■if -■'■/< 'K-H'^r-^ 



OCTOBER 28, 1920 



The Florists' Review 



23 



Field of the ''Non-IateraP Aster^ Peach Blossom^ Showing Size and Freedom. 



say which was the more beautiful, Peach 

 Blossom or the light blue. The latter 

 seems, if anything, even more vigorous 

 than the former, while the color is an 

 inimitable shade of light blue that is 

 most captivating. 



There are other fine colors, all care- 

 fully rogued where necessary, and pre- 

 sumably all will be offered for sale dur- 

 ing the coming season. Besides these, 

 Mr, Howard has been working with the 

 flat-petaled or peony-flowered type and 

 has a number of fine colors. These 

 strains are well suited for florists' use. 



New Dahlia. 



But not only asters are seen at this 

 interesting place. There is a most dis- 

 tinct strain of dahlias. The flowers are 

 unique and the nearest approach to a 

 description is to say that they come 

 intermediately between a collarette dah- 

 lia and a double form of Pyrethrum 

 roseum. They have all the gem-like 

 colors of the collarettes, are borne on 

 stiff stems and are of every imaginable 

 shade. The centers are beautifully 

 quilled and as a flower for florists' bas- 

 kets it is hard to beat. This is de- 

 cidedly one of the most wonderful 

 breaks in dahlias of recent years. 



The petunias are also excellent. The 

 Howard & Smith strain may be called a 

 glorified edition of the well known 

 Kuflaed Giant of California. The color 

 range is wide and the throat markings 

 rival the choicest gloxinias, with im- 



mense flowers six to eight inches across. 

 All poor colors are rigorously discarded, 

 nothing being left that does not come up 

 to the high standard set by this firm. 



Begonia Hybrid. 



All manner of blooms and colors 

 tempt the eye, but one thing must 

 be mentioned, and that is the new cross 

 in begonias. When in Central America 

 collecting for this fi*rm, Cecil Hart 

 found a distinct species of begonia, 

 which was afterwards named Begonia 

 JHarti. This has been crossed with the 

 tuberous-rooted varieties, and the re- 

 sulting seedlings open up a great range 

 of possibilities. The strain is not yet 

 fully developed, but already there are 

 varieties throwing five or six double 

 flowers to a stem and the single blooms 

 that occur on each side of the ordinary 

 tuberous-rooted varieties are being 

 eliminated. The beautiful foliage, fine 

 habit and constant flowering propensi- 

 ties of these hybrids promise well for a 

 winter-blooming variety, quite distinct 

 from anything so far seen. Apparently 

 a race as free-blooming as the semper- 

 florens varieties, with flowers as large as 

 the Veitchii hybrids and a wonderful 

 range of color, is in prospect. It will 

 be of great interest to watch its devel- 

 opment. H. B. Bichards. 



BOOTINa PETX7NIAS. 



Can you tell me how to root peta> 

 niast I have had no success with them. 

 Is there any particular time of the year 

 to take the cuttings f 



L. A. T.— Mich. 



Bockford, IlL — Charles Cherry & Co. 

 have sold out to Swan Peterson & Son. 



Select some of the best plants of the 

 petunias and plant them outdoors in a 

 frame where they can be watered and 

 kept clean of weeds. If properly cared 

 for, these plants will make good growth 

 and furnish an abundance of cuttings 

 for propagating late in Sept^nber or 

 early in October, before frost strikes 

 them. This is one of the best periods 

 for rooting petunias. A few plants 

 planted on a bench at the end of a 

 greenhouse will also yield a crop of 

 cuttings for rooting during Jhe winter 

 months. You should not har^Nnjy trou- 

 ble in rooting the cuttings taken from 

 these plants grown on a bench, but 

 they will not root so easily if taken 

 from pot-grown stock. I always aim to 

 get most of our petunias propagated from 

 the frames in the fall of the year. 

 Then, if not enough stock can be ob- 

 tained, a few plants are planted on a 

 bench for cuttings to root during the 

 winter months. The cuttings require 

 clean, fresh propagating sand and a 

 bottom heat of 60 to 65 degrees, as 

 well as extra care in the watering of 

 the propagating sand to guard against 

 its becoming sour. M. P. 



