M.w 11, \<)22 



The Florists^ Review 



27 



ceiitly introduced varieticis of the 

 f^iajit cjiiu'd type. These are more at- 

 tractive tliaii tlie common hamlioo, as 

 the canes are larger and }4row more 

 conii)actly, thus overcoming tlie one 

 fault of the older form - the loose, 

 scraggly ai)i)carance at maturity. 



What the Visitor May See. 



When the visitor enters the grounds 

 he is at once impressed with the tropical 

 aspect of the planting around the office, 

 consisting of great clumps of bamboo, 

 thirty feet or more in height, tall cab- 

 bage palms with swaying fronds, the 

 graceful Acrocomia TotaV, a ])alni from 

 youth America, and the stately Phoenix 

 canariensis. 



Here you reach for a bloom that is 

 entirely different from any of those you 

 are ac(iuainted with. The flower is that 

 of the Bauhinia purjmrea and closely 

 resembles the aristocratic orchid, ex- 

 cept that it grows on a shrub or small 

 tree; the colors include lavender, pur- 

 ple, mauve and pure white. 



Screening the packing house from 

 the grounds are three splendid speci- 

 mens of the Chinese cinnamon tree, 

 while nearby is a tree from Brazil that 

 carries the name of Schinus terebinthi- 

 folius. In .spite of the long name, the 

 tree grows to a height of fifty feet or 

 more, with wi(le-sj)reading limbs; it 

 flowers in midsummer and carries bright 

 scarlet berries until the following 

 spring. 



Chinese hibiscus, particularly the 

 double scarjet, and the dainty peach- 

 l)low, with pale i)iiik flowers, add a 

 touch of color here and there. 



Hut what is that great mass of pur- 

 ple, and that long spray of glowing 

 crimson? I'aper flowers, or Bougainvillea 

 glabra^ Sanderiana and Crimson Lake, 

 two of the most brilliant and valuable 

 vines for the south. P.ougainvilh'as are 

 grown in quantities at Oneco. A per- 

 son who only knows the old B. glabra 

 Sanderian.i will be startled and 

 charmed by the newer colors in this 

 climber. You can find shades from deli- 

 cate idiik to deep purple, brick red, 

 lake, cniiison and others. Some of these 

 were produced at the Royal Balm Nurs- 

 eries and it is not too miicli to say that 

 some of the most charming color ef- 

 fects come from these varieties. 



Over there is a rubber tree— thick, 

 shiny leaves; strong, heavy trunk, big 

 'MOiigh for a husky boy to climb, and 

 ••I long way removed from the one. two 

 or three-leaved, scraggly i)lant so often 

 used for house decorations in northern 

 liomes. 



Do you know the chenille plant, 

 Acalypha hispida? No, you do not, un- 

 less you have seen it in south Florida 

 — trunk, two or three inches thick, 

 twelve feet high; the rich crimson 

 "chenille" blooms, eighteei. inclies to 

 two feet long, are carried all the year. 



Slats and Glass for Shelter. 



"Much of the propagating work 



done under latli 



it houses. Th. 



shade the cuttings or seedlings from 

 the sun and give ample protection from 

 frost, unless it be excci)tionally cold-- 

 say. around 2." degrees. Then a wood 

 fire is stiirted in little sheet iron stoves 

 set in the passageways. Imagine it, 

 you frozen-np northerners; heating an 

 open slat house with stoves not over 

 eighteen inches square. 



The lath house method gives much 

 stronger, sturdier plants than those 

 grown under glass, a fact that must be 



Some Types of Dahlias Are Particularly Useful for Baskets. 



considered when growing tropie.-i! or 

 s(>mitr()pic;il jilants for t'lorid.-i. 



To the northern grower. wIki iniist 

 depend on glass houses, healing eciuip 

 ment, coal i)iles and coal bills to get his 

 ]dants safely through their baby days, 

 the methods at Oneco are a surjiiise 

 and wonder. Of course, there are glass 

 houses; at least, tliey have glass on 

 top. But the sides are not tightly 

 closed, and if a carcdess employee or 

 visitor leaves a door open it (loesn 't 

 mean chilled and kille<l plants. Inci- 

 dentally, the heating e(|uipnient would 

 not go far toward warming a <) room 

 northern dwelling. 



Palms are |irobal)ly eiiipli;isi/.ed more 

 than any otlier one genus at Oneco. 

 One author has said th;it th(\v are ''the 

 princes of the vegetalile kingdom." 

 and a visitor to the Koyal Palm Nurs 

 eries certainly meets the whole roy.'il 

 family — the king and f|iieen, as well as 

 the princes. They are seen on eviMv 

 hand, from the tiny shoot just pushin;; 

 its way through the seed bed to the 

 lovely specimen twenty-five feet or 

 more in height. One cannot ajipreciate 

 th" beauty of a ])aln: tree until he sees 

 it growing in the open spaces, rising 

 like a slender tower against the deep 

 blue of the sky. Here it is a part of 

 the landscape, almost the keystone fif 

 nature's plan. Sab.-il jialmettos are 

 used as street trees in many towns and 

 some cities, but the trained landscape 

 man. and the nature lover whfi ;i|p|ire 

 ciates palms, feel that such a jiractice 

 is not entirely ap]iropriate. 



One large house contained ;i goodly 

 number of crofons, which were admired 



liy -f>, cr.il hely visitors. "Will you 

 picise tell me t ln' liaiiie of this va- 

 licts ."' asked one of the ladies. " Cro- 

 i(iii pii-turatiiin. ' ' replied Mr. Cook. 

 Thoughtful pause for a minute. "Pic- 

 ture of .\dain, did you say? Well, I 

 iie\iT heard -ucli a funnv name as 

 that:" 



Probably the lady would have found 

 other n.imes eipially ''funny.'' if she 

 h.id traveled farther through the 

 houses and across the fields, for in the 

 ojieii, under slat sheds, and in green- 

 houses are hundreds of interesting speci- 

 mens of 1-Torida 's native plants, rare 

 subjects from foreign countries, and 

 new varieties that liave been hybrid- 

 ized and proiiagated at Oneco. The 

 rambler woiiiler^ how many florists 

 know that the popular and valuable 

 Aspar.'ijiiis S[irengeri was ])ropagated in 

 <|iiaiitity and tirst introduced by the 

 tiriri of Keasoiier Bros. 



The Chinese fan paliii 

 (iihler climate-^ >olely as a 

 is propagated uioU'r slats, 

 i^roiincl ot' the nursery it 

 stout trunk, while some of the older 

 ^|)e^•imeIls h.iNc bro.ad folia^ie. four feet 

 or mole across. 



One of the ]iiettie-~t palms in the col- 

 lection is the silver th.iteh. Thrinax 

 iriieroear|ia. It i^ dwarf in habit and 

 ^lows Well ill tin ~hrub border. Be- 

 e.ause of the silvery sheen on the under 

 vide of the leaf, it i^ often used beside 

 a p'i(d where not otherwi-^e seen. 



known in 

 house plant, 

 III the open 

 takes on a 



Hedge Plants. 



Ill the Mo,k 

 tllr \isitor ve. 



~ i;i\eii to hedge plants 

 's Amour Kiver privet, 



