March 16, 1922 



The Florists^ Review 



41 



tion." I imagine if his item of $416 for 

 pots, boxes, fertilizers and supplies 

 were itemized, we should find that a 

 great many other things that have to 

 be included in the expense of running 

 a greenhouse have been omitted. 



H. F. Baker. 



WORTH KNOWING. 



The growing interest and great popu- 

 larity that has attended the recent in- 

 troduction of Artemisia lactiflora has 

 caused us to wonder if the trade is gen- 

 erally familiar with a much older type 

 of this valuable plant, known here in 

 Texas as Artemisia pedemontana. 



This variety, like the former, is per- 

 fectly hardy everywhere. It has shrub- 

 like growth about three feet high, with 

 beautiful, feathery and lace-like, sil- 

 very foliage that reaches its developed 

 stage in July and August. It can then 

 be cut and dried for future use. The 

 florists in this locality have found it to 

 be the most valuable decorative ma- 

 terial to be found anywhere. For deco- 

 rations of all kinds it finds a place not 

 easily filled by any other material. 

 Dried, it shatters no more .than statice. 

 Some have had good success in dyeing 

 it properly. Cured and dyed, it would be 

 an easy rival of the popular ruscus. 



The writer has grown it for several 

 years, and has often wondered why, if 

 the trade was familiar with it, some one 

 did not offer it. A certain leading florist 

 in an adjoining city uses this almost to 

 the exclusion of other greens. It also 

 is valuable in the mixed border with 

 shrubs, and stands shearing. It makes a 

 fine bedder, better than Centaurea gym- 

 nocarpa, which it somewhat resembles. 

 It is our opinion if this plant becomes 

 as well known as it is around here, it 

 will become one of the most popular 

 decorative plants in the country. 



C. E. Majors. 



GROWINa GLOXINIAS. 



Will you kindly give me a little in- 

 formation on the growing of gloxinias 

 from seed? S. G.— Mont. 



Gloxinia seed should be sown as soon 

 as possible, in pans of light, sandy 

 compost, mainly leaf-mold preferred. 

 Make the surface smooth, and water 

 before sowing the seeds, which are small. 

 Do not cover the seeds at all. Cover 

 the pans with sheets of glass and paper 

 in addition, water carefully and remove 

 paper and glass as the seeds germinate. 

 Do not allow direct sun rays to touch 

 them at any stage of growth, or they will 

 burn. Grow in a warm, moist house. 

 Prick off into flats where seedlings can 

 be handled and later pot off singly and 

 shift into 5-inch or 6-inch pots for 

 flowering. Gloxinias, however, are warm- 

 weather plants and of little value for 

 Christmas. Some growers, in order to 

 get a lot of flowers for picking and 

 fine bulbs, plant the seedlings about ten 

 inches apart each way in coldframes, 

 with a bed of gently fermenting manure 

 below them and light, rich, sandy soil 

 to grow in. The sashes are shaded well 

 and tilted top and bottom as steadily 

 warmer weather arrives. Fumigation, 

 once in eight or ten days, is necessary in 

 order to keep down thrips. Grown in 

 this way, gloxinias make remarkable 

 growth and produce quantities of hand- 

 some flowers. 



When flowered in pots, a good soil for 

 the final shift consists of two-thirds 



DAVID HILL. 'V 



STARTING as an errand boy for Alfred McCoyd, David Hill entered the florists' 

 business at an early age. Eight years ago Mr. Hill ventured into the retail 

 business on Fifth avenue, Pittsburgh, in a space 7x27 feet. Today the rental of 

 that same small space has increased more than fourfold — from $100 to $450. Mr. 

 Hill, in company with his brother, John, now is operating a branch store, in the 

 Harry Davis arcade. Shortly the stock in the Fifth avenue store will be moved 

 to the arcade while a new building goes up at the former location. Mr. Hill has 

 leased a store 8x27 feet in the new building at a rate of $3.50 per square foot. 

 October 1 will see the new store opened. Rapid turnover, a small margin of profit 

 and satisfied customers bring in the dollars for Mr. Hill. He gives credit to a door- 

 knob. He says the door-knob is so difficult to open that no customer is able to 

 escape without a purchase. 



loam, one-third old cow manure and a 

 dash of fine charcoal and sand to make 

 the whole sweet and porous. Care should 

 be taken to damp the leaves as little as 

 possible. C. W. 



ABOUT SANSEVIERIA ZEYLANICA. 



Will you give me information in re- 

 gard to Sansevieria zeylanica, covering 

 its culture, habitat, varieties, etc.? 



P. H.— Wis. 



More than fifty species of sansevieria 

 have been described, but zeylanica is the 

 only one in common culture. The com- 

 mon name is bowstring hemp; the plants 

 produce a useful fiber. The flowers are 

 greenish white, are produced in dense 

 racemes and are rather inconspicuous. 



The leaves arc the plant's principal at- 

 traction. The plants are easily propa- 

 gated by divisions. 



Pot the divisions in quite small pots 

 of sandy loam and keep them warm un- 

 til they are well established; then pot 

 them on. You can also increase them 

 quite readily by cutting leaves on trans- 

 verse sections two to three inches long 

 and putting them in sand in a warm 

 propagating bench, or even in the small 

 pots of sand. In four to six wcrks the 

 portions of leaves will be rooted and 

 will send up slender shoots, when they 

 can be potted. Sansevierias are excel- 

 lent house plants and stand the arid 

 conditions of the average home almost 

 as well as any plant in cultivation. 



C. W. 



