20 



The Florists' Review 



November 3, 1921 



BULB GROWING IN THE SOUTH. 



Success with Gladioli. 



In uttemptinj; to speak on the suljjcct 

 assigned me, "Possibilities of BuUj 

 Growing in tlie South," I can only f;ive 

 you my own experience and observation, 

 whieli is somewhat limited. 



There is no doubt that many bulbs 

 whicli have been and are now bein^ 

 grown in foreign countries will be grown 

 liere in the south in the near future. 



It has already been demonstrated that 

 certain kinds of bulbs do as well here 

 as in tlio north or in foreign countries, 

 if not better. For instance, gladiolus 

 bulbs we can plant in March or April 

 and they will make their full growth 

 and the bulb will ripen before killing 

 frost, which is not true in our northern 

 climate. Northern-grown gladioli are too 

 often cut down by frost while the foli- 

 age is still green and in full growth; the 

 bulb then is dug in a ])reiiiature state 

 and will naturally be soft on account of 

 being dug before growth had finished. 

 Bulbs grown under these conditions will 

 never give as good results for forcing or 

 planting otherwise as bulbs that have 

 liiKl a long enough season to ripen natur- 

 ally. It has been said that gladiolus 

 bulbs grown in the south will not bloom 

 so well as northern-grown bulbs. 1, for 

 one, deny this, for it stands to reason 

 that bulbs that have been planted earlj-, 

 with plenty of time to make their 

 growth and fully mature, can naturally 

 be planted earlier and will also bloom 

 earlier, with a larger percentage of 

 blooms, than one that has had a short 

 season and has been dug and cured pre- 

 matureh'. What I have just said has 

 been my own experience with the gladi- 

 olus and it is equally true of many other 

 bulbs and plants. 



Just a word about Quarantine 37. It 

 may be for our own good, as it will com- 

 pel us to grow our own bulbs and other 

 stock, much of which has heretofore 

 come from abroad. And I dare say that 

 this section is an ideal place to grow- 

 most of the foreign l)ull)s. Our climate, 

 altitude, soil and r.'iinfall are ideal. 



Lilies Can Be Grown. 



The ])0ssibi]ity for Jaj)anesc bulbs is 

 wonderful. All of the lilies grow well. 

 I have tried several varieties and have 

 found them thoroughly adapted to our 

 conditions. All of the spcciosum type, 

 such as album, rubrum and roseum, and 

 also the longiflorum do well, and the 

 bulbs grown here force as well as the 

 imported giganteums. We discovered in 

 our nearliy mountains in July of this 

 year a wondc^rful i)atch of Lilium supcr- 

 bujn, containing in the neigliborhooil of 

 a, 000 bulbs growing wild, which was one 

 of tlie most beautiful sights I ever wit- 

 nessed. Some of these lilies had at- 

 tained the height of eight f(H't and had 

 from ten to forty-eight buds and blooms 

 on a stalk. These were growing at an 

 altitude of al)out 6,700 feet, but they 



Tlie addroHs of Cli.irlcs I, I'.iimn, of Kncixvillc. 

 Tpnn.. on "rossiliilitics of (Jniwiii); Itnlbs in tlie 

 Sonlli." (Icliv<'r('(l at the iiiiniiiil nit'eting of the 

 Ti'iini'sscc Sliiir Kiiirisis' Assix-hitiou, iit Cliat- 

 tanooga, November 1. 



can be grown successfully at a much 

 lower altitude. This goes to prove that 

 this section of our country is naturally 

 adapted to the growing of lilies, and 

 that nearly all types may be grown 

 here. When it comes to candidum, our 

 country is full of them. Our farmers 

 have them almost growing wild and 

 bring the cut blooms to our market by 

 the thousands and sell them cheap. Wo 

 also have daffodils, jonquils and all 

 kinds of narcissi, except Paper White, 

 growing almost wild; tulips, irises and 

 all kinds of cannas, dahlias and spirajas; 

 in fact, practically every kind of bulb 

 or j)lant that for many years we have 

 been importing for cut flowers and pot 

 plants, possibly with the exception of 

 Dutch hyacinths. But I firmly believe 



that there will be found somewhere in 

 this great country of ours a place where 

 all conditions will be favorable for the 

 growing of hyacinths. As for the 

 French and Italian bulbs, they can all 

 be grown here in the south. We can 

 grow the Roman hyacinths and the 

 Italian red-skin hyacinths here as well 

 as anywliere. 



Quarantine Will Help. 



Some may say, ''How about labor? 

