14 



The Florists' Review 



OCTOBEB 23, 1913. 



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f SEASONABLE ^ 



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 y ^ SUGGESTIONS \ 



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Gardenias. 



The amount of sunlight is now 

 steadily declining, and it behooves 

 growers of gardenias to take greater 

 pains with their plants from , this time 

 on. ■ It is an easy matter to keep plants 

 dark green in color and well clustered 

 with buds while warm, genial weather 

 prevails. It is a different proposition 

 when we get long spells of dark, cold, 

 damp weather, when little ventilation 

 can be given and much fire heat is 

 necessary. Plants, until now, will have 

 done well with a minimum of fire heat, 

 but when the outside temperature drops 

 to 30 degrees, or even 40 degrees, the 

 house will become damp and clammy 

 unless the heating pipes are warmed. 



It is unwise to rush the plants in any 

 way. From 60 to 62 degrees at night 

 will suffice now, and ventilation can be 

 freely given. When watering, soak the 

 benches thoroughly, but be sure to al- 

 low them to dry out tolerably well be- 

 fore applying any more. With a soil 

 sufficiently porous so IV at water will 

 pass away freely, and with some bottom 

 heat, and a nice, genial atmosphere, 

 there will not be any considerable num- 

 ber of buds dropping. Plants in pots 

 are leas liable to drop their buds in 

 midwinter than those in benches, and, 

 where but a few are to be grown, pot 

 culture is far the best. One good 

 syringing a week with the spray nozzle 

 will take care of mealy bug, but do it 

 on clear, warm days. The foliage should 

 be allowed to dry before nightfall. 

 Avoid any feeding now. If the plants 

 show any white roots on the surface, 

 give them a thin mulch of old, decayed 

 cow or horse manure, but do not apply 

 any liquid manure or chemicals; these 

 may produce plants of great vigor, but 

 it will be only at the expense of buds. 



Dutch Bulbs. 



The planting of Dutch bulbs such 

 as tulips, hyacinths, narcissi, crocus, 

 scillas, chionodoxas, etc., should be 

 pushed forward now. Do not use fresh 

 manure in the beds. It should be old 

 and well decayed. Cover hyacinths 

 four inches; large bulbed narcissi, four 

 to five inches; smaller ones three 

 inches; tulips, four inches; crocus, 

 snowdrops, scillas and chiondoxas two- 

 to two and one-half inches. Solid beds 

 look best, especially of tulips and hy- 

 acinths. The two do not look well to- 

 gether. Narcissi do not clash, as all 

 the varieties have white or yellow 

 flowers. If, instead of planting nothing 

 but early tulips, beds of Darwins and 

 cottage tulips are used, much greater 

 satisfaction will be given, and the 

 bulbs of these, if set in clumps where 

 they can be undisturbed, will be as 

 good or better the second year. 



Of the narcissi, the big trumpet 

 sorts, such as Emperor, Golden Spur, 

 Princeps, Victoria, and Empress, are 

 all good for cutting. So are all the 

 poeticus section, also the Leedsii, Bar- 

 rii, and incomparabilis varieties. Poet- 

 icus ornatus will be found most use- 



ful, coming, as it does, several weeks 

 ahead of the type, and it is well to re- 

 member that while only a few of the 

 large trumpet varieties, such as Em- 

 peror, Princeps and Victoria, will per- 

 sist outdoors, practically all the short 

 trumpet section do better year after 

 year with a minimum of care. Where 

 narcissi are to be naturalized, the short 

 trumpet section is the one to depend 

 on. 



AMERICAN BOSE SOCIETY. 



A new rose, registered by George 

 Burton, of Wyndmoor, Philadelphia, 

 Pa., is filed with the American Bose 

 Society. It is a distinct sport from 

 Maryland, discovered in 1910 and now 

 filed for the first time. 



At its October meeting the executive 

 committee of the American Kose So- 

 ciety, following the instructions of the 

 meeting of the society at Minneapolis, 

 relative to the adoption of plans and 

 rules for test rose gardens at Wash- 

 ington, D. C, Ithaca, N. Y., Minneapo- 

 lis, and New Brunswick, N. J., took 

 up the correspondence and plans per- 

 taining to this work. Theodore Wirth, 



president-elect of the S. A. F., sent ol 

 a carefully drawn plan. John Cook, 

 of Baltimore; C. A. Beal, -of jDornel 

 University, and M. . A. Blake, horti- 

 culturist of the agricultural station of 

 New Jersey, submitted suggestions as 

 to what they could do toward starting- 

 and caring for the test garden. Thes<v 

 matters were carefully gone over. 

 President W, E. Pierson submitted a 

 set of rules for the practical working 

 of the test garden, and these were con- 

 sidered section by section and sub- 

 mitted for suggestion or amendment. 



The proposed extension of member- 

 ship and affiliation with local societies 

 was reported to be receiving com- 

 mendation. The effort to obtain an ac- 

 curate list of all roses originated in 

 America is being taken up with inter- 

 est; reports have come from California, 

 Canada and widiely separated sections. 



The premium list for the spring ex- 

 hibition, to be held in New York city 

 the last of March, 1914, will be taken 

 up and issued without delay. 



The National Eose Society of Eng- 

 land, in its annual report, gives recog- 

 nition to the members of the American 

 Eose Society who were present at its 

 exhibition. Ex-President Adolph Far- 

 enwald and E. G. Hill are finely photo- 

 graphed therein. 



More members have paid the mem- 

 bership fee for 1913 than have done 

 so in any one year before. This is 

 what we need. "Come with us and 

 we will do thee good." The annual 

 bulletin for 1913 will be an interest- 

 ing volume. 



Benjamin Hammond, Sec'y. 



SEASONABLE NOTES. 



Calanthes. 



As the flower spikes of calanthes 

 advance, the foliage begins to turn 

 yellow. It is wise now to reduce the 

 water supply gradually. A little weak 

 manure may be given once or twice 

 more, but after November 1 only clear 

 water should be afforded. Keep the 

 plants in a warm and rather .dry house 

 where the night temperature does not 

 run below 62 degrees, and, to assist in 

 the proper development of the flowers, 

 65 degrees at night will be better. A 

 light shade only is now needed; it is 

 better not to afford the full sun after 

 the flowers start expanding, as this 

 causes the pink varieties to fade out bad- 

 ly. Be sure plants are not standing in 

 any drip, as this has a tendency both to 

 spot the leaTes and to start -decay of the 

 bulbs. 



C(elo£7ne Cristata. 



As the bulbs of Coelogyne cristata are 

 now well made up, with flower spikes 



showing prominently at the bases, the 

 water supply should be decreased. Syr- 

 inging, also, should be discontinued, 

 except that a light spraying is still 

 permissible on the mornings of clear 

 days. The plants will now stand fuH 

 sunshine. Do not make the not uncom- 

 mon mistake of trying to force along 

 an early batch in heat. This coelogyne 

 will not tolerate any such treatment 

 any more than will odontoglossums or 

 masdevallias. The flowers will cone 

 but little earlier than those in a ccol 

 house, and will lack the texture of t'le 

 latter. 



Odontoglossum Grande. 



As plants of Odontoglossum granoe, 

 the showy autumn-flowering orchid 

 commonly known as the baby orchid, 

 pass out of flower, keep them drier at 

 the roots. They succeed best hung up 

 close to the light in a comparatively 

 cool house, although this odontoglossum 

 will withstand hot weather well. As 

 new growths show at the base of the 

 latest made up bulbs, any necessary 

 repotting can be done. I find fern 



