THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



n 



Vase of Achillea the Pearl. 



border and many are very valuable for 

 the rockwork, but of little use to the 

 florist. The one most useful to the 

 florist and deserving special notice is 

 "The Pearl." This little plant will 

 thrive in any soil, is absolutely hardy, 

 and should be in every florist's gar- 

 den. It flowers in July and August. 



It is most useful as a cut flower, and 

 we have found it of great service in 

 design work when short of carnations. 



The plants spread rapidly and every 

 third or fourth year they should be 

 lifted, divided, and replanted in more 

 compact rows in the garden. This can 

 be done in early spring and you will 

 not lose the following summer's crop 

 of flowers. 



The plant is remarkably free flower- 

 ing, it being just a mass of the small 

 heads of white blooms, but what makes 

 it of more than ordinary value is the 

 good stem you can cut with the flow- 

 ers. 



ACHIMINES. 



Hot-house herbaceous perennial 

 tuberous-rooted plants that are held 

 in high esteem in the gardens of Eu- 



rope but seldom seen here. They are 

 usually grown in pans from 6 to 12 

 inches across and 4 inches deep. They 

 should have drainage and the compost 

 should be a good light loam to which 

 has been added a fourth of leaf-mould 

 and rotted manure. They like neither 

 a stagnant moisture nor a heavy soil. 



Although not at all likely to become 

 popular as a commercial plant they 

 are by no means difficult to grow. 

 The small soft roots should be planted 

 in the pans about one inch apart in 

 February or March, pressing the roots 

 into the soil half an inch below the 

 surface, and started growing in a 

 temperature of 60 degrees. Later on, 

 as sprimg advances, any house will do 

 for them. Shade from .$ hottest 

 suns. As they grow th^jr like an 

 abundance of water, and being sub- 

 ject to greenfly and red spider they 

 must be lightly but regularly fumi- 

 gated, and up to flowering time give 

 them a daily syringing. 



They are, however well grown, en- 

 tirely useless unless each stem is tied 

 to a small stake. They last a long 

 time in flower. When flowering is 



done gradually withhold water till 

 the foliage is entirely gone, then store 

 away under a warm, dry bench till the 

 following spring. In starting them in 

 the spring shake out of the old soil 

 entirely. They are propagated by^cut- 

 tings, pieces of the stem growing free- 

 ly in the spring with bottom heat; 

 also by seed, sown in early spring. 

 The beginner had, however, better 

 buy the roots from a seedsman. 



Although not of commercial value 

 the achimines is a splendid plant for a 

 private greenhouse during the sum- 

 mer months. There is a score of spe- 

 cies, nearly all from tropical America, 

 and from these hundreds of hybrid 

 varieties. And it is the hybrids that 

 are cultivated. 



ACHYRANTHES. 

 See Bedding Plants. 



ACROPHYLLUM. 



A small evergreen shrub that is 

 valuable for the private conservatory, 

 flowering freely during the spring 

 months. It is at home in a cool green- 

 house but must not be exposed to frost. 

 In summer it can be plunged outside. 

 They require shifting as they grow, 

 which should be done before they 

 flower in spring. They can be propa- 

 gated from the half-ripened wood in 

 May and June. Like most of the Aus- 

 tralian plants they thrive in a good 

 coarse loam. A. venosum is the only 

 species, which bears dense spikes of 

 pinkish white flowers. 



ADIANTUM. 



For the most useful commercial adi- 

 antums see the article on Ferns, in 

 which all the most important commer- 

 cial ferns are treated collectively. The 

 following adiantum notes are by Mr. 

 W. H. Taplin: 



A. LEGRANDI. THe maidenhair 

 family includes a wonderful variety in 

 both size and form, and a collection 

 embracing all the distinct forms 

 grown into specimens would occupy a 

 very large house. 



A. Legrandi belongs to the dwarf 

 section, the stipes or stems being us- 

 ually but a few inches in length and 

 the fronds very compact and closely 

 clothed with small pinnae. In fact the 

 growth in small plants is so close and 

 overlapping that the foliage is quite 

 subject to damping off unless the 

 house in which it is grown is kept well 

 ventilated. 



Regarding the origin of this fern but 

 little is known, and it seems probable 

 that it is a seedling variation from 

 Adiantum Pecottii, which it very much 

 resembles, the chief distinction appar- 

 ently being found in the longer leaf 

 stems of A. Legrandi, while both va- 

 rieties present the same dark green 

 color of the foliage. As a trade fern 

 A. Legrandi has not become promi- 

 nent, and as a matter of fact it is less 

 frequently seen in trade collections 

 now than it was a few years ago, the 

 demand in this line being confined to 