 Can we get it cheap enough to compete 

 with the foreign market?" How about 

 Quarantine 37? Uncle Sam says you 

 can 't bring some stock over at all. Grow 

 it yourself. Sc get busy, you southern- 

 ers, and go to work, for this is the place 

 to grow bulbs. I believe in a few years 

 the south will be the bulb-growing sec- 

 tion of this country. 



We have just finished digging twenty 

 acres of fine gladiolus bulbs. We also 

 grew some five or six acres of lilies, 

 dahlias and cannas, and all our stock 

 was of extra good quality. This goes to 

 prove that the south is the right place 

 to grow bulbs. 



XF RETROSPECT jiy 



LARGEST STATE FLORISTS' BODY. 



Tennessee Association's Growth. 



The Tennessee State Florists' Asso- 

 ciation is 7 years, and !» niontlis of 

 age. We call this our eighth annual 

 convention, as the organization was per- 

 fected in Nashville January 29, 1915. 

 While we feel that we arc young and 

 inexjjerienced as an organization, 4'et, 

 stimulated by the developing florists' 

 business in the state and the hearty co- 

 operation of the florists, the growth has 

 been accelerated during these few years, 

 and if you will not consider us con- 

 ceited, we think tliat we are big for our 

 age and forward in advance. For all 

 of the rapid progress made by our asso- 

 ciation, we feel that we only have just 

 begun to grow and ere another eight 

 years rolls around we shall have a mem- 

 berslii]) e(iual to that of the' S. A. F. 

 From tlie Ix'st infdrmation.I can gain, we 

 are already the largest state organiza- 

 tion of florists. 



The Tennessee State Florists' Asso- 

 ciation was organized in Xashville on 

 tlie niglit of January 29, 191o, with a 

 membershij) of thirty. At this first 

 meeting T. C. Joy, of Nashville, was 

 (dected president. The meeting was 

 litdd in connection with the annual con- 

 vention of the State Horticultural So- 

 ciety. The second annual convention 

 was held in Nasliville January 24, 1916, 

 in connection with the Tennessee State 

 Horticultural Society, the membership 

 at the close of this convention lieing 

 fifty-niii(>. At this second convention 

 Karl P. Bauni, of Knoxville, was elected 

 ]iresidcnt. The third niuuial convention 

 was li(dd in Nashville .T.Tnuary 3(1, 1917 

 ill connection with the State Horticul- 

 tural Society, at the close of this third 

 convention there being a membership of 

 seventy-six. At this third convention 



Summary of re|Kiit ni:i(le liy I'rof. (i. M. lieiit- 



li'V. secretary-trcasiircr of tile Tennessoe State 



Florists' Association, at the convention at Cliat- 

 tanooj.'a November 1. 



W. C. Johnson, of Memphis, was elected 

 our third president. The fourth annual 

 convention was held in Nashville Janu- 

 ary 29, 1918, in connection with the 

 State Horticultural Society, at the close 

 of the convention the membership being 

 eighty-four. At this fourth convention 

 Oscar Geny, of Nashville, was elected 

 president. The fifth annual convention 

 of the State Florists' Association was 

 held at Nashville, January 28, 1919, at 

 the close of which, convention the mem- 

 bership was ninety. At this fifth an- 

 nual convention H. G. Bramm, of Bris- 

 tol, was elected president. 



Aid to Local Organization. 



So gratifying was the influence of the 

 convention toward organizing the Nash- 

 ville florists that it was decided to hold 

 the conventions in different centers of 

 the state where considerable interests 

 are devoted to flower growing. Conse- 

 quently the following convention, which 

 was the sixth annual convention, was 

 held in Knoxville February 5 and 6, 

 1920. At the close of this sixth conven- 

 tion there was a membership of 11.5. 

 At this sixth convention A. J. McNuttj 

 of Knoxville, was elected president' 

 This convention was the largest that 

 had ever been held, the special features 

 being trade exhibits apd a strong pro- 

 gram, with several of the leading out- 

 of-state florists taking part in it. The 

 seventh annual convention was held in 

 Memphis November 17 and 18, 1920. At 

 the close of this convention there was :i 

 membership of 150. At this seventh 

 convention W. H. Englehart, of Mem- 

 phis, was elected president. This con- 

 vention in some respects surpassed the 

 convention held in Knoxville, more at- 

 tention being devoted to trade exhibits 

 ■■•nd the attendance being greatly aug- 

 mented by leading florists from not 

 only the south but from the east, north 

 and west. This is our brief history up 

 to this time. ' ^ 



I am pleased to report that our presi- 



