THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



which root quickly in the sand. For 

 early spring use the cuttings should be 

 propagated in February, potted on till 

 June and have the tops pinched out, when 

 they can go into a 5-inch pot and be 

 plunged outside on a dry bottom, giving 

 them plenty of room between the plants. 

 If they grow freely give them a 6-inch 

 pot in August. 



If strong plants in 4-inch pots, one 

 stopping of the leading shoot is all the 

 pinching that is necessary. If growing 

 strong they are then shifted into 6-inch 

 and plunged in frames in May or June 

 in some material. Here they will grow- 

 vigorously. 



I must quote here what I saw last sum 

 mer, the latter part of August, at the 

 establishment of a very large and suc 

 cessful Philadelphia grower of these 

 Easter plants. A number of these plants 

 were lifted out of the frame where their 

 roots had been uniformly moist and the 

 growth vigorous, and were stood in groups 

 on the dry ground. Now this was evi 

 dently done to arrest the vigorous growth, 

 ripen the growths and form the flower 

 buds. It was a clever move and much 

 can be learned from it. This is much 

 better than subjecting the plants to early 

 frosts, the degree of which no man can 

 control. 



When forcing these plants a shift from 

 a 6-inch to 8-inch would be very bene 

 ficial, but it would give them an un 

 wieldy and unsalable appearance; being 

 crowded with roots, you should tell your 

 customers that they must have abundance 

 of water. The very name of the genus 

 implies that they are gluttons for water. 



Hydrangeas, especially the hortensis 

 type, are great feeders, and should have 

 a rather heavy but good, fresh loam with 

 a fourth of decayed manure, and some 

 bone flour added at the last shift will 

 help them. Water they want in great 

 abundance when growing and flowering, 

 and if allowed to suffer for it they soon 

 show it, and will show it later by yellow 

 leaves. 



There is little trouble with hydrangeas 

 from insects. You can fumigate them 

 should fly trouble them, and although red 

 spider will attack the flowers it should 

 never be allowed, as a daily syringing 

 should be given them. 



Plants that have not sold should have 

 the flowers removed by cutting back the 

 stem to within a few eyes of the pot. 

 Remove some of the soil and give them 

 a shift and plunge outside for the sum 

 mer. They will make fine plants for an 

 other spring. The principal object to 

 attain with any of these plants is a strong 

 .growth in summer, and well ripened 

 wood in the fall. So bright sun, cool 

 nights and a lessening of the supply of 

 water are the requisites. 



When hydrangeas get into 10-inch 

 and 12-inch pots they take up too 

 much room unless you are assured of a 

 good sale. They make magnificent plants 

 in tubs for the lawn, but those that have 

 developed their flowers under glass are 

 not valuable for this purpose, as they 

 soon lose the beauty of their flowers. The 

 best plants for this purpose that I have 

 seen were wintered for several years in 

 the basement of a coach-house. There 



was no artificial heat. It was not too 

 dark, and with an occasional watering 

 the plants remained dormant till it was 

 time to return them to the lawn, when 

 they came along naturally about the same 

 as the hardy shrubs, and the flowers 

 lasted the greater part of the summer. 



Some such place as this should be pro 

 vided for large plants, as the greenhouse, 

 however cool, will bring them on too 

 fast. 



Some growers adopt a different plan 

 with the young plants. Instead of grow 

 ing them on in pots they plant them out 

 in good, deep, rich soil and lift and pot 

 in September or October. I have often 

 done this, and for late spring sales it 

 is a good plan, but for the Easter lot I 

 prefer to grow them in pots all summer. 



The kinds forced include Thomas 

 Hogg, a pure white variety of hortensis. 

 Paniculata is also forced in some places, 

 but we think we have better plants. 

 There is a finer variety with purplish red 

 stems and highly colored pink flowers, 

 rather a tall growth but very handsome. 

 H. hortensis Otaksa is the finest variety, 

 giving the largest head of bloom, and 

 forcing well. 



There is now a magnificent variety, or 

 species, known, I believe, as rosea, a love 

 ly shade of pure pink. The experts have 

 not yet mastered the flowering of this 

 beautiful sort. 



IMPATIENS SULTANI. 



