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May 18, 1916. 



The Florists^ Review 



27 



San Jacinto Battle Groundt Where the S. A. F. Outiog Will be Held at the Close of the Houston Convention. 



stevias propagated? If not, there still 

 is time to put in a batch of cuttings. 

 These plants are indispensable to the 

 small country florist and; as they can 

 be had over a long season, a generous 

 batch should be grown. Stevias may 

 be grown in pots through the summer, 

 or planted out. While the plants in the 

 open ground will attain a large size, 

 there is always a probability of their 

 getting more or less broken and dam- 

 aged at potting time. For that rea- 

 son, pot culture through the summer 

 has some decided a^dvantages. 



Show Pelargoniums. 



• 



Show pelargoniums are now coming 

 into flower nicely, and during the next 

 six or eight weeks will make a splendid 

 show. Be sure to give them a fumi- 

 gation once in ten days, to keep them 

 free from aphis. They need a cool, airy 

 greenhouse, from which the direct rays 

 of the sun can be excluded. This is 

 not the time to propagate show pelar- 

 goniums. Wait until the flower season 

 has passed and the plants have had a 

 little rest; then you will get good cut- 

 tings in abundance. 



Hunnemannias. 



Of the various annuals grown for cut- 

 ting, the hunnemannias, or Mexican 

 poppies, are among the best. The seed 

 can be sown outdoors any time during 

 May. Sow rather thinly and in an 

 open, SHuny spot. The plants grow 

 slowly at first, but assert themselves as 

 hot weather comes along. They bloom 

 late in the fall and do not mind a tem- 

 perature a few degrees below freezing. 

 They are splendid for cutting and the 

 flowers remain fresh several days in wa- 

 ter. The flowers are of a rich butter- 

 cup yellow color and the foliage is 

 feathery and glaucous. The flowers re- 

 semble those of the eschscholtzia; hence 

 the common name, bush eschscholtzia. 



Faoicy-Leaved Caladiums. 



In repotting fancy-leaved caladiums 

 use a somewhat lumpy compost contain- 

 ing equal parts of fibrous loam and 

 peat, adding some partly decayed 

 leaves, old cow manure and sharp sand. 



Of course the plants will grow well in 

 pure loam, but with us they do better 

 in the compost given. They will grow 

 in an ordinary greenhouse once we get 

 really settled warm weather, but as yet 

 they do best where it is somewhat 

 warm and close. Do not shade them 

 heavily, or the leaves will lack sub- 

 stance. When well rooted, feed them 

 with liquid manure. These beautiful 

 caladiums are not of much value for 

 bedding out north of Philadelphia, but 

 they are splendid for house decoration 

 and succeed well on piazzas that are 

 not too exposed and too wind-swept. 



AcMmenes. 



While achimenes are not seen much 

 nowadays and there are only a limited 

 number of commercial plants, they are 

 useful summer-blooming plants, good 

 alike in pots, pans or baskets. In 

 baskets they are seen at their best and 

 make a really beautiful show, not un- 

 like well flowered baskets of petunias 

 in the distance. Like other greenhouse 

 bulbous plants, they will not stand 

 bright sunshine. They succeed well in 

 the average greenhouse and make 

 salable plants. The stems should be 

 staked in pots or pans. The stakes 

 should be thin and, if painted green, 

 will never be seen once the shoots have 

 overtopped them. Try achimenes as 

 basket plants on sheltered piazzas and 

 you will be agreeably surprised at the 

 long season of bloom. 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS. 



Houston Convention Garden. 



Superintendent C. L. Brock of the 

 convention garden now being installed 

 on city property at Houston reports that 

 the exhibits received so far are small 

 in number. Intending exhibitors are 

 requested to send their exhibits at once, 

 as the convention dates are rapidly ap- 

 proaching. 



The liberal treatment accorded our 

 society by the city of Houston, in set- 

 ting apart a splendid site for the gar- 

 den, and arranging to take upon itself 

 the burden of furnishing labor and ma- 

 terial in order to make the installation 



a success, deserves more than the scanty 

 recognition at present forthcoming. 



All who can exhibit plants and 

 shrubs are urged to do so. The cost, 10 

 cents per square foot, is ridiculously 

 small — insufficient to prevent anyone 

 from exhibiting on the ground of ex- 

 pense. In making an exhibit there sure- 

 ly is some pleasure to be found in aid- 

 ing the society to carry out its plans 

 to have a convention garden wherever 

 the annual convention may go. 



Superintendent Brock would be 

 pleased even if only fifty exhibitors 

 would take 100 square feet each. He 

 points out that, although the date is 

 late, potted stock can be plunged and 

 a creditable showing made. 



John Young, Sec'y. 



HOUSTON IS HUSTLINO. 



The Houston florists, now that their 

 busy season has passed, are giving their 

 attention to preparations for the Au- 

 gust convention of the S. A. F., firm 

 in the belief that a great and lasting 

 benefit is to be had from this meeting 

 in the south. There is every reason to 

 suppose this will be the largest gather- 

 ing of southern florists ever held and 

 that many from the north ;ill take this 

 favorable opportunity for a first south- 

 ern trip. A trades' display of fair size 

 is assured by the number of concerns 

 that have many good customers in 

 Texas. 



E. C. Kerr, vice-president of the S. 

 A. F. and leader of the Houston forces, 

 has begun a campaign of publicity to 

 let the trade know that the convention 

 city affords accommodations second to 

 none and facilities equal to a greater 

 test than by any chance will be put 

 upon them. The Eice hotel, known as 

 one of the best in the country, will be 

 S. A. F. headquarters convention week. 

 It has 600 outside rooms, is three blocks 

 from Convention hall and eight blocks 

 from the Convention Garden in Sam 

 Houston park. The illustration on this 

 page shows San Jacinto battlefield park, 

 on the Houston ship canal, where the 

 S. A. F. outing will be held August 18, 

 an affair that will be unique in trade 

 annals. 



