THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



35 



BOUVARDIA. 



The bouvardia can be classed as al- 

 most a tropical plant, most of the spe- 

 cies coming from Southern Mexico and 

 South America. The hybrids of some 

 of these species are what are of value 

 to the florist. Twenty years ago the 

 bouvardia was one of the most impor- 

 tant of the plants we grew, but -.if late 

 years, with the advent of long- 

 stemmed carnations, the wonderful 

 roses, the chrysanthemum and other 

 more durable flowers, the bouvardias 

 have been much less grown, and in 

 commercial places they generally oc- 

 cupy but a small place, if any, notwith- 

 standing they are beautiful and easily 

 grown, and that the flower has grace 

 and refinement. In these days of keen 

 competition, the question is, "Do they 

 pay?" That you must judge by ex.peri- 

 ence in your own locality. 



The best time to begin propagation 

 is early March, with the roots of 

 plants that have been grown on a 

 bench for winter flowering. The bou- 

 vardia roots very slowly and unsatis- 

 factorily from the young top growths, 

 and in ordinary practice that is not 

 considered a practical method of pro- 

 pagating this plant. We will begin 

 with the young roots. Don't take the 

 large roots near the base of the plants, 

 nor the thin, thread-like roots of the 

 widest growth. Choose the growths 

 between these. Cut them into pieces 

 about one-half or three-fourths of an 

 inch in length and distribute them on 

 a propagating bench, where you have 

 a good heat, as you would coarse seed, 

 pressing them into the sand. Then 

 cover with at least an eighth of an 

 inch of sand, pressing it down after 

 covering. Water sufficiently to keep 

 moist, about as you would other cut- 

 tings. In three or four weeks young 

 plants will be springing up. When 

 they have made two or three leaves 

 and are an inch high, lift them from 

 the sand and pot into 2-inch pots. 



The bouvardia is a tropical plant 

 and at no stage of its existence should 

 it be exposed to a low temperature. 

 This accounts for the very different 

 treatment we give it from what is 

 considered right in Western Europe. 

 Plant out in the open ground about 

 the first of June, or earlier, if you are 

 in a latitude where no late frosts ap- 

 pear. A very light, rich soil is much 

 the best adapted to the wants of the 

 bouvardia. Unless there is a very long 

 spell of hot, dry weather, no watering 

 is needed after the first good watering 

 when planted. The growth that has 

 started in the greenhouse will continue 

 to grow out of doors, but that is of 

 little consequence, and can before lift- 

 ing be entirely cut away. It is the 

 strong, vigorous growth that will 

 spring from the roots after being 

 planted out that you will depend on to 

 give you flowers. They want stopping 

 about twice during the summer. 



The lifting time will vary according 

 to where you are. In Buffalo we used 

 to lift about the second week in Sep- 

 tember. If later, and the weather 



should be cold, they are much slower 

 in taking hold of the soil in their new 

 quarters. A very good plan is to do 

 the last pinching a week or so before 

 you lift them. The break from this 

 last stopping will then come in about 

 right for the holidays. Plant in five 

 inches of good loam, and as to dis- 

 tance apart, be guided by size of the 

 plants. A foot apart is little enough 

 for any of them. Anybody, with al- 

 most any temperature, can get the first 

 crop of bouvardia, but to get them to 

 make a growth and a profitable crop 

 of flowers again in March requires 

 heat. Unless they are kept in a night 

 temperature of at least 60 degrees and 

 syringed daily, they will just stand 

 still after their first crop is over. The 

 rampant way they grow and flower 

 when the warm sun of April comes 

 shows you what they want. 



They can, of course, be grown in 

 pots, but do far better and are more 

 easy to manage planted on a bench in 

 a light warm house. 



If after the end of March you need 

 the bench for some other crop you can 

 cut down the bouvardias to within a 

 few inches of the bench, lift them, 

 shaking off all the soil, and place them 

 close together in flats with three or 

 four inches of moist soil around them 

 and put under a bench where there is 

 not much drip, and they will do there 

 all right till planting out time. The 

 old plants will of course be much lar- 

 ger than those propagated the first 

 year. 



