22 



The Florists^ Review 



Deckubbb 12, 1018. 



tory holiday plants and, . as everyone 

 knows, the lady slippers have great 

 lasting qualities either cut or on the 

 plant. Other Christmas orchids are but 

 few; some late Cattleya labiata and a 

 fair lot of the smaller-flowered but 

 showy G. Percivaliana are practically 

 all we shall have in the way of plants 

 from the orchid family. 



Ooloxed-Leayed Plants. 



Colored-leaved plants in mixture make 

 handsome combinations, or they lock 

 well associated with ardisias. Such 

 plants as crotons, pandanus, draceanas 

 and marantas, with various ferns, are 

 salable either separately or associated 

 in baskets or other receptacles, and of 

 these we have, fortunately, a good sup- 

 ply. A mixture of the brilliant-colored 

 crotons alone is fine. There are some 

 who do not like colored-leaved plants, 



but to many of equally good taste the 

 baaatifal iui mxiatioBs md ^faades 

 win prove aa attzaetiTe as flowers. 



There will be little in the way of 

 flowering-plant novelties for Christmas. 

 At Easter we can look for some new 

 roses or shrubs at least, but the num- 

 ber of midwinter plants is more re- 

 stricted. Some chrysanthemums will 

 still be obtainable, also geraniums, but 

 bulbous flowers, apart from Paper 

 Whites, will be extremely few. There 

 will be some pink spiraeas from cold 

 storage and some white marguerites. To 

 those who want lilies, but will not be 

 able to obtain them, nicely flowered 

 pots of callas, especially Oodfrey, should 

 appeal. Pots and pans of fragrant 

 freesias will be more numerous than a 

 year ago and will make up in some 

 measure for the scarcity of valldy. 



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SEASONABLE 

 j^ SUGGESTIONS 



PAPER WHITE ^H'ASCISSI. 



It is evident that flowers will be 

 scarce and dear the coming Christmas 

 and it behooves the small country grow- 

 er to produce all the flowers he can at 

 home. Paper White narcissi are among 

 the indispensables. They are of easy 

 culture and can be flowered over a long 

 season. Be sure to have a good-sized 

 batch coming along for Christmas. 

 White is not a Christmas color, but the 

 Paper Whites are a necessity in bou- 

 quets and for all design work. 



If you have an ample supply of bulbs, 

 why not plant some in bowls containing 

 a few stones? They will make accept- 

 able Christmas presents and can be sold 

 at comparatively low prices. If you 

 grow your Paper Whites in flats, it is 

 a simple matter to advance or retard 

 them. A cold cellar will hold the bulbs 

 in flower for a number of da.vs in good 

 condition. 



times expect to have a spray or two of 

 stevia and Sprengeri thrown in when 

 buying a few carnations, but apart from 

 this it nets the average grower as much 

 money per square foot as anything else 

 he grows. In order to have a late sup- 

 ply, a number of plants should be kept 

 in a cold house where the temperature 

 is kept just above freezing. 



PBOPAGATION OF BOUVABDIAS. 



The pure white, sweet-scented Bou- 

 vardia Humboldtii propagates easily 

 and quickly from soft-wood cuttings. 



If one or two old plasta airs-wsU-teadod 

 back, tested a ^h<wt time «Bd -Item 

 started up in keat Haey wiU 9va an 

 abundance of Jiiee suaealenl m at tim g /s, 

 whieh xoot-JLbaost as aaoi^ a» hmo- 

 tropes. Other vaideties ot bovrardiay 

 while they can be increased in the same 

 way, are more satisfactorily propagated 

 by means of root cuttings. Take the 

 thicker roots and cut into short lengths 

 (one-half inch is ample) and place them 

 on a cutting bench where there is a 

 good bottom heat. Just cover with 

 sand, water well and give a soaking 

 from time to time. In a few weeks 

 there should be an ample supply of little 

 shoots appearing, which can later be 

 potted off. 



