18 



The Florists* Review 



March 1. 1917. 



SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS 

 FOR SOUTHERN FLORISTS 



MUMS IN THE SOUTH. 



Now is a good time to begin to take 

 t'hrysanthoniuin cuttings, especially of 

 the early varieties, and particularly in 

 those sections where the bulk of the 

 crop is grown outdoors. A deep cold- 

 frame is the best place in which to prop- 

 agate the cuttings, in the warm sections, 

 and a mixture of half sand and half 

 charcoal dust is the best propagating ma- 

 terial. The cuttings will require shading 

 during the day, but the cover should 

 be removed at night, to allow the dew 

 to settle on the cuttings. The main thing 

 to remember when propagating in a cold- 

 frame is to do all necessary watering 

 after removing the shade at night. The 

 cuttings root readily during March. 

 Later they have a tendency to rot, com- 

 mencing at the top of the shoot. If the 

 cuttings are taken just a little bit hard 

 and the tops pinched out, no trouble will 

 be experienced. 



In the cooler sections of the south 

 cuttings will root readily in the samef 

 bed in which carnations are propagated. 

 Propagation can be continued during the 

 hot weather of May and June if some 

 lath shutters are placed on the roof over 

 the bed, the beds kept well shaded and 

 the little plants given plenty of water. 

 L. 



EASTEE PLANTS IN SOUTH. 



With Easter only six weeks away, 

 southern growers can now make a rea- 

 sonably correct estimate as to whether 

 their stock will be in flower at that date. 

 The great staples in the south are lilies, 

 hydrangeas, azaleas, spiraeas and bulb- 

 ous stock. If the lilies and hydrangeas 

 are showing buds now, they will be in 

 good time if kept in a night temperature 

 of 60 degrees. In the cooler sections 

 more heat can be given, and then the 

 plants may be hardened off for two 

 weeks in a cool, shaded house. Hydran- 

 geas should be given manure water twice 

 a week from now until the flowers show- 

 color. 



Spiraas need about nine weeks to 

 come into flower. They should be start- 

 ed cool and then advanced into warmer 

 quarters as they progress. They will 

 stand hard forcing if necessary, but 

 they will be better if grown in a tem- 

 perature not exceeding 60 degrees at 

 night. They require plenty of water. 

 Azaleas will flower almost naturally for 

 Easter. If they have been kept in a 

 coldframe during the winter, three weeks 

 in a greenhouse temperature will develop 

 the flowers. Almost all of the bulbous 

 stock for this holiday will bloom in ten 

 to fourteen days after uncovering. Lilies, 

 hydrangeas and all bulbous stock have a 

 better appearance when tied to neat, 

 green stakes with green raffia. L. 



MODERN TUBEROUS BEGONIAS. 



nia, with its large, waxy flowers of va- 

 rious colors, says the bulletin, has no 

 equal for an indoor display. 



The begonia was named after a 

 French patron of botany, M. Begon, and 

 the term "tuberous" is applied because 

 the group possesses perennial rootstocks. 

 Thirty-five years ago the i)lant was just 

 beginning to attract popular attention. 

 At that time a number of hybrid forms 

 were introduced, and the evolution since 

 then has resulted in the production of 

 varieties with large-sized blooms as 

 double as a rose. At present nearly 

 every imaginable tint is being shown, 

 as well as many shapes, which often pre- 

 sent an extraordinary similarity to 

 other flowers, such as the camellia, rose, 

 hollyhock, carnation and peony. In a 

 great many varieties the petals arc 

 round, in some short and narrow, while 

 in others they are fine and frilled; some- 

 times they are loose and open and often 

 the reverse is true. Many of the flow- 

 ers are flat when open, a few are anem- 

 one-centered, and others are globular, 

 pyramidal or elliptical. The plant 

 blooms continuously from June to Octo- 



ber, the duration of the individual flow- 

 ers varying from three to six weeks 

 from the time of opening. 



Parents of Modem Begonias. 



