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14 



The Florists' Review 



Septembeu 28. 1910. 



own garden; artificial flowers would 

 give him visions of his spring garden, 

 filled "with beautiful blooms like those 

 in the window. And right there before 

 him would bo the bulbs, at such a small 

 cost per dozen! Eesult, more business. 



Cultural Directions. 



There is another point that the re- 

 tailer of bulbs should not overlook, 

 which, while outside his province, is of 

 much importance. Inasmuch as the 

 customer buys bulbs for the flowers 

 they give in the spring, each sale of 

 bulbs really is not completed until 

 spring and the flowers arrive. If the 

 bulbs fail or produce poor blooms be- 

 cause of improper culture, the customer 

 will be dissatisfied and inclined to 

 blame the bulbs rather than the real 

 cause; and the displeased customer as 

 a rule procures his next supply of bulbs 

 from ' ' the other fellow. ' ' It therefore 

 behooves the florist who aims to build 

 a bigger bulb business to see that each 

 buyer is instructed as to the culture 



of bulbs. Either printgd slips with di- 

 rections should accompany each sale, 

 or every salesperson on the floor should 

 be capable of giving the buyers plant- 

 ing instructions, whether the bulbs arc 

 intended for beds or borders outdoors 

 or for winter-flowering in pots indoors. 

 Among other things, the amateur should 

 be told when is the best planting time; 

 he should be given hints about the best 

 soil; he should be told how deep to 

 plant; he should be told that tulips 

 and hyacinths, separately and of one 

 variety only, make the best showing 

 in rectangular and circular beds. 



The Country Florist's Chance. 



All this may seem like borrowing 

 trouble, but it is a service that counts 

 and makes for satisfied customers. The 

 retailer who puts himself in his cus- 

 tomers' shoes, studies their gar^den 

 problems and requirements, helps them 

 to buy and to plant their bulbs rather 

 than merely sell them the bulbs, will 

 render a gilt-edged service that will 



have a far-reaching effect on his pros- 

 perity. 



For the country florist there is room 

 for great development in the bulb busi- 

 ness and every country florist should as- 

 sist to develop this field. He should 

 plant one or two beds on his homo 

 grounds or at his greenhouses. It is 

 a good kind of advertisement. Every- 

 body is interested in the flowers that 

 bloom in the spring. They are cheer- 

 ing after the long winter and for that 

 reason appeal with particular force to 

 us all. 



Because hyacinths, tulips, etc., do not 

 bloom until spring, many forget to buy 

 and plant the bulbs until spring comes 

 and their neighbors' flowers are a be- 

 lated remainder. The florist should ad- 

 vertise his bulbs as soon as they come 

 in and keep up the advertising day 

 after day until he is either sold out or 

 it is too late to plant. And what better 

 time than now to plan bulb windows 

 that will register high on the long scale 

 of sales efficiency the very flay frost 

 clears the beds of their summer plants? 



FLOWERING THEM FOR MARKET. 



Some Notes for Novices. 



The Dutch bulbs are again to hand 

 and probably the majority of florists 

 have received at least a portion of their 

 stock. If the soil has been prepared 

 in advance, as previously suggested, 

 and there is an ample supply of flats, 

 pans and pots, the sooner the bulbs are 

 got into the soil the better. Of course 

 it is possible to plant tulips and nar- 

 cissi as late as December and still get 

 fair results, but, speaking broadly, all 

 Dutch stock should be in the soil before 

 November 1 if it is intended for forc- 

 ing. The longer bulbs lie in the cases 

 or bags the more they will fritter away 

 their strength. If you want early bulb- 

 ous flowers you must plant early. All 

 varieties need a certain number of 

 weeks in the soil to make the necessary 

 root and top growth to make them flt 

 for forcing. 



Each year wo hear some doleful talk 

 about bulbous flowers being overdone 

 and wholesale markets glutted with 

 them at certain periods. Last winter 

 and spring bulbous stock sold remark- 

 ably well in all the big markets and 

 unless all signs fail business the com- 

 ing season will be better than ever. 

