14 



The Florists^ Review 



May 31, 1917, 



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SEASONABLE Mt 

 X SUGGESTIONS 



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The Spraying Season. 



We have reached the season when 

 insect pests once more "will give us 

 considerable trouble. Tlianks to the 

 cool season, their ravages up to date 

 have been comparatively negligible. 

 But a burst of heat would send them 

 forth in incredible numbers and we 

 must have our spraying outfit in con- 

 dition and have the necessary poisons 

 and insecticides on hand when needed. 

 For leaf-eating caterpillars, such as 

 cankerworms, gypsy moths, brown-tail 

 moths, elm beetles, etc., arsenate of 

 lead at the rate of four pounds to fifty 

 gallons of water is the best remedy. If 

 dry arsenate of lead is used, only half 

 the weight need be employed and I 

 have found it fully as efficacious. For 

 black and green aphis, a nicotine or 

 soap spray answers well. "White fly can 

 be killed by a contact spray, but the 

 trouble is that it is too restless. The 

 lace-wing fly on rhododendrons can be 

 destroyed by a soap spray, but it is nec- 

 essary to use a nozzle ejecting a fine, 

 misty spray and sending it upward, as 

 the pests are all found on the lower 

 sides of the foliage. Two or three 

 sprayings are necessary to keep them in 

 subjection. Hellebore dusted on the 

 bushes while the foliage is damp will 

 get the rose slug and currant worm. For 

 cutworms a poisoned mash of fresh 

 shorts, molasses and water with suffi- 

 cient Paris green to color it, scattered 

 about the haunts in the evening, will 

 destroy large numbers. 



The Eock Garden. 



A feature in American horticulture, 

 which is rapidly becoming a dominant 

 one, is rock gardening. A year or two 

 ago any idea of successful rock garden- 

 ing here was pooh-poohed, but it has 

 been conclusively shown that, in spite 

 of our hot summers and severe winters, 

 we can grow hundreds of varieties of 

 rock and alpine plants. Many people 

 have land which is not adaptable for 

 the culture of shrubs, annuals, or the 

 stronger growing herbs. By the use of 

 some old field stone, well weather-worn, 

 it is not difficult to start a little rock 

 garden on such land and, once estab- 

 lished and planted in an informal way, 

 the delights are sure to encourage the 

 grower to develop a little each year. 

 Florists should encourage and assist in 

 developing tliis branch of gardening and 

 in no better way can they do it than 

 by planting a small rockery themselves. 

 Tlie majority of rock plants need full 

 sun. Some, like the primulas, need par- 

 tial shade. The bulk are readily raised 

 from seed. At present in the rock gar- 

 den the Phlox subulata and divaricata, 

 aubrictias, saxifragas, violas, myosotis, 

 primulas, some campanulas, cerastiums, 

 epimediums, geums, dwarf iris, hardy 

 candytufts, alyssums, arabis, anemones, 

 trilliums and many bulbous subjects 

 make a glorious sliow and fresh va- 

 rieties are o])ening daily. There is a 

 vast undeveloped field here. Why not 

 help to develop it and raise a good 

 batch of suitable plants for the purpose? 



Of course, quite a few evergreens are 

 available for rock gardening; so are 

 occasional tall growing plants, like 

 eremuri, yuccas, foxgloves, verbascums 

 and lilies, but the bulk of the plants are 

 low growing and wonderfully beautiful. 



Some Useful Annuals. 



If you have not sown all the annuals 

 needed, the present is a good time to 

 start a batch for late summer flower- 

 ing of such plants as hunnemannia, 

 Shirley and other poppies, Gypsophila 

 elegans, larkspurs, lupines, clarkias, 

 nemesias, candytuft, coreopsis and 

 many others. Also start some asters 

 and stocks in a frame and give these 

 a transplanting before placing them in 

 the field. Keep the cultivator going 

 persistently among all flower crops. 

 The deficiency in plant fertilizers can 

 be overcome in large measure by keep- 

 ing the surface soil constantly tickled. 



Left Over Spiraeas. 



