16 



The Florists' Review 



Sei'tembku 27, 1917. 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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Propagation. 



Geraniums are the bedding plants of 

 greatest value to the florist, but there 



are many others, such as fuchsias, ver- 

 benas, ageratums, petunias, coleus, he- 

 liotropes, alternantheras, cupheas, aca- 

 lyphas, lobelias, etc., of which you may 

 wish to retain stocks. In some cases a 

 few stock plants can be lifted and 

 j)otted and may give an ample supply of 

 propagating material later in the sea- 

 son, but usually cuttings can be taken 

 now. They will occupy a minimum of 

 space. All cuttings will root without 

 much trouble now, shade and plenty of 

 water added to sharp, well drained sand 

 being their requirements. 



Jerusalem Cherries. 



The finest plants of Jerusalem cher- 

 ries and Christmas peppers are those 

 which are planted out through the sum- 

 mer. These plants must be dug up and 

 potted now. Try to secure a little ball 

 with each and then, if carefully potted, 

 well watered, shaded for a few days 

 from bright sunshine and sprayed occa- 

 sionally, they will soon stand up firm 

 and fresh. The Jerusalem cherries 

 stand considerable frost, but the Christ- 

 mas peppers are tender and even a tem- 

 ])crature of 34 degrees will sometimes 

 blacken them. 



Dutch Bulbs. 



Even if some growers are uncertain 

 about getting their full supply of 

 Dutch bulbs, it will be advisable to 

 have a compost pile ready. Soil con- 

 taining about one-fourth old, well rotted 

 manure and three-fourths loam will an- 

 swer nicely. Spent hotbed manure, or 

 the manure from mushroom beds, also 

 makes a good potting medium and one- 

 third of this and two-thirds loam will 

 give good results. Use some sharp 

 sand, especially if your loam is heavy. 

 Do not use any bone or chemical ferti- 

 lizers of any kind for bulbs, as these 

 will do more liarm than good. Mix the 

 compost well by turning it a couple 

 of times before using. 



Winter-Flowering Begonias. 



There will lie no azaleas this seas(»n, 

 except some oarried-over stock, and the 

 demand for otlier flowering ])lants 

 sliould ho inucli stronger. For the holi- 

 day trade bog(tnias have for years been 

 l»rinu' favorites and tlie coming season 

 bids fair to find them in great demand. 

 Lorraine is not now grown so largely 

 as Cincinnati, but is by no means a 

 l)ai'k number and still meets with a 

 large sale. Small ])lants from late 

 cutting sell especially well. Melior is 

 niufli liked by many, while Mrs. J. A. 

 Peterson, witli its bronzy foliage and 

 deep red flowers, will be seen in greatly 

 increased numbers tliis fall. 



All begonias which liave not had 

 their final potting should get it as soon 

 as i)ossible. Give them a temperature 

 of <5(» degrees at night and only a light 

 sliade from this time on. Tlie earliest 

 plants will need a little staking Avlien 



time permits. A good many of these 

 should be in condition to sell for 

 Thanksgiving. The large-flowered, 



handsome English varieties, like Mrs. 

 Heal, Winter Cheer and Ensign, are 

 gradually coming into favor as their 

 culture becomes better understood and 

 they bid fair to sell at splendid prices 

 the coming Christmas. 



Canterbury Bells. 



As usual, the plants of Canterbury 

 bells made more growth in September 

 than in any other month of the year, 

 especially if their growth was stimu- 

 lated by frequent cultivation. The 

 early part of October is a good time to 

 pot up some of the best plants to be 

 used for forcing. Pots from seven to 

 nine inches in diameter will be needed, 

 according to the size of the plants. 

 Stand the plants outdoors when potted. 

 If they had a ball of earth attached to 

 the roots, they will wilt but little and 

 a few sprayings will soon stiffen them 

 up. Far too many plants are stood in 

 heavy shade after potting. In some 

 cases this may be necessary, but often 

 it is not. If some sunshine is given, to 

 warm the soil, root action is much 

 quicker and wilting will soon cease. 



THOSE CHALLENGED AWARDS. 



