24 



The Rorists* Rcvie>^ 



Septembeu 22, 1921 



the cultivation of such plants as prom- 

 ised the best profits. The lines pre- 

 ferred were thus vegetable and flower 

 growing, during the first year seed pro- 

 duction, and especially the growing of 

 fruit trees. Overproduction of vege- 

 tables soon rendered this line unprofit- 

 able for outsiders, and seed production 

 speedily shared the same fate, so that 

 large quantities of old seed are still 

 being offered in vain for sale. Flowers, 

 too, soon ceased to find such a ready 

 market as before, especially outside 

 flowers, while others, such as roses, car- 

 nations, orchids, lilies of the valley, 

 lilacs and mums, found a ready sale. 

 Fruit trees remained, and remain 

 up to now, one of the few lines finding 

 ready sale at profitable prices; the rea- 

 son for this is that several years are 

 required for growing. 



On Boad to Normalcy. 



The ultimate result of all these fluc- 

 tuations has been the return of all spe- 

 cial raisers and special growers to their 

 specialties, in spite of the uncertain 

 conditions and the coal shortage, and 

 today we may safely assert that in re- 

 spect to quality the pre-war standard 

 has been once more attained and, in 

 some cases, surpassed, though this may 

 not always be the case with regard to 

 the quantity. The cause of this is to 

 be found in the limited and altered 

 markets; a number of the allied coun- 

 tries, Russia, Poland, Austria, Hungary 

 and other states do not figure as buyers 

 at present. But where there has been 

 actual demand as stimulant the reports 

 are encouraging. The seedsmen of Er- 

 furt and Quedlinburg and the growers 

 of specialties in valuable flower seeds 

 are again working at their best, both as 

 regards quality and quantity. The 

 activity of the raisers has already re- 

 sulted in the appearance of novelties 

 of high value, while others are to be 

 brought out shortly. The exports in 

 this line steadily increase. The cheap 

 general trade quality is almost pre- 

 ferred, while the high-bred specialties 

 are rather difiicult to sell in foreign 

 markets, although there is but little or 

 no difference in prices. At this time 

 quantities of cyclamen seeds are 

 brought together from all sources and 

 from all growers, with the exception of 

 the leading specialists, whose crops are 

 generally bespoken long before ripened. 

 Certain foreign agents arc developing 

 an astonishing activity in buying from 

 all sides seeds which find, for the 

 greater part, no market here, owing to 

 their low quality, and perhaps these 

 seeds will one day or another appear 

 in foreign countries under the head: 

 German strain. This would, of course, 

 do much harm to the Oerman specialists 

 in high-bred strains and last, but not 

 least, to the buyers of such seeds, who 

 will lose time and money in growing 

 their plants from such seeds. 



The cultivation of lilies of the valley 

 lias regained its onrlior standard of peV- 

 feetion, and before long the full pre- 

 war production will liave been attained 

 again. It is difficult to get the best 

 quality in liands and the production is 

 often contracted for years. During the 

 war, considerable quantities of young 

 germs were bouglit liy foreign growers 

 and planted out in their countries. 



Rose growing lias also reached a high 

 standard once more. The latest produc- 

 tions of foreign raisers were brought 

 over some time before, as soon as cir- 

 cumstance? permitted, and have been 



diligently propagated where they have 

 been found suitable. German rose 

 growers have also succeeded in raising 

 a good many novelties, many promising 

 much for the future. 



Cut Flowers Curtailed. 



The German cut flower grower is still 

 in uncertainty as to whether the im- 

 portation of cut flowers from France 

 and Italy, at present prohibited, will 

 be allowed again, and for this reason 

 cannot decide on taking the step of 

 devoting time and money to setting up 

 extensive forcing establishments, the 

 more so since the coal shortage is still 

 so weighty a factor. Although a great 

 number of foreigners of all nationalities 

 are visiting or living in this country, 

 who are good customers in the flower 

 shops, it must be expected that, owing 

 to the heavy taxes of all kinds and 

 owing to the lowered standard of living, 

 flowers will be a greater luxury than 

 ever before and growers and florists 

 are looking forward to the future with 

 the greatest anxiety. For this reason 

 exceedingly primitive and temporary 

 forcing arrangements are being used, 

 and the preference is naturally given 

 to plants and flowers which grow and 

 flower without demanding any great 

 amount of heat and which therefore can 

 be sold cheaply. However, there is an 

 undoubted shortage of fresh flowers in 

 winter and these are replaced by flower- 

 ing plants in pots. It may be confi- 

 dently assumed that this shortage of 

 fresh flowers can be overcome, and 

 that the German florist will be fully 

 able to supply plenty of flowers as soon 

 as he can see his way clearly. 



