The Weekly Florists' Review, 



NuVKMBER 27. 1911: 



raised varieties. They include Nellie 

 Pockett, Mabel Jlorgaii, C. J. Salter, 

 Mrs. T. W. Pockett, Lord Hopetovin, 

 Charles Longley, Millicent Richardson, 

 George Carpenter, Lord Salisbury, W. R. 

 Church, T. Carrington and Mrs. Tliur- 

 kell. 



In addition to these there are several 

 others that may be heard from next 

 year. These include Lady Hopetoun, a 

 cream color; Colonel Rowell, yellow; 

 Daisy Moore, pink; Mrs. Emerton, yel- 

 low; and I don't know how many more 

 dark horses. It is a wonderful record 

 and one of which the Australians may 

 well be proud. In saying this I make 

 no reflection on our own- raisers, who 

 have been working of late years more 

 particularly on commercial lines. This 

 may in the f\iture l)e changed if the ex- 

 hib'ition schedules are broadened. Quite, 

 a few of the Australian varieties are 



only good for exhibiting, but that 

 seems to have been what the raisers 

 were working for. The Australian has 

 a great advantasc over us anyway, for 

 I understand that most of the plants 

 are Howered in the open ground, which 

 is a great economy of time and space. 



Advancis of the Year. 



This year shows a tremendous ad- 

 vance ineveiy section except the whites, 

 and these remain much the same. Eaton 

 has not been so prominent as many 

 seemed to think it would be. Merza 

 when well done beats it hollow, and so 

 does Florence ilolyneux. Eaton is cer- 

 tainly rough, which kills it in a close 

 competition. 



Next week we will look over the com- 

 mercial field and see what changes may 

 be beneficial to our pocketbooks and 

 tempers. Bkxan Bobu. 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Christmas Plants. 



Thanksgiving will sec the end of 

 chrysanthemums with many of us, and 

 if we should have soni", left the public 

 fancy seems to love them. After that 

 all attention will be i)aid to llio flower- 

 ing and ornamental plants for Christ- 

 mas sales. 



Poins«ttias. 



Poinsettias want to be kept at 00 

 degrees at night — not lower. If suffer- 

 ing for root room, give tlienr weak 

 liquid manure twice a week; don't at- 

 tempt to disturb their roots. Fumiga- 

 tion does not hurt poinsettias, but 

 that does not destroy mealy bug, whioli 

 is the worst enemy they have, and 

 now is about the time they appear. The 

 bugs cluster around the real flowers 

 and nectar cups. If in pots, lift each 

 plant down, and while one pair of hands 

 liolds the plant in position, let another 

 man direct a fine but strong stream of 

 water from the hose. It will wash 

 them out clean, and no alarming num- 

 ber of the bugs can return before the 

 plants are sold or flowers cut. 



I will repeat that of late years our 

 customers want 8 to 12-inch pans of 

 these from 1 foot to 18 inches high, and 

 if you are short of them, don't attempt 

 I0 make them up now or you will have 

 only a lot of yellow leaves at Christ- 

 mas. Defer that until the day before 

 they are wanted. 



Cyclamen. 



Cyclamen I once tried in 50 degrees 

 at night, and at 60 degrees, and at 55 

 degieeS, and found the latter tempera- 

 ture to be the Ihing— a little slow at 

 50, a little weak at 00, but 55 was all 

 right. This is a plant you can recom- 

 mend with all confidence as a good 

 house plant, for it has no superior 

 among flowering plants for the purpose. 

 Except the few that you keep in your 

 show house, it pays to elevate them on 

 5 or 6-inch inverted pots, with plenty 

 of tobacco stems between them. It will 

 save vou much fumigating, and smoke as 



dense as you can, the lly is hard to 

 reach among the leaves and buds, for 

 a well-grown cyclamen should be a 

 mass of leaves. 



We found last year that handle bas- 

 kets of plants, which we fill in various 

 ways, sold very readily when filled with 

 five or six moderate-sized ivclamen of 

 various colors and a few plants of 

 maidenhair fern. On bright mornings 

 .syringe the foliage of cyclamen. For 

 largej early plants growers sow in Sep- 

 tember, and you can sow now and ob- 

 tain sjilendid plants in twelve months. 



Begonia Lorraine. 



