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PALMS OF PROFIT 



IN RETAIL STORE 



Palms arc a staple stock in trade of the retail florist. Fuller knowledge 

 of the different species' value and of the proper methods of caring for them 

 will enable him to make them a greater source of profit. These points are 

 discussed here in brief. 



EW retail florists' stores 

 are to be found nowadays 

 without some stock of 

 palms to offer to custom- 

 ers, although this stock 

 may vary greatly in sizes 

 A and numbers according to 

 J the location of the florist 

 and the corresponding op- 

 portunities for a profitable 

 trade in this line. But whether the 

 stock be limited to a few specimens in 

 4-inch pots or to a varied assortment of 

 species and sizes, such as may be re- 

 quired on the fashionable avenues of 

 our large cities, there is a constant de- 

 mand for these graceful and beautiful 

 plants, for there are few foliage plants 

 that are equal to them for the decora- 

 tion of the dwelling. 



There have not been many changes in 

 the species that are offered in quantitv 

 for trade purposes during the last 

 twenty-five years, for 

 it is impossible to pick 

 up a new palm and 

 propagate it extensive- 

 ly in a season or two, 

 as may be done with 

 many flowering plants, 

 for the palms are 

 grown from seeds, and 

 the latter are not home- 

 grown, but imported 

 from their native hab- 

 itat, and the seedlings 

 are in most cases com- 

 paratively slow in 

 growth. 



Kentias First. 



By far the most nu- 

 merous and popular 

 among the trade palms 

 for florists' purposes 

 are the two kentias, 

 Kentia Forsteriana and 

 K e a t i a Bclmoreana, 

 which the botanists in- 

 sist on calling Howea, 

 after cither the tiny 

 island in the South Pa- 

 cific of which these 

 palms are native, or 

 else in commemoration 

 of the person for whom 

 the island was named. 

 It is a singular fact 

 that these two varie- 

 ties should only be 

 found in a wild state 

 on this one island, Lord 

 Howe island, and that 

 the millions of seedling 

 kentias now in com- 

 merce should be de- 

 rived from seeds gath- 



By W. H. TAPLIN. 



ered in that far-off place. But the source 

 of the seed supply is probably of much 

 less interest to retail florists than the 

 question as to which is the most satis- 

 factory palm for their purposes. If one 

 had to be limited to one species of palm, 

 Kentia Forsteriana would undoubtedly 

 be the choice. This is the most rapid 

 growing, has the toughest foliage and 

 is the most adaptable of the kentias for 

 home adornment. 



Kentia Bclmoreana is the best second 

 clioice. This palm is more dwarf in 

 growth than the preceding variety, and 

 the leaves curve over so much that it 

 lias long been known by the common 

 name of "curly palm." 



For Fern Dishes. 



These two palms are not only favored 

 in the larger sizes, but are also in great 



Kentia Forsteriana Comes First in Florists* Palms. 



demand in 2V4-iiich pots for the centers 

 of fern dishes. Selected plants with a 

 shapely habit and a maximum number 

 of leaves are required for this purpose, 

 and these small plants endure the vicissi- 

 tudes of a table fernery about as well as 

 any that one may use. For the same 

 purpose Cocos Weddelliana in 2-inch and 

 3-inch pots sells readily and wears well. 

 This is perhaps the handsomest of 

 dwarf palms, from the fact that the 

 foliage is graceful and elegant in out- 

 line, and the plant shows its character 

 early in life, there seldom being more 

 than one undivided leaf on a seedling, 

 while a young plant in a 3-inch pot may 

 have five or six leaves symmetrically ar- 

 ranged, the foliage being dark green on 

 the upper side and silvery beneath. 

 The seeds of Cocos Weddelliana come 

 from Brazil, usually arriving early in 

 the spring. The plants require nearly a 

 year in which to grow from the seed to 

 ;i L'inch pot size and a 

 few months more in 

 tliat pot before they 

 ;ire of salable size. 



Areca lutescens is 

 next in importance as 

 a ])alm for the retail 

 store, and this fine spe- 

 cies is a comparatively 

 rapid grower under fa- 

 vorable conditions, 

 those conditions includ- 

 ing rich soil, plenty of 

 heat and moisture and, 

 throughout about one- 

 lialf of the year, full 

 exposure to the sun- 

 sliine. 



About Arecas. 



The arecas are usual- 

 ly grown in clumps of 

 three or four plants to- 

 gether in a pot, and 

 from the fact that this 

 palm naturally pro- 

 duces suckers around 

 the base quite early in 

 life, it seems quite 

 proper that arecas 

 should be grown in this 

 bushy form. It is some- 

 times objected on the 

 part of the buyer that 

 Areca lutescens soon 

 gives o>it when exposed 

 to the frequently diffi- 

 cult conditions that ex- 

 ist ill some retail flower 

 stores, and doubtless no 

 well informed grower 

 will claim that this 

 palm will endure as 

 much hardship as a 