In landscape gardening there is com- 

 paratively little doing. The enormous 

 taxes, the depreciation of money, the 

 still incomplete transformation of 

 values, all these points are unfavorable 

 to the landscape gardener. The major- 

 ity of private gardens have been done 

 away with, decreased in size or neg- 

 lected, while new ones can only be laid 

 out by people who have become rich 

 without effort during the war. The high 

 costs of maintenance also render the 

 greatest economy imperative. 



Important Novelties. 



This essay would be incomplete with- 

 out mention of a few of the most valu- 

 able novelties and specialties particu- 

 larly worthy of arousing interest among 

 American growers: 



Rose novelties include Freiburg II, a 

 magnificent, delicately pink rose for 

 cutting in bulk, at least equal to the 

 old Testout; Preussen, fire red, finest 

 fragrance, noble form, a forcing rose of 

 great value, fourteen days earlier than 

 any other rose, stems almost a yard 

 long; Adolf Kaerger, pure sun yellow, 

 for cutting in bulk; Adolf Koschel, 

 orange yellow with reddish tint, excel- 

 lent under glass; Ruhm von Steinfurth, 

 a red Druschki, particularly beautiful 

 under glass; Eduard Behrens, raised 

 from Richmond and Admiral Ward, 

 color from the latter, form like Gor- 

 geous. 



The productions of the German dahlia 

 raisers are exceedingly numerous; their 

 novelties arc planted out each year on a 

 common trial ground belonging to the 

 German Dahlia Society and submitted 

 to the judgment of experts when in 

 bloom. It would require too much 

 space to mention even the best by 

 name. 



In gladioli some really valuable nov- 



elties have been raised by our leading 

 specialist, Mr. Pfitzer; most of them 

 are of superior and permanent value. 

 Among these may be mentioned Frau 

 Dr. Hisabeth Lorenz, Fraulein Anna 

 Wisst, Max Eyth, Karl Foerster, Lohen- 

 grin, H. Kanzleitner, Prof. Bauer, 

 Lichtenstein, Trudel Grotz, Veilchen- 

 blau (violet blue) and the primulinus 

 hybrid, Orangekonigin (Orange Queen). 



In pelargoniums the market is domi- 

 nated by the productions of the master 

 raiser, Buerger, and by those of Faiss. 

 Such novelties as Hanna Buerger and 

 the other Buerger novelty. Die VoUen- 

 dete (The Perfect One), represent the 

 best. 



Among geraniums the old Meteor and 

 its equivalent pendant, Berolina, still 

 dominate the market. Besides these, 

 Rubin, Rival, Kochlin-Schwarz, Ulmia, 

 Ries and Bornemann's Beste may be 

 mentioned; and the novelties Leucht- 

 kugel (Fire Ball), carmine-scarlet, and 

 VoUendung (Perfection), in the Refor-. 

 mator class, with brilliant salmon pink 

 flowers. 



Of Begonia semperflorens the stand- 

 ard sorts are Albert Martin, Prima 

 Donna, Feuerball (Fire Ball), Feuer- 

 meer (Fire Sea) and Gruppenkonigin 

 (Queen of the Groups). 



In hydrangeas excellent results have 

 here been attained by crossing the well 

 known French sorts with otaksa, etc., 

 and a few novelties, as Westfalenkind, 

 Niedersachsen, Osning, Siegfried and 

 the gigantic Dlabka's Beste, are worthy 

 of being widely known and grown. 



There are also numerous novelties 

 among summer flowers, such as asters, 

 zinnias and antirrhinums, and of vege- 

 tables. Mums have made little prog- 

 ress within the last few years. Some 

 pleasing novelties of lilac have been put 

 on the market. 



Specialties. 



The German favorite, cyclamen, has 

 been so improved by careful cultivation 

 and selection in the course of time that 

 the German strains are universally 

 acknowledged as the best. The best 

 results were attained by Dlabka, at 

 Zehlendorf; Stold, at Wandsbek, and 

 Binnewis, at Alfeld. 



In stocks the best general quality was 

 raised by Dippe Bros., but the high 

 standard of this strain has been widely 

 surpassed by the Teicher strain. With 

 this family stocks have been the sole 

 specialty since 1836 and they have in- 

 contestably been able to reach the high- 

 est degree of perfection. "Up to ninety 

 per cent of almost all blooms are 

 double-flowered; they show the greatest 

 nobility of form, the best colors and 

 the most gigantic flowers. There is a 

 forcing class which, when sown in ac- 

 cordance with a table, blooms in sets 

 the whole year, a most valuable and in- 

 dispensable acquisition for the cut 

 flower growers. 



In Primula obconica Mr. Arends, of 

 Ronsdorf, incontestably leads the way, 

 his varieties being distinguished by 

 purity of color, large blooms and robust 

 growth. 



In wallflowers Mr. Krebs and Figgel 

 have attained a standard until now un- 

 rivaled. 



There is a new class of carnations in 

 preparation, of which it is said that 

 it is superior to the so-called American 

 carnations, free from diseases and with 

 exceptionally fine, large flowers on long 

 stems. 



