Fbbbuaby 16, 1922 



The Florists^ Review 



35 



OOLIiECTINO KALE FROM KEY. 



With Elltch Gaxdens Co. 



"When Francis Scott Key first made 

 its debut, in 1916, like many rose grow- 

 ers over the country, we thought we had 

 found what we had long been looking 

 for — a good red rose. I remember we 

 planted it early, and we were delighted 

 with its sturdy growth, its immunity 

 from disease, its large size, beautiful 

 form and color and, most of all, its 

 straight stem and sturdy neck. We 

 thought we had found a "perfect" red 

 rose. 



When October arrived, the hybrid 

 blood in Key came to the fore. It wanted 

 to go to rest with the shortening days. 

 Many of the buds refused to open prop- 

 erly and took on a bluish tinge, espe- 

 cially during the cloudy weather. The 

 wood hardened up and did not break 

 and come back after cutting. Then a 

 touch of sulphur burn caused us to pinch 

 it heavily, which resulted in a cut of 

 splendid quality in December. So we dis- 

 covered that the rose could be kept 

 growing by pinching in September and 

 October, thus keeping a big body on the 

 plant for the coming of winter, and, 

 with this big plant, the percentage of 

 poor flowers was small. 



After cutting the December crop, fin- 

 ishing at Christmas, Key absolutely re- 

 fused to grow until spring and then 

 only half-heartedly. We continued to 

 grow it with more or less success, keep- 

 ing it only because of the fact that it 

 was always in demand and a good sum- 

 mer bloomer, standing the hot weather 

 better than any other rose. 



Olue to Success. 



In January, 1921, we replanted our 

 Key in virgin prairie soil. The result 

 was far above our expectations. So 

 our system for making Key pay was 

 evolved. A heavy application of bone 

 meal was forked in, on planting; the 

 plants were cut back to about fourteen 

 inches in height and thoroughly soaked 

 after planting; then the steam was 

 turned on under the bench and run 

 whenever possible, consistently with 

 keeping rose temperature. The wood was 

 syringed three to five times daily to 

 soften the wood and bring the eyes. 



As the soil passed the mud stage, 

 cultivation was resorted to, in order to 

 keep the soil sweet and to assist in dry- 

 ing out, which is essential during Janu- 

 ary and February. The plants were wa- 

 tered about every eight days and about 



the third week a light feeding of well 

 rotted cow mahure was watered in. As 

 the growth reached two or three eyes in 

 length, the plants were pinched, which 

 caused them to break from the bottom, 

 and as they began to break from the 

 pinch, a heavy feed of rotted cow ma- 

 nure was applied. By this time they 

 were taking water freely and growing 

 at. a rate which would have been con- 

 sidered satisfactory for summer 

 weather. By continued pinching, a big 

 plant was built up and cutting of long- 

 stemmed stock began about Mothers' 

 day. Considering that summer is ahead, 

 an extremely big plant is not necessary 

 at that time. 



Flan F&ja. 



Our first crop, cut off in about five 

 weeks, ran four and one-third flowers 

 per plant. The strongest of the return 



growths from this cut were left to come, 

 while the shorter and weaker ones were 

 pinched, thus spreading the cut until it 

 became almost continuous. The stock 

 cut was of exceptional quality and was 

 taken eagerly at prices twenty-five per 

 cent higher than other varieties of the 

 same grade. During the summer, when 

 all other roses markedly deteriorated 

 on account of the heat. Key stood up 

 well, even standing long shipments, 

 which made us friends and money. 



We at first thought that Key would 

 not thrive with watering like other 

 roses, but now we know that, if this 

 rose is growing, it will drink plenty. 

 With us, the feeding of green manure 

 invariably brought light, and even yel- 

 low, foliage, so we stick to wet, rotted 

 manure, such as will make a good liquor 

 on watering in. By keeping the plants 

 well fed and growing, and pinched dur- 

 ing September and October, they pro- 

 duced good stock well into the winter. 

 By this method we have placed Francis 

 Scott Key well at the head of our list 

 of money-makers. Balph E. Hill. 



Norfolk, Va. — The Knickerbocker Gar- 

 dens, of which J. P. Bartos is manager, 

 are cutting a fine lot of carnations, sweet 

 peas and freesias. 



St. Paul, Minn. — Weeber & Eace, of 

 Minneapolis, are building a 75-foot 

 smokestack, with a 34-inch flue, for 

 W. E. Tricker, who is located in the 

 midway district, at 1530 Hague avenue. 



.News' from 



rOQi 



FRENCH HAVE FLOWER CRISIS. 



Italian Competition Blamed. 



French florists are alarmed at what 

 they term "the flower crisis" in France, 

 according to a recent newspaper dis- 

 patch from Paris. They are sighing for 

 the days before the war, when France 

 was the flower market of Europe. To- 

 day they find themselves squeezed out 

 by Italy. 



Italians since the war have trans- 

 formed the Italian Biviera, and indeed 

 the whole of the province of Liguria, 

 into a vast garden, and, as they are con- 

 tent with smaller profits than their 

 French competitors, besides being fa- 

 vored by the low exchange rate of the 

 lira, they are able to undersell them in 

 all markets. Even in France their com- 

 petition is beginning to be felt so much 

 that French florists are clamoring for a 

 high tariff wall, with a duty on Italian 

 flowers of 1 franc a pound. 



The pinch has scarcely been relieved 

 by a recent decree authorizing French 

 flower exports to Germany, but limiting 

 the quantity to seventy-five per cent of 

 pre-war figures. 



Cry Against High Prices. 



"Impartial observers of the present 

 crisis, however, do not hesitate to de- 

 clare that French flower growers them- 

 selves are mainly to blame," states the 

 newspaper dispatch. ' < They describe 



the prices now being asked for flow- 

 ers as nothing less than scandal- 

 ous, unjustified by the last year's 

 drought, the increased cost of labor and 

 material, or by any of the other reasons 

 invoked by florists. 



"Greenhouse roses, for instance, 

 which before the war were sold by the 

 most expensive florists, in winter, at 

 1 franc apiece, cannot be bought for 

 less than 5 or 6 francs, while at Christ- 

 mas time and on New Year's day Paris 

 florists took advantage of the extra de- 

 mand to ask as much as 10 francs for a 

 single red rose. Still more exaggerated 

 are the prices asked for carnations, 10, 

 12 and 15 francs each, for flowers which 

 in 1914 could be bought for half a franc. 

 As for orchids, they are worth their 

 weight in gold, a minimum of 20 francs 

 apiece being the charge. 



"And these are 'moderate' prices, ac- 

 cording to the leading florists, compared 

 with what they will be 'compelled' to 

 charge next spring. The French flower 

 syndicate announces a big campaign to 

 increase the volume and value of trade 

 in France to compensate for the loss of 

 foreign markets." 



The normal value of a franc, in Amer- 

 ican money, is approximately 19 cents; 

 the present exchange rate is about 8 

 cents. From these figures it may be cal- 

 culated what the French florists are ob- 

 taining for their flowers, if the news- 

 paper reporter's statements are ac- 

 curate. 



