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The Florists' Review 



Adod&t 28, 1913. 



scored creditable successes, were: Fr. 

 Spae, Millet-Richard, Jaeger-Baert, 

 Van Acker & Sons, E. Van Coppenolle, 

 3. BuycK, C. Petrick, J. P, Hartmann, 

 pe Smet Duvivier and De Smet Freres, 

 all Ghent firms. 



Ferns were an important item also, 

 comprising thirty-six classes. W. A. 

 Manda, De Smet Freres, Arth. De Smet 

 and Bier & Ankersmit were all prom- 

 inent. Polypodium Mandaianum won 

 as the most meritorious new fern. 



Dracaenas and Begonias. 



The first prize for new dracacnas was 

 awarded to Vincke-Dujardin, Bruges, 

 for Dracfena M. G. Vincke, D. dere- 

 mensis Bausei and D. deremensis War- 

 necki. Dracaena tricolor, from L. J. 

 Draps-Dorn, Brussels, is a charming, 



gaily-colored plant, with scarlet, white 

 and green foliage. 



Tuberous begonias are a strong ex- 

 port line with Ghent growers, and they 

 were well represented in a series of 

 semicircular beds surrounding a pond 

 of water lilies. Louis Van Houtte and 

 T. Van Speybroek were awarded gold 

 medals. One of the best exhibits of 

 roses came from Aug. Van Heden, 

 Wetteren. 



Orchids were exhibited on a huge 

 scale, tier above tier, on a special plat- 

 form. They formed one of the most 

 unique orchid exhibits ever seen. C. 

 H. Vuylstehe, Jules Hye de Crom, Theo. 

 Pauwels & Co., M. Lambeau, J. de 

 Heuptinne and other leading Belgium 

 growers contributed magnificent gems 

 from their collections. Bee. 



3C 



3C 



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^ SEASONABLE ^ 



i ^ SUGGESTIONS \ 



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Early Snapdragons. 



Where a good Christmas crop of snap- 

 dragons is wanted, the plants should be 

 benched by th^ end of August. Use 

 a tolerably rich soil, such as would grow 

 good carnations, and set them twelve 

 inches apart each way. They are some- 

 times planted 8x8 and 10x10, but if you 

 want to give the plants justice allow 

 them the wider distance. The plants 

 should be in pots or small baskets 

 plunged outdoors, or in pots in a cold- 

 frame. They should have been allowed 

 to produce one flower stalk, and this, 

 when headed back, will cause the plants 

 to break freely. 



Each plant will produce a few more 

 shoots than should be allowed to flower. 

 Pull oflf all the weaker ones. This will 

 give you stronger spikes. If, however, 

 you desire quantity rather than quality 

 and can utilize the flowers in design 

 and other work, all can be left. Be 

 careful not to plant too deeply, and, 

 after the initial watering, let the beds 

 dry out well before watering again. On 

 hot, sunny days light sprayings over- 

 head will prevent wilting and prove 

 beneficial. Air the house freely. Of 

 course, no set minimum temperature can 

 be maintained for a while, but in winter 

 45 to 48 degrees should not be exceeded 

 at night. It will be found that pink is 

 far the best selling color; next to this, 

 white and yellow. The scarlet, crimson 

 and variegated shades have only a lim- 

 ited number of admirers. 



Schizanthus. 



For an early batch of schizanthus for 

 midwinter flowering, seeds can be sown 

 now. The only variety of a suitable 

 habit for pot culture is S, Wisetonensis. 

 There are a number of so-called im- 

 provements of this now on the market. 

 Some have flowers quite a little larger 

 than the type. Sow the seeds in pans 

 or shallow flats. Keep them close to the 

 light in a coldframe or cool greenhouse 

 all the time, to prevent the seedlings 

 from becoming drawn. Later transplant 

 into flats and from these into 3-inch or 

 314-inch pots. I have found this much 

 better than potting off directly from 

 the seed pans. Schizanthus requires a 



^^- — " -* 



rich compost, being a strong feeder. It 

 must be grown cool and airy all the 

 time; anything like a close forcing at- 

 mosphere will speedily ruin it.. Anyone 

 who saw the many beautiful plants of 

 these at the New York International 

 Show last April must have been im- 

 pressed with their beauty and their 

 great value as decorative plants. 



Biennial Seeds. 



If a sufficient stock of double daisies, 

 wallflowers, forget-me-nots, pansies and 

 violas are not yet sown, no time should 

 be lost in getting them in. The seeds 

 will germinate quickly now, if they are 

 kept shaded, but be careful not to shade 

 too heavily during hot, humid weather, 

 or damping off will result. It is not 

 yet too late to make a sowing of holly- 

 hocks, if this has been omitted. 



