

28 



The Florists' Review 



October 21. 1920 



cessful flowering of sweet peas in mid- 

 winter is a protracted period of cloudy 

 weather. Three to five days of such 

 weather, unless the growth is well har- 

 dened, will drop a crop of buds. Ex- 

 perimenting last season, we found that 

 by running ^e plants quite dry at the 

 roots, beginning early in the fall, we 

 got the growth hardened to th^ point 

 where it produced short-stemmed flowers 

 continuously until the end of February. 

 They were never long-stemmed, but were 

 there when normally grown vines were 

 bare. The vines did not grow over six 

 feet high and produced about sixty per 

 cent of a normal crop. 



Long-stemmed flowers and vigorous 

 growth are to be had only at the expense 

 of some bud-dropping, even in normal 

 winters. "When the sun fails to show it- 

 self for three or four days, we begin to 

 drop the temperature until it gets to 

 45 degrees at night. If this is not done, 

 the growth will run up thin and soft. 

 Keeping the air cool overcomes to an 

 extent the weakening effect of the dark 

 weather, allowing the plants to conserve 

 their energy. During favorable weather 

 the day temperature is kept at 60 de- 

 grees on cloudy days and 65 to 70 de- 

 grees in sunshine. An excess of nitrog- 

 enous manure produces a heavy, soft 

 growth that does not hold buds in the 

 winter. No form of this element should 

 be applied, but dependence should be 

 placed on what is naturally in all soils 

 and manures and what this leguminous 

 plant gathers for itself. 



Watering Ground Beds. 



The deeper we get into winter, the 

 less water should be applied. During 

 November, December and January we 

 do not find it necessary to water ground 

 beds more than once or twice thoroughly. 

 Our beds, partly on account of the nature 

 of oiir location, are well drained. Wc 

 know growers whose location is such 

 that watering of ground beds is unneces- 

 sary throughout these three months. A 

 soft, rank growth, which does not hold 

 buds, will follow if the soil docs not 

 dry out promptly. 



Before applying water, the soil should 

 be examined to the bottom; if it will 

 ball up in the hand, water is not needed. 

 When steam pipes dry the surface soil 

 excessively along the edge of a bed, a 

 light watering should be done about the 

 base of the plants to keep down spider, 

 but a general syringing should be un- 

 necessary during the winter months. 



Beginning to Feed. 



Feeding the plants should be unneces- 

 sary until late in February, or when 

 the growth begins to harden or the 

 flower stems to shorten. In March ma- 

 nure may be applied liberally as a top- 

 dressing; besides feeding the plants, 

 this holds a more even moisture and 

 keeps the roots cooler, lengthening tlio 

 life of the plants. 



After a raised bench is well filled 

 with roots, it will stand a regular water- 

 ing. Late in winter, as the flowers 

 shorten up, it is hardly possible to ovor- 

 water them. If feeding seems necessary, 

 acid phosphate may be used at any time. 

 When this has been mixed with the soil 

 before planting, we have been unable to 

 notice any results when it is applied 

 later. After all, the grower must study 

 out for himself the amount of feeding 

 his plants will stand, for it depends nn 

 their health and growing activity. Un- 

 less sweet peas are in a state of vigorous 

 health they will not pay; they should be 



thrown otit and the crop resown. This 

 can be profitably done at any time before 

 spring. 



Sweet Peas to Follow Mums. 



When planted after a crop of mums, 

 good-sized sweet pea plants should be 

 used. These after-mum plants are usu- 

 ally grown cool — at a temperature not 

 over 40 degrees until February, when 

 they can be pushed along at 50 degrees. 

 They should be in full crop for Easter, 

 whatever its date. A temperature close 

 to freezing has a vitalizing effect on 

 young plants; they will even stand a 

 light freeze. But after they get well 

 started a temperature below 40 degrees 

 seems to stunt them and a freeze cuts 



St« Louis Bride and Her Bouquet. 



them down. Growing them cool at this 

 time establishes the strong root system 

 that is necessary if high-grade flowers 

 are wanted. If hurried along with 

 more heat they get into crop earlier, 

 with correspondingly weaker flowers. 