The first species concerned in the 

 parentage of the present-day forms was 

 Begonia Boliviensis, which was intro- 

 duced into England from Bolivia in 

 1864. It is characterized by long, nar- 

 row leaves and scarlet, fuchsia-like flow- 

 ers. This species has recently been 

 crossed with some of the double and 

 single forms and has given rise to a 

 type with long, pendulous stems and 

 drooping flowers, which is suitable for 

 hanging baskets. 



The next species to be introduced was 

 Begonia Pearcei, also from Bolivia, in 

 1866. The plant has large yellow flow- 

 ers in axillary panicles and has been 

 the chief factor in the production of 

 hundreds of yellow, buff and orange 

 forms. In 1867 B. rosseflora was brought 

 from Peru. It bears large rose-red flow- 

 ers and has prov^ed to be important in 

 the creation of some of the white forms, 

 the best known of these being the 

 Queen of the Whites. The s&me year 

 B. Veitchii followed, with its round, 

 vermilion-tinted flowers, to which many 

 of our present-day varieties owe their 

 coloring. In 1876 B. Clarkei and B. 

 Davisii were introduced. The former 

 lias rose-colored blossoms, and the latter, 

 a dwarf plant with smooth, glossy fo- 



[CoDtlDued on pa^e 123.] 



Their Hybridization and Culture. 



A recent bulletin from the Missouri 

 Botanical Garden contains some inter- 

 esting information on the hybridization 

 and culture of the tuberous begonia. 

 During the summer the tuberous bego- 



Murfreesboro, Tenn. — The Jetton Flo- 

 ral Co. has recently completed a new 

 greenhouse. 



Gulfport, Miss.— The Mills Farms 

 Co., one of the largest seed firms in 

 this part of the United States, is plant- 

 ing forty acres in satSuma oranges. The 

 trees are Mississippi grown. 



Tampa. Fla.— The Knull Floral Co. put 

 a new delivery truck into service just 

 before Christmas and reports it is prov- 

 ing a good advertisement as well as a 

 means of quick action on an order. The 

 truck is unusual in that it is pure white 

 except for the trimming. 



New Orleans, La. — Frank J. Reyes, 

 who claims the distinction of having 

 furnished more wedding bouquets than 

 any other man in New Orleans during 

 his twenty years' career as a florist, has 

 purchased the interests of his partner, 

 Peter Ackerman, and is planning big 

 things for his business. 



Waco, Tex.— Through the efforts of 

 the Lions' Club, February 22 was ob- 

 served here as rose-planting day, the 

 movement having the official recognition 

 of the mayor and the town's civic work- 

 ers. Several of the department stores 

 held mammoth sales of 2-year-old rose 

 plants. At the club's banquet in the 

 evening speakers gave cultural direc- 

 tions to amateurs. 



Tifton, Ga.— M. F. Myers, of the My- 

 ers Seed & Plant Co., reports that nearly 

 all his plants were killed by the recent 

 cold wave. 



Montgomery, Ala. — The Rosemont 

 Gardens reports business this season the 

 best in its history. Only a small part 

 of the business is local, cut flowers be- 

 ing sent throughout the south, with a 

 large mail order business in plants. 



Reidsyille, N. C— Mrs. W. T. Barber 

 is erecting a greenhouse of the Monin- 

 ger semi-iron type, .30x50 feet. The 

 weather has been unusually cold here. 

 The mercury fell to 3 degrees above zero 

 February 6, the coldest known in thirty- 

 seven years. 



Savannah, Ga. — The florists in this 

 section lost heavily in the February 

 freeze. There are several establishments 

 with only rudimentary heating equip- 

 ment, for little heat usually is needed. 

 A. C. Oelschig, whose establishment has 

 been considered well equipped, lost 

 quite heavily, one item being about 10,- 

 000 plants of Ficus elastica. The rubber 

 plant is Mr. Oelschig 's specialty and it 

 is probable that he is the largest grower 

 of it in the United States. The high 

 uiud that accompanied the drop in the 

 temperature proved Mr. Oelschig 's un- 

 doing, for it made it impossible to heat 

 the exposed parts of hi? range. 



