THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



43 



Paper White Narcissus. 



have seven weeks in a light house at a 

 temperature of 60 degrees; then it will 

 be in good order for Christmas. As the 

 season advances Komans require less and 

 less time under glass. During March 

 and April two weeks in any house will 

 bring them into flower. 



The Von Sion narcissi differ some 

 from the tulips in their handling. While 

 the tulips are best left out of doors till 

 you want to start them in heat, the Von 

 Sion that you want to cut through Jan 

 uary and February you can bring in 

 aoout the end of November and place 

 beneath a cool bench. They will go on 

 rooting and in January will be sending 

 up their flowers, which will develop a 

 good stem in a temperature of 55 or 60 

 degrees. These should be, of course, the 

 earliest planted bulbs. 



For years we struggled to get tulips 

 in flower at Christmas, and with the 

 Due Van .Thol, and even with some of 

 the finer early tulips, we were success 

 ful. But what is there in it when you 

 have succeeded? There are plenty of 

 other flowers for all purposes, and 

 fancy trying to sell a dozen forced and 

 sickly tulips Avhen a dozen fine carna 

 tions can be had. So we&quot; have left tulips 

 alone till after New Year s, when, if 

 brought in, they can be had in fine qual 

 ity by the end of January or a few days 

 before, and that is as soon as they are 

 wanted. 



The earliest tulips want a strong heat 

 75 degrees is not too much with 

 plenty of water, and they need shad 

 ing with cheese-cloth or some such ma 

 terial to produce a good stem. Up to 

 the first of March they need, heat, with 

 lessening shade ; after that they flower 

 on any greenhouse bench, the last ones 

 to flower inside wanting a light house, 

 as they are apt to have long, weak stems. 



The conditions to produce the early 

 tulips are heat, moisture and shade, but 

 not heat that will burn the roots. On 

 the pipes is no place for them; it is 

 heat around the young growths that is 

 wanted, not at the roots. 



The varieties I mentioned for bed 

 ding are the very best for forcing. 

 When wanted for any special date, 

 like Easter, and they are a few days 

 too early, you can help to keep the 

 tulips in good order by putting the 

 flats under the bench when the flowers 

 are about fully developed and covering 

 with paper, which prevents the opening 

 and closing that takes place on every 

 fine sunny day. 



Hyacinths in pots and pans need no 

 forcing towards spring, coming on very 

 quickly as soon as brought into the 

 greenhouse. It is impossible to give 

 any fixed time to allow for these bulbs 

 to come into flower, as seasons vary so 

 much. 



Besides the Von Sion narcissus there 

 are several Trumpet varieties that force 

 well and are most desirable. Incom 

 parable, Trumpet Major, Emperor, Em 

 press, and especially fine is Golden Spur. 



This very spring a Holland bulb 

 grower cautioned us that these narcissi 

 were by no means as hardy as a tulip 

 and in Holland they had lost many in 

 the ground when there was only 10 

 degrees of frost. It is well to bear this 

 in mind and give them more protection 

 than we do the tulips. 



The Polyanthus narcissi are beauti 

 ful in form and color and are fragrant. 

 They force well, but should not be ex 

 posed to frost at any time. They are 

 not profitable for the commercial man, 

 but are beautiful for the private con 

 servatory. The Narcissus poeticus and 

 its fine variety ornatus are both hardy 



and force well, and so do the elegant 

 sweet-scented jonquils. 



CACTUS. 



You can walk through many a green 

 house establishment, large and small, 

 without seeing a specimen of any of 

 these curious plants, and unless you are 

 a specialist you will be wise to leave 

 them alone. The demand for them is 

 altogether too small. You will, how 

 ever, be often asked: &quot;How shall i 

 make my cactus flower?&quot; etc., and as 

 the florist is supposed to know how to 

 cultivate every green thing, it is well 

 to be able to give an intelligent answer 

 to the old lady whose uncle sent her 

 the cactus in question many years ago 

 from Mexico. 



Grotesque and peculiar as the growth 

 of many of the cacti is, the flowers of 

 some, notably the night blooming cereus 

 (C. grandiflorus) are most gorgeous. It 

 lasts but one short night, but while open 

 it is almost unrivaled in its magnifi 

 cent form, lovely colors, the beauty of 

 its stamens and general appearance, as 

 well as great fragrance. 



The mammillarias are the most use 

 ful for bedding, making a beautiful ap 

 pearance in a bed of succulents. The 

 United States and Mexican species will 

 winter in a very cool place and need 

 little if any water in the dark winter 

 days. All of the tropical kinds will 

 winter very well in a night tempera 

 ture of 55 degrees, and our summers 

 suit them well. 



They are about as easily grown in 

 a window as they are in the green 

 house if proper care is used in water 

 ing. Few if any insects trouble them. 

 Drainage is of first importance, and 

 neither in summer, when they are grow 

 ing, nor in winter, when they are at 

 rest, should the soil ever remain satu 

 rated. So, whatever the compost be, let 

 the pot or tub be filled one-third with 

 broken crocks, so that water is sure to 

 pass off quickly. In winter, when little 

 growth is being made,, especially if you 

 are keeping the plants cool, water suffi 

 cient to lieep the soil from getting dust 

 dry will do. In April and May and 

 through the summer, if the soil is well 

 drained you can water daily. 



The soil should be a good fibrous loam, 

 to which add one-fourth of coarse sand, 

 and if that is not at hand add some 

 powdered bricks or old plaster crumbled 

 up. They need little pot room and 

 should not be shifted for several sea 

 sons. All of them would do well out 

 of doors in summer time if convenient to 

 put them outside, but look out for heavy 

 rains; for those that are in pots or tubs 

 too much water will rot the roots. 



Some of the genera are hardy in the 

 latitude of New York, but a very severe 

 winter will hurt them, and where used 

 for bedding it is better to lift them and 

 place in flats and winter in a cold house 

 or protected frame. 



The most valuable of the cacti grown 

 for their flowers, and which makes a 

 most showy winter flowering plant, is 

 Epiphyllum truncatum and its varieties. 

 It does not make a good plant on its 



