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The Rorists^ Review ^ 



MABCH 16. 1022 



an attempt will be made to discuss 

 briefly some of the best varieties of 

 herbaceous perennials for florists' use. 



AchiUeas Invaluable. 



Of Achillea Ptarniica flore-pleno 

 there are two varieties that are of es- 

 pecial interest, The Pearl and Perry's 

 White. The latter is the newer variety 

 and differs from the former in its larger 

 and whiter flowers. Boule de Neige is a 

 dwarfer form. These achilleas are in- 

 valuable, both for vase and funeral 

 work. They continue in bloom about six 

 weeks during midsummer and are easily 

 propagated by division. New plantings 

 should be made each year, as they de- 

 teriorate rapidly after the second sea- 

 son. 



Achillea filipondulina, a yellow form, 

 with tansy-like foliage, about four feet 

 high and with large, flat clusters of yel- 

 low flowers, is also highly decorative. 

 The flowers, if cut when mature, may be 

 dried for winter bouquets. This species 

 does not mat like Ptarmica, and so the 

 clumps need not be disturbed for five 

 or six years. It is easily propagated by 

 division. It flowers in June and July. 



Anemone japonica and its varieties 

 make good cut flowers for late summer, 

 as they do not begin flowering until Au- 

 gust. Growing from two to three feet 

 high, they may be cut with good stems. 

 The colors vary from white through the 

 light to dark pinks. Propagation is 

 usually by root cuttings. 



While aquilegias, or columbines, have 

 a tendency to shatter after a day or 

 two, the odd shape of the flowers and 

 the beautiful colors make them useful 

 as cut flowers. When well grown the 

 flower stalks are from two to three feet 

 in height. When well established the 

 plants should be left u^ndisturbed until 



they begin to deteriorate, when they 

 should be replaced by seedling stock. 

 The Eocky mountain columbine, A. 

 cajrulea, in its blue and white colors, 

 is the finest of all. A. chrysantha, yel- 

 low, is a good long-spurred form. Out- 

 side these two, select the long-spurred 

 hybrids, which will give a range of 

 color through white, blue, yellow, red 

 and pink. 



Artemisia lactiflora is the only arte- 

 misia grown for its flowers. This plant, 

 coming to us from China, produces large 

 panicles of creamy white spiraa-like 

 flowers. Its light and graceful appear- 

 ance makes it valuable to use among 

 larger and heavier flowers. It blooms 

 from August to September. 



For Forcing and Outdoors. 



The herbaceous spiraeas, or astilbes, 

 may easily be grown outdoors if 

 planted in a partly shaded location and 

 given plenty of water. Both the pink 

 and white forms used for forcing are 

 valuable for cutting. Outdoors they 

 flower in June and July. They are 

 propagated by division of the clumps. 



Campanula glomerata is one of the 

 few campanulas that make good cut 

 flowers. This species has the advan- 

 tage over the other forms of the genus 

 in having the dark blue or purple flow- 

 ers in a large terminal cluster. It flow- 

 ers in early May and June. Both it and 

 its varieties are easily grown from seed. 

 It forms large, compact clumps, requir- 

 ing division every three or four years. 



Both the Shasta daisy and the varie- 

 ties of Chrysanthemum maximum, with 

 their large, long-stemmed flowers, are 

 far superior to the field daisy. All the 

 forms are best grown from seed. Of 

 the maximum varieties. King Edward 

 VII and Mrs. Lothian Bell are good. 



Single GailUrdia. 



Some new stock should be grown each 

 year to replace any loss through dis- 

 ease or freezing. They bloom in June 

 and July. 



If Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum is 

 grown, select the newer varieties. The 

 disadvantage of this species is its tend- 

 ency to spread, but this may be over- 

 come by not allowing it to go to seed. 

 The variety White Lady has double 

 flowers, somewhat resembling an anem- 

 one chrysanthemum. It is propagated 

 from seed. 



New Introduction. 



Clematis recta mandshurica was sent 

 out a few years ago by the Department 

 of Agriculture, through its bureau of 

 foreign plant and seed introduction. It 

 is a large-flowering form of Clematis 

 recta. The plant grows from two to 

 three feet high and produces large 

 masses of white flowers of the size and 

 appearance of C. paniculata. These 

 clusters make a beautiful combination 

 with larger flowers for baskets and wed- 

 ding bouquets. It is probably propa- 

 gated by seeds, which are freely pro- 

 duced, and flowers in June and July. 



Coreopsis lanceolata grandiflora is 

 perhaps the best yellow of the summer 

 cut flowers. It is best grown as a bien- 

 nial, as it has a tendency to die out 

 after it produces a heavy crop of flow- 

 ers. It is easily grown from seed. 



Delphiniums, or perennial larkspurs, 

 should be more commonly grown as cut 

 flowers. The pure blue flowers make 

 beautiful combinations with pink car- 

 nations and roses and also with yellow. 

 The open clusters of Belladonna, light 

 blue, and Bellamosum, dark blue, are the 

 most easily worked up. While D. f«r- 

 mosum is a good dark variety with com- 

 pact spikes, many of the hybrids are 

 far superior. These hybrids also give 

 a considerable range of color and may 

 be single or double. If not allowed to 

 go to seed, they will produce a second 

 crop of flowers late in the season. They 

 are easily propagated from seed. 



Dianthus plumarius flore-pleno, the 

 double grass pinks, are valuable, espe- 

 cially on account of their fragrance. 

 The named varieties may be grown from 

 cuttings or by layers. When grown 

 from seed there is always a certain per- 

 centage of singles. 



Euphorbia corollata, a native spurge, 

 produces a wealth of white bloom in 

 late summer. The gypsophila-like flow- 

 ers last well and may be used in the 

 same way as the annual baby's breath. 

 It is propagated by seed or division. 



Eryngium amethystinum is men- 

 tioned here because its amethyst-tinted, 

 silvery heads may be dried for winter 

 bouquets. It is grown from seed. 



Flowers Through Summer. 



Gaillardia aristata is similar to the 

 annual blanket flower, but is much 

 larger and brighter. Its red and yellow 

 flowers last well in water and are good 

 for cemetery use. This is one of the 

 few herbaceous perennials that flower 

 throughout the summer. It is easily 

 propagated by seeds, division, or root 

 cuttings. 



Gypsophila paniculata flore-pleno, the 

 double form of baby's breath, is so 

 superior to the single that the latter 

 will not be included. This airy, grace- 

 ful flower works in beautifully with 

 other flowers in bouquets, vases or de- 

 signs. It is perhaps one of the best of 

 the herbaceous perennials. It dries 

 beautifully and may be used with the 



