26 



The Florists^ Review 



Febkuaky 1, 1917. 



are some years when but few suitable 

 days occur for this work. 



If you can secure barnyard manure, 

 it is far superior as fertilizer for your 

 plants. Broadcast this at the rate of 

 eight to ten cords per acre. If you 

 can use even a smaller amount of barn- 

 yard manure, and supplement it with 

 fertilizer, it will answer well. I would 



suggest applying 600 pounds of finely 

 ground bone per acre. This would give 

 both nitrogen and phosphoric acid. As 

 high-grade forms of potash are at pres- 

 ent quite expensive, I would use 1,000 

 pounds of unleached wood ashes to help 

 out on that end. It would take a large 

 and special article to cover your ques- 

 tions fullv. C. W. 



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Cyclamens. 



If you sowed seeds of cyclamens last 

 August, as advised, your plants should 

 now be growing well in flats and prob- 

 ably a good many of them have at- 

 tained sufficient size to be moved into 

 3-inch pots. Use a light soil, consisting 

 of equal parts of flaky leaf-mold and 

 loam, with some sand added. After 

 potting, place them in a temperature of 

 55 degrees at night on a bench well up 

 to the liglit. Encourage later ])lants to 

 grow by frequently stirring the surface 

 soil in the flats. Old plants which were 

 late for Christmas can, if necessary, be 



held in a cold house for Easter. A tem- 

 ]ierature of 40 degrees at night will suf- 

 fice for these. Cyclamens are popular 

 plants, however, and there is a fairly 

 steady call for them all through the 

 winter. 



Genistas. 



About February 1 is a good time to 

 house genista plants wanted in bloom 

 at Easter. It is well to bring in a few 

 of the plants from time to time. They 

 are good sellers either at the green- 

 house or store and are more quickly 

 grown into salable plants than ericas, 

 camellias, acacias and other hard- 



A Red Heart-shaped Hamper Containing a Colonial Bouquet. 



wooded plants. It must be confessed 

 that genistas as house plants can scarce- 

 ly be called a success. If allowed to 

 become dry at the root or even if most 

 carefully tended, they only stand a 

 few days in the average steam-heated 

 house. Still, a genista plant will cost 

 no more than a dozen roses of good qual- 

 ity and more frequently than not a sin- 

 gle day will end the roses' usefulness. 



Asters. 



Last summer asters proved a sad 

 failure over a large part of the country, 

 owing to the excessive rainfalls in the 

 early summer, and as a result prices 

 ruled much higher than usual in the 

 various flower markets. During the 

 last year or two growers have in a num- 

 ber of cases devoted houses to their 

 culture and last season asters paid 

 much better than chrysanthemums. 

 When grown under glass, the plants are 

 immune from the ailments affecting out- 

 door stock and the flowers, of course, 

 are not battered by rain storms. 4s a 

 consequence indoor flowers bring a 

 higher price than outdoor ones. For 

 anyone who will have a vacant house 

 just after Easter, aster growing can be 

 safely recommended. Sow the seed 

 now; transplant' the seedlings into flats 

 and from these plant thejn out in the 

 benches. A soil such as you would use 

 for chrysanthemums will suit them. 

 Sow an early variety; Queen of the 

 Market is the best. White is the best 

 selling color; next, pink and lavender. 

 There is a small sale for other colors. 

 If you plant an early variety your house 

 will be cleared in time to sow a crop 

 of sweet peas or to plant violets, snap- 

 dragons or even carnations. 



Fuchsias. 



If you have a few old fuchsia plants 

 which have been carried over winter in 

 a semi-dormant state, place such stock 

 in a warm liouse, spray freely and they 

 will soon give quantities of nice, succu- 

 lent cuttings, which will root readily in 

 a cutting bench. Pot into 2i^-inch pots 

 and later into 4-inch pots. One pinch- 

 ing will be all tliey will need. Fuchsias 

 lied out and do remarkably well in par- 

 tial shade and are quite satisfactory fpr 

 piazza work. Such varieties as Trail- 

 ing Queen make wonderful basket 

 jilants, flowering practically the whole 

 su minor. Fuchsias should- not be grown 

 ill a higher temperature than 50 degrees 

 at night. Plants kejit over until a sec- 

 coiid year and grown either as pyramids 

 or stiiiidards make splendid stock for 

 decorative jturposos, but are all too sel- 

 dom seen. 



Stevias. 



The flowering season for stevias will 

 soon be over and these notes will serve 

 as a reminder not to throw away all 

 your stock ]ilaiits. Keep a sufficient 

 number for cuttings. Head these back 

 and as soon as a nice lot of shoots have 

 appeared place them in the propagat- 

 ing bench. Later the tops can be taken 

 from these cuttings and the old plants 

 (-an be thrown away. Probably more 

 dwarf than tall stevias arc grown. On 

 the whole, I jirefer the tall variety, 

 wliich has longer and better branched 

 stems. 



Spiraeas for Easter. 



The white spira\as, or astilbes, force 

 into flower more quickly than the pink 

 ones. The old .Taponica comes in ear- 

 lier than all others, but is not now 



