14 



The Florists' Review 



SitriKMBKR 18, 1913. 



PREPARATIONS FOR PLANTING. 



The Flats, Pots or Pans. 



The time for planting Dutch bulbs 

 has again arrived, and for some weeks 

 the specialists in them will be kept 

 busily employed getting them into flats, 

 or boxes, as many prefer to call them. 

 A great many are also grown in pots 

 and pans for retail trade, and these 

 take a great deal more time and require 

 a little more fussing over than the 

 bulbs in flats. As a general rule, 6- 

 inch, 7-inch and 8-inch pans are most 

 popular for bulbs, and in pots 5-inch 

 and 6-inch have the preference. Larger 

 sizes are rather cumbersome, although 

 all right for window effects or exhibi- 

 tion purposes. In the way of flats those 

 24 X 12 X 4 are suitable for the majority 

 of bulbs, although some prefer them 

 an inch deeper. For the more robust 

 narcissi, such as Victoria and Emperor, 

 and for Spanish iris, the 5-inch depth is 

 preferable. Other bulbs will do just 

 as well in an inch less soil. Of course, 

 larger flats are often used, but the size 

 suggested is easy to liandle. 



The Compost. 



Practically all the Dutch bulbs like 

 a light but fairly rich soil. If this has 

 bi^ii prepared a few weeks in advance, 

 or even earlier, so much the better. 

 Do not use any fresh manure in the 

 soil. Old hotbed or mushroom manure 

 is first-class; so is well rotted cow 

 manure. Pass whatever kind you use 

 * through a screen and break up all the 

 large lumps so that they will pass 

 through a ^Kt-inch screen. Leaf soil, 

 while used by some, is not necessary 

 unless the soil is stift" and retentive. A 

 good dash of sharp sand should be used 

 in all composts, no matter whether they 

 are heavy or light. It is not safe to use 

 bone in any form, or any of the chem- 

 ical fertilizers in bulb compost. When 

 new pots or pans are used, be sure to 

 soak tlieni well in tubs of water first. 



Where to Place the Bulbs. 



There are wide differences of opinion 

 as to where to place bulbs after they 

 are in flats or pans. Some prefer to 

 stand them outdoors for a time, later 

 moving them into pits or cellars. One 

 disadvantage of this plan is that it 

 makes a lot of additional work moving 

 the flats a second time, and, further- 

 more, drenching rains soak the soil so 

 that considerable harm is often done, 

 especially if the drainage is at all de- 

 ficient. Some varieties, such as Gla- 

 diolus nanus, Iris Hispanica and sweet- 

 scented jonquils, need no covering of 

 coal ashes or any other material, as 

 they start to make top growth soon 

 after being placed in the soil, but about 

 all the other bulbs forced start better 

 if given a coating of fine coal ashes or 

 sand. This, however, should not be 

 applied for a montli after planting, 



and meantime the bulbs should have 

 received several waterings, for one of 

 the most common causes of failure in 

 bulb culture is an insuflicient water 

 supply in the early stages of growth. 

 Yet every year we run across growers 

 who, after potting or boxing bulbs, soak 

 them with water, place them in a frame 

 or cellar, cover them with some mulch, 

 give no more water until they want to 

 house the bulbs for forcing, and then 

 belabor the dealer for selling poor 

 bulbs, though their cultural treatment 

 was entirely at fault. 



Outdoor or Indoor Storage? 



As between bulbs stored outdoors 

 and indoors, there can be no doubt as 

 to which is the more up-to-date and 

 practical method. Bulbs buried out- 

 doors are difficult to get at when the 

 weather is severe, and we have known 

 cases where, in spite of thick straw 

 coverings, the pans were frozen and 

 many burst. The general idea seems 

 to be that it is possible to hold bulbs 

 later if buried outdoors. This is sheer 

 nonsense. A good, cool cellar will hold 

 them decidedly later, and then the 



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Minimum Planting Depths (inches) for 

 Outdoor Bulbs— From Garden Magazine. 



bulbs can be examined at any time, 

 watered if necessary, and brought in 

 whenever needed. Some growers keep 

 their bulbs in dark cellars and do not 

 cover the flats at all, but I always seem 

 to have the best start on bulbs that 

 were covered. 



Tulips. 



Tulips are probably more sold than 

 any other bulb in pans, but their sale 

 in a cut state is not at all equal to that 

 of narcissi. An inexpensive and useful 

 half dozlen varieties for pan culture 



are: Keizers kroon, Yellow Prince, La 

 Eeine, Eose Grisdelin, Belle Alliance and 

 Cottage Maid. If varieties of better 

 quality are wanted, and if your custom- 

 ers will be willing to pay for better 

 sorts, try Joost Van Vondel, white; 

 Pink Beauty, Flamingo, Vermilion Bril- 

 liant and Queen of the Netherlands. 

 For cutting, La Eeine is still the great 

 standby. White Hawk can be forced 

 into flower earlier and comes pure 

 white, while all the early Jja Reines 

 are pink. Yellow Prince ia the best 

 early yellow. Thomas Moore is a pop- 

 ular, easily forced, sweet-scented, 

 orange variety. Other sorts good for 

 cutting are Pink Beauty, Keizerskroon, 

 Ophir d'Or, White Pottebakker, Flam- 

 ingo and Couleur Cardinal. 



In double tulips Murillo remains 

 easily the most popular an4 should be 

 grown in quantity hy evejry country 

 florist. Couronne A.'Or, or Golden 

 (Jrown, with its rich j^lden yellow flow- 

 ers, shaded orange, isr'another favorite. 

 Safrano, or Brimstone Beauty, a sul- 

 phury yellow developing into a rosy 

 apricot, has taken well in the market 

 and is worthy of a trial. For a scarlet, 

 Imperator rubrorum is unexcelled, and 

 La Candour is a good white, but neither 

 is adapted for early forcing. Murillo 

 and Couronne d'Or are both splendid 

 sorts for pans. 



Some of the specialists find that it 

 pays them well to grow some of the late 

 species of tulips, which come in season 

 when the earUes have passed and be- 

 fore outdoor ones are in bloom. These 

 carry long stems and are fine for cut- 

 ting. A few inexpensive ones worthy 

 of trial are: White Swan, Bouton d'Or, 

 Picotee, Golden Crown, Gesneriana 

 major and Parisian White. The in- 

 creasingly popular Darwins come some- 

 what higher. If a few are wanted, try 

 White Queen, Clara Butt, Mme. Krelajre 

 and Grctchen. 



DEPTH TO PLANT BULBS. 



Every florist has experienced the di' 

 ficulty of getting his customers 1"^ 

 plant their bulbs deep enough; indeei. 

 not every professional grower is fri >' 

 from the charge of impairing the su 

 cess of his own plantings by too shal- 

 low burial of the bulbs. In this con- 

 nection, the Garden Magazine, which > 

 doing a great deal to help amateur ga 

 deners get more satisfactory results, h:^ 

 this month an excellent little illustm 

 tion, reproduced herewith, that tells tl •' 

 story of how deep to plant and puts t 

 much more graphically than could If 

 done in words. Many a florist will out 

 it out and post up in the store. 



Conshohocken, Pa. — Willis H. Ball 

 win, the youngest florist in this vicin- 

 ity, reports a good business since hi* 

 start in February of this year. Funer.il 

 work has been especially plentiful. 



