Mauch 2, 1022 



The Florists' Review 



25 



shade of the two varieties aiul City of 

 Portland is, undoubtedly, the more beau- 

 tiful of the two under such conditions. 

 None of the other pinks that we have 

 tried thus far, in our judf^ment, is so 

 good as those named. We have a seed- 

 ling, however, which is practically iden- 

 tical with rosea gigantea, except 

 that each flower stem produces from 

 five to nine flower heads, instead 

 of three, the number produced by 

 rosea gigantea, and we have seen in 

 Mr. Wintzer's grounds a new pink 

 which is practically identical with one 

 wo have produced, and which, we be- 

 lieve, will prove far more popular 

 than any pink now on the market. 

 The fiowers are large and practi- 

 cally uniform in color and are freely 

 produced. The foliage is extra good, 

 while the color is a silky, shimmering 

 shell pink. A number of new pinks 

 have been put on the market the last 

 few years, but none of them appeals 

 to me as being superior to the varieties 

 already on the market. I prefer to class 

 Evening Star as a white rather than a 

 pink. Possibly farther north it may 

 show more color and, should it do so, 

 its value would be greatly enJianced 

 thereby. Susquehanna is a new candi- 

 date for public favor, but I have not 

 seen enough of it to come to a decision 

 as to its value. 



Bronze-leaved Finks. 



There are a number of bronze-leaved 

 pinks on the market, of which Mrs. 

 Woodrow Wilson, in my opinion, is the 

 only one worth growing. Wabash is a 

 fairly good variety, but, as it is not so 

 good as Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, and 

 as the public prefers its bronze-leaved 

 cannas to have red flowers, I feel that 

 only the best in bronze-leaved pinks is 

 worth while. Mrs. Woodrow Wilson has 

 large trusses and large individual 

 flowers. The color is especially good. 



Pink cannas are becoming decidedly 

 more popular each year, or at least 

 this has been my observation. I believe 

 that they will soon be as popular as 

 the reds and more popular than the yel- 

 lows, unless, perchance, some of the new 

 yellows become generally known. There 

 are a number of cannas whose general 

 color is pink, but which are mottled, 

 spotted or bordered with white or cream. 

 These have always appealed to me 

 strongly, but the public does not seem 

 to feel the same way about it. Maid of 

 Orleans is one of the best of these and, 

 while it has never become popular and 

 probably never will, it has proved to be 

 one of the best parents for canna breed- 

 ing because of the fact that it has ex- 

 ceptionally beautiful foliage, perhaps 

 the best of all green-leaved varieties, 

 and many of its offspring inherit this 

 quality. 



The yellow and red varieties and other 

 bronze-leaved varieties will be discussed 

 in a subsequent article. 



LILACS FOR FORCING. 



Varieties Most Adaptable. 



The treatment given lilacs is quite 

 different from that required by hydran- 

 geas. Lilacs bloom a few weeks after 

 they are started, if given proper heat. 

 At one time about all of our forcing 

 lilacs were grown in pots abroad and 

 they wore good. We can get none of 

 these now,^-so that we are dependent 

 upon the home supply, and some of our 

 nurserymen have built up a largo trade 



Forced Lilac as an Easter Plant. 



in lilacs and other flowering shrubs well 

 adapted for forcing and, as far as my 

 observation goes, they are rapidly equal- 

 ing the imported article. 



The lilac most commonly used for 

 forcing is a single white named Marie 

 Legraye. Mme. Lemoine is a fine double 

 white. Good colored sorts are Mme. 

 Casimir Perier, Ludwig Spaeth and 

 (Charles X. White lilacs are mostly in 

 evidence, but colored ones well flow- 

 ered prove poi>ular, especially at Easter. 

 Plants can be lifted from the field, pot- 

 ted or tubbed in late fall, left outdoors 

 until well frozen and then stored in a 

 cold pit and they will give a splendid 

 crop of flowers, provided a good ball of 

 earth is taken up with the plants when 

 they arc lifted. For extra early forcing 

 they are not so good as the pot-grown 

 plants, but later in the season I have 

 found thoni fully equal to pot-grown 

 ]ilants, and they carry even finer 

 racemes. 



Obtaining Best Results. 



For early forcing of lilacs, the Paris 

 growers in France are past masters and 

 they use warm, dark pits or caves for 

 the work. Their flowers go all over Eu- 

 rope. Here we have a greater variety 

 of midwinter flowers than are found in 

 Europe, but the e;irly winter demand 

 in this country is smaller than that of 

 the old world. A warm cellar kept fairly 

 moist is fine for forcing earlv lilacs for 



cutting, and a mushroom house is just 

 about ideal for this purpose. Produced 

 in the dark, all varieties come pure 

 white and are practically without fo- 

 liage. These plants, however, can be 

 started in the dark and if, when the 

 flower heads are about half-grown, 

 the plants are placed in a warm, moist 

 house, shaded from the direct sun 's rays 

 and sprayed freely, the flowers will have 

 more substance and there will be some 

 foliage. 



After the end of January, it is not 

 necessary to start plants in the dark. 

 In fact, they can be forced in the full 

 light much earlier, if they have had a 

 good rest in advance. After housing, 

 give them a warm temperature and spray 

 several times daily; discontinue this 

 practice when the flower heads develop. 



Now, if ])lants are wanted in flower 

 for Easter of the present year, there is 

 no need to house them before March 1. 

 They can be forced into flower in one 

 month, in a temperature of 6.'5 degrees 

 ;it night, but it will be far better to start 

 them in ,a room which is 10 degrees 

 I'oolcr and. as the flower heads develop, 

 keep the ])lants somewhat cooler. In 

 this way the ])lants will develop ample 

 foliage, the trusses will have plenty of 

 substance, and they will not flop down 

 when exposed to a draft or low tempera- 

 ture as the ''sweat box" j)lants will do. 



(tiven a bright, sunny greenhouse, fre- 

 i|nent sprayings in the i>arly stages of 