This little perennial flowering balsam 

 is not so much seen as it was a dozen 

 years ago. Nearly all the year it is cov 

 ered with bright scarlet flowers and is 

 chiefly valuable as a bright flower for 

 the greenhouse in summer when most of 

 our flowering plants are done. It roots 

 readily from cuttings in warm sand, or 

 can be raised from seed. A rather rich, 

 open soil suits it, with plenty of water. 

 Plants in 4-inch and 5-inch pots are most 

 useful. 



Being from tropical Africa, it should 

 not be kept lower than 55 degrees in the 

 winter, but any greenhouse does it well 

 in summer, and it does not want much 

 shade. 



When plants get shabby from the want 

 of a shift it is cheaper and better to 

 throw them away, as young and thrifty 

 plants are so easily raised. 



INSECTICIDES. 



See Fungicides and Insecticides. 



IRESINE Achyranthes. 



These are known almost entirely under 

 the name of achyranthes, but iresine is 

 correct. They, with the coleus, are the 

 principal plants used to furnish color to 

 the tropical and foliage beds. 



Their culture is so well known and so 

 simple that little need be said. They 

 thrive in any ordinary good soil. They 

 have an advantage over the coleus in 

 that they are not nearly so tender and 

 will grow during winter when the coleus 

 would starve. Outside, though injured 

 by the first frost, they will not drop 

 their leaves when the thermometer gets 

 down to 40 degrees, as do many coleuses. 



We grow them not only as bedding 

 plants, but for our vases and veranda- 

 boxes they are most useful, and do not 

 monopolize the whole space to the sacri 

 fice of other plants, as do the stronger 

 growing coleuses. 



Greenfly attacks them if smoking is 

 neglected, and mealy bugs like them, but 

 they can be thoroughly cleaned off when 

 you start a new batch of cuttings. 



Nothing can possibly root better than 

 iresine at all times of the year. We se 

 lect a few cuttings from outside that are 

 clean and healthy in September, and from 

 a few dozen of each kind a large lot- 

 can be produced by bedding time. A 

 hotbed grows them thriftily and quickly 

 and gives you a chance to harden them 

 off. To grow fast for cuttings they 

 should have a temperature of 60 degrees, 

 but will thrive finely in 10 degrees less. 



I. Herbstii is tho useful sort we know 

 as Verschaff eltii ; finely colored, habit 

 spreading and free. 



I. Herbstii aurea reticulata is the vari 

 egated form. 



I. Lindeni is more erect ; narrow leaves, 

 deep rich color; a fine bedding plant. 



There is also another variety, or I be 

 lieve a species (the correct name I can 

 not find) with smaller, rounded leaf, of 

 a fine bottle green color; in contrast 

 with a lighter foliage plant this is the 

 best of all. 



JASMINUM. 



Of the several species of these sweet- 

 scented shrubs there is only one that 

 florists cultivate, and that now is most 

 often conspicuous by its absence. But we 

 all know J. grandiflorum. A plant that 

 I can remember as long ago as I can 

 think of any plant was a large bush of 

 J. revolutum, which for the larger part 

 of the summer was covered with its sweet, 

 yellow blossoms. But that was in the 

 temperate climate of the south coast of 

 England. Here it is not hardy. 



J. grandiflorum needs a temperature of 

 50 degrees during winter. The young 

 growths root readily in the spring, and 

 if planted out after frost is gone and 

 kept pinched they make fine bushy little 

 plants and can be lifted and potted, and 

 will flower in October and November. 

 They cannot be called showy plants and 

 would receive no attention if it were not 

 for their delicious fragrance. 



The jasmine is no more a climber than 

 a heliotrope, but if you want the flowers 

 the best way is to plant one out at the 

 end of a carnation house and in the 

 spring prune it back, and during summer 

 keep it pinched so that the flowering is 

 retarded to late fall, when for weddings 

 there is often a call for it. 



Unfortunately when asked for jasmine 

 for a bride s bouquet the sweet flower 

 is gone, and again when the flower is 

 ready the bride is not. 



Any good loam will grow the jas- 

 minum. 



KALMIA. 



This is known among us as the moun 

 tain laurel, and is the plant that fur 

 nishes the fine glossy sprays that make 

 such admirable wreathing for our winter 