Begonia Gloirc de Lorraine will, I 

 suppose, again be a most prominent 

 holidav plant. It lasts but a short 

 while when taken into the dining room 

 or drawing room, or even kitchen, but 

 is so beautiful that good people over- 

 look that, and it surely lasts as long as a 

 bunch of roses. It is not only as a pretty 

 single plant that it is in demand ; a 

 pltTteau filled with Lorraine for a din- 

 ner table center piece is grand in ef- 

 fect where that color is desired. And 

 this is where small, well flowered plants 

 in 3 or 4-inch pots are most useful. 

 This plant also pays to stand up on 

 pots, giving plenty of air around the 

 foliage, and where' they can be ^vatered 

 more freely without wetting their foli- 

 age, which is not desirable. Put to- 

 bacco stems among the pots. 



What should we do without this de- 

 licious weed? If it is not an absolute 

 essential to soothe our troubled spirits 

 or solace our lonely hours, it is indis- 

 pensable in a giecnhouse, and with all 

 the lectures and talks and essays 

 against nicotiana it will be used by 

 7nan (I hope not woman) for all ages. 

 The young woman who objects to your 

 smoking before marriage learns in after 

 years to run upstairs for your pipe, and 

 likes to see vou enjoy it. One more 

 word in this diversion: Did .you ever 

 notice that the few men of your ac- 

 quaintance who neither chew, smoke 

 nor take a little stimulant are so in- 

 Icnially active ;uid chattering that, 



however profitable they may be to them- 

 selves, they become a nuisance as com- 

 panions. 



Ardisias. 



Till' Aulisiu crenulata is the best ol 

 the berried plants, handsomest and most 

 lasting. It will do very well in a tern 

 perature of 50 at night. Syringe occa- 

 sionally to keep the holly-like foliage 

 liright :\r,d ciossy. 



Azaleas. 



For some reason the early varieties 

 of azaleas that we force for Christmas 

 are more than usually advanced this 

 >ear. Particularly is this the case witli 

 Deutsche Perle. Let them come along: 

 they will keep quite a while in a cooler 

 lioiise after lieing well flowered. Ver- 

 vacneana and Simon Mardner need a 

 little more heat to bring them along as 

 fast. Sixty to 65 at night and a daily 

 syringing is what they want, ^top the 

 syringing after the flowers are open. 



Primroses. 



Tlic Chinese primroses are in fair de- 

 mand at Christmas, and three or four 

 plants in a 9 or 10-inch pan sell well. 

 We never grow them in a larger than 

 4-inch pot. and if carefully done, three 

 i,r four of these can be put in a pan 

 without much harm to the plants. We 

 thought little of Primula obconica. for 

 years. That was not the fault of the 

 beautiful plant, but our obtuseness. I 

 have never seen them at their best as 

 early as Christmas, and it seems a pity 

 to sell them with only a few spikes 

 when they make such splendid masses 

 of bloom "two months later. 



Bulbous Plants. 

 There are only two kinds of bulbous 

 stock that are sold much at Christmas 

 — viz. the Roman hyacinth and the 

 paper'white. It is too early for tulips, 

 and there are many more desirable 

 flowers. A pan of Roman hyacinths or 

 paper white narcissus not over 8 inches 

 in diameter is very salable. These, of 

 course, should have been brought in 

 some weeks ago. The hyacinth will 

 force quickly, but is much better for 

 this purpose" when brought along slow- 

 ly. Then the foliage is stifif and the 

 flower spike stout. Still more should 

 the paper white be grown cool and light. 

 Then it is a fine flower, even when grown 

 for cutting, which 90 per cent of all 

 these are. It is a poor, flimsy flower 

 when forced with much heat. 



If lily of the valley is wanted in 

 pots or pans, you must depend on cold 

 storage, and if put in about December 

 4 or 5 will be fully developed by Christ- 

 mas. Of course, vou are all fully aware 

 that cold storage valley wants a very 

 different treatment from the newly im- 

 ported. The latter is reluctant to be 

 disturbed from its slumber, and will 

 make no start without strong heat and 

 moisture, while the cold storage has 

 been arrested- and is anxious to grow. 

 Still this should not be put into a very 

 cool draughty house. The same bed as 

 you use for forcing in February will do. 

 but 55 to 60 is as warm as the sand 

 should be. and the atmosphere about the 

 same. Little or no shade is necessary 

 in the dark December days. 



Other Plants. 



The above includes about all tho 

 flowering plants we have to oflfer our 

 customers at the holidays. A good sun- 



