874 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Apkil 1G, 1903. 



bushel of sheep manure to a yard of 

 soil to make up for the sods. 



You should not attempt to hold your 

 young plants in flats until July 1st, as 

 they would become hard and stunted, 

 and in short they would be ruined. 

 Either pot thorn into 4-inch pots now 

 or plant them in the field as soon as 

 you can. I would prefer the latter with 

 irost varieties, except Mrs. Lawson, 

 which we grow in pots until about June, 

 when we plant it inside in the beds. 



A. F. J. Baur. 



A SHADED HOUSE AND SOME 

 ROSE ROOTS. 



Subscriber L asks "Can we grow as- 

 paragus, smilax, palms, and ferns in 

 house that gets no direct sun during the 

 three or four winter months? The house 

 in question is even span, built on the 

 north side of a three-quarter span 

 liouse," also "What causes the roots of 

 rose plants to die and look moldy?"' 



If the north side of your house were, 

 say, 9 feet high, and a lean-to to run 

 from that domi to 4 feet, I should call 

 it a very dark house, but yours, being 

 an equal span, should not be dark, even 

 if it does not get the direct rays of the 

 sun. I would say that you could grow 

 perfectly in that house all the plants 

 mentioned, other considerations being 

 right. Perhaps the asparagus would be 

 most benefited by the fullest light. 



Just a hint or two on the culture of 

 these plants. I am supposing the ferns 

 you would want to grow are Adiantum 

 cuneatum, or some of its forms, for cut- 

 ting. If nephrolepis to sell in pots, give 

 them the fullest light. It will thrive 

 under glass in the summer time in the 

 unshaded rays of the sun and be all the 

 better for it. If it is adiantum for cut- 

 ting you are going to grow, never put it 

 in a shallow bench of soil over hot 

 water or steam pipes. It must have a 

 cool bottom. Plant your asparagus and 

 smilax on the surface of the ground. 

 Give tlie asparagus 9 inches or 

 a foot of rich, heavy loam, as 

 it will remain there perhaps three years. 

 Give the smilax 6 inches of soil. That's 

 enotigh, as it does not pay to keep it in 

 longer than oiie year. 



There may be several causes that 

 may accotmt for the rose roots 

 dying. Sometimes the roots are 

 crowded in the 3 or 4-inch pots 

 when they are planted in the bed, 

 and if the ball of roots is not judiciously 

 distributed and loosened up, the roots 

 will make but feeble growth. If the 

 plants have once started a healthy 

 growth, then the roots must be active. 

 and for them to die or "look moldy" 

 after that I could not account. It would 

 take a most outrageous drying out or a 

 ridiculous over-watering to destroy the 

 roots. I would advise L to send a speci- 

 men of these "moldy" roots to some 

 rose specialist. William Scott. 



BLISTER BEETLES. 



What will destroy the blister beetle 

 that attacks the petals of florets, often 

 called the aster bug? It should be a 

 white powder or it would discolor the 

 florets, and not too dangerous to those 

 who may handle after purchasing. 



H. A. C. 



Fortunately I have not yet been trou- 

 bled with the aster beetle, but have seen 

 it frequently. I am almost sure there 

 has been piiMished in the columns of 

 the Eeview an article on the beetle and 



how to get rid of it, but I don't recall 

 the article just now. H. A. C. doesn't 

 say whether the beetles he is going to 

 fight are on the asters or on the petals 

 of some other flower. The beetle "chews" 

 but doesn't "suck." as does the aphis 

 tribe, and therefore a poison on surface 

 of leaf or plant would destroy it. Pow- 

 dered hellebore would not discolor the 

 flowers or foliage in any way and is 

 death to all chewing beetles or worms. 

 It should be dusted on when the flowers 

 and foliage are damp. 



\\'iLLiAM Scott. 



THE EASTER SHOW IN PHILA- 

 DELPHIA. 



Tliat Easter is the plant festival of 

 the year is more clearly demonstrated 

 each season, and the wonderful expan- 

 sion of our business in this direction is 

 much more fully understood if one goes 

 about among the large retail stores of 

 our city a few days before Easter. Not 

 only do we find tluit the quantity of 

 flowering plants used at this season has 

 wonderfully increased, but there is also 

 a greater variety and in many respects 

 an improvement in quality. 



From a numerical point of view the 

 Easter lilies are doubtless still at the 

 front, and there are many more good 

 lilies than could be seen last season, the 

 percentage of defective bulbs having been 

 less, and the crop being needed rather 

 late this season made hard forcing un- 

 necessary, while tlie warm w'eather in 

 March pushed the lilies along, though in 

 a natural way. 



Some complaint is heard on the part 

 of some of the growers relative to the 

 small number of flowers per plant on 

 the lilies, many being seen with not 

 more than three or four flowers to a 

 stem, and at ten cents per flower such 

 a crop is not highly profitable. 



