jANUAnY 8, 1003. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



251 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



After the Holidays. 



A very useful and seasonable hint 

 just now is that all plant growers should 

 make not only a mental memorandum, 

 but a written one, of what it is best to 

 grow for the trade of another Christ- 

 mas, which we all hope to live to see. 

 Most all of us are liable to be a little 

 long on some things and short on others, 

 and what knocks the profit off our trade 

 is wlien we have half of a batch of stuff 

 left over and no more demand for it. 

 This is not as serious a matter at Christ- 

 mas as it is at Easter, for we now have 

 weeks of a gay time before us, yet the 

 plant-purchasing season takes a great 

 tumble after New Year's and a surplus 

 has to go off at a much reduced price. 



Prices. 



I have about made up my mind that 

 a well-grown plant is worth all that can 

 be got for it by the retailer. Some 

 sensible man, I think it was Robert 

 Craig, once said at a convention that 

 our (lowers were worth every cent we 

 could get for them, however .seemingly 

 extravagant was the price. Think of 

 the expen.se of doing business now com- 

 pared witli twenty years ago. High 

 rents, high wages, illumination, costly 

 delivery wagons ( we won't mention fuel ; 

 there is not enough of it to talk about) 

 boxes, ribbons and no end of accessories, 

 all adil to the expense of conducting our 

 retail business, and I doubt very much 

 if our prices have advanced in propor- 

 tion. 



The wholesale grower of plants, if he 

 grows well (and the desirable article 

 has an enviable position) sells clean out. 

 even if the price is moderate. Every 

 foot of bench room has returned him a 

 fair profit. He has not to fuss and trim 

 each individual plant, or waste precious 

 time in letting the fastidious Inij'cr look 

 and squint and pick and choose 

 her selection. We can't, however, 

 all be wholesale growers; the ma- 

 jority must face the public, and 

 when not overcrowded with work it is 

 a pleasant duty. Our customers are not 

 all alike any more tlian we florists are. 

 We must deal with those who are small 

 and irritating or we would not appre- 

 ciate the broad-minded and liberal ; we 

 must have evil to know what goodness 

 is : we must have sorrow to appreciate 

 joy, and darkness to know what light is. 



Novelties. 



Lucky is the man who can think of 

 some novelty and be able to work up a 

 good supply before everybody else has it. 

 It is not so easily done in our business, 

 yet there are a few smart brains in the 

 business who think ahead and introduce 

 some novelty, either a new plant or an 

 old plant in a new form. The ninety-nine 

 per cent of us merely strive to grow 

 well what we have seen someone else 

 grow, and if we succeed we are doing 

 all that can be expected. 



While it is most desirable that nov- 

 elties should appear occasionally, the 



great majority of our patrons will 

 be satisfied with good plants and flow- 

 ers of our old favorites. The berried 

 plants, particularly ardisia, sold well 

 and always will. Azaleas were in good 

 demand. Pans of poinsettias are now a 

 standard Christmas plant. Pans of cy- 

 clamen, or a good, large single plant is 

 always salable. Begonia Lorraine cap- 

 tures all, and not only are plants of it 

 sold by the thousand, but it is used 

 largely for mantel and center piece dec- 

 oration. Among foliage plants Christ- 

 mas does not seem the season for palms 

 — perhaps they are a little somber — but 

 Pandanus V'eitchii, Boston fern and 

 araucarias sold well. Xone of the above 

 will go out of fashion. 



Azaleas. 



You will possibly have a number of 

 the early forcing azaleas that were not 

 out quite far enough to sell and which 

 you have been forcing in a strong heat. 

 Don't put them back in a cold house, 

 but keep them in a temperature of 60 

 degrees with plentj' of water. Incident- 

 ally I might mention here that we often 

 have complaint that a fine azalea which 

 has been sold is "all dried up" within 

 two or three days of its sale. The sole 

 cause of this is want of water, and it 

 would be a good plan to attach a card 

 to every azalea sold, with the following 

 written upon it: "Please thoroughly wa- 

 ter this plant twice a day." Not only 

 do the azaleas we sell suffer, but those 

 in tne stores are often ruined for want 

 of attention, for the florist salesman is 

 not always a gardener. Once the azalea 

 flowers wilt they are gone. The plant 

 is not ruined, but its sale is gone. 



