FSBBUAKY 1, 1917. 



The Florists' Review 



25 



A St. Valentine's Day Window Display that Paid a Spokane Florist Well Last Year. 



too much under before-the-war condi- 

 tions. 



Another Way. 



The Chicago Florists' Club has de- 

 veloped another cooperative plan this 

 season, involving the use of red hoart- 

 shaped stickers which are being sold to 

 a large number of florists at about cost 

 by a committee of the club. The idea 

 is to use them on parcels, on letters, 

 bills and everything else that goes out 

 the few days before St. Valentine 's day. 

 It is a plan that lets every florist partic- 

 ipate in the good work, as 100 stickers 

 can be had for 75 cents. 



what kinds and how much fertilizer 

 should be applied per acre on the aver- 

 age New England soil, at the time of 

 seed sowing and at transplanting time! 

 It would be quite difficult for me to 

 procure manure. 



Of the following, state which are the 

 most suitable and which are peculiar in 

 the germination of their seeds: Achil- 

 leas, dianthus, digitalis, geums, alyssunis, 

 gailiardias, gypsophilas, aquilcgias, 

 hibiscus, hollyhocks, campanulas, lu- 

 pinus, lychnis, centaureas, pentstemons, 

 physostegias, chrysanthemums, platyco- 

 dons, delphiniums, tritomas, stokesias, 

 sweet Williams, poppies, pyrethrums. 



F. A. H.— Mass. 



PERENNIALS FROM SEED. 



Next spring I intend to sow a quan- 

 tity of perennial seeds, and would like 

 some advice from you. How many 

 plants can be grown by one man with 

 hired help at the transplanting time? 

 Can I sow enough perennial seeds to 

 produce 600,000 plants and sell them 

 the next spring through advertisements 

 in The Eeview? Can one reasonably 

 expect to sell that many? Can the seed 

 be sown out in the field and later trans- 

 planted and mulched for winter? Of 

 course no plants could be sold during 

 the frozen up time, when other nurseries 

 sell. 



Would it be better to give the plants 

 pot culture? I am afraid that if I 

 grow them in pots and winter them in 

 frames I could not have many, as I 

 have a frame only ninety feet long. If 

 I could give the plants field culture, 



It would be a large contract to raise, 

 transplant and disi)ose of as many as 

 600,000 hardy plants in a season. If 

 you included pansies, double daisies and 

 forget-me-nots, it would be more nearly 

 possible. These three popular spring 

 and summer-blooming plants would all 

 winter outdoors with you, provided you 

 have a gentle slope on your land, which 

 would ensure good drainage and re- 

 move any possibility of water standing 

 about the plants. These plants should 

 be sown from July 20 to August 5, and 

 they could be started advantageously 

 in your coldframe where necessary 

 water and shade could bo afforded to 

 start them. 



One man undoubtedly could handle a 

 large number of plants, but I doubt if 

 he could care for 600,000 properly. The 

 Review sells many millions of plants 



annually, and if any paper could sell 

 your plants The Review certainly could. 

 Plants in pots have some advantages. 

 It requires a lot of labor to do the need- 

 ful potting, and watering is no incon- 

 siderable factor, but it is possible to 

 dispose of this stock long after the 

 sales season for field-grown plants has 

 ended. The paper pots offered by several 

 concerns have many advantages over 

 the earthenware ones. If you never 

 have grown any of this class of plants 

 before, I would counsel you not to 

 plunge too heavily the first season. 

 Grow moderate quantities. Find out 

 what people really will buj', then go 

 ahead on a larger scale the following 

 season. 



While all the plants you name can 

 be sown outdoors, I would prefer to 

 start them in a coldframe, where they 

 could get bettor attention. If you only 

 had a greenhouse it would pay to start 

 a number of seeds now. Failing this, 

 I would sow the majority in June. The 

 following come up quickly and are easy 

 of culture: Dianthus, digitalis, gail- 

 iardias, gypsophilas, hollyhocks, hibis- 

 cus, campanulas, especially C. Medium; 

 lupines, centaureas, geums, clirysantho- 

 mums, especially the Shasta daisy sec- 

 tion; alyssums, delphiniums, sweet Wil- 

 liams, which are a form of dianthus; 

 poppies and pyrethrums. These follow- 

 ing varieties come a little more slowly: 

 Tritomas, stokesias, aquilegias, physos- 

 tegias and platycodons. None of these, 

 however, are difficult subjects to start. 

 Care has to be taken to select suitable 

 weather for transplanting, and there 



