16 



The Florists^ Review 



NoviMBsa 7, 1918. 



FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 



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INDOOR VEGETABLE CROPS. 



[Seasonable notes on tomatoes and cucumbers 

 appeared in this department of The Review for 

 October 24 and on lettuces, water cress, mint 

 and parsley in the issue of October 31.] 



There have been many complaints of 

 the quality of cauliflowers produced out- 

 doors this year. This is no doubt due 

 to the fact that we are now mainly de- 

 pendent on home-grown seeds, as im- 

 ports from Denmark have almost ceased. 

 Under glass, where plants are not sub- 

 jected to climatic vagaries, we have had 

 no trouble so far. This may be due to 

 the fact that we have grown but one 

 variety inside, namely, Kronk 's Forcing 

 Erfurt, which is by long odds the best 

 greenhouse variety. Several firms list 

 various forcing cauliflowers, but they 

 all prove to be good strains of Kronk 's 

 Erfurt. Cauliflowers require a similar 

 temperature to lettuce and also need a 

 generous soil. Last winter I grew 

 Kronk 's Erfurt 15x15 inches apart with 

 the best results; 12x12 inches apart 

 gave smaller heads and proved less 

 profitable. 



The seed is sown in flats and later 

 transplanted into other flats and from 

 there transferred to the beds. Some 

 growers pot off the plants, but this is 

 not necessary. Good heads can be pro- 

 duced in 6-inch or 7-inch pots by feed- 

 ing the plants well, but this would not 

 pay commercially. 



Witloof Chicory. 



The roots of "Witloof chicory, the 

 favorite salad plant, should be dug be- 

 fore the weather becomes too cold and 

 packed in sand in a cool cellar. The 

 tops make most delicious salads and are 

 much appreciated. To force it success- 

 fully, the roots should be covered with 

 moist sand or loam and then boxed in 

 and kept perfectly dark. A warm house 

 or cellar will force it successfully. The 

 ideal place is a mushroom house, or cave, 

 such as mushrooms are often successfully 

 grown in. In order that there should be 

 no damping where the roots are being 

 forced, it is well to admit a little air 

 from time to time, also to see that there 

 is no drip which can start trouble. I 

 have seen good Witloof chicory grown 

 when a thick layer of sawdust has been 

 applied over the crowns. This prevents 

 any damping. Any other light covering 

 would answer equally well. 



A CLEAN SWEEP. 



In these days of swift and sweeping 

 changes, when political conditions af- 

 fect the smallest details of domestic and 

 industrial economy, the wise man or 

 woman will be prepared to make the 

 best of every situation that develops 

 out of war-time exigencies. The cut- 

 ting off of importations of bulbs doubt- 

 less will reduce the crops of Easter lilies 

 and spring bulbous flowers generally 

 and the resourceful florist will be alert 

 to find substitutes for these items. In 

 the effort to keep up the volume of stock 

 requisite for the maintenance of trade, 

 it is likely that there may be a shifting 

 of standards and manv flowers not here- 



tofore kept in the limelight will be 



pushed forward to take the places of 



those which are found wanting or in 



insufficient supply. The substitution of 



callas for Easter lilies, for instance, may 



bring the former into the position of 



prominence which their beauty merits. 



At any rate, it is evident that callas 



can be moved now in quantities larger 



than most of the growers are likely to 



have on hand, by means of a little timely 



publicity. This is the experience of a 



Wisconsin grower, who had to call off 



his advertising because his callas were 



all taken so quickly. 



Please discontinue my ad of Godfrey callas. 

 I am all sold out. Tour paper does wonders. — 

 John Maves, Eau Claire, Wis., October 29, 1918. 



When you hear a man complain of the 

 cost of advertising you can be pretty 

 certain he spends a good bit of money 

 elsewhere than in The Eeview, 



and A. plumosus in a greenhouse with- 

 out heat and especially so in the state 

 of Massachusetts. Boots of smilax have 

 been known to stand the winter as far 

 north as Washington, D. C, but your 

 winter is usually more severe. The ex- 

 periment may be worth a trial, if you 

 have the litter and the leaves for the 

 purpose, but it would be best to ripen 

 the plants gradually by using less water 

 and more ventilation for a time before 

 covering them. W. H. T. 