Take advantage of spells of damp, 

 cloudy weather to transplant seedlings 

 of various biennials and perennials be- 

 fore they can become too crowded, and 

 keep the cultivator or hoe constantly at 

 work among such as are already in the 

 field. Weeds grow apace now and some 

 hand-pulling of them will be necessary 

 in addition to cultivating; otherwise 

 many small plants will soon be smoth- 

 ered. The soil can hardly be stirred too 

 frequently to keep plants growing well. 



PEOPAQATION OF PRIMULAS. 



Will old plants of Primula malacoides 

 do to use as stock for the coming sea- 

 sdn, dividing them and potting small 

 rooted pieces? I have kept them 

 through the summer in an open cellar 

 or pit, where they bloomed along much 

 later than they would have done in the 

 greenhouse. They also thoroughly 

 seeded the surrounding sandy soil in 

 which they were plunged, and now I 

 notice hundreds of little seedlings just 

 starting. Of course I shall pot these 

 seedlings, but what about the old 

 plants! K. W. H. 



While it is possible to divide and pot 

 up the old plants of P. malacoides and 

 have them flower tolerably well, you 

 will have much better success if you 

 pot up the little seedlings and grow 



them on. This primula makes much 

 more rapid growth than such varieties 

 as P. obconica. Sinensis, Forbesi and 

 Kewensis, and most of the failures 

 made are directly due to too early sow- 

 ing. Your seedlings are just obtainable 

 at a time when they can be grown on 

 into nice 5-inch or 6-inch plants, and 

 with stock started thus late there is 

 far less liability of the foliage damping 

 off than in the case of larger plants. 

 0. W. 



FEXnT TEEES IN POTS. 



Will you kindly give me some in- 

 formation about the growing of pot 

 fruit? I have a few pots of pears, 

 peaches, nectarines, cherries, etc., and 

 also some pot-grown grapes, and I shall 

 be much obliged if you will give me 

 some points on their treatment after 

 they have finished fruiting. Most of 

 them are past their season now and 1 

 have placed them outside. Should they 

 be plunged in the ground in the pots 

 and left there until I bring them in, and 

 what time of the year should they be 

 brought in, to get early results? Do 

 they need protection while they are out- 

 side, in this Massachusetts climate? Is 

 it necessary to repot them when bring- 

 ing them inside for forcing, and what 

 temperature do they require? Will 

 knocking the trees set the fruit suffi- 

 ciently, or is there any other method of 

 setting it? F. L. 



With the exception of the grape vines, 

 all the fruits named will do much better 

 if plunged outdoors. The grapes, if you 

 can afford space for them, will ripen 

 their canes harder under glass. If, how- 

 ever, you have no room for them, they 

 also can go outdoors. By far the oest 

 way is to plunge them all to the brims. 

 Coal ashes are the best material for this 

 purpose, if you have these in sufficient 

 quantity. If not, plunge in loam, and 

 place a shovelful of ashes at the bottom 

 of each hole to improve the drainage 

 and help to keep out worms. 



The proper time to repot is not when 

 you are starting the plants, but in 

 August or early September. The roots 

 are then active in the new compost 

 when you want to house them. Larger 

 pots are not usually necessary. The use 

 of fresh drainage, removing some of 

 the surface soil and loosening up all 

 around the balls a little with a sharp- 

 pointed stick, and then replacing in the 

 same size of pots with new compost, 

 usually suffices. Fibrous loam, with 

 some of Thomson's Vine and Plant 

 Manure, or with some bone and a little 

 lime rubble, makes a good compost. It 

 is better to have the plants moderately 

 dry at the root when repotting them. 

 It will be well to overhaul the grapes 

 not earlier than December; all other 

 sorts, now. 



Cherries require a lower temperature 

 than the other fruits, to set them satis- 

 factorily, I have found that 45 degrees 

 at night suits them when in flower. All 

 varieties when housed need a tempera- 

 ture of 40 degrees. This should be 

 gradually raised as growth advances. A 

 temperature of 50 degrees at night will 

 set peaches and nectarines. Give pears, 

 apples, apricots and cherries the cooler 

 end of your house. You can start these 

 fruits any time after Christmas, but 1 

 would suggest waiting until the end of 

 January; you will then be more certain 

 of a good set. 



Tapping the trees often suffices for a 

 set, but not always, A safe plan is to 

 go over the flowers with a camel 's-hair 



