18 



The Florists^ Review 



Mahch 20, 1919. 



I kvj: i\<tj; iA»yj tvtyj LW, 



Msmmmmim 



SEASONABLE 

 i^ SUGGESTIONS 



BZS 



W»^»^^fl»^«li^^*l»^i^^ 



CYCLAMENS. 



The little cyclamens potted a few 

 weeks ago are now starting to grow in 

 real earnest and will soon need a shift 

 to larger pots. The temperature for 

 these should be kept about 55 degrees 

 at night and a light shade is necessary 

 to break the direct rays of the sun. 

 Avoid having this at all heavy, as it 

 makes the foliage come drawn and 

 soft. Spray over once or twice a day 

 when the weather is clear and even at 

 this young stage I think it good policy 

 to use a nicotine spray once in ten days. 

 This will help to keep aphis and thrips 

 in check and will also, I believe, ren- 

 der the plants far less liable to attacks 

 of mite. Be careful to use a light com- 

 ])Ost at these early pottings; one con- 

 taining at least one-half flaky leaf-mold 

 with some loam and sand added is ideal. 



HOME-GROWN ASPIDISTRAS. 



Of all the many foliage plants culti- 

 vated in greenhouses, there are none 

 which equal aspidistras as house })lants. 

 The amount of neglect this plant will 

 stand with seeming impunity would kill 

 the majority of plants. No matter 

 whether they are stood in corridors, hall- 

 ways or living rooms, and whether the 

 rooms are cool, hot or drafty, the plants 

 will not resent it and it is no wonder 

 that such ])lants are in demand and that 

 there never is any great surplus of them. 



The bulk of aspidistras have come, 

 in the ])ast, from Belgium. If Quaran- 

 tine No. 37 becomes law, we shall miss 

 this source of su})ply a great deal and 

 shall need to divide and grow on our own 

 plants at home. This is a good time 

 to do any needed dividing, using fibrous 

 loam witli one-fourth old, well decayed 

 manure with some sharj) sand added. 

 Keep the plants in a shaded house, where 

 they can be syringed daily, and they 

 will soon become established. 



The ]>robabilities are that the ])rice 

 of aspidistra leaves will soon be much 

 higher and anyone jtossessing a good 

 stock will find them good property. 



COSMOS FOR FALL. 



Cosmos is a most useful fall flower. 

 In the warmer states, where early kill- 

 ing frosts do not occur, it will bloom 

 freely outdoors. In the colder states 

 it will do this in some years, but cannot 

 be depended ujjon, and it is necessary 

 either to lift the plants and flower them 

 in a cool house, or, better still, grow 

 them in large pots or tubs, so that the 

 }ilants can be placed beyond the reach 

 of frost. 



(Jood success may be had by sowing 

 seed in May, potting along, and later 

 ]>lacing the plants in j)ots or tubs, giving 

 the plants one or two pinchings to keej) 

 them bu.shy. By the way, few people 

 realize what a handsome specimen plant 

 a well-grown cosmos will make, espe- 

 cially that fine variety, Lady Lenox. 

 There is an early race of cosmos that 

 will bloom about all summer. The 

 larger and later blooming type is of 

 more value commercially, coming in, as 



it does, before the mums are in heavy 

 croj). 



CALADIUMS FOR SUMMER. 



Fancy caladiums are excellent for use 

 during the hot months, when flowering 

 plants are scarce. The tubers, which 

 have been resting for several months, 

 should now be shaken out and started 

 up. Place them in flats or pans of sand, 

 and water but little until they start 

 into growth, when they can be potted 

 in a light but fairly rich compost, and 

 grown in a warm, moist house, where 

 only a moderate shade is given. Heavy 

 shade will prevent the leaves showing 

 fheir beautiful colorings. 



CARING FOR ACHIMENES. 



The corms of achimenes can be started 

 now in flats of light, sandy soil in a 

 warm house. When they have made 

 two inches of growth they can be potted 

 at the rate of a dozen to a 6-iuch pot, 

 or twenty to an 8-inch pan. Light 

 stakes will be needed to support the 

 stems later. 



Another way to grow achimenes is in 

 wire or wooden baskets, dibbling the 

 ])lants all over the baskets and suspend- 

 ing them in a warm house in moderate 

 shade. As the plants start to flower 

 remove them to a cooler house, where 

 they will produce flowers with more sub- 

 stance. These baskets are excellent for 

 use on piazzas or porches where they 

 are protected from the direct rays of the 

 sun and, if carefully watered, they will 

 flower for a good many weeks. 



INDOOR GLADIOLUS PLANTING. 



