358 FRITZ BAHR'S COMMERCIAL FLORICULTURE 



expensive. The very fact 

 that today a number of firms 

 in the country are interested 

 in the growing on of Ericas 

 and that tens of thousands 

 of them are sold (some of 

 them in sections where years 

 ago it was considered impos- 

 sible to grow Ericas) is 

 proof enough that we are 

 making great headway. 



I don't expect the small- 

 er retail grower to go into 

 growing his own require- 

 ments; we have passed that 

 stage. But he will become 

 interested in them the minute 

 they are obtainable and can 

 be handled at a profit. 



Flowering pot plants are 

 the ones to be pushed for the 

 Winter season. Long-stem- 

 med Beauty Roses or extra 

 fancy Laddie Carnations are 

 the flowers to use for the 

 elaborate dinner or the wed- 

 ding, but for the lover of 

 flowers, who wants to see 

 them last awhile and cheer 

 up the home, "flowers" will 

 always mean pot plants, and 

 here is where the Ericas 

 come in. They are among 

 the very best of keepers, and 

 are liked by everybody, rich 

 and poor. Almost every 

 florist, no matter how small 

 his greenhouses, can overwinter and flower Ericas. If he has a 

 chance to purchase his requirements during November, he can 

 keep the plants in good shape in a coolhouse until they are in 

 flower; that again should be an inducement for him to carry them. 



There is no use in the retail grower attempting to grow on 

 plants from cuttings. With the length of time it takes to grow on 

 a fair-sized plant, and the care it must have, he cannot afford to. As 

 stated above, purchase your requirements in late Fall already 





Fig. 150. ERICA MELANTHERA. A sin- 

 gle, well-flowered branch of this best- 

 known Christmas-blooming Heather. 

 Three-inch pot plants for baskets are 

 as valuable as 8- or 10-in. specimens 



