THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



57 



FINE STRONG YOUNG 



Plants of all the leading 

 Novelties in 



Chrysanthemums 



as well as the best standard va- 

 rieties, can always be obtained 

 in season at 



THE COTTAGE GARDENS, 

 QUEENS, N. Y. 



We grow florists' plants in large 

 quantities, and grow them well. 



CHRYSANTHEMUM^ 



OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. 



Disseminators of 

 Choice Seedlings 

 and Importers of 

 the best European 

 Novelties 



Catalogue Free on Application. 



NATHAN SMITH & SON 



ADRIAN, MICH. 



November and the holidays, you must 

 sow at end of May or early in June. 

 Except on private places this is not to 

 be recommended. For the commercial 

 florist they would not be very profit- 

 able for they are a troublesome plant 

 to carry through the hot months and 

 the bulk of your customers are not 

 ready for them till February, March 

 and April. It is well to make two sow- 

 ings, the first early in August, the lat- 

 ter the middle of September; the last 

 sown will usually come in right for 

 Easter. The seed is not so small but 

 what it can have a slight covering; 

 finely sifted leaf mould or sand will 

 do, and keep uniformly moist till the 

 seeds are up. 



When they have made a small char- 

 acter leaf, transplant into a flat or 2- 

 inch pots. From this time on they 

 must be shifted on as they need it, 

 never by any means allowing them to 

 become stunted for want of larger 

 pots. After they leave a 3-inch pot the 

 soil should not be sifted. If it is a 

 little rough or lumpy so much the bet- 

 ter. I have seen hundreds of cinerari- 

 as in 4 and 5-inch pots die, not with a 

 slow death but suddenly droop and 

 die, and the cause was a close adhesive 

 soil through which the water did not 

 pass freely. They may not be a profit- 

 able plant, but if worth growing at all 

 will surely pay to grow well. They 

 must have room to spread their leaves,, 

 and until flowering time 40 degrees at 

 night will suit them better than a 

 higher temperature. You will often 



hear instructions given to "keep plants 

 near the glass," in other words this 

 means light. They must have light, 

 room to spread out, a cool tempera- 

 ture, and although a stagnant state of 

 the soil is fatal to them should never 

 be allowed to wilt from dryness or 

 they will lose some of their best 

 leaves. After light, air and a low tem- 

 perature, the remaining great object 

 to watch in their successful culture is 

 never let a greenfly be seen on them. 

 Fumigate regularly and faithfully. 



Those that are summered over do 

 much the best in a pit or cold-frame, 

 but it should be deep enough so that 

 when ventilation from the raised 

 sashes is given it should pass over 

 their tops and not be playing too free- 

 ly on their soft leaves. Specimens can 

 be given an 8 or 9-inch pot, but the 

 commercial florist will find that a 6- 



the root of any strong growing vari- 

 ety. The florist buys his clematis and 

 is more interested in knowing how to 

 make them grow satisfactorily than 

 how to propagate them. Very strong 

 plants of Jackmanii and other large 

 flowering varieties are imported every 

 fall, arriving here early in November 

 or perhaps a little earlier. They have 

 usually a good growth with a great 

 bunch of roots. Thousands of these 

 are sold and thousands die, and pro- 

 vokingly after living one or two or 

 more years. 



We spread out the roots and lay 

 them in trenches in the cold-frame 

 during winter and in severe weather 

 cover with glass, removing it before 

 they get anyway forced by the suns of 

 March. We believe they are more 

 satisfactory to our customers planted 

 this way than potted and given any 



Cineraria. 



inch will flower them sufficiently well. 

 I have seen some growers pinch out 

 the leading flower shoot to induce a 

 broader head of bloom. If grown cool 

 and light this is entirely unnecessary. 

 It is seldom that cinerarias are 

 troubled with thrips or red spider, but 

 a dusting of water in summer and fall 

 is beneficial to them. 



CLEMATIS. 



Although more properly belonging 

 to the nurseryman than the florist we 

 are continually asked to supply plants 

 of several varieties and species of 

 these free flowering hardy climbers. 



Some of the species are readily in- 

 creased by cuttings. The paniculata 

 type root freely from pieces of the 

 young growth and there is no better 

 place than the gentle heat of a hot- 

 bed. They all are, however, bought 

 very cheaply from the nurseryman. 

 The large flowered Jackmanii type are 

 usually grafted oh the roots of 'C. 

 flammula, the common European, or 



time in the greenhouse. The potted 

 plants look well when sold, but are 

 more liable to suffer from neglect after 

 planting. In very strong plants there 

 is such a mass of roots that it is im- 

 possible to spread them sufficiently 

 for all to get some earth around them, 

 so we cut out about half the roots, 

 which enables us to get some soil 

 among them. 



You dare not guarantee the clematis. 

 If you do you will have to make good 

 your losses on some other article. But 

 you can plant them with care and 

 give good advice as to the attention 

 they need. They are nearly always 

 planted against a veranda, whose over- 

 hanging roof often keeps the rain 

 away, or they may be on the side of 

 the house or an aspect from which the 

 prevailing rains are infrequent. They 

 should during summer receive copious 

 waterings. When planting out each 

 clematis should receive a barrow load 

 of good, rich soil and not be put into 

 a small hole and have clay or brick 



