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Mat 18, 1022 



The Florists' Review 



43 



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FLORIDA FLORISTS MEET 



FLORIDA FLORISTS' MEETING. 



First Convention. 



The first annual convention of the 

 Florida State Florists' Association was 

 held at Lakeland Friday, May 5, in the 

 ballroom of the Elks' hotel. From the 

 windows of this room could be seen the 

 beautiful lakes, orange groves, palm- 

 shaded streets and charming homes, al- 

 together a fitting environment for the 

 first convention of florists of the state. 



The meeting was called to order by 

 the president, C. Leslie Whipp, of Jack- 

 sonville. John C. Sims, Adel, Ga., in- 

 voked God's blessing on the meeting 

 and the work of every florist. E. E. 

 Giddings, of the Westmoreland Floral 

 Gardens, Lakeland, welcomed the con- 

 vention in words that convinced all of 

 the speaker 's sincerity. F. W. Fletcher, 

 of Orlando, responded in his usual 

 happy manner. The address of Presi- 

 dent "Whipp was to the point and was 

 characterized by the spirit of faith in 

 the future of the association and the 

 development of the florists' business in 

 the state. The report of the secretary- 

 treasurer, N. A. Eeasoner, was gratify- 

 ing to all. His report showed the treas- 

 ury to be in a healthy condition and the 

 membership list growing rapidly. The 

 association now has more than 100 mem- 

 bers. 



Pennock on Principles. 



The special feature of the morning 

 session was an address by S. S. Ponnock, 

 president of the Society of American 

 Florists. Mr. Pennock was enthusias- 

 tically welcomed and his talk was en- 

 joyed by all. His personality inspires 

 confidence in all he says. His subject 

 was "Basic Principles Governing the 

 Successful Florist." His address was 

 printed in last week's Review. 



Following Mr. Pennock 's address, 

 various members of the association dis- 

 cussed commercial rose growing in 

 Florida. Mrs. J. W. Warner, of the 

 Miami Floral Co., gave some valuable 

 information. She has been quite suc- 

 cessful in growing red and pink Ra- 

 diance. Most of the florists agreed that 

 roses do best in Florida near the low 

 hammock lands, where the moisture lin- 

 gers. T. K. Godbey spoke of a native 

 stock that was fine for grafting. Opin- 

 ion was divided as to the merits of 

 Srrafted and own-root stock; the varie- 

 ties of soil and climate explain this. 



F. A. Knull, of Tampa, read a valu- 

 able paper on planting dates for differ- 

 ent cut flowers. It was the product of 

 many years' experience and the asso- 

 ci.ation IS indebted to him for the con- 

 tribution he has so unselfishly made to 

 the common fund of knowledge. 



Afternoon Session. 



The first subject discussed after the 

 noon adjournment was 1922 novelties. 

 J. M. Carruthers, of Orlando, led this 

 discussion. N. A. Reasoner, of Oneco, 

 described a popular novelty contrived 

 u".. '^^ candles and the air plant, 

 which IS so abundant in south Florida. 

 «. Q. Shoch, of the M. Rice Co., Phila- 



delphia, described some of his firm's 

 novelties. 



W. H. Shultz, Jr., of Auburndale, read 

 an interesting paper on the asparagus 

 growers' problems. He is a great be- 

 liever in the future possibilities of as- 

 paragus in Florida. F. W. Fletcher em- 

 phasized the imperative need of a cam- 

 paign of advertising to distribute this 

 product widely. The express companies 

 also came in for discussion under this 

 subject. On the whole, the service they 

 render is satisfactory, but a closer co- 

 operation would be of mutual benefit. 



Bulb Opportunities. 



The most interesting part of the day 

 was the session devoted to the discus- 

 sion of bulb opportunities. F. W. 

 Fletcher led this discussion. He is a 

 witty and forceful speaker, with years 

 of experience to draw from. He called 

 on the veteran bulb grower of Florida, 

 T. K. Godbey, to give the convention 

 some of his experiences. Mr. Godbey 

 has been growing bulbs in Florida for 

 about forty years, and without doubt 

 his is the last word on the subject in the 

 land of flowers. His talk was most in- 

 teresting. His reminiscences, which 

 were sandwiched in between practical 

 advice, were keenly enjoyed by every- 



one. We have forgotten how many 

 bushels of potatoes he managed to grow 

 in one year, but they were legion. He 

 also taught the south the worth of the 

 velvet bean as a forage plant and soil 

 improver. He recounted with simple 

 eloquence his efforts to introduce his 

 bulbs to the trade. One was impressed 

 with his patience as he told of failure 

 after failure, but we felt glad when he 

 told how at last florists were willing to 

 be shown that home-grown bulbs could 

 produce results. Mr. Godbey is not in 

 favor of repealing quarantine 37. His 

 remarks brought forth some applause 

 by other members who share his views. 



Another person equally honored and 

 beloved is Theodore L. Mead, of Oviedo, 

 Fla. He is an enthusiastic grower, with 

 a weakness for amaryllis and gladioli. 

 His talk on gladioli was most instruc- 

 tive. He is producing some promising 

 varieties. The writer enjoyed a per- 

 sonal talk with him on amaryllis ex- 

 periments. Mr. Mead has produced a 

 white and has almost produced a white 

 with a definite pink margin; he already 

 has it, but thinks that one more effort 

 will produce even more satisfactory re- 

 sults than he has yet attained. 



After the close of the program Messrs. 

 Hume, Reasoner and Fletcher, Mrs. 



C Leslie ^hipp. 



(President of the Florida State Florists' Assoeiatlon.) 