ASK ME! ASK ME!! 



P. C. L., Ont. — ^For a copy of the law, 

 address the Canadian Customs Depart- 

 ment, Ottawa, Ont. 



J. B., Okla. — If you will address the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture, Wash- 

 ington, D. C, you may be able to obtain 

 a bulletin containing information on 

 the means of counteracting the effects 

 of alkali in the soil. 



A. J. Z., N. Y. — You might secure the 

 geraniums now and treat them as you 

 propose, but you are likely to get better 

 results if you defer purchasing the 

 plants until you are nearly readv to 

 heat the greenhouse. Sow the schizan- 

 thus seed now; earlier would have been 

 better. Sow the verbena seed in Feb- 

 ruarv. 



W. L. P., Pa. — Since you do not say 

 anything about your treatment of the 

 oxalis and do not state which of the 

 400 or more species you are growing, it 

 is impossible to determine why the buds 

 drop off. The oxalis, as a rule, needs 

 a light, sandy, well drained soil and a 

 warm, sunny position. 



E. L. S., Pa. — Use one of the nicotine 

 extracts according to directions on the 

 package, or use hydrocyanic acid gas 

 according to standard practice. 



POTTING MATERIAL. 



Freezing up weather usually comes in 

 December, occasionally earlier. It is 

 not a pleasant task endeavoring to se- 

 cure supplies of loam and other potting 

 essentials with ice and snow on the 

 ground and adequate supplies of loam, 

 leaf-mold, rotted manure, sand, sphag- 

 num moss and peat should be placed 

 under cover now. If they are in a frost- 

 proof shed or cellar, all the better, but 

 at all events let it be where it is not 

 exposed to the weather. Of course old 

 loam from the benches is available for 

 certain purposes and answers well, but 

 it is not equal to what is called virgin 

 loam for many plants. 



BEMEDY FOB BUST. 



Will you kindly state what is the best 

 remedy for carnation rust? W. B. M. 



STEVIAS. 



The most useful of winter-flowering 

 plants, stevia, is one that the country 

 florist can ill afford to be without. It 

 is possible to cut flowers by the middle 

 of November and I have had them as 

 late as March. ■ Nothing proves so 

 dainty and effective in floral work as 

 stevia. It is true that customers some- 



To get rid of rust, you should first of 

 all produce conditions that are favorable 

 to the proper development of your 

 plants. It is possible at this time of the 

 year to eliminate the harmful conditions 

 which prevailed during the summer and 

 which are responsible for the appear- 

 ance of the disease. The extreme heat 

 of last summer was undoubtedly respon- 

 sible for much of the rust, which seems 

 more prevalent this year than usual. 

 Keep the temperature even and around 

 50 degrees at night, with a reasonable 

 rise during the daytime. Do not spray 

 too frequently, but water freely at the 

 roots, if the plants are well established. 

 Paint a steam pipe in each house with 

 lime and sulphur. Do not be stingy with 

 the steam on mild nights. Run at least 



one steam pipe and open the ventilators 

 a trifle to keep the temperature at the 

 proper point. We are urged to conserve 

 fuel and we should do so on every occa- 

 sion, but conserving fuel does not mean 

 merely to burn less. It means to make 

 every pound of fuel produce a maximum 

 in whatever commodity you are produc- 

 ing. If, by burning a few pounds more 

 of fuel, you can increase your output or 

 the quality of your output, probably you 

 will be economizing. 



Spray your plants heavily with Bor- 

 deaux mixture. This is the best preven- 

 tive of rust that I know of. It is safe 

 to use and will guard against all kinds 

 of fungous diseases. If your carnations 

 are in crop, you might confine the spray 

 to the lower part of the plants, so as to 

 disfigure the foliage along the flower 

 stems as little as possible. A. F. J. B. 



BOBDEAUX IN DBY FOBM. 



Will you please give us information 

 regarding the use of Bordeaux mixture 



