Junk 8, 1922 



The Florists^ Review 



25 



HEBBACEOUS FEBENNIALS. 



June, the Montli of Glory. 



June is the month of glory in the 

 hardy flower garden. A wealtli of beau- 

 tiful perennials are always in bloom 

 at this season, such as delphiniums, 

 aquilegias, lupinus, dictamnus, dian- 

 thus, peonies, lieucheras, violas, cam- 

 panulas, spiraeas, gypsophilas, linums, 

 irises, potentillas, hemeroeallis, digi- 

 talis, anchusas, armerias, coreopsis, 

 geums, dicentras, Oenotheras, erigerons, 

 pentstemons, polemoniums, stokesias 

 and centaureas. 



There is opportunity for much greater 

 culture of the class of plants known 

 best as hardy border flowers. These 

 can be started in coldframes, the more 

 tender ones wintered in them, and the 

 great majority grown in the open field 

 all the time. In well drained land few 

 will winter-kill, especially if a mulch 

 of some kind is applied after the ground 

 freezes. It is well to warn against 

 heavy winter coverings; all that is 

 needed is merely sufficient to cover the 

 plants, to keep frost in and prevent 

 the soil from heaving in later winter. 



Culture of Perennials. 



There could be no better time than 

 the present for the average country 

 florist to sow the more popular, showy 

 and useful varieties of herbaceous per- 

 ennials. A coldframe with some light 

 soil, preferably one containing consid- 

 erable leaf-mold, is the ideal place to 

 start these seeds. It is best to sow in 

 rows rather than broadcast. These rows 

 need not be over six inches apart and 

 the seeds must be covered lightly. With 

 fine seeds a little dusting of fine sand 

 is all that is needed. Make a nice, 

 smooth surface, and water through a 

 fine rose to prevent any danger of 

 washing. Use some cheesecloth over the 

 sashes or, better still, lath shades, un- 

 til the seeds germinate; then the sashes 

 can be removed. As soon as the seed- 

 lings start to grow, scratch between the 

 rows and pull out the weeds carefully. 

 Some perennials will germinate within 

 a week, others not for two or three 

 months. 



Transplanting Seedlings. 



With the large proportion of peren- 

 nial seedlings it is a much safer plan 

 to transplant into frames when they are 

 of sufficient size to handle and, if they 

 are kept carefully watered, few will 

 fail to grow. A little later, when the 

 ground is in a suitable condition, these 

 can be transplanted to the field with a 

 minimum of loss. If taken from the 

 seed rows and put directly outdoors, the 

 chances are against many of the seed- 

 linics growing unless we chance to get 

 cool, cloudy and showery conditions to 

 give them a good start. 



Delphiniums. 



Delphiniums always rank deservedly 

 high among perennials. Their stately 



habit, glorious range of colors and com- 

 parative ease of culture, to say nothing 

 of their long flowering season, are all 

 strong points in their favor. D. Bella- 

 donna is unquestionably the king of the 

 family. The prevailing color is sky 

 blue, but a few will come of a darker 

 shade. The flowers are more thinly 

 scattered on the stalks than those of 

 the formosum type and are more 

 branched, giving them a much more 

 airy and graceful appearance. Until a 

 few years ago propagation of D. Bella- 

 donna was by root division only. Seeds 

 have been offered, however, which come 

 true to type. There is no hardy peren- 

 nial in the whole calendar so valuable 

 to the florist for cutting as this beauti- 

 ful larkspur. 



There are many other handsome del- 

 phiniums, such as formosum, deep blue; 

 formosum coelestinum, pale blue; Moer- 

 heimii, pure white; King of Delphin- 

 iums, gentian blue, and Queen Wil- 



helmina, soft blue. A splendid selec- 

 tion may, however, be had by sowing 

 a mixed packet of hybrid delphiniums. 

 Many of the seedlings will be equal 

 in quality to the best named hybrids. 

 It is worthy of note that delphiniums 

 are adaptable to gentle forcing and 

 bring satisfactory market prices when 

 flowered a few weeks in advance of the 

 outdoor crop. A convenient way to 

 handle these is to dig up field clumps 

 in late fall, plant in boxes, leave out- 

 doors until they have had one or two 

 moderate freezings, keep them in cold- 

 frames until the end of February and 

 then place them in a temperature of 45 

 degrees at night. 



Digitalis. 



There is no more stately border flower 

 in June than the foxglove, or digitalis, 

 and this is a reminder that no time must 

 be lost in sowing seeds, if plants of 

 blooming size for next year are wanted. 

 Ivory's spotted and gloxiniaflora are 

 the best varieties to sow. The seed is 

 fine, germinates and grows rapidly and 

 care should be taken to sow thinly. 

