Decembeb 15, 1921 



The Florist?^ Review 



43 



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There Is Always Considerable Demand for Such Baskets as This at the Holidays. 



Camellias aro not heavy sellers; they 

 are slow of propagation and will never 

 be sold cheap. I have just received a 

 letter from a friend in the island of 

 Jersey, one of the Channel islands, and 

 he says, under date of November 27, that 

 great beds of camellias were in full 

 bloom outdoors, some of the plants 

 fifteen to twenty feet across. We who 

 handle them under glass arc satisfied 

 with plants as many inches across, and 

 when wo get specimens in tubs six to 

 ten feet in height, are extremely 

 proud. Camellias grow best in a low 

 temperature. The buds will all fall off 

 in a warm greenhouse, and in the avei- 

 age home. Camellias are not easy to 

 ship when in flower and some cotton 

 batting should be placed around each 

 bloom. 



Daphne Odora. 



Speaking of woody plants reminds me 

 of another old-fashioned, deliciously 

 fragrant plant, of which I have seen one 

 or two well bloomed littlt> specimens of 

 this .season. I refer to Daiihne odora, 

 also called indica and odorata. A native 

 of China and .Ja]inn, many plants were,|. 

 before Qu.'irantine ?,7 went into effect,^^ 

 imported via Ran Francisco. Tliis source ' 

 of sui)ply being now cut off, wc must • 

 perforce propagate it here. At one time 

 a commercial grower in Connecticut spe- 

 cialiy.ed in this jilant and had hundre<ls 

 of them. During the coal shortage some 



years ago he lost his entire stock and 

 at present no one seems to have taken 

 his place. Daphne odora can be layered, 

 grafted on other daphnes, such as 

 Mezereum, and also rooted from cut- 

 tings. At {^resent I have a plant in an 

 8-inch pan carrying over seventy-five 

 heads of flowers, and I can imagine 

 nothing more beautiful and fragrant. 

 This lovely old j)lant grows well in a 

 compost of peat, sand and leaf-mold 

 and needs a cold greenhouse. The few- 

 plants obtainable of florists sell like the 

 ]>roverbial hot cakes. 



Berried Plants. 

 Christmas plants are not complete 

 without berried subjects, and while we 

 now must i)erforce do without lots of 

 beautiful berried English hollies, skim- 

 mias and similar subjects, we now have 

 a greater abundance of berried so- 

 lanums, and the variety, Cleveland, is 

 far su])erior to all others and wonder- 

 fully fruited. There arc various types 

 of the .lenisalem cherry; the best is of 

 s])rea(ling habit and disfilays every fruit 

 to advantage. Seedlings planted out 

 anxl potted up carefully make far the 

 best jilants. This is a most satisfactory 

 and popular plant, which can be profit- 

 ably retailed at a comparatively low 

 price nnd will not fail to give satisfac- 

 tion. The yellow-fruited solanum only 

 sells moderately well and has not ;t tak- 

 ing Christmas color. 



Of ardisias we have a fair number. 

 They hold their fruits almost indefinite- 

 ly and are great keepers. They will 

 never be cheap plants, like solanunis, as 

 they are of such slow growth. Otalieite 

 oranges make splendid holiday plants, 

 and more growers each season seem to 

 have mastered the knack of successfully 

 coloring them in season. Plants with 

 green fruits simply will not sell at all. 

 A lirisk heat, plenty of sun and free 

 syringing is needed some time in ad- 

 vance of Christmas in order to have well 

 ripened plants. The average retail price 

 on these this season seems to be 50 cents 

 per fruit, and at that price the number 

 of the larger specimens sold is, of course, 

 not great. Tlie best call is for i)lants 

 carrying eight to twelve oranges each. 

 There are also Christmas peppers, more 

 delicate and less valuable than the 

 solanums, but even when plants cannot 

 l)e sold they can be cut down and the 

 fruits used in mixed Christmas wreaths. 



Some Annuals. 

 The soft -wooded greenhouse annuals 

 are useful at Christmas and ]ieo])le of 

 iiioderati^ means are glad to purchase one 

 of the ])rimulas, of which several ar<> ob 

 tninable. P. obconica is in good condi- 

 tion; so is P. sinensis. There are some 

 1'. malacoides, the most graceful and 

 decorative of all the primroses, but 

 Christmas does not see it at its be.-tt : 

 towards s]iring it is vastly better. 



