Mabch 13, 1919. 



The Florists' Review 



13 



"Eeports in general of trade condi- 

 tions throughout the state were never 

 better and prospects are good for a 

 bright future in our business. 



"There is a movement on foot in the 

 S. A. F. to organize a state florists' as- 

 sociation in every state in the Union, 

 with a view of having the president of 

 each state association made an affiliated 

 member of the national society's board 

 of directors, s.ubject of course to the 



requirements as to paid up membership 

 in both the national and state bodies. 

 This should be of interest to the flo- 

 rists of every state in the Union, as it 

 will help to tie up each individual with 

 the work of the national organization. 

 This will be of great value, especially 

 in the great publicity campaign. 



"Receipts for annual dues were $40. 

 No life memberships were taken out 

 last year." 



^*Kly^>:lKv::KV^^JVJ^^:ly%|^'^JV^9Jlly9Jil'^^:l^J:lyv:'^9JV.^^^^ 



SEASONABLE 

 j^ SUGGESTIONS 



]k\-/A\: V4M r^«M y^x, y*M y*M y«M :r£\, :r£\i :r£\i y*^'i r/iM :r£\i ,y«m yaM y*M r/iM :r£\, rr£\t u 



CHATELAINE BEOONIAS. 



While less showy, perhaps, than Cin- 

 cinnati or Lorraine, the Chatelaine be- 

 gonia has a better constitution and as 

 a house plant has few superiors. It will 

 flower the whole year around and, be- 

 sides its value as a pot plant, makes an 

 ideal bedder and will succeed equally 

 well in sunshine or shade. There is 

 still time to take a good batch of cut- 

 tings, which are easily rooted, and have 

 nice little plants in 3-inch pots before 

 bedding-out time arrives. 



FRENCH HYDRANGEAS. 



Do not overlook the necessity of put- 

 ting in an ample supply of cuttings of 

 French hydrangeas. Perhaps you have 

 already done so. If not, this is a re- 

 minder that it is not yet too late to in- 

 sert a good batch. These root easily 

 and can be grown either in pots or 

 planted out during the summer. Pure 

 white, deep pink and intense blue are 

 the colors that sell best. 



LAND FOR ASTERS. 



A common mistake with many grow- 

 ers is in leaving practically all prepara- 

 tion of the soil until the strenuous spring 

 season. Much of this work is better if 

 done in the fall. In the case of asters 

 it is especially helpful to plow in a good 

 coating of well decayed manure just 

 before the ground freezes up and leave 

 the land rough over winter. The frost 

 will help to pulverize and sweeten the 

 soil and it will be in a nice, crumbly 

 condition when the frost has gone and 

 it can be harrowed. 



Most of our' land has received too 

 little lime. This is not a plant food, 

 but sweetens the soil and makes various 

 elements in the soil more available for 

 the roots of plants. It should not be 

 applied at the same time as manure, as 

 it releases too much of the nitrogen 

 into the atmosphere, but can be applied 

 in spring or fall . to good advantage. 

 Heavy land and moist bottom lands 

 need more lime than lighter soils. We 

 would have fewer diseased plants if we 

 kept our soil sweetened by the action 

 of lime. On some land two and one- 

 half or three tons per^acre of ground 

 limestone is not too much to apply, 

 while on others one ton will be found 

 ample. Use lime on your aster plot 

 and you will have fewer diseased plants 

 than in former years. Lime and better 

 drainage to warm the soil are necessi- 

 ties for successful culture of farm and 

 garden crops of every kind, and the 



commercial florist, whose work is of a 

 more intensive nature than the agri- 

 culturist, must use both lime and drain- 

 age to keep abreast of the times. 



USEFUL ANNUALS TO START NOW. 



Have you tried any of that beautiful 

 annual, Nemesia strumosa Suttonii, for 

 bedding or cut flower purposes? It 

 comes in some glorious colors and suc- 

 ceeds well outdoors. The seed is light 

 and should be started indoors. Merely 

 dust a little fine sand over it. Prick off 

 the seedlings into flats and plant out- 

 doors in May. This nemesia makes a 

 splendid late winter or early spring 

 blooming plant in pots or pans if started 

 in the fall. 