Red spider attacks them, and so does 

 mealy bug, but their presence is in- 

 excusable, for a proper use of the hose 

 will prevent both. Green fly will ap- 

 pear if fumigation is neglected, but be 

 careful to smoke lightly, particularly 

 when the plants are first housed, for 

 they burn readily. 



. In lifting, I cannot say as you can 

 about carnations, "let all the soil tum- 

 ble off if it will, so long as I save ev- 

 ery fibre," for they do not lift so well, 

 or rather, do not recuperate so quickly. 

 Lift carefully with a good ball of earth 

 and for the first week shade and sy- 

 ringe frequently. 



BROMELIADS. 



Except the variegated pineapple (see 

 Ananas), there are few or none of 

 these curious plants that are of any 

 commercial value, though among them 

 are some beautiful and interesting 

 plants. The Buffalo Botanical Gardens 

 now possess the very valuable collec- 

 tion brought together by the late firm 

 of Pitcher & Manda, with several ad- 

 ditions, making it the most complete 

 collection in this country, and it is in 

 the finest possible condition. 



Besides the ananas, the most famil- 

 iar genera are the tillandsia and the 

 bromelia. The leaves are stiff, vari- 

 ously colored, and fluted or concave, 

 always carrying the moisture to the 

 base of the leaf. The flowers are often 

 handsome. They are mostly from 

 tropical America. 



Propagation is by offsets or suckers, 



which, when separated from the old 

 plant, should be potted and plunged in 

 a good heat. They are grown in pots 

 or baskets, which should be drained 

 with a third of crocks, and the com- 

 post should be fern roots and sphag- 

 num. They require heavy shade in the 

 summer and must be frequently 

 syringed. It is the moist atmosphere 

 they delight in. 



By their channeled leaves they accu- 

 mulate water, which remains in quan- 

 tity at the base of the stem, and it 

 should not be disturbed, as it does no 

 harm. In nature the water would 

 surely be there, and in this respect at 

 least we cannot improve on nature. A 

 compost such as described, plenty of 

 moisture, and a minimum winter tem- 

 perature of 70 degrees, is what they 

 want. Following are named some of 

 the most distinct genera and species: 



Tillandsia utriculata and T. fene- 

 stralis. 



Guzmania fragrans and G. tricolor. 



Aechmea fulgens and A. crocophylla. 



Karatis spectabilis and K. Moritzia- 

 num. 



Vriesia musaica and V. splendens. 



Billbergia zebriha. 



For the culture of the variegated 

 pineapple (Ananas sativa variegata), 

 see Ananas. 



BROWALLIA. 



The best known species is elata of 

 which there are two varieties. One has 

 white flowers but the variety grandi- 

 flora is a fine blue. They are often 

 used as flower garden plants but are 

 more suitable for the mixed border as 

 they are liable to go out of bloom just 

 when their color is most needed. 



For the flower garden sow the seed 

 in March and transplant into flats or 

 small pots and plant after all danger 

 of frost. As a pot plant for winter 

 use (and they will flower during our 

 darkest days) sow in July and August. 

 A pan six or seven inches across and 

 four inches deep with half a dozen 

 plants makes a nice show and many of 

 them could be sold as Christmas 

 plants. When once established in the 

 pans they are better kept out of doors 

 in a frame and given the open air but 

 covered with glass in case of a storm. 

 They must be syringed daily and will 

 need pinching once or twice to induce 

 them to branch. Remove to the green- 

 house before any danger of frost. 



BULBS. 



Under this head, instead of under 

 their respective names, is given the 

 culture of those bulbs that are gen- 

 erally forced, especially those known 

 as Dutch bulbs, and which have been 

 so important an item with us for the 

 past twenty years. 



Roots that are often called bulbs are 

 really corms and not bulbs. The cro- 

 cus, caladium, richardia and gladiolus 

 are corms. The true bulbs are the lily, 

 hyacinth, tulip, etc. It is only of the 

 Dutch bulbs that this article treats. 



The tulip, hyacinth and narcissus all 

 want about the same treatment, with 



