Dkcember 11, 1:102. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



89 



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THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



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BASKETS OF ROSES. 



This week we illustrate ba-sl-cets of 

 roses as shown at tlie recent Chicago 

 exhibition. 



No. 1 is a low basket with a high 

 handle of grapewood, filled with a com- 

 biimtion of President Cainot and ilnie. 

 Chateiiay, a number of which were well 

 open, with many buds interspersed, the 

 two shades of pink blending nicely. 

 There was little foliage used other than 

 that of the roses andi a few sprays of 

 Asparagus phunosus. On one side of 

 the handle is a bow of green ribbon, of 

 a shade to match the foliage. This 

 basket was the entiy of John Mangel 

 and was arranged by myself. It was 

 awarded first prize. 



No. 2 is a willow basket very prettily 

 filled with Liberty roses, bordered with 

 Adiantum princeps, the handle entwined 

 with green ribbon. It wa.s a very hand- 

 some basket. It was the entry of A. 

 Lange and was awarded second prize. 



No. 3 is much the same style of basket 

 as No. 2, with the handle arranged dif- 

 ferently and filled with Sunrise roses. A 

 few fronds of Pteris eretica allx)-lineata 

 appear on the handles and in the body 

 of the basket, while at the bottom is a 

 border of foliage of a wild shrub that 

 had been most beautifully colored red 

 and bronze by nature. This combination 

 of colors — the green and silver ferns, the 

 beautiful bronze green foliage of the 

 Siuirise rase and the bronze red shrub 

 foliage — 'Was very striking, and the de- 

 signei-. llr. Jahn, with T. D. Jloscon- 

 esotes. deserves much credit for same. 

 L. P. Walz. 



ROSES. 



Seasonable Hints. 



In selecting wood for the propagation 

 of American Beauties by cuttings, it is 

 well to take it only from those plants 

 which have proved the most floriferous. 

 Ill nearly every house of Beauties there 

 will be found plants which while show- 

 ing a most vigorous growth are ex- 

 tremely obstinate in forming flower buds. 

 As they naturally possess more wootl 

 than those which have flowered freely, 

 they are frequently cut down and used 

 for propagating, rather than those 

 stems which are more likely to bloom. 

 It -lould be wisdom to avoid these if 

 possible, as no doubt the .same char- 

 acteristic would be perpetuated in stock 

 taken from them. 



Having usetl this method of selection 

 for the last four years and found it to 

 give satisfactory results, I can, with 

 confidence, reconunend it. Though pro- 

 ducing fewer long stemnled flowers, there 

 io a much larger cut of flowers with 

 stems two to four feet long and as these 

 come to maturity quicker than very long 

 stems do, the piufit is all the greater. 



By selecting well ripened short jointed 

 wood there is a possibility of having a 

 hatch of cuttings all of nearly equal ripe- 



ness, which will naturally, being under 

 the same conditions and treatment, form 

 roots in about the same period of time. 

 If long stems are used which will yield 

 from ?i.x to ten cuttings each it is ob- 

 vious that there must be a material dif- 

 ference in their condition of ripeness, 

 and coiif-oquently the period of root for- 

 mation will be very irregular and pro- 

 tracted with a chance of losing a big 

 percentage by leaf shedding. 



be. never attain that vigor so nec- 

 essary to insure success. Overwatering 

 will produce the same result. 



The cuttings should be carefully shaded 

 every bright day for the first two weeks, 

 as any approach to wilting means ruin. 

 .Vfler the callous has formed they should 

 be gradually inured to sunshine, which 

 will hasten the making of roots. To se- 

 cure good, strong plants for Jlay plant- 

 ing, propagating should be accomplished 

 before the end of December. Next week 

 I will give a short treatise on propagat- 

 ing by grafting. Rises. 



CARNATION NOTES— WEST. 



The Christmas Cut. 



This article will be a repetition of 

 what I have said in these notes before 

 and many readlers of the Review will 

 recall my other articles on the same sub- 

 ject and perhaps wonder at this repeti- 



Basket of Roses. No. J. 



The cuttings should have, if possible, 

 two eyes, and where short jointed wood 

 is used tills is easily obtained. They 

 should be given plenty of i-oom so as not 

 to crowd or overlap each other so that 

 the foliage \\U\ dry out quickly after 

 syringing. 



" Tlie sand should never be allowed to 

 become too di;v, as this will be sure to 

 cause the cuttings to drop their leaves, 

 f,nd these, however well rooted they may 



tion. To those this is not for enlighten- 

 luent, but it is to be a reminder of what 

 I have told them before. 



I know it is useless for any one to 

 s.ay to the growers that they should not 

 raise the temperature in their carnation 

 houses just before the holidays, or to 

 assert that nothing is gained by forcing 

 out a few extra blooms to meet that terri- 

 ble rush for flowers during the last three 

 (lays prior to Xiuas. This much is cer- 



