on the outdoor 

 culture of "queen 'mum;" if that as- 

 sumption be correct the task is simpli- 

 fied, bearing in mind the adage "Fools 

 rush in where angels fear to tread." 



In these days when all the flowers 

 growTi for market and exhibition are 

 produced under glass, it would seem 

 ridiculous to attempt growing chrysan- 

 themums in any other way to compete 

 \vith them, yet it is only a few years 

 ago when Wm. Tricker literally "swept 

 the deck" with flowers grown in an out- 

 side border, and that, too, in the me- 

 tropolis of the country. It is he who 

 should write a paper on this subject, 

 for it is the man who has accomplished 

 the difficult, I might almost say, the 

 seemingly impossible, who can best tell 

 how it was done. I well remember the 

 amazement of the "experts" as they 

 looked at the fine flowers he displayed, 

 many of them being varieties which were 

 then regarded as being obsolete. It was 

 there demonstrated once again that care 

 and attention with a knowledge of the 

 requirements of the plants under treat- 

 ment can accomplish what would seem 

 to be the impossible. 



This paper will be read before men 

 who are specialists in chrysanthemum 

 culture, therefore it would seem like 

 "carrying coals to Newcastle" to dilate 

 nn soils, pinching, watering and so forth, 

 but as it may be read by others not SO 



