24 



The Florists' Review 



SEPTEMBElt 8, 1921 



MAKING MORE FLOWER BUYERS. 



Upbuilding Out Business. 



In tlie article in The Review of Sep- 

 tember 1 we were discussing the ques- 

 tion, "What is the outlook for the flo- 

 rists' business during the coming sea- 

 son?" Assuming that the business will 

 be just what florists themselves choose 

 to make it, let us consider in this ar- 

 ticle some of the things florists may do 

 in order to keep the business on the 

 high plane it now occupies. 



None of us can tell for a certainty 

 what the future holds in store for us. 

 At best, we can but be guided by gen- 

 eral conditions in the commercial world. 

 Wlipn we hear of large factories being 

 shut down or running on half time, it 

 means a proportionate reduction in divi- 

 dends. Admitting for the sake of argu- 

 ment that the workers arc not the flo- 

 rists' important customers, when you 

 touch dividends you are touching the 

 purse of those whom some of us arc 

 wont to look upon as the natural flower 

 buyers. 



Way Won by Work. 



Why should we look upon any class 

 in this country as natural flower buyers? 

 Florists are the last men in the country 

 who should do this. The business itself 

 should teach them differently. 



Let me give you an example. The 

 writer can remember when as a boy he 

 worked in his father's range, in which 

 there was a rose house containing Saf- 

 rano, Isabella Sprunt and Bon Silene. 

 These were considered the best roses 

 of the day. As I go into a modern range 

 today and look at Premier, Madame 

 Butterfly, Columbia, etc., I often think 

 of that old rose house with its 10x12 

 glass and its brick flues. How has this 

 improvement been brought about? The 

 first-mentioned varieties were certainly 

 tlie natural varieties of that time, but 

 by brains, patience and hard work the 

 new and better varieties have taken 

 their place. Had it not been for such 

 men as E. Gurney Hill, Dr. Van Fleet 

 and John Cook, men with a vision of the 

 future, we might still be growing those 

 old varieties. No, we are not going to 

 admit that the florists' industry de- 

 pends upon such a thing as a natural 

 flower buyer, for when we speak of this 

 it is just another name for the wealthy 

 class. 



What the business depends upon is 

 the flower lover, for, be he rich or poor, 

 he is not going to buy flowers unless 

 he loves them. Realizing this, the next 

 thing is to create a love for flowers in 

 the hearts of the public, and then put 

 flowers within the reach of all. This 

 brings us to the gist of this article: 

 How is all this to be done? In the first 

 place, by education, and there is no end 

 to the ways we can educate the public 

 in the use of flowers. Every florist can 

 be an educator. The next important step 

 is eflieient and better production. 



Means of Education. 



The methods of education that I am 

 going to touch upon in this article be- 

 long to the retailer and grower alike. 



We shall leave out the most important 

 iiu'thoil of education, ])ublicity, and 

 take up those methods that to some 

 seem less important. The first impor- 

 tant thing is to be educated yourself. 

 Don't forget that none of us can impart 

 education in flowers or anything else 

 until we know our subject ourselves. 

 One of the most successful florists 1 

 know is a woman who has spent a long 

 life in a retail store. When customers 

 come in they will have no one else wait 

 upon them. She never misses an oppor- 

 tunity to use the botanical name of any- 

 thing she is selling. For instance, a cus- 

 tomer will come in and say, "How 

 much is that fern?" Or, perhaps, 

 "Isn't that a lovely fern?" She will 

 come back with, "That's Nephrolepis 

 elegantissima; that plant is $5." Or, 

 perhaps, she will tell what a fine house 

 variety it is. If any plant comes into the 

 store with which she is not familiar, the 

 first thing she does is to find out all 

 about it. When you can tell customers 

 the name and habit of a plant it gives 

 them confidence in you, and you are not 



only disseminating education, but im- 

 proving your salesmanship as well. 



Another important matter in the win- 

 dow or in the store is to have a neat card 

 on each vase telling the varieties. For 

 instance, take a vase of Columbia in a 

 window. Someone will stop and admire 

 it, never thinking of the name. But 

 have a card on it, "New Rose, Colum- 

 bia, ' ' and i)erhaps the next day that 

 person will read in the society news that 

 ' ' Mrs. Moneybags carried Columbia 

 roses at the reception last night." This 

 will immediately recall your roses and 

 your place. This is all education. 

 There are any number of just such sim- 

 ple things that every one of us must 

 study out for ourselvea. 



The Growers' Part. 



What is the growers' part in all of 

 this? It is their duty, by using the 

 most efficient methods possible, to re- 

 duce the cost of production to the low- 

 est possible figure, so that they, as well 

 as the middleman and retailer, may have 

 a fair margin of profit and yet put their 

 product into the hands of the consumer 

 at a reasonable price. And by all means 

 they ought to see to it that their stock 

 is the best they can produce. 



If we will all get together and work 

 along such lines as these, there will be 

 no question as to what the future of the 

 business will be. Tate. 



THRIPS ON ROSES. 



Under separate cover I am mailing 

 a sample of our Kaiserin rose plants. I 

 should like to know what is wrong. The 

 plants were kept cool during the winter 

 and started early this spring. They 

 were doing exceptionally well in the 

 first part of the summer, up to about 

 the beginning of July. The sample is 

 one of the worst I could find and the 

 plants on an average seem to be doing 

 better again. The new growth is 

 healthy in color. The weather was ex- 

 tremely hot during June and in the first 

 part of July. N. N. — Minn. 



The specimen rose plant received 

 showed signs of being badly infested 

 with thrips. The hot, dry weather of 

 June and July made it a trying time for 

 plants under glass, especially for tho 

 rose plants in bloom. The petals of the 

 buds sent were covered with thrips. The 

 variety Kaiserin, with the waxy ti-xturo 

 of its flowers, is highly susceptible to 

 the attacks of thrips, which ]iunctuie 



the petals and spoil them. As soon as 

 the weather becomes cooler there will 

 be less trouble from the pest, but in the 

 meantime I would suggest that you 

 spray the plants with nicotine extract 

 about twice a week and cut down on 

 the syringing of the plants, so that their 

 foliage will become harder, better able 

 to withstand insect attacks and less 

 susceptible to disease. M. P. 



SPANWORM ON ROSES. 



We should like to know what insect 

 it is that is eating our rose leaves. We 

 are sending a sample loaf. 



L. S. G.— Minn. 



It is hard to tell from the sample leaf 

 just what may be eating the rose leaves, 

 but from the appearance I am inclined 

 to believe that it is caused by what is 

 commonly known as the spanworm, a 

 worm about two or three inches long, 

 and with legs on both ends of its body. 

 These two sets of legs cause it to travel 

 along the stem as if it were measuring 

 or spanning it; hence its name. 



This worm clings closely to the stem 

 during the day and seems able to change 

 its color to conform to the color of its 

 support. On that account it is hard to 

 find. The worm usually eats the buds 



