] '.iti;!. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



917 



View in the Store of Wadley & Smythe, New York, at Easter. 



Eeldom has any effect on ferns, with the 

 exception of a few varieties. 



Repotting can be safely performed at 

 any time of the year, but the best times 

 are in the stove house in February and 

 in the cool house in March. In any case 

 it is best to repot them before they start 

 to make young growth. The pots should 

 l>e clean and dry, for as in any other 

 case the rootlets will stick to the sides of 

 the pot, and if they require repotting 

 again they will suffer greatly, as it will 

 be found impossible to remove them from 

 the old pot without breaking a quantity 

 of live roots. New pots will absorb a 

 great quantity of water, and therefore 

 they should be soaked in water and dried 

 again, as the first and second watering 

 would otherwise be absorbed by the pot 

 and the ball become dry to the detriment 

 of the plant. Although ferns need moist- 

 ure at all times of the year, drainage is 

 most important. In their natural state 

 most ferns grow in a partly decayed 

 vegetable matter of a soft texture, there- 

 fore they should be potted firmly but not 

 hard. 



Moisture, proper atmosphere and tem- 

 perature are the most essential; the soil 

 is only of secondary consideration. The 

 ventilation should be so managed that 

 the plants are not in a direct draught, 

 but a close, stuffy atmosphere is more 

 injurious than an excess of ventilation, 

 and more so in the stove house. A fern 

 house should, whenever possible, be built 

 from north to south and the plants 

 shaded from the strong rays of the sun, 

 although all the natural light possible 

 should be retained. Blinds of unbleached 

 muslin fastened on the inside under the 

 roof of the house we have found the best 

 for this purpose. 



One of the most useful and a very old 

 favorite is Adiantum cuneatum. It is 

 of easier culture than almost any other 

 fern and adapts itself to almost any soil 

 and situation. If it is kept moist at the 



roots it will produce an abundance of 

 fronds the whole year aroimd. It is 

 generall}' raised from spores, but can also 

 be easily propagated by division of the 

 crowns. A. c. giacillimum is a varia- 

 tion from the above and is one of the 

 most elegant ferns. The fronds attain a 

 height of from one and one-half to two 

 feet and are densely tufted. This variety 

 is reproduced true from the spores and is 

 of very easy culture. A. formosum is a 

 strong, handsome greenhouse species and 

 attains a very large size. It is very use- 

 ful for house decoration and is also easy 

 of culture. It succeeds well in green- 

 house temperature, but if cultivated in 

 stove heat the fronds become much lai-ger 

 and the plant will make a fine specimen. 

 It is raised from spores and by division 

 of the rhizomes. A. Ghiesbrechtii (or 

 scutum) is supposed to be a variety of 

 A. tenerum. It makes a beautiful plant 

 for decorative and exhibition purposes. 



A. Peruvianum is one of the most orna- 

 mental stove species of the large growing 

 adiantums. Its graceful fronds are borne 

 on long, wiry stalks of from twelve to 

 eighteen inches and its fronds are from 

 two to three feet long. 



A. tenerum is a stove species of 

 elegant habit and very large dimensions. 

 It grows wild in Florida on the river 

 banks and its fronds grow from two to 

 three feet in length. If sufficient room 

 is allowed to it, it makes grand exhibi- 

 tion specimens. A. cuneatum grandiceps 

 is highly decorative and robust. It has 

 densely tufted crowns and the fronds are 

 more elongated than those of cuneatum ; 

 its branches are smaller, and the fronds 

 have an arching habit, which makes it 

 suitable for hanging baskets. 



A. caudatum is a stove species differ- 

 ent from the majority of adiantums and 

 very useful for baskets. If suspended its 

 fronds can be seen drooping two or three 

 feet. A. capillus — veneris imbricatum is 

 the handsomest of the capillus — veneris 



varieties. The fronds are borne on slender 

 stalks, pendulous, and from eight to ten 

 inches long. The appearance of the 

 plant is that of A. Farleyense, but of 

 dwarfish habit. It is classified as a cool- 

 house fern, but with us it does best with 

 greenhouse treatment. Its graceful cut 

 fronds are used for dinner table decora- 

 tions and the plant makes a first-class 

 house fern. 



A. Farleyense. imdoubtediy the hand- 

 somest of the whole genus, has attained 

 such a degree of popularity that however 

 completely we would describe it we would 

 fail to do it justice. It is supposed to 

 be a natirral sport of A. tenerum. But 

 whatever it may be, it shows the gar- 

 dener's skill and draws attention wherevc;- 

 it is exhibited. Its fronds are gracefully 

 drooping, and I have seen them grown at 

 Florham Farms, Madison, N. J., with 

 fronds two and one-half to three feet in 

 length, and the pinnules or leaflets ohl' 

 and one-half inches broad, and they were 

 grown entirely in pure fibrous loam. 

 They require a temperature of from "0 

 to 75 degrees at night and plenty of 

 moisture. Attempts have been made to 

 raise them from spores, but without suc- 

 cess, consequently they are propagated by 

 division of the crown. 



A very useful fern for decorations and 

 a very good house plant is Cibotiuni 

 Scheidei. Although an arborescent fern. 

 its trunk never attains a height of over 

 two or three feet when artificially grown. 

 It is of free growth and its fronds arc 

 elegantly drooping and measure some- 

 times from six to eight feet. 



In closing we must not forget to say 

 a good word for .a genus of ferns that 

 needs a space in every greenhouse, how- 

 ever small it may be, and that is the 

 nephrolepis. It is valuable as a house 

 plant, for decorations, rock work, and 

 baskets. It is most tenacious of life anrl 

 will stand treatment that no other feru 

 would stand. 