 Protect from heavy rains while the seed- 

 lings are small, in order to prevent 

 damping off. The foxgloves are effect- 

 ive in solid beds, but look specially well 

 in masses in the herbaceous border and 

 are at their best just in front of a belt 

 of shrubbery. They enjoy partial shade, 

 and in their wild state are found grow- 

 ing in woodlands. 



HOT SHOTS FBOM MISS JABVIS. 



Able propagandist as she is, Miss 

 Anna Jarvis was tardy in her rebuttal 

 of florists' publicity for this Mothers' 

 day, for not until May 27 did the letter 

 quoted below appear in the Chicago 

 Daily News. It was then tucked away 

 on an inside page in a column of read- 

 ers' views and aroused no interest save 

 from florists who chanced to read it. 



Miss Jarvis is too extravagant in her 

 statements to gain much attention from 

 newspaper editors today. They can see 

 too well that Mothers' day is larger 

 than the association bearing its name, 

 that the day now belongs to mothers 

 everywhere and not to Miss Jarvis. 



Florists are willing to let her talk, 

 for much publicity is gained for the 

 day thereby. And publicity is public- 

 ity, as the eminent public man knew 

 who said, "I don't care what the news- 

 papers say about me, so long as they 

 say something." And if, as Miss Jar- 

 vis says. Mothers' day business is on 

 the slump, florists would like some other 

 occasions to go on a similar slump, so 

 that they might do business in the pro- 

 portions they did May 14. "The hand- 

 writing on the wall for the last three 

 years," concerning which Miss Jarvis 

 speaks, must have been in Latin, read- 

 ing, "Veni, vidi, vici!" and not the 

 Hebrew that she thought, "Mcne, mcne, 

 tekel, upharsini " 



Here is Miss Jarvis 's letter to the 

 Chicago Daily News: 



MOTHERS' DAY AND B'LORIST.S. 



In the Daily News of Mny 13, pace 3. there 

 appears n "Mothers' day" article. One of the 

 Btibheadingg of this article says: "No special 

 flower needed." 



The white carnation is the only emblematic 



desiKH ever used for Mothers' day. This flower 

 was chosen as the Mothers' day flower and 

 emblem for many reasons and only after thought- 

 ful consideration. 



Many attempts have been made by some trades- 

 men to change the Mothers' day emblem for 

 their trade advantage. It is felt such attempts 

 should not have the support of the press or 

 public, as in no way have these profiteers any 

 right to name a Mothers' day emblem or any 

 other feature of Mothers' day worlt. 



An especially designed button-badge has been 

 adopted by Mothers' day leaders of the Mothers' 

 Day International Association of Philadelphia for 

 use on Mothers' day. This badge has the asso- 

 ciation's name, that of its founder, and the 

 white carnation on it. It is now the only thing 

 worn on Mothers' day by its friends and none 

 other should he used. 



The necessity for discussion as to scarcity of 

 flowers, or use of "any flower," or the puerile 

 slogan of florists of "a red flower for the living 

 and a white flower for the dead," is past, if it 

 ever existed. Flowers are dropped entirely for 

 Mothers' day, and in the future their wearing 

 has not nn.v significance as to this celebration. 

 Wherever the official Mothers' day badge has 

 been used it has been appreciated and liked. 

 Further, commercialism has been cut out and 

 flowers are normal in price, if not a drug on 

 the market. 



Never in the history of their business did 

 florists si>end so much money and do so much 

 planning as they did to keep their grip on the 

 Slothers' day just passed. For months in ad- 

 vance of Mothers' day they held meetings here 

 and there in different cities, hut Mothers' day 

 business for them is on the slump. Tliey have 

 seen the handwriting on the wall for the last 

 three years. 



The poster got out In the name of the American 

 Ix>gion and auxiliary, with their insignia on it, 

 and liaving all of the appearance of an official 

 affair issuing from the American Legion head- 

 quarters, was the result of an agreement be- 

 tween these organizations and the Chicago rep- 

 resentative of the Society of American Florists. 



The poster was not a legion poster, but an 

 advertisement, camouflaged through tlie legion's 

 name. The poster was put in pai>ers as an ad- 

 vertisement and paid for by florists. 



When any facts about Mothers' day are de- 

 sired they may be had of the founder of Mothers' 

 day. Miss Anna ,Tarvis, Philadelphia, or other 

 Mothers' day leaders. 



The white carnation onl.v is the Mothers' day 

 emblem. 



The Mothers' day official badge Is the only 

 liadgc now worn by Mothers' day friends. 



Mothers' Day International Association, 



Philadelphia, Pa. 