 If pushed into crop in February, they 

 have to compete with the heavy crop 

 of short-stemmed flowers the early plant- 

 ings jiroduce at this time, and with a 

 few warm spells in April they are fin- 

 ished off. If grown cooler they are at 

 their best for Easter and Mothers' day. 

 In these days of high-priced coal, it 

 would be poor business indeed to grow 

 this late crop in any other way. 



An After-Aster Pea Crop. 



For several years an important crop 

 with us has been one following indoor 

 asters that are out early in September. 

 The peas of this planting arc liberally 

 spaced and grown cool until February 1, 

 when they have a heavy, strong growth. 



With the increasing sunlight and risii^ 

 temperature they soon get into crop with 

 the best grade of flowers we grow. Frf ni 

 these we get a fair crop for St. Valen- 

 tine 's day and a heavy crop for the best 

 sweet pea days of the season, Eastor 

 and Mothers' day. The rows of this 

 planting are run across the bed and are 

 spaced three feet apart. Between these 

 rows pompon mums that have been gro^s'- 

 ing outdoors are planted. These rows 

 will stand four to five feet high ut 

 Christmas and will not produce too much 

 shade for stevias planted between them. 

 Calendulas, pansies, violets, or any 

 plants that thrive in a cool temperature 

 and do not require full exposure, will 

 do well between these rows until well 

 into January. The early plantings of 

 peas become too tall and the late ones 

 are planted too closely for any of these 

 catch crops. 



BRIDE OF OTTO H. KUNOEB. 



When Miss Catherine O'Neil became 

 the bride of Otto H. Klinger, buyer for 

 Grimm & Gorly, of St. Louis, she car- 

 ried a bouquet especially designed for 

 her by Henri Durenberg, of that firm. 

 How much the bouquet served to aug- 

 ment the charm of her wedding gown is 

 indicated in the accompanying photo- 

 graph. As the picture would indicate, 

 the wedding was a beautiful event, and 

 the floral decorations added a touch of 

 splendor to the beautiful gowns worn 

 by the bride and her maids. 



Both Frank and Vincent Gorly were 

 present at the wedding festivities, and 

 besides offering Mr. and Mrs. Klinger 

 their best wishes, in behalf of the firm, 

 presented them with a handsome silver 

 service. 



Mr. and Mrs. Klinger have returned 

 from a wedding tour, and will reside in 

 St. Louis. 



CATERPILLAB MAY BE CAUSE. 



We are sending a sample of Aspara- 

 gus plumosus. The beds were beauti- 

 ful, but all of the plants are now be- 

 ginning to look like this one. We can- 

 not find any insect that we think could 

 cause this trouble. C. F. C. — Miss. 



The specimen of Asparagus plumosus 

 sent wuth this query looks as though 

 the tips had been eaten off by the fern 

 caterpillar, and it is possible that the 

 fern caterpillar is the cause of the 

 trouble. Get some pyrethrum powder 

 and give the plants a good dusting with 

 this insecticide, a powder bellows beinj: 

 the best tool with which to apply the 

 powder. Repeat the dose at least oner 

 a week for a time. W. H. T. 



OBITUARY. 



Edward Cliarles Horan. 



Edward Charles Horan, who for thirty 

 three years has been prominent as a 

 wholesale florist in the New York cu' 

 flower market and whose place of busi 

 ness has of late been in the new market, 

 at 43 West Eighteenth street, died Mon 

 day night, October 18, of pneumonia, 

 following a severe cold with asthmatic 

 troubles. Mr. Iloran was born at Bridge- 

 port, Conn., and was 65 years old. He 

 was twice married and is survived by 

 his wife, two daughters and a son. He 

 was possessed of a most lovable disposi- 

 tion and was held in high regard by the 

 trade. J. H. P. 



