72 



course of five or six years must, have 

 heard the congratulations of the 

 bride's friends, or endured the orches- 

 tra's strains, the Easter and Christ- 

 mas sermons, the orator's eloquence, 

 and the chilly ride to and fro, a thou- 

 sand times, and still they come up 

 smiling. There is nothing "like the 

 phoenix in this respect. 



The kentias come next for keeping 

 in fair order, but kentias, grand house 

 plants as they are, do not like the 

 slightest frost. I have noticed that 

 where latanias and arecas have been 

 carelessly exposed to a degree of frost 

 they will recover, but not so with the 

 kentias. The arecas will answer the 

 purpose for a long time if the leaves 

 are carefully tied when they go out, 

 and this care should also be given the 

 kentias. The latanias suffer most, not 

 because they are more tender, but 

 their broad leaves get more easily 

 broken and become unsightly. 



I remarked under the head of deco- 

 rations that the charge should be 

 about twice as much in January as in 

 June. This is quite true, after May 1st 

 till November 1st it does little harm 

 to palms to give them a day and a 

 night or more in a hall or room, and 

 if the leaves are drawn up and care- 

 fully tied with raffia they can be sent 

 out in an open wagon. When the 

 thermometer is 10 degrees below zero 

 it is very different. In addition to the 

 wagon that is heated you have to tie 

 up each plant and cover with paper or 

 a bag, for the distance from the curb- 

 stone to the door of the house is fre- 

 quently enough to ruin your palms if 

 not protected. Others use long boxes, 

 each holding a half dozen plants. As 

 these are packed in the warm shed 

 and the tight cover put on, and the 

 box carried into a warm hall or vesti- 

 bule before they are unpacked, the 

 palms seldom get injured by cold, but 

 careful and thorough tying up of the 

 leaves is more of a necessity even 

 than when sent in a heated wagon. 

 Never scrimp the time in tying up the 

 palms. If you do you will soon have 

 to buy more, because yours will be 

 shabby, and the price of one good areoa 

 or kentia six or seven feet high will 

 pay for many hours' labor on the 

 palms. 



Dracaenas. 



Next to the palms the dracaenas are 

 most useful and effective. On mantels, 

 side-boards or tables, perfect speci- 

 mens of D. terminalis stricta, D. ama- 

 bilis, or any of the beautiful hybrids, 

 can't be equaled. And for situations 

 wanting larger plants well-grown 

 specimens of D. nova-caledonica, D. 

 t'ragrans and D. Lindenii are superb, 

 and they should always be so situated 

 that the entire plant can be seen. I), 

 indivisa is, of cours?, very common, 

 but it is so hardy and tough that it is 

 for many places one of the very best 

 decorative plants we have. Dracaenas 

 of the terminalis and fragrans type 

 want no exposure to the cold, but they 

 are easily packed and their leaves can 

 be brought up and tied close to the 



THE FLORISTS^ MANUAL. 



stem with strips of tisisue paper with- 

 out doing any harm. 



Crotons. 



On all occasions except during cold 

 weather crotons are gorgeous and 

 grand plants for decoration.?, but they 

 must not be chilled. My experience is 

 that if a croton is exposed to a tem- 

 perature of 40 degrees for an hour it 

 will drop its handsome leaves, and in 

 the winter we sometimes expose our 

 palms and dracaenas to a lower tem- 

 perature than that without much or 

 any damage. So large plants of cro- 

 tons had better be kept at home. 



Small plants of crotons are now 

 raised and sold almos: as cheaply as 

 fuchsias or geraniums, and if you do 

 lose them you have possibly charged 

 enough for the job to consider it no 

 loss. For a mantel decoration with 

 vases of flowers, or for plants for a 

 banquet table nothing can be finer 

 than the many grand varieties of cro- 

 tons. 



Adiantums. 



Several species of ferns are among 

 the leading articles of our decorative 

 stuff. It must depend upon how elab- 

 orate and expensive the decoration is 

 whether you can use the very choicest 

 ferns. Sometimes at the bottom of a 

 mirror a bank of Adiantum Farleyense 

 is made as a background to a display 

 of orchids, and what could be finer? 