Salvia farinacea and S. uliginosa are 

 two lovely blue varieties, fine for bed- 

 ding, excellent for cutting and much 

 hardier than S. splendens; in fact, S. 

 uliginosa winters out well. Start the 

 seeds of these now. To get an early 

 batch of the Mexican poppy, Hunne- 

 mannia fumarisefolia, outdoors start the 

 seeds in small pots now and plant out 

 early in May. The annual larkspurs 

 can be successfully advanced at least a 

 month if sown in flats now. They are 

 splendid for cutting at any season. 

 These annuals are not much grown com- 

 mercially, are all fine for cutting and, 

 being somewhat out of the common, 

 should appeal to some growers. 



PANSIES IN COLDFRAMES. 



Eemove the winter mulch now from 

 pansies which have been carried over 

 winter in coldframes. Had we known 

 how mild the winter would be, there 

 would really have been little need of 

 much covering. The plants are fresh 

 and green and not a few are already 

 showing flowers. After clearing off the 

 mulch, if the soil seems at all dry, give 

 a good soaking of water. 



You can, if desired, lift and plant 

 some of these pansies in an empty green- 

 house to advance them, and, by the way, 

 pansies in boxes and baskets should sell 

 well for the coming Easter, coming, as 

 it does, unusually late. 



By keeping the frames closed at night 

 and protected on severe nights, which 

 we may still have, it will not be long 

 before these frame-grown pansies are 

 clustered with flowers. 



Any other spring flowering plants, 

 such as forget-me-nots, double daisies, 

 arabis, yellow alyssum, aubrietias, rock- 

 ets, etc., can be uncovered at the same 

 time as the pansies, but do not be too 

 hasty about removing the winter mulch 

 from these and other plants outdoors. 

 The great blizzard of 1888 came March 

 12. We had little winter in 1916 until 

 the middle of March, and many of us 

 will not soon forget the great snow 

 storm which arrived on the eve of Eas- 

 ter in 1915. Go slow on removing out- 

 door mulches. 



SPRAYING SHRUBS. 



Spraying has come into such general 

 practice that no practical man now for 

 one moment thinks that he can get along 

 without it. The coming of the San Jose 

 scale made this a necessity in orchards 

 and, as this pest attacks many roses 

 and deciduous shrubs like lilacs, cy- 

 donias, Crataegus, cornus, etc., it is 

 necessary to spray shrubbery while dor- 

 mant for San Jose, scurfy, oyster 

 shell and other scales, and either 

 lime-sulphur or one of the soluble oils 

 will, if p^^operly used so as to cover 

 every portion of the bark, kill not only 

 these scales but the eggs of aphides, 

 eankerworms and other injurious pests. 

 Spraying is necessary insurance. Do 

 not omit it, and now is the time to do it. 



CmN Wrmi^y^ DEADED6 



A TALK ON INSURANCE. 



When a base rate is made too low by 

 a mutual company, the natural result 

 IS an increased rate in the following 

 assessments and much dissatisfaction 

 on the part of the insured. A base rate 

 IS sometimes made too low because of 

 want of statistics to help in arriving 

 at correct conclusions as to what the 

 rate ought to be; but more often the 

 rate is made purposely low to secure 

 business and the insured finds himself 

 entangled with agreements that prove 

 highly onerous. 



Insurance, like a suit of clothes, is a 

 commodity which is sold in the market 

 and when the insured buys insurance 

 too cheaply, he is apt to find that he 



has secured a gold brick; and if he 

 looks at the matter in its true light, 

 has only hiiJlself to blame for not close- 

 ly inquiring into the contract he was 

 making, and the ability of the company 

 or the association to make good. 



Advice is cheap, but it is well to bear 

 in mind the translation of the old Hol- 

 land aphorism, "Greediness overcomes 

 wisdom." John G. Esler. 



A JUNIOR CLASS. 



Ever since I broke into the flower 

 business I have been deeply interested 

 in the F. T. D, and I guess I read every 

 word that appears in The Review each 

 week. 



