608 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



March 12, 1903. 



ond year. Give the new sorts a decent 

 show and don't hack them all to pieces 

 as soon as they get acclimated. Marie 

 Liger is in nice condition and plainly 

 shows that it is a dwarf grower. Co- 

 Jiunbia, too, is looking ver3' well. In 

 the Australian class Mrs. Emmerton is 

 apparently the strongest grower. 



The trade in new sorts must be brisk 

 for some one. for everybody seems de- 

 termined to be right in the swim this 

 year and to that end are stocking up 

 extensively on the newest varieties. Un- 



doubtedly the fact that all the local so- 

 cieties are taking up the big show of the 

 Chrysanthemum Society to be held in 

 New York this fall, and giving it finan- 

 cial aid, is responsible for this demand. 

 Tlie members of these societies will 

 make that exhibition a grand success so 

 far as the exhibits go, for the}' are com- 

 posed of the best growers on the conti- 

 nent and they realize that to keep ahead 

 they must keep up to date wjth their 

 varieties. Brian 'Boru. 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Easter Plants. 



By the time these lines will be read 

 it will be just about four weeks to 

 Easter, and I can not think of any- 

 thing more useful that I can say than 

 to relate my experience with Easter 

 plants. 



When giving any time or date for the 

 forcing of bulbs, etc., it does so much 

 depend on the weather. You can do a 

 great deal of forcing with artificial heat, 

 but tulips and other bulbous plants, and 

 even azaleas and lilies, will be more ad- 

 vanced by one bright, sunny, warm day 

 than two days of cold, cloudy weather, 

 however much heat you can give them. 

 Most of us are hoping for bright, mild 

 weather, for it is the kind that suits 

 our most important crops; yet we are 

 sure to have some things that will be 

 early enough, if cold and cloudy, and 

 this is where nianipulatiou cnnH^s in. 



Crimsoa Ramblers and H. Roses. 



If the former are just about showing 

 their trusses of flowers clear of the 

 foliage thej' are about right. Syringe 

 them every day until the flowers are 

 out. If you can flower them in a tem- 

 perature of 55 degrees they will be 

 larger and better colored blossoms than 

 in 00 degrees. AVhenever I speak of 

 temperature I always mean the night. 

 You cannot control day temperature so 

 easily, and if the house goes 20 degrees 

 higher in the daytime by sun heat, no 

 harm; and if by fire heat, then 10 de- 

 grees higher in daytime is proper, for 

 that would be natural conditions out 

 of doors. 



The hybrid perpetual roses should I)e 

 just showing their buds. If so they 

 will come along in 55 degrees very 

 nicely. Look out for the little green 

 worm which will often destroy the small 

 bud at this time. If j'ou have only a 

 few hundred, a careful watch on them 

 may do; but if you grow thousands, 

 then a sprinkling of hellebore and ab- 

 stinence from syringing for a few days 

 will "fix" the worm. As the pots of 

 these roses will get well filled with 

 roots, particularly if you grew them 

 last summer in pots, a watering twice 

 a week with liquid manure will help to 

 keep the foliage green and give color to 

 the flower.. 



Lilies. 



The lilies are perhaps the most im- 

 portant plant with the majority of 

 florists, especially in the smaller cities. 



I must confess to a disappointment in 

 the Japan bulbs. Out of 2,000 obtained 

 from two different firms there is little 

 disease, but half of them are too dwarf. 

 Some of my sanguine employees say: 

 "Oh, they "will shoot up before the 

 flower opens." Thc^y nearly all have 

 their largest buds from an inch to two 

 inches long, and I consider them all 

 right in a temperature of GO to 65 de- 

 grees. There is no excuse now for any 

 greenfly, as the buds are exposed and 

 tobacco smoke can reach all parts of 

 them. A mild smoking two nights in 

 succession every week is much better 

 than a hea\y dose once a week. 



I have before now had occasion to 

 say that our patrons want a lily well 

 out. It's not so with ])lailts, but they 

 do want a lily with all the blossoms 

 open. Tliey know it's shoi-t lived and 

 they want immediate show. If you are 

 keeping tlicm in I!.") degrees and some 

 promise to bo too early, be. careful not 

 to suddenly put them in a house 15 de- 

 grees colder, or they will just stand 

 still. Remember, they will keep open 

 in a cool house two weeks, so let them 

 go ahead until the earliest buds have 

 turned white and are ready to expand, 

 then they will open in any cool house. 



