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The FIorists^Rcvicw 



June 28, 1917. 



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Primula Malacoides. 



The first week in July is sufficiently 

 early to make a sowing of Primula mal- 

 acoides, that easily grown and decora- 

 tive primrose. Many growers make a 

 mistake in sowing seeds in winter or 

 early spring, at the same time as P. 

 obconica and P. sinensis; such plants 

 become far too large and cumbersome. 

 P. malacoides has grown in favor rap- 

 idly during the last two or three years 

 and now stands at the head of the green- 

 house primroses in popularity. From 

 seeds sown in early July plants may be 

 had in ii-inch to 7-inch pots or pans for 

 winter flowering. There are bright pink 

 forms of P. malacoides now offered 

 which will be found to sell particularly 

 well. Grow this primula in a coldframe 

 until the end of October, then give it a 

 cool greenhouse. It is comparatively 

 hardy and has withstood zero tempera- 

 tures in pockets in a well drained rock 

 garden with a light mulch of leaves. 



Show Pelargoniums. 



As the flowering season for pelargo- 

 niums passes the plants should be placed 

 outdoors and laid on their sides in a 

 sunny location. They will need no fur- 

 ther attention for some weeks, until the 

 wood has turned a nutty brown color 

 and much of the foliage has fallen, when 

 they can be pruned back quite hard and 

 placed in a coldframe where protection 

 from torrential rains can be given. 

 Water the plants sparingly, but spray 

 them freely and they will soon break 

 away, wlien tliey can l)e shaken out and 

 repotted in smaller-sized pots. 



Primula Obconica. 



While Primula obconica can be grown 

 in a greenliouse through the hot months, 

 it will thrive mucli better in a coldframe 

 where tlie saslies are well elevated over 

 tlie ])lants and shade is afforded by lath 

 screens. The j)lants will be l)enefited 

 by liaving the saslies removed in tlie 

 evening, unless tliunder storms seem im- 

 minent. P. sinensis and P. kewensis 

 succeed well under the same treatment 

 as P. obconica. Another metliod of cul- 

 ture which will give large, liandsome 

 jdaiits is to plant out tlie jirimulas in a 

 compost of loam, well decayed manure, 

 leaf-mold and sand, and lift the i)lants 

 carefully with good ])alls, in early Octo- 

 ber. If kept well sliaded and sprayed 

 for a few days, after careful lifting and 

 potting the plants will lose few leaves 

 and soon become establislied in ])ots. 



Marguerites for Christmas. 

 Only tlio small-flowered wliite mar- 

 guerites are valuable for midwinter 

 ))looming. The yellow varieties do not 

 make sliapely pot plants and neither 

 tliese nor Mrs. Sander and Queen Alex- 

 andra are satisfactory bloomers in early 

 winter. If you have plants of the small- 

 flowered and bushy-habited marguerites, 

 tlie plants should be kept potted and 

 pinched from time to time. Tliey will 

 lie better if jilunged in a bed of coal 

 ashes. They will jiersist in throwing 



shoots carrying flower buds, but keep 

 them pinched back, and if the pinching 

 is stopped about September 20 the 

 plants can be had in full flower for 

 Christmas. 



Tuberous-Rooted Plants. 



Such plants as begonias, gloxinias, 

 gesneras and achimenes are useful dur- 

 ing the hot summer months. Each re- 

 quires shade from direct sunshine, or the 

 foliage will soon become disfigured. As 

 the plants become established in their 

 pots, give them occasional applications 

 of liquid manure and soot water. This 

 will keep the foliage a rich, dark green 

 color and intensify the colors of the 

 blooms. All these tuberous-rooted 

 plants are of comparatively easy cul- 

 ture, but they are liable to be attacked 

 by thrips in warm, dry weather. If 

 they are fumigated once a week, how- 

 ever, they can be kept clean. The 

 achimenes will be found especially well 

 adapted for basket culture, as are some 

 of the drooping forms of begonias. 



Adiantums. 