If you have any left over Spiraea 

 Gladstone, astilboides, Ceres, Peach 

 Blossom, Queen Alexandra or other 

 good spiraeas, plant them out in good 

 soil now. Do not try to force them 

 again next winter. If you wait until 

 the fall of 1918 you can safely dig up 

 and force them again, and your clumps 

 will be vastly ahead in quality of any 



you can buy. As there is a probability 

 of no Dutch bulbs or roots coming i;, 

 next fall, we should try to grow som 

 few subjects ourselves and anyon 

 with good soil can succeed wit;. 

 spiraeas. 



Cold Storage Lilies. 



Longiflorum lilies are useful whei 

 there is a call for design work rigl 

 through the summer. Now is a sui 

 able time to secure and pot a batch r 

 these cold storage bulbs. Do the po 

 ting as soon as possible after the bulb 

 are received. It spoils these bull 

 quickly to let them lie around in a dr 

 shed. They should go in 5-iilch pot 

 and, if fairly moist loam is used, the 

 need not be watered. Stand them on 

 shed floor, on a cellar floor or below 

 greenhouse bench, provided it is f re ■ 

 from drip. They will soon start t 

 make both roots and growths, when the 

 can be moved to a bench in a wan, 

 house. It does not pay to start toy 

 many of these lilies at a time durin<; 

 hot weather, as they come along quite 

 rapidly. You will know how many 

 your trade will use and pot them ac- 

 cordingly. Many bulb dealers special 

 ize in cold storage lilies and you should 

 get them in small lots from these dealer? 

 as needed. 



Erie, Pa. — William Honeysett says 

 one of his best paying houses is the 

 vinery from which he gathers an an- 

 nual harvest of luscious Gros Colman 

 and Sweetwater grapes. 



Evanston, 111. — George M. Meier is 

 overhauling his place at 1210 South 

 boulevard and preparing for another 

 season. He has had excellent success 

 with callas grown from big bulbs 

 planted out in the benches. 





SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS 

 FOR SOUTHERN FLORISTS 



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GIGANTEUMS IN THE SOUTH. 



These lilies are an important crop in 

 the south during the summer months. 

 Two or three bulbs may be potted in a 

 6-inch pot and the pots placed under a 

 bench until well started, when they 

 may be brought into the light. The 

 main thing to watch in their culture, be- 

 sides proper watering, is to see that the 

 aphis is thoroughly kept away. It is 

 surprising how quickly this pest can 

 ruin a whole batch if allowed undis- 

 turbed possession for a few days. In- 

 sure the crop by keeping this pest down. 



L. 



Keep the shoots pinched until the end 

 of August or later if the crop is wanted 

 to last until the holidays. A night tem- 

 perature of 55 degrees suits them bettei 

 than a lower one. The plants want 

 support exactly like carnations. L. 



BOUVARDIAS IN THE SOUTH. 



Bouvardias do remarkably well in 

 the south, but to do their best they 

 should be plainted indoors. Now is a 

 good time to plant. They seem to do 

 equally well on either solid beds or 

 benches. A good carnation soil will 

 suit tlieir requirements. Space the 

 young plants 12x14 inches. Two-year- 

 old plants that liave been cut back 

 will require a little more room. Keep 

 them clear of weeds and stir the surface 

 soil occasionally. They require quite 

 a lot of water when growing freely. 



HARDY PLANTS FOR THE SOUTH. 



Now is a good time to sow seeds of 

 many of the hardy plants, such as fever- 

 fews, campanulas, hollyhocks, larkspurs, 

 Shasta daisies, foxgloves, gypsophilas, 

 etc. The seeds can be sown in a cold 

 frame and handled in pots until bijj; 

 enough to be set out in the field, where 

 they will make fine clumps for next 

 spring's sales. The campanulas arc 

 probably better grown in pots entirely, 

 especially if wanted for early spring 

 blooms. This plant sells readily as a 

 pot plant and the blooms of the blue 

 variety also find favor. There seems to 

 be an increasing demand each year for 

 plants like these and there is really 

 more money in them than in many of 

 the soft spring plants. Cultivate tho 

 plants each week in the field and you 

 will be surprised at the result. All of 

 these will not succeed in the more 

 southern states, but in the northern sec- 

 tion they do well, L. 



