28 



The Florists^ Review 



M^AHcn 29, 19;7. 



in such a record reasons for special 

 consideration cf the means by which 

 it may be possible to get the orders 

 earlier. 



Detroit Cooperation. 



The thing most worthy of note in the 

 Easter preparations this year is the 

 action of the trade in Detroit. That 

 is one of the cities in which florists are 

 friends. Perhaps it is liecause the pop- 

 ulation and wealth of the city have in- 

 creased so rapidly that there has been 

 enough business for all, but the fact 

 is the Detroit florists do not have it 

 as the first article of their creed: "If 

 I can't get the order, let's cut the 

 profit out of it for the other fellow." 

 The} believe prosperous, contentod com- 

 petitor^ are less to be feared than would 

 be tho^ made discontented and reck- 

 less by the pressure of financial neces- 

 sities/. So they work together. 



Detroit Plans Early Start. 



Some years the Detroiters ' efforts 

 liave taken the direction of cooperative 

 advertising; other times they have held 

 a spring show, free to the public. But 

 this Easter they acted on the evident 

 greatest desirability of starting selling 

 soon. They have taken it for granted 

 everybody Avants flowers for Easter and 

 they have dropped advertising of that 

 character; they have cut out the show 

 as not calculated to produce the results 

 they want. Instead, they have all joined 

 in an attempt to get the people into the 

 flower stores the first three days of 

 the week, April 1, 2 and 3 — they know 

 April 4, 5, G and 7, in any case, will 

 bring all the business they can conveni- 

 ently handle. 



Think what it will mean to tlie busi- 

 ness that every flower store in Detroit 

 is advertising an Easter opening for 



Sunday, April 1, and the two succeed- 

 ing days! 



Each for All. 



Each one is doing what he pleases to 

 advertise his own opening, but all are 

 advertising the general opening day. 

 For two weeks every parcel, every let- 

 ter and every bill sent out by any 

 Detroit florist has had in it a neatly 

 printed circular in the typical Easter 

 color, with a cut of lilies, a rabbit and 

 some eggs, carrying the words, ' ' Easter 

 Flower Show at ALL Detroit Flower 

 Shops April 1-2-3. ' ' 



Get the people in and the Easter 

 orders will begin to accumulate, the 

 final rush will be reduced, the danger of 

 loss through bad weather will be elim- 

 inated and the whole proposition made 

 easier and Tuore profitable. 



We all shall watch with interest the 

 results of the Detroit undertaking. 



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GETTING READY FOR THE BIG DAY 



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EASTER PLANT NOTES. 



The Busiest Season. 



The busiest jdant season of the entire 

 year usually is crowded into the three 

 or four days preceding Easter. Some 

 customers place their orders in good 

 season, but the majority of them put off 

 buying until near the end, when stocks 

 of many plants are more or less ex- 

 hausted and when there is often diffi- 

 culty in securing just the plants wanted. 

 Foliage ])lants sell only in moderate 

 numbers, but the call for flowering 

 ])lanta is always tremendous. Whether 

 or not the prevailing high cost of liv- 

 ing will in any way cripple the sale 

 of plants, remains to l)0 proved. Goo(i 

 weather, M'ith moderate temperatures, 

 means a great saving in labor and wra]) 

 ping material to florists. Everyone 

 hopes for balmy climatic conditions. We 

 should reasonably get these after a long 

 winter, but experiences of one or two 

 recent Eastera have shown the danger 

 of trusting too much to the erratic 

 weather man. 



To Make Buyers Customers. 



Paper of every kind is costly now, 

 but we must have it in quantity. We 

 may get cold, frosty and windy weather, 

 in which case careful wrapping is neces- 

 sary. Merely disposing of plants does 

 not end our responsibilities. We must 

 aim to deliver plants to all purchasers 

 in first-class condition, and we must not 

 forget to attach a tag or card to such 

 plants as marguerites, rambler roses, 

 hard-wooded plants, spiraeas and hy- 

 drangeas emphasizing the necessity for 

 an ample water supply. Mere drib- 

 blings are valueless; make it clear that 

 at least one soaking watering daily is 

 a necessity. I suppose tliousands of 

 plants die annually within a day or 

 two after being sold, on account of 

 ignorance or carelessness on the part of 

 purchasers. We should not look upon 

 this with anything but regret and dis 

 favor. Those who buy plants and see 

 them shriveled corpses a few days later 

 are not likely to spend much money with 

 florists. Let us endeavor to teach our 

 customers the need of proper watering. 



for tlie longer pleasure they may derive 

 from plants bought the better it will 

 prove for our business. 



Why Not Give the Names? 



Have yon ever considered the value 

 of attaching neatly written, or, better 

 still, printed cards to the various plants 

 you are offering? Give both the botanic 

 and common name when possible. Ke- 

 tailors should endeavor to make their 

 window and store displays more educa 

 tional. In what better way can tliey 

 do this than by letting people know 

 what they were carrying? It will not 

 cost mucli to have cards marked for 

 Rose Dorothy Perkins, French Hy- 



Three Veil Known Figures at St. Louis. 



drangea Mme. Mouillere, Rhododen- 

 dron Pink Pearl, Azalea Niohp, Lilac 

 Marie Legraye or Hyacinth C^ueou ot 

 the Blues, to give a few conimcu ex- 

 arnjdes. Be sure the words are cor- 

 rectly spelled. Some store assistants 

 in an endeavor to appear smart will 

 give customers fanciful names for 



plants they do not know tlie identity 

 of. Discourage such practices. Re 

 member that, while some may not know 

 much about ])lant names, others may 

 know more about them than you do. 



The Leading Sellers. 



Following are short notes on some 

 of the plants which are good Easter 

 .sellers and which will be in most prom- 

 inence. While colored flowers in the 

 main have the best call, there is one 

 white flower which will always be asso 

 ciated with Easter, the lily, and of this 

 one plant more are sold than of any 

 (itlier. 



The Lilies. 



E\cry fa;iiily which has t\\*; iiecos 

 sary wherewithal will buy at least one 

 pot of Easter lilies, and the exact tim 

 ing of this all-important crop means 

 a good deal to the average country flo 

 rist. The retailers are growers in only 

 a minority of cases, but the country 

 florist growing his own plants must be 

 alert to have his plants in the right 

 condition when wanted. Prices are low 

 immediately after Easter, but funeral 

 orders may be depended upon to \iao 

 up flowers from time to time. There 

 fore do not force plants if there is lit 

 tie likelihood of getting them into 

 bloom. Plants with only a few flowers 

 open are better than those more fully 

 expanded. If one flower is open your 

 j)lants will sell. Run them cool for a 

 few days if you can. To retard the 

 early ones, stand the plants in a cool 

 cellar or shed. Remove all pollen 

 masses and be sure all the pots arc 

 cleaned in good season. If you want 

 to make up large pots or pans, shake 

 the soil away, but retain as many roots 

 as you can. Soak the plants well after 

 potting. Plants thus treated will hohl 

 their foliage dark green for several 

 days. If you do not grow your lilies, 

 it is well to buy them with large buds, 

 as open flowers are always more or les.** 

 bruised when sent by express or even 

 by auto truck or horse and wagon. 

 Giganteum is the leading Easter lily. 

 For tall spikes Formosa is necessary, 

 while for stately effect for church dec- 

 orations the longer spiked Madonna 

 lily, L. candidum, is incomparable. 



