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The Florists' Review 



IV 



ROSE SOCIETY NOTES. 



Following closely on the annual meet- 

 ing of the American Eose Society, at 

 Syracuse, June 15, the annual Roches- 

 ter rose show will take place at the 

 neighboring city in New York state 

 June 16 and 17. 



For the benefit of those who would 

 like to visit the Cornell rose garden at 

 Ithaca, or the Hartford rose garden 

 at Hartford, it is stated that the for- 

 mer promises to be at its best about 

 June 22 and 23 and the latter about 

 June 25. Prof. E. A. White, Cornell 

 University, Ithaca, is able to supply 

 information in regard to the former 

 and G. A. Parker, superintendent of 

 parks, Hartford, Conn., in regard to 

 the latter. 



It has been the aim of J. Horace Mc- 

 Farland, editor of the American Rose 

 Annual, to secure an authoritative short 

 list of the best roses, selected by the 

 vote of members of the American Rose 

 Society. To secure such a list a return 

 post card was attached to the notice of 

 the annual meeting of the society, on 

 which members were asked to name 

 their choice of the five best climbing 

 roses and also of the ten best bush 

 roses. 



FEEDING ROSES. 



What can I do for rose bushes planted 

 outside to make them grow? Will ni- 

 trate of soda do them any good? The 

 plants are growing in the nursery and 

 receive the same cultivation as that 

 given other plants. J. H. A. — Miss. 



If the roses have good roots, they 

 may be improved by applying a top- 

 dressing of cow manure, which will also 

 act as a mulch. If this is unprocurable, 

 I should suggest dried blood or taiik- 

 age, giving a light top-dressing and 

 working it into the soil with a hoe or 

 cultivator. Nitrate of soda is a power- 

 ful stimulant, but I should not advise 

 its use on outdoor roses. It promotes 

 a soft, rank growth and, unless it is 

 carefully used, it might easily do more 

 harm than good. C. W. 



BENCH ROSES OUTDOORS. 



Do bench roses do well if planted in 

 the open ground? Which would you 

 advise planting for a home rose garden, 

 bench roses or own-root plants out of 

 small-sized pots? L. B. M. — Miss. 



tlie plants they remove from their 

 benches, finding it profitable to dispose 

 of them for use in home gardens. Un- 

 less you desire varieties which are not 

 used for forcing — in which case, of 

 course, you have no choice — you will 

 get satisfaction from bench roses 

 jilanted outdoors. 



WORMS ON RUSSELL ROSES. 



I am sending you specimens of worms 

 found on our Russell roses. Will you 

 identify them and advise me of a means 

 of getting rid of them? 



A. A. D.— Cal. 



It was not possible to identify the 

 worms on arrival, due to the fact that 

 during shipment the material had disin- 

 tegrated so badly that identification 



was impossible. The worms were badly 

 infested by fungi and the essential 

 parts destroyed. 



Ill shipping insects, a cotton plug 

 sliould be used in the opening of the 

 container, so that the insects will re- 

 main alive; or, better still, the insects 

 may be put in a vial containing either 

 alcohol or four per cent formalin, wliieli 

 lircserves their structure. 



You will not go amiss if you use 

 ninety i>arts of fine sul])hur and ten 

 ])arts of powdered arsenate of lead and 

 dust your rose plants with this mixture. 

 The sulphur will control mildew and 

 the lead will destroy the worms. 



If you will send more specimens of 

 the worm, put up as suggested above, 

 we shall be glad to identify them for 

 you. 



NAMING ROSES. 



Will you tell me the names of the 

 roses which I have sent under separate 

 cover? _ L. P. B.— Okla. 



The foliage in the package, owing to 

 tlie heat wave, was almost pulp on ar- 

 rival. The two plants could not be 

 recognized. The foliage and wood of 

 the white rose most closely resemble 

 those of Silver Moon, one of the late 

 Dr. Van Fleet's introductions. The 

 buds are almost indistinguishable, from 

 decay in transit, but are apparently of 

 a single, pure white rose. The blight 

 on the buds may be due to mildew or 

 some climatic cause. C. W. 



FLOWER BOX PLANTING. 



Bench roses are planted in many gar- 

 dens. Indeed, so generally are they so 

 used today that few florists throw awav 



Some Good Combinations. 



Tlie florist must be guided by two 

 things wlien making his selection of 

 plants, if called upon to fill window or 

 porch boxes; namely, that the plants 

 must produce the desired decorative 

 effect and they must be varieties which 

 will readily adapt themselves to the en- 

 vironment — the intense heat of the 

 summer, the abundance of sunshine and, 

 in many cases, the dust in the air pro- 

 duced by the prolonged dry spells dur- 

 ing the summer months. 



Every florist is acquainted with the 

 well known combinations of geraniums 

 and Hedera helix (English ivy) or 

 Senecio mikanioides (German ivy) for 

 window boxes, petunias in porch boxes 

 and nasturtiums in either place, with 

 perhaps blue ageratum and Vinca va- 

 riegata with the petunias and a dra- 

 casna indivisa in the center of the ge- 

 raniums and ivy. Dracaena indivisa is 

 chosen because it can stand consider- 

 able neglect and an abundance of sun- 

 shine, together with a cool night tern 

 perature. 



There are, however, many additional 

 combinations of plants that are of easv 

 culture with which the florist can fill 

 his needs, and a few of them are here- 

 inafter set forth. Writing in the House 

 Beautiful, Annabel Morris Buchanan 

 makes the following comment on the 

 customary selections noted above: 

 "These combinations are popular be- 

 cause they make exceedingly attractive 



boxes and are certain to grow, with a 

 reasonable amount of attention. Yet 

 there are many other flowers in infinite 

 variety of combinations that will look 

 quite as pretty and grow just as rapidly. 

 Certain types are popular in different 

 localities. But with a little thought, 

 many new effects may be obtained." 



Geraniums and Ivy. 



The writer in her article goes on 

 to say that the type of house and situa- 

 tion must be considered. She intimates 

 that geraniums and English ivy will 

 suit a formal box along the street, 

 where dust would make it difficult for 

 other flowers to bloom, and if there 

 is much dust or smoke, sword ferns 

 and ivy would be an even better com- 

 bination, while a deeply shaded win- 

 dow may have ivy, ferns in variety, and 

 other foliage plants. 



The article contains many other sug- 

 gestions which are useful to the florist. 

 For instance, for a window opening on 

 a shady porch, one might try the effect 

 of a box massed in Boston ferns, aspara- 

 gus and German ivy, with Asparagus 

 Sprengeri trailing over the edge. These 

 plants are selected because thev do 

 not require a great deal of sunlight and 

 are especially ornamental or decora- 

 tive. 



Another excellent suggestion is a box 

 of Zebrina pendula (silvery-leaved 

 wandering jew). Asparagus plumosus 

 gives a soft, lacy effect and looks well 

 when it is combined with the heavier 

 ferns and German ivy. These plants are 

 selected because they seem to be to- 

 tally indifferent to sunshine or shade; 



