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Sbptkmbkr 6, 1917. 



The Florists^ Review 



21 



BEaONIAS FOB CHRISTMAS. 



We have a block of Chatelaine be- 

 gonias in 6-inch pots — full size — and 

 nearly every one a good specimen. We 

 want these to be big, fine plants for 

 Christmas, and we do not know how to 

 handle them for the best results. Will 

 a shift to 7-inch pots be sufficient, and 

 when should this be done? When they 

 were shifted to 6-inch pots they were 

 cut back. Should they be cut again? 

 We are keeping the flowers picked off. 



W. M. v.— Ga. 



A shift to 7-inch pots or deep pans, 

 called three-fourth pots, can be given 

 now, and a mixture of old cow manure 

 and loam used. If you keep the flowers 

 picked off until the last of October, 

 this will permit them to carry plenty 

 of bloom for Christmas. This begonia 

 is practically an all-the-year-around 

 bloomer, and if kept well fed and 

 watered, will never be out of flower. A 

 night temperature of 50 degrees will 

 suit it better than one 10 degrees high- 

 er, and the plants will be much stockier. 

 C. W. 



SCALE ON PALMS. 



Please advise me how to take care 

 of palms. What is the best soil to 

 use in repotting them? They are full 

 of scale and appear sunburned. I have 

 them outdoors. How soon should they 

 be housed? G. C. Z. — N. Y. 



If the palms in question are infested 

 with scale insects, the first thing to do 

 is to clean them with a sponge or cloth 

 dipped in strong soapsuds. A solu- 

 tion of one-half of an ounce of Ivory 

 soap to one gallon of water would an- 

 swer for a job of this kind. A small 

 brush, such as a soft tooth brush, is 

 also a convenient tool to clean some 

 portions of the leaves and stems, but 

 do not rub too hard with it, else it may 

 scratch the plant. 



It may be safer not to repot the 

 palms at this season, if you purpose 

 keeping them in a dwelling for the 

 winter. Remove some of the top soil 

 and then top-dress with a mixture of 

 rather heavy garden soil and manure, 

 using one part of the latter to two parts 

 of the soil. Press this down firmly in 

 the pots or tubs. The plants will be 

 safe outdoors until about September 15, 

 and possibly a little later if the season 

 is warm. W. H. T. 



FALL OR SPRING PLANTING? 



Kindly inform me whether the fol- 

 lowing stock can be successfully planted 

 in the fall or whether it would be better 

 to wait and plant next spring: Lilacs, 

 honeysuckles, rambler roses, Rose of 

 Sharon, irises and Berberis Thunbergii. 



W. B.— Mich. 



Lilacs will do much better if they 

 are planted in the fall; so will loniceras, 

 or bush honeysuckles, and all varieties 

 of irises. The last named will succeed 

 better if planted now, especially the 

 German, Japanese and Siberian varie- 

 ties. Rambler roses and the Rose of 

 Sharon, or althaea, would do better if 

 planted in early spring. I hope you will 

 try fall planting of some of your stock. 

 Far too many growers leave all plant- 

 ing until spring, although, as a matter 

 of fact, nearly all herbaceous perennials 

 and many deciduous shrubs do much 

 better if planted in the fall. C. W. 



Richmond, Va. — Ira L. Anderson & 

 Son have been granted a permit to build 

 a greenhouse on Forty-fourth street, be- 

 tween Springhill and Belvidere avenues. 

 It will cost $3,989. 



Bartlesville, Okla. — A. E. Meyers, 

 proprietor of the Meyers Floral Farm, 

 is building an addition of Dietsch green- 

 houses. A Kroeschell boiler is being in- 

 stalled to heat the range. 



Muskogee, Okla. — The Muskogee Car- 

 nation Co. found the season of 1916-17 

 the best in the history of the enter- 

 prise and two houses have been added 

 this season, each 28x100, using mate- 

 rial supplied by the A. Dietsch Co., 

 Chicago. 