 Adiantum cuneatum, besides its great 

 usefulness in supplying cut fronds, is 

 many times used as a f rings- or bank, 

 and if the fronds are well matured 

 will keep pretty well, but if young 

 growth they will soon snrivel up in a 

 warm, dry room. 



Asparagus. 



The Asparagus Sprengeri is a great 

 acquisition, and is and will be largely 

 used. Its pendent growths make it 

 just the plant to hang from mantels or 

 book cases, or to cover unsightly pots. 

 Some plants in four and live inch 

 pots, with a good growth, should al- 

 waysj be on hand, and so should bas- 

 kets of this useful plant. There is 

 scarcely a plant that so rair.ily adapts 

 itself to the very unnatural condi- 

 tions of a hanging basket. Its great 

 freedom of growth and hardiness un- 

 der neglect and abuse may make it too 

 common, but not just yet. It is un- 

 necessary ;to say that this plant 

 thrives under the most unfavorable 

 conditions sun or shade, wet or dry. 

 I have tried it in many places snd 

 find it endures the gas, the wild exag- 

 gerations, the anecdotes and classical 

 quotations of a suburban barber shoo; 

 and the aspidistra is the only other 

 plant that is known to have live-1 

 through that ordeal. The Ficus elas- 

 tica has been tried in tonsorial envi- 

 ronments, but says: "I have got some 

 credit as a stretcher, but that last 

 yarn kills me." 



Nephrolepis. 



Most of our omamen^i ferns are 

 too tender for decorative purposes 



except that splendid genus, the ne- 

 phrolepis. N. tuberosa is now super- 

 seded for indoor use by N. exaitata 

 and Bostoniensis. The latter is one of 

 the greatest acquisitions that we have 

 had for years. Whether in a mass or 

 a large specimen, or in a large hang- 

 ing basket, it is most ornamental, and 

 receives not the slightest harm from 

 an occasional trip to a party or ball- 

 room. It is in fact a first-class house 

 plant, so it must be valuable as a dec- 

 orator. 



Flowering Plants. 



Unless you are well paid for the dec- 

 oration you cannot afford! to loan 

 many flowering plants; For a church 

 decoration we are never asked, but for 

 a private function we have to, and 

 must make out our bill or estimate 

 accordingly. 



Beginning in the fall the chrysan- 

 themums are most in favor. Groups of 

 yellow or pink or white varieties are 

 often called for. However good the 

 care given these plants they .are 

 shaky after a night in a room where 

 there has been a strong glare of gas 

 and a crowd of people. 



Here will be a good place to men- 

 tion that the cause of carnations (and 

 perhaps other flowers) closing up in 

 one night in a room or hall that has 

 been crowded with people is the fact 

 that there has been such a crowd of 

 people. We have noticed this in both 

 large and small rooms, and it was sC.sj 

 noticed in one of the plant houses at 

 Schenley Park in Pittsburg, where 

 many thousands of people passed 

 through in one day. The carnations 

 collapsed, other flowers did not. But 

 if it has this effect on carnations the 

 breath of the multitude in one room 

 can't be good for any flowers. And as 

 a rule when a plant goes to a decora- 

 tion 'we expect it to return much the 

 worse for wear. 



Azaleas, from December to May, are 

 the finest of our decorative plants, and 

 after a few days for recuperation are 

 again of service. 



At the holidays the poinsettia is 

 with us a leading article and is now 

 closely associated with Christmas. 

 They droop quickly if they receive 

 anything like a chill. 



From November on the Liliums 

 Harrisii and longiflomm are always 

 in demand. 



'Spiraea wilts worse than any other 

 plant, and should receive an extra 

 soaking of water before going out. 



Plants of lilac, deutzia, Ghent azalea 

 and cytisus are used largely in the late 

 winter and spring months. 



Whole flats of tulips, narcissi and 

 hyacinths are often used, with ribbons 

 to match the colors of the flowers. 

 There is no variety of tulip so fine for 

 decorating, either in pans or flats, as 

 the double Murillo, almost pure white 

 when first opening, but assuming on 

 its velvety petals the finest shade of 

 blush pink, and so large. 



Conclusion. 



I can't be expected to exhaust the 

 full list of the many plants, both 