FORCING HYDRANGEAS. 



Please tell me how to treat hydrangeas 

 during the forcing period. Ours always 

 give us trouble because of light-colored 

 and yellow leaves. D. & H. — Mich. 



SPRENGERI AND PLUMOSUS. 



Will you please tell me if there is a 

 way to keep a bed of Asparagus Spren- 

 geri or plumosus green, if the house is 

 closed for the winter! The asparagus 

 is in a solid cement bench, one and one- 

 half feet high. Will it come up in the 

 spring if buried under leaves and 

 manure now? C. H. J. — Mass. 



It is a doubtful experiment to try to 

 winter a bed of Asparagus Sprengeri 



Assuming that your plants have well 

 matured wood, they can be started any 

 time after the middle of December. Keep 

 them in a temperature of 45 degrees at 

 night until they start to grow. Then 

 give them 10 degrees more heat. Water 

 them only moderately until they start 

 into active growth, but spray freely. 

 Once they are growing freely, an abun- 

 dant water supply is needed. As the 

 flower heads appear, feed once in four or 

 five days with liquid cow or sheep ma- 

 nure, or a top-dressing of fine bone. If 

 the foliage comes at all pale, give them 

 some soot water or a weak application 

 of nitrate of soda. If you will give your 

 plants a light, sunny house, prevent 

 aphis from troubling them, water them 

 freely and feed as suggested, you should 

 have healthy plants with fine flower 

 heads. Other cultural points, such as 

 the date to start plants for Easter and 

 Memorial day, will be mentioned in the 

 cultural columns of The Review from 

 time to time. C. W. 



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SEASONABLE 

 i^ SUGGESTIONS 



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LATE-BLOOMING PERENNIALS. 



Early November is late in the season 

 for outdoor flowers, but this season frost 

 has held off unusually late and a few 

 annuals and perennials are still bloom- 

 ing freely. Among the perennials 

 Aconitum Wilsonii, with its handsome 

 spikes of violet-blue flowers, and A. 

 autumnale, dark blue, are still in fine 

 condition. Helianthus Maximilianii still 

 carries quantities of its large golden 

 yellow single flowers. It is an excel- 

 lent subject for cutting. Anemone 

 japonica alba, where well sheltered, is 

 still (November 4) covered with its 

 beautiful, pure white flowers. On 

 delphiniums there are still some excel- 

 lent spikes, where the plants were cut 

 down as soon as the early crop had 

 passed. Stokesia cyanea is still pro- 

 ducing its large, beautiful sky-blue 

 flowers and some of the asters are still 

 presentable. There are also some spikes 

 still appearing on the kniphofias. 

 Among low-growing plants, Viola cor- 

 nuta in variety is covered with flowers. 

 This is the finest low-growing perennial 

 we have and flowers persistently for 

 six months. Many blooms of myosotis 

 are in evidence, while some varieties of 



dianthus. Campanula rotundifolia, lina- 

 rias and androsaces, to mention only a 

 few, are still blooming freely and make 

 the hardy garden interesting, even when 

 "chill November's surly blasts have 

 made fields and forests bare." 



TO FOLLOW CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



The mum season is now at its height 

 and will rapidly decline. Some grow- 

 ers, owing to the reduced coal supplies, 

 are planning to close houses when mums 

 are cut and start up again in the spring. 

 Others, however, plan to carry enough 

 heat in their houses at least to exclude 

 frost. There is no need to run tem- 

 peratures for our staple crops as high 

 as in former years. Experience last 

 winter proved that both roses and car- 

 nations produced profitably when kept 

 10 degrees cooler at night than in for- 

 mer years. Production was smaller, but 

 the quality was vastly improved. Our 

 British cousins, with a far smaller coal 

 supply than we expect, have proved the 

 same thing. Suitable crops to follow 

 mums are: Sweet peas, snapdragons, 

 calendulas, mignonette and marguerites, 

 all of which succeed in a comparatively 

 low temperature. Single violets, pan- 