About this time you will notice a lot 

 of young growths on your azaleas that 

 are being kept cool for Easter. Even if 

 kept at 40 degrees the young growths 

 will start on last fall's imported plants. 

 You must pull off these growths or the 

 flower bud will dry up and disappear 

 and there will be no bloom. 



Poinsettias. 



Poinsettias that have been cut, if 

 grown in pots, can be laid down be- 

 neath a bench where they may remain 

 until April. Not a drop of water is nec- 

 essaiy, and the canes can and should 

 be ripened until they look as dry as 

 walking sticks, yet are full of life. Those 

 grown in benches and which have been 

 cut should not be pulled up at once if 

 you need them for propagating, but let 

 them dry up in the bed. In two weeks 

 you can lift them and pack away in 

 flats with some soil around the roots. 



Bouvardia. 



Bouvardia is a flower that has been 

 asked for quite a little this winter. If 

 you have a bed of it it will be sure to 

 be cut close just now. This beautiful 

 plant flowers well up to Christmas in a 

 house where the temperature does not 

 go below 50 degrees at night, but a sec- 

 ond crop needs more heat. If you want 

 more flowers from it, it must have 60 



degrees at night and the bed should be 

 mulched. It is a bad plant for rea spi- 

 der, yet as the plant enjoys sprajdng 

 there should be no trouble on that ac- 

 count. 



Stevia. 



Don't forget to save a dozen plants of 

 Ste\'ia serratifolia. It seems we never 

 liave enough of it. It may not be the 

 most profitable plant we grow, yet you 

 can charge for it and make it profit- 

 able. Our best customers ask for it, 

 alwajs of course associated with other 

 flowers. Don't put the few old plants 

 under the bench; give themi a light, cool 

 position and you will get plenty of cut- 

 tings in March. 



Astilbe. 



Some correspondent wrote a very good 

 article on astilbe a few weeks ago. 

 I can't improve on it, except to say it 

 is not well to limit the time of forcing 

 to any number of weeks, for many times 

 we have wished that we had another 

 week to spare and have had to give them 

 a great heat. Just as soon after New 

 Year's as you can, get them into the 

 houses. For the first month they are 

 just as well beneath a bench, for they 

 take about that time before there is 

 much growth to hurt for want of light. 



Crimson Ramblers. 



Crimson Rambler roses that have been 

 grown in pots all summer can be brought 

 in after New Year's. Sometimes these 

 plants have started from the eyes on 

 the strong canes. If that is the ease, 

 prune these lateral growths back to two 

 or three eyes. No other pruning is need- 

 ed except to just take oft' the tops of 

 the main growths, wliich would not give 

 you flower — a foot or so. This may 

 seem to 1)C starting them quite early, 

 hut the flower is a deeper shade and 

 the plant altogetlier better if they can 

 be flowered in a temperature of 55 de- 

 grees than if forced the last few weeks 

 in 65 degrees. The first month they will 

 want only 45 degrees at night. 



WiLLJAM Scott. 



ROSES. 



Seasonable Hints. 



As .soon as the cuttings in the bench 

 have rootlets half an inch in length 

 they should be jKitted without delay. 

 Procra.stination at tliis stage is frequent- 

 ly the e;iusc of a whole season's woriy 

 and trouble. Every day after they are 

 rooted that they are allowed to stand in 

 the bench is sapping their constitution, 

 allowing the roots to become attenuated, 

 unmanageable and easily broken, all of 

 which tends to act as a check on the 

 young plant just when it requires the 

 l>est of nursing to give it a good start 

 in life. 



The intelligent care and attention be- 

 stowed on young stock at this stage is 

 the first essential in tlie way to suc- 

 cess. Soil for first potting should not 

 contain too much manure, as this is 

 liable to sicken the roots before they 

 have become accustomed to this kind of 

 food. Compost which was left over at 

 rose planting time, and which has lieen 

 carefully attendc<l to and kept clear of 

 weeds during summer, is nearly the most 

 perfect material for this purpose. To 

 further suit it for the requirements it 

 should be made fine by passing it 

 through a half-inch screen. 



Two-inch standard pots are in every 

 way suitable for first petting. It is 