The last indoor ])lantings of gladioli 

 should be made now. These shoidd flower 

 before the weather becomes excessively 

 hot. In order to get a really early out- 

 door crojt of these most useful flowers, 

 it is a good plan to start a batch of 

 bulbs in .^)-inch or .S^A-inch pots now 

 in a greenhouse, later placing them in 

 a coldframe to harden off before ])lanting 

 out. These ])lants will bloom several 

 weeks ahead of open air planted bulbs. 



.lust as soon as the ground has dried 

 out and warmed a little, plant a goodly 

 ))atch of the more popular gladioli out- 

 doors. Do not make the mistake of cov- 

 ering the bulbs too shallow; five or six- 

 inches is about right, as when planted 

 at this depth dry weather will not afFect 

 the plants seriously and they will stand 

 far more erect than when covered lightly. 



REMOVING OUTDOOR MULCH. 



Do not be in too big a rush about 

 removing the outdoor mulch from plants, 

 especially that on pansies, daisies, for- 

 get-me-nots, foxgloves, sweet williams, 

 Canterbury bells and all hardy herba- 

 ceous perennials. 



February proved warm and the first 

 hs'lf of March was extremely mild. 

 This made ])eople venturesome and anx- 

 ious to ''take a chance," in common 



parlance. Late March and early Aprji 

 are usually hard on plant life, especially 

 hard on newly uncovered plants. The 

 frosty nights, clear, sunny days and 

 biting winds take the life out of plants 

 and it is good policy to leave winter lov- 

 erings on until more settled weather 

 seems assured. 



The winter has been so open that 

 tulips, daffodils and other bulbs have 

 made considerable growth and it will be 

 necessary to use great care in uncovciinjr 

 them, or many tops will be broken. 



PRUNING FLOWERING SHRUBS. 



Few deciduous flowering shrubs should 

 be pruned at this season. Exceptions 

 are the everblooming hydrangea, II. ai 

 borescens, and the Japanese sort, H. 

 paniculata grandiflora, which need quite 

 severe heading back now. Practically 

 all other flowering shrubs should be 

 ])runed in summer, when dead, weak and 

 useless wood can be cut out. This will 

 allow time for the plants to make new 

 growth. Yet, year after year, so-called 

 landscape gardeners persist in trimming 

 such shrubs as spiraeas, loniceras, vibui- 

 mums and other popular sorts in spring. 

 When we remember that these plant 

 butchers, who are strong on topi- 

 ary works, are cutting away practically 

 all flowering wood, it is u]> to us to put 

 a quietus on su^'h work. With the ex- 

 ception of broken branches and dead 

 wood, do not cut away anything from 

 deciduous shrubs luiw. 



GLEN COVE, N. Y. 



The monthly meeting of the Nassau 

 County Horticultural Society was held 

 in Pembroke hall March 12, with Presi- 

 dent Joseph Adler presiding. Five peti- 

 tions for active membership were re- 

 ceived. The judges appointed for the 

 exhibits were Thos. Scott, Thos. Meech 

 and (J. W. Wyatt. The following awards 

 were made: For twelve stalks of rhu- 

 barb, Thos. Twigg, first; for six heads 

 of celery, Ernest Westlake, first; for 

 ]ian of narcissi, honorable mention to 

 Thos. Twigg; for a beautiful display of 

 ])ansies, cultural certificate to Thos. 

 Twigg. Mr. Twigg, upon request, gave 

 a l)rief account of liis method of grow- 

 ing. 



An essay was read l)y Ernest West- 

 lake, entitled, ''Wanted, a Gardener,'' 

 written by Robt. Weeks, of Cleveland. 

 A letter of thanks was ordered sent the 

 author. Arthur Harris, one of our mem- 

 bers who went overseas with the ('ana- 

 dians, was present and spoke briefly. 

 We were all pleased to have him with 

 us again and to give him the glad lunul' 

 P. W. I'opp, vice-president of the Na- 

 tional A.ssociation of (iardeners, wa^ 

 present and spoke briefly on that orgimi 

 /.ation. Allen Krichman, manager of the 

 .Newark Oyster Shell Lime Fertilizer •'(•., 

 was present and spoke a few words. A 

 sliort discussion followed on the making 

 of a clay tennis court, which proved 

 (juite interesting and instructive. 



It was decided to hold a spring slu'W 

 at the monthly meeting May 14. 'H'*' 

 executive committee was empowered to 

 draw up a small schedule to be ]'■''■ 

 seated at the next meeting, which \vi" 

 be held April 9, when the competition 

 will be on nine spikes of antirrhiniinii 

 three heads of lettuce and a vase of out- 

 door flowering shrub. It was decide'' 

 to hold a smoker at tlie conclusion of 

 this meeting. H. G. 



