THE FLORISTS MANUAL 



75 



Wreath of Boxwood Sprays. 



just, as ornamental as the well-known 

 kinds mentioned, but their scarcity and 

 value forbid their use. And again, the 

 kentias and arecas have entirely dis 

 placed such quick-growing but soft kinds 

 as seaforthia. 



Cycas revoluta makes a grand orna 

 ment w r here it can be used in a very 

 large plant vase, perhaps at the end of 

 a room or hall, but should be so placed 

 that its perfect outline can be seen or 

 it will not be appreciated. 



As to the hardiness or ability to stand 

 rough usage, of these palms I think 

 there is not the slightest doubt that the 

 phoenix is the best. We have a pair 

 of P. rupicola that in the course of five 

 or six years must have heard the con 

 gratulations of the bride s friends, or 

 endured the orchestra s strains, the East 

 er and Christmas sermons, the orator s 

 eloquence, and the chilly ride to and fro, 

 a thousand times, and still they come 

 up smiling. There is nothing like the 

 phoenix in this respect. 



The kentias come next for keeping in 

 fair order, but kentias, grand house 

 plants as they are, do not like the slight 

 est frost. I have noticed that where 

 latanias and arecas have been careless 

 ly exposed to a degree of frost they 

 will recover, but not so with t^e kentias. 

 The arecas will answer the purpose for 



a long time if the leaves are carefully 

 tied when they go out, and this care 

 should also be given the kentias. The 

 latanias suffer most, not because they 

 are more tender, but their broad leaves 

 get more easily broken and become un 

 sightly. 



I remarked under the head of decora 

 tions that the charge should be about 

 twice as much in January as in June. 

 This is quite true, after May 1 till No 

 vember 1 it does little harm to palms 

 to give them a day and a night or more 

 in a hall or room, and if the leaves are 

 drawn up and carefully tied with raffia 

 they can be sent out in an open wagon. 

 When the thermometer is 10 degrees De- 

 low zero it is very different. In addi 

 tion to the wagon that is heated you 

 have to tie up each plant ami cover with 

 paper or a bag, for the distance from 

 the curbstone to the door of the house is 

 frequently enough to ruin your palms if 

 not protected. Others use long boxes, 

 each holding a half dozen plants. As 

 these are packed in the warm shed and 

 the tight cover put on, and the box 

 carried into a warm hall or vestibule be 

 fore they are unpacked, the palms sel 

 dom get injured by cold, but careful 

 and thorough tying up of the leaves is 

 more of a necessity even than when sent 

 in a heated wagon. Never scrimp the 



time in tying up the palms. If you do 

 you will soon have to buy more, because 

 yours will be shabby, and the price of 

 one good areca or kentia six or seven 

 feet high will pay for many hours labor 

 on the palms. 



Dracaenas. 



Next to the palms the dracaenas are 

 most useful and effective. On mantels, 

 sideboards or tables perfect specimens 

 of D. terminalis tricta, D. amabilis, or 

 any of the beautiful hybrids, can t be 

 equaled. And for situations wanting 

 larger plants well-grown specimens of 

 D. Nova-Caledonica, D. fragrans and D. 

 Lindenii are superb, and they should al 

 ways be so situated that the entire plant 

 can be seen. D. indivisa is, of course, 

 very common, but it is so hardy and 

 tough that it is for many places one of 

 the very best decorative plants we have. 

 Dracaenas of the terminalis and fra 

 grans type want no exposure to the cold, 

 but they are easily packed and their 

 leaves can be brought up and tied close 

 to the stem with strips of tissue paper 

 without doing any harm. 



Crotons. 



On all occasions except during cold 

 weather crotons are gorgeous and grand 

 plants for decorations, but they must 

 not be chilled. My experience is that 

 if a croton is exposed to a temperature 

 of 40 degrees for an hour it will drop 

 its handsome leaves, and in the winter 

 we sometimes expose our palms and dra 

 caenas to a lower temperature than that 

 without much or any damage. So large 

 plants of crotons had better be kept at 

 home. 



Small plants of crotons are now raised 

 and sold almost as cheaply as fuchsias 

 or geraniums, and if you do lose them 

 you have possibly charged enough for 

 the job to consider it no loss. For a 

 mantel decoration with vases of flowers, 

 or for plants for a banquet table noth 

 ing can be finer than the many grand 

 varieties of crotons. 



Adiantum. 



Several species of ferns are among 

 the leading articles of our decorative 

 stuff. It must depend upon how elabo 

 rate and expensive the decoration is 

 whether you can use the very choicest 

 ferns. Sometimes at the bottom of a 

 mirror a bank of Adiantum Farleyense 

 is made as a background to a display 

 of orchids, and what could be finer? 

 Adiantum cuneatum, besides its great 

 usefulness in supplying cut fronds, is 

 many times used as a fringe or bank, 

 and if the fronds are well matured will 

 keep pretty well, but if young growth 

 they will soon shrivel up in a warm, dry 

 room. 



Asparagus. 



The Asparagus Sprengeri is a great 

 acquisition, and is and will be largely 

 used. Its pendent growths make it 

 just the plant to hang from mantels or 

 bookcases, or to cover unsightly pots. 

 Some plants in 4 and 5-inch pots, with 



