480 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 



AUG. S. SWANSON. 

 (A report read at the last annual meeting.) 



Being' called upon for a report on greenhouse plants, I take it for 

 granted that what is expected is more particularly a sort of annual 

 review of what we have got in the way of new or improved plants. 

 Under that heading I certainly must mention the new rose, Belle 

 Siebrecht, as being the one most likely to prove the most valuable 

 addition to our list of greenhouse plants, or, rather, more strictly 

 speaking, florist's plants, as I will look at new plants from a florist 

 standpoint. While this is too early in the season to speak of the 

 value of a rose disseminated last summer, most of theyoving plants 

 not arriving here till July, and in most cases in a very weak and 

 sick condition arising from a too high state of culture, which they 

 had been subjected to for the sake of getting the largest number of 

 plants in the shortest possible time. This rose has, in foot ball 

 language, been weakened through over training. This is something- 

 I believe it will in a year or two overcome, and 1 am very much mis- 

 taken if those who now are condemning the rose as "no good" will 

 not be obliged to change their opinion. The pedigree of the Belle 

 Siebrecht, La France and Lady Mary Fitzwilliams 1 think is all right 

 and should insure a good, free bloomer and fairly though not over 

 robust growers. Of course, we know the rose will not exactly take 

 kindly to the pure tea rose treatment, as it has too much of the 

 hybrid remontant blood in its veins for that, but with treatment 

 similar to that which will bring out the best there is in the La 

 France, we will, I think, receive fully as good results. Its color is 

 in many respects a great improvement. It is more decided than the 

 La France, a deeper, warmer pink which does not fade quickly, and 

 thus will insure a better colored flower. During the dark winter 

 months the shape of the bud is all right for a winter rose, being 

 long, pointed and made up of only a very few broad, shell-shaped 

 petals. 



Another new rose, and if I remember correctly a sprout from Mme. 

 Cuzin, Mrs. J. Pierrepont Morgan, has also been disseminated the 

 last season, of which I cannot speak, not having seen very much of 

 it, but from report from other parts it is likely to prove itself a val- 

 uable addition to the florist's roses. It is in every respect a great 

 improvement over the parent plant, very strong and robust, with 

 much larger and better colored flowers. 



Another much praised and heralded novelty was the California 

 violet. From the glowing descriptions of this plant by the dissemiti- 

 ators we were afraid they would overgrow everything here; we im- 

 agined they would make plants the size of rhubarb, with flowers 

 like good sized chrysanthemums. If we should have taken them at 

 their word, we certainly would have discarded everything known 

 here in violets for the California, but I think the florists in business 

 today are not so apt to be taken in with glowing descriptions over 

 novelties any more. We are, as a lot, very conservative and do not 