Certain awards at the Illinois state 

 fair are held up pending action by 

 the state board of agriculture, as re- 

 ported in The Eeview for September 20, 

 because some of the exhibitors protested 

 and alleged a violation of the rules. The 

 protestants pointed to the rule that the 

 same exhibitor can not make more than 

 one entry in the same class and made 

 affidavit that Hembreiker & Cole and 

 the Springfield Floral Co., John Bryant, 

 manager, are in fact the same concern. 

 As representing another point of view, 

 Mr. Bryant says: 



"I desire to call attention to Eule 10 

 of the general rules and regulations 

 governing entries at the Illinois state 

 fair, which reads as follows: 'Articles 

 which are the product of mechanical or 

 artistic skill may be entered by the 

 artist, inventor, manufacturer, dealer or 

 authorized agent.' The entries in ques- 

 tion were made by John Bryant, artist 

 and manager of the Springfield Floral 

 Co. These entries were made after 

 being assured by the proper officials 

 that competition was open to artists and 

 professionals, and after being urged by 

 them to do so. The secretary's books 

 will show that John Bryant is credited 

 with the awards. If this show was open 

 to artists and professionals, as the board 

 specifies, the winnings substantiate my 

 claim to being both. I would have the 

 trade understand that this note is not 

 offered in criticism of anyone. The asso- 

 ciation, the judge, the secretary and su- 

 perintendent of the department are to 

 be complimented on their great effort to 

 make the show the success that it was." 



HARDY PERENNIALS 



THE AUTUMNAL GARDEN. 



Avoiding Too Much Yellow. 



While the major portion of the plants 

 to be found in the herbaceous borders in 

 late September and early October are 

 somewhat robust in habit, tliey come in 

 a fine range of colors and the liardy 

 garden is much more attractive than for 

 six weeks past. It is easy having too 

 much of a predoniinauce of yellow flow- 

 ers by a too liberal use of the helianthus, 

 lieleniunis, rudbeckias, heliopsis, silphi- 

 ums and sonecios, but by a proper inter- 

 spersing of yellows among tlie numerous 

 autumnal asters, Ijoltonias, aconitums, 

 anemones, i)yrethrums, veronicas, knip- 

 liofias and other plants coming in other 

 shades of color, not to mention a good 

 number of low-growing plants effective 

 in fall, tlie autumn hardy border is ex- 

 tremely attractive. The early frosts, 

 which cut off most of tlie annuals, deal 

 lightly with tlie tenants of the hardy 

 border and not infrequently good flowers 

 may be had until well into November. 



Asters. 



Prominent now and exquisitely beau- 

 tiful are the asters, or Michaelmas 

 daisies. These plants, so common in our 

 fields and woodlands, have been taken 

 in liand and wonderfully improved by 

 Englisli hardy j'l^i'it sju'cialists and 



nearly all our fine garden varieties are 

 liybrids raised there. A few fine vari- 

 eties at present are: White Queen, pure 

 white; Perry's Pink, reddish pink, 

 much branched; Airship, pure white, 

 fine; Mackii, clear blue, yellow eye; 

 iiovaB-anglise Lil Fardel, bright mauve; 

 novse-anglisB rosea, mauve, still one of 

 the best; Feltham Blue, clear aniline 

 blue; St. Egwin, charming light pink, 

 and turbinellus, lavender, much 

 branched, large flowers. All the asters 

 are easily raised by division of the roots 

 in fall. They may also be propagated 

 from seeds easily and a great range of 

 varieties may be had from a mixed 

 packet of seeds. 



Aconitums. 



While the bulk of the monkshoods 

 liave now passed, there are two varieties 

 which are now at their best. A. Fischeri 

 carries pale blue flowers and grows three 

 to four feet in height. A. Wilsoni, an 

 introduction from northern China, with 

 large violet blue flow^ers, grows five to 

 seven feet in height and is also effec- 

 tive at this season. While aconitums 

 will grow tolerably well in any garden, 

 to see them at their best one should go 

 to Bar Harbor or one of the islands 

 along the Maine coast, where they are 

 a feature in almost every garden and 

 grow with a luxuriance impossible in 

 jjrardens far removed from the ocean. 



