THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



199 



bloomer; or we make it so, but its 

 parent or parents had a period of rest 

 at some time of the year, that is sure. 

 But we give none. Our cuttings are 

 taken off when the plant is in most 

 active growth, the cutting is grown 

 along as quickly as possible and made 

 into a vigorous young plant, and set 

 out in June and forced along in growth 

 and it continues to grow until pro- 

 pagating time again. Not a day of ac- 

 tual rest, and so the cycle revolves, 

 but no rest for the roses. Now, the 

 instances I remember was, first, a lot 

 of young stock coming from a nursery 

 firm in Pennsylvania who make a spe- 

 cialty of roses. They arrived in April, 

 the cuttings had been strong shoots 

 taken off the previous fall and the 

 plants had been wintered a little if 

 any above freezing. They were what 

 we would say of a tramp, "hard look- 

 ing citizens." Scrubby looking leaves. 

 They were put into 3-inch pots and 

 began to grow immediately, and when 

 planted out in end of June grew most 

 vigorously, far surpassing some much 

 better looking plants that had been 

 propagated that spring in the usual 

 way. Those plants had had a winter's 

 rest. 



The other case was on my own 

 place. Some plants left over from 

 planting in July were knocking about 

 the frames the following fall and win- 

 ter, and in the spring stood under the 

 wall of a shed, and occasionally when 

 it rained stood with their pots full of 



House of Tea Roses. 



water; in fact, abused. Being short 

 of fifty plants when planting in June 

 or July we put in these "runts" and 

 they simply started off and grew pro- 

 digiously, far outstripping the good 

 looking young plants by their side. 



I believe and feel sure that were we 

 able to propagate in late spring or 

 early fall and winter the plants in a 

 very cold house, or in milder parts 

 in a cold-frame, and bring them along 

 slowly to planting time, we should not 

 be obliged to have recourse to the 

 fussy job of grafting. 



One word as a final. When you want 

 to buy don't send to the man who 

 raises hundreds of thousands of young 

 plants for sale. Send to the good 

 grower of flowers who has a few thou- 

 sand surplus of his own stock, and 

 never study the price of two cents on 

 a plant. It is the height of folly and 

 extravagance to buy poor stock. One 

 single bud will more than pay for the 

 plant. 



SALVIA. 



A large genus of plants of which 

 few are used by the florist. S. splen- 

 dens is one of our showiest flowering 

 plants. There are now several vari- 

 eties or forms of it. It is used as a 

 mass where brilliant colors are want- 

 ed. They are often rather late in 

 flowering, especially in wet seasons, 

 and should not be planted in too rich 

 a sell or you will get a large growth 

 with late flowering, so procure a strain 



that grows compact and is early to 

 flower. 



Lifted before frost and potted they 

 make showy plants for a month or 

 two, and we often find their flowers 

 useful. 



They are easily raised from seed, 

 and there is now a hybrid strain that 

 contains various colors, and is said 

 to be early and free flowering. 



A few plants lifted, and cut back 

 after New Year's, will give you an 

 abundance of cuttings that will make 

 fine plants for bedding out. The salvia 

 is troubled with aphis and if in a 

 warm, dry house and not syringed will 

 soon become attacked by red spider. 

 They should never be kept over 50 

 degrees. They grow so fast and strong 

 that it is best to put off propagating 

 till March. 



S. patens we have not seen grown 

 here, but in the gardens of, Europe it 

 is much used. It has very much the 

 same habit as splendens, with erect 

 spike and the flower is somewhat 

 larger; the color is of the most beau- 

 tiful blue of any flower that grows. 

 Propagate by cuttings same as S. 

 splendens. 



Salvia officinalis, the variegated 

 form of this, the common sage, is used 

 in carpet and other flower garden de- 

 signs. The coloring is not bright, but 

 very pleasing. Lift a few plants when 

 the flower garden is dismantled and 

 in January shorten back the shoots. 

 You will soon get any amount of cut- 



