HORTICULTURE 



Vol. XXX 



NOVEMBER 1, 1919 



No. 18 



THE TALK OF THE TRADE 



I was talking a few days ago with 

 J. K. Alexander, the dahlia man of 

 East Bridgewater, Mass., and was sur- 

 prised to learn from him of the in- 

 creased demand for dahlias from flor- 

 ists. This was a surprise, as I say, 

 because the reports from the flower 

 market had indicated that dahlias 

 had not been sold very heavily 

 through them. It would seem as 

 though many dahlias have gone direct 

 from growers to retailers. There is 

 every reason to believe, too, that this 

 demand will continue to grow from 

 season to season, for more attention 

 is being paid to the growing of dahlias 

 which are of special value for cutting. 



The pompons have proved very 

 popular, Mr. Alexander says, because 

 of the fact that they can be used 

 more advantageously in making up set 

 pieces. The colors are not harsh and 

 the shape and size make them easy 

 to handle. Moreover, they keep well 

 when cut. 



One of the most popular of the 

 florists' dahlias appears to be Maude 

 Adams. This is a show dahlia, white 

 with a light edging of pink. Reports 

 have come from the west saying that 

 Maude Adams has met with wonder- 

 ful success there, many florists using 

 it in great numbers. It has a strong 

 stem and stands up remarkably well 

 when placed in water. 



A dahlia which has been perhaps 

 more generally used in the west is 

 King of the Autumn. Undoubtedly 

 this is one of the finest decorative 

 dahlias ever introduced, with un- 

 usually strong sturdy stalks and long, 

 stiff stems which endure hard winds 

 without breaking, and answer every 

 requirement of the decorator or florist. 

 It is a fairly large flower and of a 

 color which is difficult to describe. 

 Perhaps an idea of this color may be 

 obtained by saying that it is buff yel- 

 low suffused with terra cotta. Thd 

 effect is one of great delicacy and 

 charm, and this effect is maintained 

 even under the strong glare of the 

 electric lights. 



King of the Autumn is rather ex- 

 pensive at present, but in my opinion 

 it is to prove in the long run one of 

 the most satisfactory of all dahlias 

 regardless of type for florists' use. 



Florists who are able to grow a cer- 

 tain number of dahlias for their own 

 use will not go wrong if they stock « 

 up with Maude Adams, King of the 

 Autumn, Jean Kerr and several va- 

 rieties of the pompom. 



I believe the time is coming when 

 the collarette dahlias are going to be 

 used generally by florists, too. So far 

 they are not very common and much 

 needs to be done to introduce new 

 colors, especially shades of pink which 

 make the strongest appeal to florists' 

 customers. The collarette dahlia has 

 a peculiar fascination and keeps as 

 long as any kind when cut. The single 

 dahlias, while attractive when grow- 

 ing, are a great disappointment as cut 

 flowers and are not to be recom- 

 mended for that purpose. This applies 

 too, to the cactus dahlias as a type, 

 but some of the hybrid cactus vari- 

 eties stand up very much better. 



It has been hard to convince some 

 people in the trade that the dahlia 

 had possibilities as a florists' flower, 

 but the experience of the last two sea- 

 sons has shown that certain forms of 

 dahlia can be used with perfect sat- 

 isfaction to customers, and that they 

 can be handled at a very good profit. 



English florists are not happy over 

 the bulb situation, as may be judged 

 from the following plaint by a writer 

 in the Horticultural Trade Journal of 

 London. 



"A while since, I referred to the un- 

 favorable outlook in regard to Japan- 

 ese Liliums. Information has now come 

 to hand that the crop of L. longiflorum 

 formosum is exceedingly small, and 

 that the bulk of the available bulbs of 

 this important lily has been snapped 

 up by America, prices running as high 

 as 100 dollars a case. The few Fornio 

 sums we are likely to get, will proba^ 

 bly be disposed of within the next 

 week or ten days, and doubtless will be 

 eagerly bought up. There are practi- 

 cally no stocks of retarded longiflorum 

 in the country, so there is little like- 

 lihood of anything approaching re- 

 quired supplies of bloom early next 

 year, and especially at Easter. We 

 must simply make the best of things 

 that cannot be avoided, and cast about 

 us for substitutes." 



After all, however, turn about is fair 

 play. 



If all reports are true, the English- 

 men got ahead of us when it comes to 

 giganteums. They were on the ground 

 in force early in the season and gob- 

 bled up about everything that was to 

 be had. The result is seen in the short- 

 age here. That being the case, why 

 should they fuss so much about formo- 

 sums? Then, too, the statement that 

 prices in America have run as high as 

 $100 a case is somewhat exaggerated. 

 There may be instances where this 

 figure has been touched, but the prices 

 for the most part have not exceeded 

 $80. 



The first Paper-whites have reached 

 the Boston market, having been sent 

 in by W. W. Edgar. They are being 

 sold in pans and were received with 

 favor. It is interesting in this connec- 

 tion to note that as was predicted, 

 prices of bulbs have steadily increased. 

 This holds true, I think, with all 

 bulbs except possibly Freesias. Some 

 weeks ago tulips could be had for $22. 

 Now they are $25 and going higher. 

 Just what point the various bulbs will 

 reach nobody can say, but there cer- 

 tainly will come a time when it will 

 not pay a grower to purchase them. 

 Probably $30 is as much as anyone can 

 afford to pay for tulips and $40 should 

 be the outstanding price in my opinion 

 for narcissi. 



FORCING IRIS TINGITANA. 



Dear Sir: Please tell me how to 

 force Iris Tingitana, when to bring it 

 in, the kind of soil and temperature re- 

 quired. Subscriber. 



You can use any good potting soil, 

 preferably with a fair amount of sand 

 or leaf mold, but the drainage should 

 be extra good. The bulbs should be 

 buried below the frost line, of course, 

 and left there until thoroughly good 

 root growth has been made. Probably 

 the middle of December will be about 

 the right time to take them inside. 

 Then they should go to a cool house, 

 one where the temperature is 50 to 55, 

 and left there until the top starts to 

 grow well. Then they may be given 

 a temperature of 65, but should not be 

 allowed to go much higher. It is most 

 important to grow this iris cool or re- 

 sults will not be satisfactory. 