Of course there are many large pots 

 and pans of lilies containing from three 

 to seven or eight bulbs, but plants of this 

 size have but a limited sale when com- 

 pared with the tens of thousands of single 

 plants that are needed to supply the needs 

 of the average run of customers. Very 

 few L. Harrisii are now to be seen, the 

 great majority among the Easter crop 

 being L. longiflorum. 



Next to the lilies in popularity are the 

 azaleas, and tliese are to be seen in 

 great variety both in size and price, 

 ranging from fifty cents to ten or fifteen 

 dollars each at wholesale, but of these 

 extra large sizes few are needed, the 

 popular sizes being those that wholesale 

 at from one to five dollars each. 



Two or three different whites, Mme. 

 Van de Cruyssen and Vervjcneana may 

 he considered the leaders among the 

 azaleas, and despite the reported scarcity 

 of Van der Cruyssen the stores seem to 

 be well supplied with this sterling vari- 

 ety. 



Crimson Eambler roses are the next 

 important item, and are seen in great 

 abundance and in very fine quality, most 

 of the plants being well flowered and 

 the flowers of better color than usual, 

 the mild season having brought them 

 along gradually, thus giving more sub- 

 stance to the flowers and a much brighter 

 color than is seen when this rose has 

 had hard forcing. Ramblers are shown 

 in various sizes, though very few ex- 

 tremely large, those most in demand be- 

 ing plants that are sold at one to three 

 dollars each, wholesale. 



Various Hybrid Perpetual roses are 

 seen, these mostly being offered in 6-inch 

 pots, and among them are some very 



nice Brunners in good color and condi- 

 tion. 



Quite a number of rhododendrons are 

 to be seen, but as these are not very 

 rapid growing plants and also have the 

 usual import expenses added to their 

 original cost before they reach the re- 

 tailer, it makes many of these plants 

 rather gilt-edged in price, and conse- 

 quently not well adapted for every lo- 

 cality, the wholesale prices ranging from 

 two to fifteen dollars each, and it may 

 be readily guessed that the latter size is 

 not bought by the dozen. 



Bougainvillea Sanderiana appears in 

 magnificent specimens, a perfect mass 

 of purplish pink bracts, and with the 

 pot co\'ered with a neutral tinted Porto 

 Rican matting this plant is really a 

 thing of beauty. 



hydrangeas are handled in less quan- 

 tities than in former years, though there 

 are many good plants to be seen in 

 and 8-ineh pots, and they are all right, 

 too, if the purchasers will only supply 

 them with water enotigh to keep that 

 great evaporating surface of leaves and 

 flowers in good order, and we might also 

 add, if the growers will only get the 

 hydrangeas in early enough that they 

 may be properly hardened off before tliey 

 are offered for sale. There are a few 

 very blue-blooded hydrangeas offered in 

 some of the best stores, the plants in 

 question being apparently a very blue 

 form of Thos. Hogg, and it is related 

 that both the plants and the soil in 

 which they are growing were imported 

 from France by a certain well known 

 and highly successful Long Island grow- 

 er. These very blue hydrangeas are really 

 a beautiful color, btit the price of them 

 would make the average customer bluer 

 than the flowers. 



Deutzia gracilis is still grown in quan- 

 tity by a few growers, and among the 

 cheaper stock is still in favor, but a com- 

 parative novelty is seen in some large 

 tubs of Deutzia Lemoinei, well flowered 

 and much more effective than D. gi-a- 

 cilis. 



The improved forms of Astilbe japon- 

 ica are much in evidence and lots of fine 

 stock has been sold at fifty cents each, 

 and manyfor much less. and thoughastilbe 

 does not occupy sjiace very long, yet it 

 occupies a good deal of space for the 

 money it turns in. 



Several species and varieties of heaths 

 are to be seen in the stock of the leading 

 stores, probably more of Erica persoluta 

 than either of the others, while some 

 very nice plants of one of the bright 

 yeliow heaths. E. Cavendishiana, is per- 

 haps the greatest novelty in this line and 

 brings four to six dollars at retail in 

 G-inch pots. 



Some very well grown eytisus or gen- 

 istas are seen, both bush and pyramid in 

 shape, and mostly of medium size, but 

 bearing a great abundance of bloom. 



There are also a few laburnums and 

 Japanese cherries forced into Uoom, but 

 these may rather be ranked among the 

 curios than as truly useful Easter stock. 

 The cherries are well flowered, as is nat- 

 ural to these, and in form they are very- 

 quaint and gnarled, but like most of the 

 Ja]ianese dwarfed plants they are 

 rather costly for their size. 



The bulb stock, such as tulips, hya- 

 cinths and daffodils, is very plentiful, 

 but in many instances the quality has 

 suffered from the heat that struck them 

 the week before Easter ^veek, the flow- 

 ers being too open and the growth much 

 drawn. 



INLiny hyacinths are grown in pans 