If you have not grown any large pots 

 or pans of lilies, don't attempt to make 

 them up now. Wait imtil the flowers 

 are open a few days before market time, 

 then you can take a big. sharp knife 

 and slice the ball of earth from a O-inch 

 pot down to a .'i-incb width, and you 

 can make up handsome pots by getting 

 five fine plants into a flinch pot. Tliis 

 is no fraud, and the plants and flowers 

 will last just as long as if undisturbed. 



Azaleas. 



Tlie azaleas need a good deal of han- 

 dling to get most of them in just right, 

 and here is a plant that the public is 

 intelligent enough to know is of more 

 value when not so fully in bloom. Cus- 

 tomers will nearly always ask you, "How 

 long will it remain in flower?" and if 

 you are made of the average clay you 

 will say, "Oh, a month, ma'am, at least; 

 look at the buds to come." No need to 

 mention varieties, because the plants 

 speak for themselves. Some will come 

 along all right in 50 to 55 degrees, while 

 the good old Van der Cruyssen has been 

 anxious to cover itself with blossoms 

 for this month past. A deep, cold frame 

 shaded on all sunny days will do, or a 

 north house where heat can be shut oil 



and air given constantly. Anything 

 above the freezing point will do; you 

 will only arrest development. The 

 azalea is a hard wooded plant and is 

 not hurt by a low temperature. 



Other Plants. 



The genista, acacia and bottle brush, 

 if too early, you can only keep down to 

 about 40 degrees and shade overhead. ■ 



There are a good many plants called 

 for at Easter by people whose limit is 

 50 cents to $1. I know that if a metro- 

 politan city florist sees this he will say, 

 ■'I would not bother with them." Per- 

 haps it's uot worth while, but we don't 

 like to see anybody go away unsuited. 

 rrimula obconica is one of the plants 

 that is going to be in fine order at 

 Easter. Keep it cool. We have a num- 

 ber of cyclamen that have been kept all 

 winter in about 45 degrees, and th^ 

 will thrive in that, but not flower veijy 

 freely. If yovi have any in that shape, 

 give them a temix^rature from now qn 

 of 50 degrees or a little more and they 

 will be in good .shape. Tlie flower of ja 

 cyclamen lasts two or three weeks aft^r 

 it is fully out. ; 



Hydrangea blossoms should be now 

 well above the foliage. Keep ttem 

 going until they are showing the true 

 color of the flower, their a week ia a . 

 cool hou.se will do them good. They ■ 

 are usually forced at such a pace" and 

 are so thirsty for water that they are 

 very unsatisfactory to the buyer. Until " 

 the" flower is well out, some liquid 

 manure at every other watering will 

 greatly help them, for, no matter how 

 large the pot, it's sure "to be full of 

 roots. 



We are all bound to grow some spirea. 

 whether of the old .Japonica or some of 

 the later forms. Last year we had . 

 some under the name of Washington. I 

 am informed it's the same as the variety 

 sold under the name of Gladstone. It 

 requires a week or so more to force into 

 flower, but it is altogether a superior 

 plant. It will pay you well to put 

 your spireas for the last month in 6- 

 inch saucers. The pots are a mass of 

 roots and on bright days you have to 

 water them twice a day at least. If a 

 saucer is under them you can fill it once 

 a day with water, or, better still, with 

 weak liquid manure, and you will see a 

 great difference in the deep green vig- 

 orous foliage and large sprays of flow- 

 ers. 



Four weeks is enough to bring lilacs 

 into flower in a temperature of 55 de- 

 grees. It is getting near their flower- 

 ing season and not much forcing is 

 needed. They sell very well in pots 

 when well flowered and are always prof- 

 itable to cut, lor who does not love the 

 lilac? I hope I have not used the last 

 verb out of place. Y'ou occasion- 

 ally hear a pretty young woman say 

 she loves beefsteak, liver and bacon, or 

 ice cream. I object to that; but she 

 may love several flowers, to look on a 

 landscape, poetry, or Alphonso. 



I have not had much experience in 

 forcing viburnum, prunus, pj'rus or sev- 

 eral of the many hardy shrubs and trees 

 that can be forced, because it has never 

 paid to do it in our locality, and, if I 

 had. any hints on them would now be 

 too late. 



Bulbous Flowers. 



You will be sure to have more or less 

 fillips, hyacinths and narcissus, and they 

 do come mighty useful at Easter. We 