Deer Park, Ala. — The drought that hit 

 the seedsmen and growers in this sec- 

 tion hard during the summer was 

 broken August 1. Since that time there* 

 has been good growing weather, but 

 the prospects for a crop are poor, de- 

 clare L. H. Read & Co. 



Ada, Okla. — Rains during August did 

 much for florists, says W. E. Pitt, pro- 

 prietor of the Ada Greenhouse. Carna- 

 tions indoors are looking fine, and the 

 outdoor chrysanthemums are good, al- 

 though they have been getting too much 

 rain and not enough sunshine. 



*s^^ 



Bouham, Tex. — The City Greenhouses, 

 Baxter Sitzler, proprietor and man- 

 ager, are erecting another greenhouse, 

 35x100, to help take care of the in- 

 creased demand. 



Sherman, Tex. — Coal dealers have ad- 

 vanced the price of fuel 50 cents per 

 ton during July and August, declares 

 H. O, Hannah, who with his son, Fred, 

 owns the Sherman Greenhouses. The 

 price now is eighty per cent more than 

 it was three years ago, Mr. Hannah 

 adds. 



Houston, Tex. — Walter Westgate, of 

 the Roselynn Nursery & Floral Co., in- 

 cludes a wholesale business in holly, wild 

 smilax, mistletoe, Florida gray moss, 

 palm leaves, cut ferns, etc., with his 

 business in nursery stock and native 

 plants. He says the trade in decorative 

 greens is increasing steadily. The dry 

 weather has ruined the cut fern busi- 

 ness, but there is an increasing call for 

 Florida gray moss, which florists are 

 finding useful in a large number of ways. 

 Aside from its decorative uses, in its 

 natural state or colored green or brown, 

 the Florida gray moss is taking the 

 place of sphagnum for filling wire de- 

 signs, for hanging baskets, for the tops 

 of flower pots and in packing plants for 

 shipment. 



Hinsdale, Mass. — L, B. Brague & Son 

 are celebrating their fiftieth anniver- 

 sary in the'fern business this season and 

 have sent their patrons a handsomely 

 engraved card of greetings. 



Bridgeport, Conn.— John Reck & Sons 

 report most satisfactory business. As 

 they are in the best part of the city, 

 they receive a good share of the liberal 

 purchasing in this munition town. 



Portland, Conn. — Otto Keser & Sons 

 have passed through a strenuous season 

 and now that Otto, Jr., has joined the 

 army for the front it means more work 

 for father, who, fortunately, has a 

 splendid helpmate in Mrs. Keser. 



Rockland, Me. — Rockland had a 

 flower sale for the benefit of the Red 

 Cross August 22, which netted $120 for 

 the fund. The success of the day is at- 

 tributed to George H. Glaentz^ll, who has 

 a flower store in the Odd Fellows' block, 

 and his daughter. Miss Anna Glaentzel. 

 Mr. Glaentzel and Miss Glaentzel made 

 special bouquets which a number of the 

 Rockland girls sold on the streets. 



Westerly, R. I. — The annual fair of 

 the New London County Agricultural 

 Society opened at Norwich September 

 3. The floricultural departments this 

 year were unusually large. 



Saxonville, Mass. — Raymond W. 

 Swett, whose specialty is gladioli, re- 

 cently has taken up dahlias. His bed in 

 the S. A. F. Convention Garden at New 

 York contained twenty-nine of the type 

 known as Newport Singles. Mr. Swett 

 endorses the opinioK.qf the originator, 

 Mr. Robertson, that these never will 

 take second place to any single sorts. 



Providence, R. I. — Willis S. Pino says 

 fortune has indeed smiled upon his 

 business this season; even at this late 

 date counter trade is brisk. Mr. Pino 

 commented on the liberal free publicity 

 given the business by the local press, 

 unconsciously, it is believed. The same 

 paper in its trouble column, in answer 

 to a correspondent, advised him to 

 tackle the seedsman from whom the seed 

 was purchased. "And a hard job we 

 have had with some, but we came off 

 conquerors," said Mr. Pino. ' 



