58 



The Florists^ Review 



Apbil 6. 1022 



plants. Only those that are too thick 

 are transplanted, leaving enough in the 

 seed bed to make a good, uniform stand. 

 They not only grow as well as the 

 transplanted plants, but one has saved 

 a great deal of work. 



If hollyhocks are wanted for seed, or 

 if for any reason it is desirable to keep 

 them on the place, these seedlings can 

 be transplanted early in October to 

 their permanent quarters in the field, 

 although this transplanting should be 

 delayed a month if the weather is dry 

 and there is no means of overhead irri- 

 gation. If the plants are intended for 

 spring sales, they should be treated the 

 same as pansies, those that are too 

 thick being transplanted to other quar- 

 ters. Delphiniums, foxgloves, Canter- 

 bury bells, gypsophila and, in fact, 

 most of the other perennials are best 

 either left in the seed bed or treated 

 the same as hollyhocks. I find it best 

 not to set these plants in the field until 

 March. 



Practically all perennials handled in 

 this way and given an abundance of 

 moisture and a dose of manure water 

 once or twice will make good, salable- 

 sized plants ready for spring sales and 



This makes it necessary to see some- 

 thing about the culture of perennials 

 outside of the seed bed. We have a long, 

 hot summer in most states of the south; 

 more than that, in many parts we are 

 almost sure to have a drought. Many 

 people have failed with perennials be- 

 cause they made no provision for these 

 conditions and did not plant varieties 

 that were acclimated. Soil for peren- 

 nials should be well limed. Next a 

 sufficient amount of manure, straw, lit- 

 ter, leaves, green cover crop or some- 

 thing of the sort must be worked into 

 the soil to provide an abundance of 

 humus. Practically all of our peren- 

 nials grow in leaf-mold in their native 

 haunts, and they must have humus in 

 abundance in order to thrive in our 

 fields. This matter cannot be overem- 

 phasized, because success or failure de- 

 pends more on it than on anything else. 

 The soil should be loose, rich and full 

 of humus to at least the depth of one 

 foot. Humus holds moisture better than 

 a% other element in the soil; 100 

 pounds of humus will hold 200 pounds 

 of moisture, while 100 pounds of sand 

 will scarcely hold fifty pounds of mois- 

 ture. Our perennials mostly come from 



will all bloom the following year. If tfce-nnSislr^Wods and must have mois 



set in the field and cultivated one sum- ture at their roots during the hot, dry 



mer, they will make as large growth 

 as can be obtained in two full years in 

 the north, and there is no reason why 

 they should not be sold as heavy, 2-year- 

 old plants. 



Carrying Over. 



It is always advisable to carry a few 

 plants from every batch of seedlings 

 on through the summer. There are sev- 

 eral reasons for this. First, every 

 grower ought to know what the plants 

 he sells will do for his customers; sec- 

 ond, these plants will give him a chance 

 to select his own seed for future plant- 

 ing, and fresh home-grown seed is al- 

 ways much better than the seed that is 

 bought from someone else and shipped 

 in; third, this gives opportunity to se- 

 lect improved seed plants and will 

 secure plants acclimated to the locality. 

 All of these features are important. 



season. If irrigation is possible, it 

 should be used, overhead irrigation be- 

 ing more desirable than surface irriga- 

 tion. Perennials may be transplanted 

 to the field either in the fall or in 

 early spring, but if transplanting is 

 done in the fall, it mtist be early enough 

 for the roots to take hold of the 'soil 

 before it gets cold enough to freeze 

 the top of the soil and heave the plants 

 out. 



Some Varieties. 



Although not usually thought of when 

 we speak of perennial plants, Hyacin- 

 thus candicans, tigridia and similar 

 summer-flowering bulbs may be grown 

 from seed if treated like ordinary 

 perennials, the only difference being 

 that the more tender ones may require 

 protection in a coldframe, when the 

 tops have died down late in the fall. 



This Field of Phlox Presents a ProflUble Aspect for Its Grower. 



Many of the seedlings from seed sown 

 in August will bloom late the next 

 summer and practically all of them will 

 make blooming-size bulbs. 



In many parts of the south, especial- 

 ly in the districts south of the Tennes- 

 see line, perennial seed may be sown 

 late in September without any protec- 

 tion of any sort, though the seed bed 

 should be prepared as specified above. 

 Even seeds sown in the open in Janu- 

 ary and February are almost sure all to 

 grow and, if properly cared for, will 

 bloom the first year. 



Such plants as double pyrethrum, 

 perennial phlox, good oriental pop- 

 pies, delphinium^, etc., are best in- 

 creased either by divisions or cuttings. 

 Those that are increased by divisions 

 are best divided when they are dor- 

 mant, in late summer or early fall, be- 

 fore the fall growth starts. 



The plant is dug and the soil pretty 

 well shaken from it. It will be seen 

 that there are a number of individual 

 buds or branches growing out from a 

 common crown. The crown is split up, 

 so as to allow at least one of these buds 

 and a piece of root to each division. 

 This work should be done in the shade, 

 so that the roots will not be injured by 

 drying out. The divisions are best 

 planted in the nursery row at once, or 

 else packed in moss or some similar 

 substance for fall sales. 



Old plants of phlox are removed to 

 a hotbed or greenhouse early in the 

 spring, and as soon as growth starts and 

 the young shoots are three or four 

 inches high they are removed as cut- 

 tings. These roots should be taken 

 with a short knife, the cutting being 

 made just below the surface of the soil. 

 They are rooted in sand, the same as 

 any other cuttings, and are as easy to 

 root as chrysanthemums or geraniums. 

 As soon as they are well rooted, they 

 should be set in the open field and will 

 make strong field-grown plants by fall. 

 Most of these rooted cuttings, especial- 

 ly those from the first batch, will pro- 

 duce a good head of bloom the first 

 year. It does not generally pay to 

 grow perennial phlox from seed, al- 

 though this is the only method of se- 

 curing new varieties and often proves 

 profitable. 



The demand for perennials is great 

 and seems to be increasing steadily. If 

 one produces strictly first-class stock, 

 there seems to be little doubt of his be- 

 ing able to dispose of it profitably for 

 some time to come. Floyd Bralliar. 



YES, BUSINESS IS OOGD. 



If one needs evidence that the flo- 

 rists' business is good, it is to be had 

 in the letters which come in such num- 

 bers to the advertising department of 

 The Review. Like this: 



We are completely sold out.— The Hlllvtew 

 r.rppnhouse Co., La Crosse, Wis., April 1, 1922. 



riease stop our ad, as we are gold out; had 

 twice as many orders as we could fill.— Doswell 

 Floral Co., Fort W^ayne. April 3, 1922. 



Thank you very much for results obtained; 

 I sold lettuce plants in twenty-eight statea.— 

 M. E. Sourdry, Glrard, Kan., April 1, 1922. 



Please cut out our ad, as we are swamped. 

 Talk about beating a path to your door— The 

 Review has It outclassed. Haven't time to half 

 thank you for the results, but rest assured you 

 win hear from us again when we have a surplus. 

 — r. W. Keed, Bell Floral Co., Temple, Tex., 

 .^pril 1, 1922. 



If you hear a man complain of the 

 cost of advertising, you can be pretty 

 certain he spends a good bit of money 

 elsewhere than in The Review. 



