IIABCH 0, 1916. 



The Rorists' Review 



19 



please all growers. It is either too 

 late or too early. For instance, this 

 year Easter comes just at the time when 

 everybody is getting ready for the 

 spring trade. It has been a serious 

 proposition. It has been one continual 

 cramp, unless a lot of foresight has 

 been utilized. 



For Easter, lilies have been the pre- 

 dominant item for years. It was first 

 the calla lily, but longiflorum, Harrisii, 

 Formosa and giganteum have complete- 

 ly ousted the calla. There is something 

 further interesting in the lUy line. 

 Lilium myriophyllum, introduced from 

 China, has proven to be an excellent 

 forcer and bids fair to be an acquisi- 

 tion for the Easter trade, especially as 

 it is not the dead white of other lilies. 

 It is white, slightly sufiFused with pink 

 and canary yellow at the base. It has 

 an odor similar to that of jasmine. 

 There is also Lilium Sargentiae. It is a 

 stronger grower than Harrisii, six to 

 eight feet, with from five to ten fiowers 

 on the stem, a greenish white color 

 with a shading of purple, but pure white 

 within the flower. 



Pot Lilies Deeply. 



Many florists have had their troubles 

 with lilies. There are few growers who 

 place the bulbs in the flowering pot to 

 allow for the extended root action of 

 the stem. They pot them too high in 

 the pot. Often the lily, forced in this 

 manner, does not get the nutrition 

 necessary and the tips of the leaves 

 turn brown, the flowers are of imma- 

 ture size and at once the verdict is that 

 the bulbs were diseased, which is un- 

 fair to the importer. The lily bulb 

 should be placed practically at the bot- 

 tom of a 5-inch or 6-inch pot, accord- 

 ing to the size of the bulb, and cov- 

 ered with only enough soil so that the 

 top of the bulb will be apparent. After 

 root action and the growth of stem has 

 begun, about two to three inches above 

 the top of the pot, the pot should then 

 be filled up with a good, heavy, well 

 mixed compost. Then you have every 

 particle of root action that it is possi- 

 ble to get, you have better plants and, 

 naturally, more flowers. 



Hydrangeas and Bhododendions. 



At this season the hydrangea is to the 

 fore. ^ Great work has been done in de- 

 veloping this plant and we have Mr. 

 Dupuy, of Long Island, to thank for 

 much of this advance. There are many 

 florists who do not realize the value of 

 the newer varieties of the French type. 

 It is not only possible to have them 

 m for early Easter, but also possible 

 to produce these plants for Christmas. 

 Lilie Mouillere is probably the best 

 white variety. Mme. Maurice Hamar 

 18 an early-flowering pink. Radiant, to 

 niy mind, is the best pink, but inclined 

 to be a poor grower if not handled in 

 the proper manner. 



^ There has been a controversy regard- 

 ing hydrangeas. Many growers do not 

 realize that the bud has to be formed 

 the season before forcing, and if the 

 oud is not therts it is impossible to get 

 a flower the following season. A great 

 deal of this stock in recent years has 

 been imported, but our American grow- 

 ers seem able to produce a better grade 

 or stock, well finished and budded, 

 Cheaper and delivered at a better time 

 than the imports are. While the French 

 varieties are indeed an acquisition, I 

 ^0 not want to disregard Otaksa, which 

 'las served us well. 



Vflllam E. Tricker . 



Bhododendrons of various types, 

 mostly the Himalayan, have not been 

 grown much more extensively than they 

 are at the present time. They are not 

 hard to time, but they have a tendency 

 to drop their foliage and take so much 

 bench room that the grower cannot be 

 compensated for handling them. The 

 camellia, deutzia and kalmia are wan- 

 ing on account of the room they take 

 and the small return a grower receives 

 for the risk in producing this stock. 



Soses Are Leaders. 



Boses are a main feature for Easter 

 and, with the advance of the baby ram- 

 blers, it appears that the demand in- 

 creases materially each year. The 

 polyantha types can all be imported as 

 late as Christmas and be brought into 

 flower for Easter with little trouble. 

 The newer varieties of this type include 

 Mme. Jules Gouchault, Ellen Poulsen, 

 Erna Teschendorff and Mme. Turbat. 

 These have replaced Phyllis and types 

 that have not proven so satisfactory to 

 the public. In the various types of 

 climbers, Hiawatha and American Belle 

 held full sway for a season or so, but 

 the single-fiowered types of this class 

 do not give the satisfaction that the 

 semi-double varieties do, Tausendschon 

 has without a doubt been the queen of 

 climbing roses. It is probably the best 

 forcer of all climbers for early spring. 

 We all know that the other climbers, 

 such as R. excelsa, Dorothy Perkins, 

 etc., make excellent plants, but through 

 starting them up a little too quickly 

 and a little too hot they have made 

 wood instead of buds. 



In speaking about azaleas I omitted 

 Azalea mollis, which at one time was 

 the leader with all growers who force 



stock for Easter, but it did not retain 

 the favor of the public. There is a 

 new type of mollis, introduced, I be- 

 lieve, by Koster, that I think will re- 

 open the demand for this class, as it 

 includes a golden yellow and a dark 

 cerise that seems to be much in favor, 

 holding the bloom for a long period. 



BougainviUeas and Andromedas. 



Bougainvilleas seem to be less in de- 

 mand in the east than in former years. 

 The public there is tiring of them, but 

 I find through the middle west people 

 are beginning to call for them. Gar- 

 denias have been extensively grown in 

 some sections for Easter trade. These 

 require such delicate handling that 

 there are few who experiment in trying 

 them. Andromeda Japonica and A. 

 floribunda, to all intents and purposes 

 a hardy shrub, will last in bloom from 

 eight to twelve weeks in as perfect a 

 condition as when the flowers opened. 

 They are showy and attract a great 

 (leal of attention. Spiraeas have been 

 greatly improved by the varieties of 

 recent introduction. Peach Blossom, 

 Queen Alexandra and other tyi>es of 

 the Arendsi form. The trouble with 

 this stock is that the plants require 

 as much as three feet square to flnish 

 properly and they do not pay. 



Hyacinths, tulips and other bulbs are 

 generally a wind-up for Easter, includ- 

 ing the new colored freesias, the noted 

 Rainbow hybrids of which have been 

 exploited with great success. 



There are scores of other subjects. 

 The collection of possible plants to be 

 grown for Easter is so great that one 

 cannot in a short space enumerate them 

 all. 