 Some florists do not grow bulbs, but 

 it is safe to say that they are indis- 

 pensable to the country florist who 

 does a retail trade and who has numer- 

 ous orders for floral designs. The ap- 

 pended notes are intended as sugges- 

 tions and helpful hints to the many who 

 are new in the business, or who have 

 not yet done much in bulb forcing. 



Tulips. 

 Only a few varieties of the early 

 tulips are of real commercial value, 



these being naturally of moderate 

 price. It is always well, however, to 

 try one or two additional sorts, espe- 

 cially where a good retail trade is done. 



The query often is heard: "What 

 tulips are best for Christmas flower- 

 ing?" As a matter of fact, I doubt if 

 it will pay any country florist to en- 

 deavor to get Christmas tulips. Only 

 one or two varieties are amenable to 

 early forcing and it is absolutely neces- 

 sary to have them in the soil at the 

 earliest possible date to have any suc- 

 cess with them. The little Due van 

 Thol is the popular Christmas tulip in 

 Covent Garden market, London, but 

 here they never seem to have attained 

 any great degree of favor. 



Eose, white and scarlet colors may 

 be had and all at low rates. White 

 Hawk is a beautiful pure white early 

 tulip, one which always comes white 

 and comes in a little ahead of the popu- 

 lar La Eeine, the most heavily grown 

 of all forcing tulips. Early in the sea- 

 son the petals are delicate pink. Toward 

 spring they come pure white. By grow- 

 ing it dark it is possible to have early 

 flowers nearly pure white. Thomas 

 Moore, rich orange, is a good forcer. 

 As a scarlet Vermilion Brilliant is good. 

 The leading yellow for forcing is Yel- 

 low Prince. This is equally good as an 

 outdoor bedder. Eose Luisante, of a 

 dark, silky rose pink color, is a popu- 

 lar market variety, while Queen of the 

 Netherlands, of a beautiful light blush 

 pink shade, carries a big flower on a 

 long stem and sells on sight. The old 

 Cottage Maid is a little cheaper than 

 Queen of the Netherlands but not in 

 the same class for quality. 



By way of variety the following 

 might advantageously be grown in mod- 

 erate quantities: Pink Beauty, a fine. 



stocky grower of cerise pink color, not 

 adaptable, however, for early forcing; 

 Flamingo, brilliant pink on a white 

 ground, and the old, showy Keizers- 

 kroon, .red, margined golden yellow. 



One or two double tulips are neces- 

 sary and of these Murillo is easily the 

 leader. Not only is it fine for cutting, 

 but it is the best of all tulips for pan 

 culture, being particularly fine for 

 Easter. Tea Eose, also called Brim- 

 stone Beauty, apricot yellow in color, 

 is another fine double for cutting, as is 

 Couronne d'Or, golden yellow tinged 

 with orange. 



During the last year or two Darwin 

 tulips have appeared in considerable 

 numbers on the markets. These carry 

 much longer stems than the early tu- 

 lips. They can be successfully forced 

 to bloom satisfactorily from the middle 

 of February onward. Pride of Haar- 

 lem, of a rosy scarlet color, is the best 

 of all the Darwins for forcing. Wil- 

 liam Copeland, of a delicate lavender, 

 when forced is also good. Other good 

 sorts for forcing are Clara Butt, sal- 

 mon pink; Mme. Krelage, rosy pink, 

 and Gretchen, soft pink. Try a few of 

 these Darwins and I am sure you will 

 grow more a year hence. 



Narcissi. 



The French-grown bulbs of Trumpet 

 major narcissi, can be had in flower for 

 Christmas, but I doubt if they are a 

 paying proposition even at $6 per hun- 

 dred blooms, as many of the bulbs will 

 come blind. Early in January, how- 

 ever, they are all right and are pre- 

 ferred to Dutch-grown Trumpet majors. 

 Golden Spur is the most widely grown 

 and popular of the single narcissi. 

 French, Guernsey and Dutch-grown 

 bulbs follow one another in succession. 



