OCTOBBB 12, 1016. 



The Florists' Review 



19 



l>ottom, without pulling the plants 

 Around too much, else you might do 

 them more damage than good. A light 

 mulch of half rotted manure would 

 start them into a new growth and this 

 should be followed up with frequent 



applications of sheep manure and dried 

 blood while the growing weather is 

 good. Tou might apply a fairly liberal 

 dressing of bone meal before putting on 

 the mulch. Naturally, these plants will 

 need more feeding than would young 



plants set in new soil. If you can ma«- 

 ter this and manage to keep them prop* 

 erly supported, you might have fair 

 success^ but you will find them more in- 

 clined to crop and slower moving than 

 the young plants. A. F. J. B. 



MB. MICHEL DISCUSSES CANNAS. 



Selects a Lucky Thirteen. 



Eugene H. Michel, of Henry A. 

 Dreer, Inc., has made a life study of 

 the canna. During the last few years 

 Mr. Michel has devoted time and 

 thought to hybridizing cannas, with 

 the object of securing better varieties 

 of existing types. His effort has been 

 rewarded with marked success. Four 

 of his seedlingps today rank high among 

 the leading varieties of cannas. The 

 talk that follows was given for the 

 benefit of Review readers by Mr. 

 Michel on the trial grounds of Henry 

 A. Dreer, Inc., at Biverview, N. J., 

 October 6: 



"My idea of the canna is that its 

 usefulness in landscape gardening de- 

 pends on its effectiveness when planted 

 in masses. A variety to be of value 

 must have strong, glowing color, in 

 fiowers that are of large size and good 

 substance, and it must be sufficientlv 

 free-blooming to show this color clearly 

 above the foliage; not a straggling 

 bloom here and there, but a fine, un- 

 broken mass of color. Public interest 

 in the canna depends, as it does in 

 roses or carnations, on new varieties 

 that keep pace with the times. To 

 many people a canna is simply a canna, 

 but to many others a really fine variety 

 is irresistible; they must have it. 



New Sorts That Stand the Test. 



"Our most discriminating canna 

 lovers are found in two classes — the 

 amateurs who want the best, and the 

 florists who keep pace with the times. 

 They add the new varieties that are 

 sent out with the stamp of approval 

 of some first-class introducer; they 

 grow them and help to make them 

 popular. 



"America has done even more than 

 Europe to advance the canna during 

 the last decade. To American hybrid- 

 izers we owe many of the finest varie- 

 ties today. To their efforts credit must 

 be given for improvement in color, in 

 size and in vigor that has brought the 

 canna to a foremost place among out- 

 door decorative plants. 



"I will give you my selection of the 



leading varieties of cannas now in gen- 

 eral use. 



"Here is Gladiator, one of the finest 

 varieties. Notice the size of the spikes 

 as well as of the individual florets, how 

 well and freely the trusses are borne 

 on each plant and how uniformly they 

 flower. 



"Next comes Uhlberg, a German va- 

 riety of great merit. It is not a tall 

 grower, but wonderfully free; a variety 

 that presents a mass of color. It is 

 charming. 



A Beliable White. 



"This is Eureka, my white seedling 

 of 1912." It was not necessary to isk 

 Mr. Michel why the name. Every 

 schoolboy knows that when Archimedes 

 solved the great problem of how much 

 water a body displaces, he chanced to 

 be in his bathtub and straightway he 

 tore down the street crying "Eureka! 

 Eureka!" to signify that he had found 

 the solution of his problem so hurriedly 

 that even clothes were forgotten. So 

 it evidently was that Mr. Michel had 

 found the long-sought white. The difli- 

 culty about the whites, and also about 

 the yellows, is that really pure cannas 

 of these delicate colors usually lack 

 stamina. Some are so weak that it is 

 impossible to w6rk up stock. Others 

 are dwarf. Others, still, are shy bloom- 

 ers. Eureka is a strong grower of 

 medium height, that fiowers profusely. 

 Looking down the rows of Eureka, they 

 appeared a sheet of white as far as the 

 eye could reach. Some idea of the 

 growth of Eureka can be gathered from 

 the fact that a seedling of four years 

 ago has furnished 5,000 cannas for dis- 

 tribution, while there are 2,160 clumps 

 now growing at Riverview. 



Still the Best Crimson. 



"Next comes Meteor. I first saw 

 this crimson at the home of its intro- 

 ducer, Antoine Wintzer, at West Grove. 

 It was eight feet high. Ordinarily 

 Meteor grows to a height of five feet, 

 but there it had extra culture. It is 

 still the best crimson canna. 



"Orange Bedder is my own seedling. 

 Its color may be described as an orange 

 scarlet. The artists do not agree about 

 the color, but I think it is just what 



we want and I am encouraged in this 

 belief by the cordial reception given 

 the variety. 



"Rosea gigantea is a splendid deep 

 pink variety that has stood well the 

 test of time. 



* ' Olympic I consider to be an im- 

 provement on the variety just men- 

 tioned, in color as in other qualities. 



The Most Popular Canna. 



"King Humbert is probably the best 

 known and most popular canna today. 

 Its orange scarlet flowers are magnifi- 

 cent for massing. 



"The Gem is another of my own 

 seedlings. Mark its lovely cream-col- 

 ored fiowers, their great size and, most 

 of all, their refinement. 

 ^ ' ' Colossal is a dazzling scarlet va- 

 riety which I consider superior to Fire- 

 bird. 



"Favorite is another of my own 

 seedlings. I like to call it the yellow- 

 est of the yellows, so that people will 

 be impressed before seeing it with the 

 idea that it is a true yellow. When 

 they see it they will know for them- 

 selves. 



"Mrs. Alfred F. Conard, a delicate 

 pink of Mr. Wintzer 's, is worthy of a 

 leading place in any collection of 

 cannas. 



"Firebird is a European variety that 

 has made a g^eat hit in this country. 

 While not of the type of some of our 

 finest varieties, it is a leader in its 

 class. 



Seedlings and Foreign Sorta. 



"That makes thirteen sorts. You 

 know I consider thirteen as my lucky 

 number. Now come over and see the 

 European varieties that we have on 

 trial, and our seedlings, the varieties 

 that may come out in 1918, if they 

 make good. Here are 100 seedlings 

 selected from 5,000. Not one of them 

 will be grown on or sent out unless 

 it is found to be superior to existing 

 sorts in its class and color. Some of 

 them are extremely promising." Here 

 Mr. Michel pointed out a number of 

 varieties of great beauty. 



Then came the European varieties. 

 One, in particular, gained interest from 

 the fact that its German introduce?. 



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