44 



THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



own roots, not being strong enough to 

 stand erect, and when a handsome little 

 tree is seen it has been grafted on the 

 pereskia stock. The flowers of the epi- 

 phyllum are most numerous and its vari 

 eties have colors varying from deep 

 scarlet to almost pure white. The type 

 is a deep rose color. 



Lake all the cacti, the epiphyllum 

 wants perfect drainage and must not be 

 overpotted. Keep cool in the late fall 

 months till they uegin to show flower, 

 when they should have more heat till 

 the flowers are fully expanded, and can 

 then be removed to a cool house, which 

 will prolong the life of the flowers. 



The operation of grafting the epi 

 phyllum on the pereskia is very simple. 

 Pieces of the pereskia of any desired 

 length will root in moderately moist 

 sand. When potted off and established 

 in pots the top of the stem is split for 

 an inch or so, a branch of the epi 

 phyllum inserted, and nothing more is 

 done except to tie a piece of raffia 

 around the stem to keep the graft in 

 place, and this must be removed as soon 

 as adhesion takes place, which will be 

 soon if the plants are kept in a warm, 

 moist house. 



CALADIUM. 



A genus of most ornamental hothouse 

 plants that are grown entirely for their 

 beautiful leaves, which are of almost 

 every hue. Although strictly a tropical 

 plant, they are most useful for decora 

 tions in the months of August and Sep 

 tember, after their growth is fully ma 

 tured. They lose their beautiful leaves 

 in the winter and must rest till the fol 

 lowing March or April. 



There are several species, of which 

 we all remember argyrites as one of the 

 oldest and prettiest, with its small sil 

 very marked leaf. The almost innumer 

 able varieties that are now cultivated 

 are hybrids and surpass in beauty the 

 original species. The tubers can be 

 bought at a very reasonable price from 

 any good commercial house. 



Their cultivation is easy. The tubers 

 can be placed in 3 dr 4-inch pots in 

 March in a temperature of 60 to 65 de 

 grees. A little bottom heat will much 

 help their starting. Water sparingly 

 till they begin to root. When a few 

 leaves are maue they can be shifted on. 

 A 6-inch pot will grow a fine specimen, 

 but they are seen occasionally of im 

 mense size in 12-inch pots. Many will 

 remember the dozen or more plants ex- 

 iuwited at the New York convention in 

 1888 from Wootton, Philadelphia. They 

 were grand. 



While growing they should have our 

 hottest houses, a little shade, a moist 

 atmosphere and abundance of water; 

 the pots should be drained so that water 

 passes freely through. Liberal treat 

 ment as to size of pot is a requirement. 

 The soil can be a good loam, rather 

 coarse, with a fourth of leaf-mold and 

 rotten manure. 



In October they show signs of going 

 to rest, and water should then be with 

 held, but not all at once. Keep the 

 soil moderately moist till the leaves have 

 about gone, when you can lay the pots 



on their sides under a bench in a warm 

 house. A good many fine caladium bulbs 

 are lost from keeping them too dry in 

 the winter and sometimes from winter 

 ing them too cold; 60 degrees is cold 

 enough for them, and don t let the soil 

 get dust dry; look at them every two 

 or three weeks, and if the soil is very 

 dry give them a watering. In starting, 

 of course, you will shake off all the old 

 soil. There is no need of mentioning 

 any of the varieties, for their names are 

 legion and all are beautiful. 



C. Esculentum. 



Caladium esculentum is an important 

 plant with tne florist and it enters 

 largely into his spring business. Every one 



house just right providing the ground is 

 dry- 

 When we receive the bulbs in the 

 spring we cut out all the eyes and small 

 tubers, because we don t want them, and 

 we cut off the remains of the old tuber 

 close up to the new, sound one. We 

 put them in flats three inches deep in 

 which the bottom half is sifted decayed 

 manure and the top half sand, pushing 

 the bulb down till its top is little above 

 the rim of flat and the bulbs almost 

 touching. Give them a watering and 

 place the flats over the hot-water pipes. 

 You will save two or three weeks by this 

 method over starting them in the pots 

 on a cool bench, and will save much 

 valuable space. We plant them in the 

 flats in time so they will be ready to 



Caladium Esculentum at St. James Park, Los Angeles, Cal. 



knows this caladium and some of our 

 customers know it by the descriptive and 

 artistic name of elephant s ears. 



They are multiplied by the small tu 

 bers that are always found on tire large 

 ones, but at the low cost of a tuber the 

 size of a base ball (and that is amply 

 large enough) it will never pay a florist 

 to grow his own bulbs. You cannot 

 begin to raise them as cheaply as you 

 can buy them from the man who grows 

 an acre. If you have any plants on 

 your own place and wish to save them, 

 cut the stalk off a foot above the &quot;ground 

 after the first frost, dig up, shake off 

 all the soil and lay them on the ground 

 under a rose house bench. I have found 

 the temperature and humidity of a rose 



pot off just after Easter, when the pres 

 sure for space has been relieved. 



When taken out of the flats they have 

 made a growth of five or six inches and 

 are a mass of roots. They are then pot 

 ted into 5-inch pots or extra strong ones 

 into 6-inch. You do not want them too 

 large when bedded out, as the wind 

 breaks them, nor too late, or your cus 

 tomers^ will be disappointed ; about 

 eighteen inches high with three leaves- 

 will do. Any kind of rich soil will do 

 for them in pots, with water ad libitum, 

 and a light, warm nouse. When you are 

 growing your caladiums all houses are- 

 much alike as to temperature. 



To make the best effect in any posi 

 tion out of doors the ground should be- 



