14 



The Florists^ Review 



OCTOBKE 2, 1919. 



down two inches, enough to hold it in 

 place firmly. 



FaU Is Planting Season. 

 If a florist contemplates undertaking 

 such a form of advertising aa planting 

 a plot of available ground, the au- 

 tumn is the time for putting in a good 

 deal of the material which he will em- 

 ploy. Trees, shrubs and hardy plants 

 are many of them best set in now or a 



little later in autumn. If he wishes 

 patches of peonies or irisesj this is the 

 time to get the clumps. And while the 

 florist is doing this work for himself, he 

 should not forget there are a good many 

 orders for such planting that may be se- 

 cured from his customers. To "Say It 

 with Flowers ' ' and do it with flowers is 

 the surest way to encourage the public 

 to say and do it in the same manner. 



ffljjiii^i*A^iiyauji i iu.'iti^jiLuji*>y.^ik^^ 



TATE'S TIPS 



^' flfe ^ ^;flfe^^ l »;^:< l t?'^<^ 



PROPER PACKING REPAYS. 



Care with Chrysanthemums. 



As it is nearing the time when the 

 chrysanthemum season is at its height, 

 when large quantities of them are being 

 shipped every day, this is an opportune 

 time to study the question of packing; 

 that is, the methods used by the grow- 

 ers who are most successful in deliver- 

 ing the cut stock to its destination in 

 the most perfect condition. 



In my investigation of this subject, I 

 have found that, aside from roses, chrys- 

 anthemums suffer more from poor pack- 

 ing than any other flower. All sorts of 

 methods are used. Some of the smaller 

 varieties often come to the i market 

 packed in crates, much the same as 

 sprouts are marketed. These, being 

 mostly outdoor varieties, seem to be 

 none the worse for their rough treat- 

 ment. Those that suffer most are the 

 large and finer varieties, as most of the 

 bruising is caused by the weight of the 

 flower itself. The large white varieties 

 suffer most. 



When a plant has been disbudded, all 

 of the strength of that plant is 'concen- 

 trated in a single flower. This, I might 

 Bay, gives us an abnormal bloom, large, 

 fragile and heavy. Now, when these 

 are packed in a box, if they are not 

 secured in a manner to keep the flowers 

 from shifting, they will be bruised. 

 This is also the case where the flower 

 is allowed to lie flat in the box. 

 Though it may be secured perfectly, its 

 own weight will cause it to be bruised. 

 In my investigation I took all of these 

 points into consideration and found, as 

 I had with the roses, that there are 

 some growers who have mastered all 

 of these difficulties, and also that they 

 were men who had been successful in 

 the business from small beginnings. 



To digress from our subject for a mo- 

 ment, tlio reason for this is plain — it is 

 attention to detail. 



Time for Hardening Varies. 



Care must ])e exorcised from the time 

 the flowers arc cut. Get them into water 

 as quickly as possible. On this point I 

 found considerable difference of opin- 

 ion, some growers claiming that ten 

 hours is sufficient for the blooms to 

 harden, off, while others insisted upon 

 twenty-four hours. Indeed, one grower 

 who grows a large number for exhibi- 

 tion told me that he would not place a 

 flower on exhibition that had not been 

 hardened for three days after it had 

 been cut, and he has always been a suc- 

 cessful exhibitor. But for commercial 



purposes anything from ten to twenty- 

 four hours will be sufficient. 



Now we come to the important part 

 of packing them in the box for ship- 

 ment. In this the length of the journey 

 and mode of travel must be considered. 

 Wooden boxes should be used. Line 

 these well with old newspapers,, with a 

 layer of tissue paper next to the flow- 

 ers. Have some newspapers rolled into 

 cylindrical rolls the width of the box. 

 Lay one in the box, then place a layer 

 of flowers, having the roll of paper 

 close up to the flower and under the 

 stem. In making these rolls, the size 

 of the flower you are going to pack 

 should be your guide, as the object of 

 the roll is to keep the pressure off the 

 flower. Place layer after layer from 

 each end of the box in like manner, and 

 wlien the box is full place a strip across 

 the stems and press down firmly and 

 nail. When the strip is pressed down 

 on the stems the rolls will act as a 

 lever, and there will be absolutely no 

 weight on the flowers. 



Some growers who use this method go 

 further and wrap each bloom in soft 

 paper, but this is mostly when they are 

 being shipped for exhibition. If this 

 system is faithfully adhered to, you can 

 stand a packed box on end without in- 

 jury to the contents. 



The Case of Carnations. 



We will next take up carnations. I 

 find that everyone uses about the same 

 method in packing these. It seems that 

 carnations can stand more harsh treat- 

 ment than any other winter flower. The 

 object of these articles is to give to our 

 readers a resume of those systems of 

 liandling and packing stock that from 

 observation have proved to be most 

 successful in transporting stock from 



the range into the hands of the retail- 

 ers. Now, in the case of carnations I 

 find that the best time for cutting is the 

 last thing ia the afternoon. Put them 

 in bunches of twenty-five and let them 

 stand in water in a cool room all night. 

 I might add here that the only complaint 

 I have about packing carnations is that 

 some growers will persist in slipping a 

 few splits into each bunch. 



From a business viewpoint this is poor 

 policy, because it will not be long be- 

 fore the retailer will find this out and 

 be on the lookout for them. The conse- 

 quence is that the commission man will 

 be obliged to average such stock and 

 the grower will not get the top prices 

 for his first-class stock. The better 

 plan is to bunch splits together and 

 let them be sold as splits. 



Two Methods with Dahlias. 



Another flower that is about at the 

 height of its season, in some parts of 

 the country at least, is the dahlia. I 

 find there are two ways of handling 

 dahlias. The first is, after they are cut 

 to lay them on tables in a cellar or cool 

 room and soak with water, leaving them 

 over night. The advantage of this 

 method, as claimed by those who advo- 

 cate it, is that the foliage is not injured. 

 But some growers and retailers claim 

 that the pores of the stems are thus 

 clogged up, and unless an inch or two of 

 the stem is cut off when they reach the 

 retail stores, they will not take up water 

 as they should, and wither premjiturely. 

 When it is possible this is a good plan 

 for the retailers to follow in all cases. 



Other growers find the best results 

 are obtained by cutting in the after- 

 noon and letting the blooms stand in 

 water over night. In the morning they 

 are stiff and fresh for their journey. 

 Where they have a trip by rail or boat, 

 a wooden box, heavily lined with paper, 

 packed from both ends of the box, with 

 a strip across the stems to hold them 

 in position, has proved to be best. 



These are all methods that experi- 

 ence has taught a number of growers 

 to be successful. The writer offers them 

 as suggestions. Add any one to the 

 system you are now using, and if it 

 proves helpful to anyone, the work of 

 the investigation will be repaid. 



Tate. 



WHEN IS A BILLBOARD? 



At the first sight of the illustration 

 below the reader is likely to ask, "Is 

 that one of the new billboards of 

 George Asmus?" The answer is, "No, 

 it is not a new billboard, but an old coal 



Not a Billboard, but the side of the Ce«l Shed at Hftll's Greenhouse, Clyde, d. 