All the maidenhair ferns are now 

 making strong growth and will need an 



abundant water supply. In addition, do 

 not be afraid to give them liquid cow 

 manure water. It is not generally 

 known how much these ferns relish cow 

 manure, both in the soil and in liquid 

 form. I looked over a bed of adian- 

 tums the other day which had made an 

 astonishing growth, and I noticed that 

 a mulch of cow manure was mainly re- 

 sponsible for their luxuriant appear- 

 ance. I can remember that when an ap- 

 prentice I was cautioned never to apply 

 manure water to maidenhair ferns, or 

 they would be ruined, but time has 

 proved some old teachings to be wrong. 



WINTER-FLOWERING PLANTS. 



Can you suggest some good stock 

 to take the place of primulas and 

 cinerarias for winter-flowering plants? 

 The obconica primulas proved quite 

 poisonous last winter and cinerarias 

 seem to have lost favor with the pub- 

 lic, so I do not care to try them again 

 this season. I would like to grow 

 something that requires about the 

 same temperature as these plants. 



F. G.— 111. 



Try Primula malacoides in place of 

 P. obconica, but do not sow until early 

 in July. This is a better primula than 

 obconica and is not poisonous. It needs 

 cool culture. Try Schizanthus wise- 

 tonensis in place of cinerarias, sowing 

 seed about September 1. Cyclamens do 

 well under cool culture and sell well. 

 Primula sinensis could be grown, but 

 this variety has little foliage and 

 shakes badly, being decidedly inferior 

 to P. malacoides. C. W. 



Mews' from 



roQ 



Hillegom, Holland. — In the dissolu- 

 tion of the firm of R. Van der Schoot & 

 Son, the land, stocks and customers' 

 accounts liave been divided equally 

 among the three brothers, R. A., J. B. 

 and A. C. Van der Schoot, comprising 

 the firm, each of whom will trade under 

 his own name in future. 



London, England. — One of the com- 

 pensations of the times is the discovery 

 that flowers are more appreciated than 

 ever, that the retailer can sell more and 

 at ])etter prices than ever before. "I 

 know at least one wholesale grower of 

 roses for cut flowers," says a writer in 

 a trade paper, "who had a record year 

 last season. When one can get the stock, 

 it sells, from l)edding jilants to fruit 

 trees. " 



Paris, France. — The .journal of the 

 Federation of JVench Horticultural As- 

 sociations, formerly a monthly, now 

 quarterly, has made its ap])earance near- 

 ly three months overdue, but the editor 

 explains he has lacked labor for type- 

 setting, coal, gas and electricity for the 

 works, experienced a shortage of ])ai)er 

 and been ill himself. The entrance of 

 America into tlie world struggle is 

 liailed l)y an eloquent address of wel- 

 come from the federation to all the 

 professional horticulturists of the 

 United States. 



Rotterdam, Holland. — The winter now 

 ended has been the coldest in Holland 

 since 1901. The bulb acreage put out 

 last autumn was not so large as usual 

 and there were some losses, due to in- 

 sufficient covering. Stock in warehouses 

 also suffered, because fuel sometimes 

 was unobtainable even at prices double 

 those known before the war. 



Paris, France. — French bulb growers 

 are uneasy lest the prohibition on the 

 import of bulbs from foreign countries 

 into England be extended, during the 

 current year, to apply to France, which 

 has hitherto been excepted from the 

 general proliibition. The growers have 

 prepared tlieir crop for 1917, and feel 

 that it would be a hardship, involving 

 huge loss, if the liarvest were excluded 

 from tliese islands. Several of the 

 larger organizations representing the 

 interests of the bulb growers ap- 

 proaclied the French government on the 

 subject. Monsieur Clementel replied 

 that he had placed the matter before 

 the Englisli government, representing 

 to them the advantages of permitting 

 the entry into Britain of the products 

 of the French bulb growers. It has 

 since been stated, however, that the 

 French office of the British Board of 

 Trade lias said that no bulbs of what- 

 ever origin will be admitted into Eng- 

 land this vear. 



