12 



The Florists' Review 



June 18, 1914. 



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^ SEASONABLE i»^ 1 

 i ^ SUGGESTIONS ^ 



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Marguerites. 



If nicely flowered white marguerites 

 are wanted in December, the plants 

 should be in 3-inch or 4-inch pots. 

 They will continue to throw flowering 

 wood all summer and look rather un- 

 promising. Never mind that; keep 

 them pinched and potted along. Dis- 

 continue the pinching in the early part 

 of October and two months later they 

 will prove useful. I have found the 

 old, small-flowered varieties far the 

 best for pot culture. Mrs. Sander does 

 not make a shapely plant, and Queen 

 Alexandra is not a midwinter bloomer. 



Coming to the yellow marguerites, 

 these are not so easily handled as the 

 white ones. They, however, have 

 greater value as cut flowers. Some 

 growers carry over the old plants year 

 after year, until they are old, gnarled 

 specimens like some of the so-called 

 century-old Japanese conifers. These 

 are kept on the dry side in summer, 

 in coldframes with a light shelter 

 above them to reduce the strength of 

 the sun's rays. In September they are 

 stood in a house where they have a 

 chance to root through into the benches 

 or beds. All are agreed that for mid- 

 winter flowering restricted root run is 

 an advantage. Where grown in benches 

 the plants can be carried over if de- 

 sired, pruned back after flowering, run 

 dry for some time and started up again 

 in August. 



If an early spring crop is wanted, 

 bench the plants in September. They 

 will give some winter flowers, but not 

 a really heavy crop until spring. Young 

 plants to be grown along should not 

 be allowed to get pot bound. As usual, 

 a certain percentage of plants may be 

 expected to come blind, especially 

 among late propagations. Thete is a 

 great and growing demand for yellow 

 marguerites in winter. There are a 

 few points to remember: The most 

 suitable night temperature is 48 to 50 

 degrees; roots must only have a lim- 

 ited range; pots or benches, once well 

 filled with roots, can be top-dressed 

 and fed quite freely after February. 

 Plants can be carried over for a num- 

 ber of years, but it is being proved 

 that young stock gives just as good 

 results. 



Cyclamens. 



Cyclamens are making capital growth 

 and will require spacing apart occasion- 

 ally. If a nice, light house is at dis- 

 posal, splendid cyclamens can be grown 

 in it, provided some shade is afforded 

 and the house is kept well ventilated 

 all the time. Thrips are apt to prove 

 troublesome in summer and the house 

 should be given a nicotine fumigation 

 once a week. The plants enjoy a spray- 

 ing each afternoon and on hot days 

 they will appreciate it several times, 

 but only enough should be given to 

 moisten the leaves and create a nice 

 atmospheric moisture. Heavy syring- 

 ings are liable to create a slimy sur- 

 face on the pots, which we do not 



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want. In potting the plants be sure to 

 use leaf-mold which is flaky rather 

 than much decomposed. Bather more 

 old decayed manure should be added 

 at the final potting. 



When a suitable greenhouse cannot 

 at this season be afforded the cyclam- 

 ens, probably a good coldframe can 

 be used. Plunge the pots about half 

 their depth in clean coal ashes, ele- 

 vate the shades well, back and front, 

 and leave the air on continuously. Do 

 not shade the glass; that will only 

 draw the plants up and it is stockiness 

 which counts. Use lath shadings, and 

 only when the sun shines. Spray at 

 least once a day. On cool, cloudy days 

 and nights which are likely to be 

 clear the sashes are better removed 

 altogether. Spray the plants with a 

 nicotine extract or some other good in- 

 secticide to keep them clean. 



unsuitable soil or other causes. Your 

 plants would do better if you would 

 pot them singly in 2^ -inch pots. Be 

 sure the seedlings are not leggy br 

 crowded before potting. If you have 

 any leaf-mold or even half rotted 

 leaves which you could add to your 

 soil, it would be an advantage. If you 

 could sterilize or bake the soil you use 

 for seedlings, all weed seeds, fungi and 

 insects, with the eggs, would be de- 

 stroyed. If you do not want to go to 

 this trouble, water the soil with Ber- 

 mine, one part to 300 parts of water. 

 Sterilization of the soil would make a 

 wonderful difference to your lettuce 

 crop. C. W. 



PLANTS FOB LABOE BED. 



The steel company in our town has a 

 piece of ground 75x500, in the center 

 of which they would like to put a bed 

 twenty feet across. What would be 

 the best hardy plants for this, high in 

 the center and lower at the outer edges? 

 As a railroad runs near the west side 

 of this, there will be lots of smoke and 

 dust to contend with. Would like plants 

 that will look well all summer in a 

 western Pennsylvania climate. 



J. W. G. 



STOCKS DOING POOBLY. 



Enclosed you will find two plants of 

 stocks taken from a 4-inch flat. The 

 compost contains about one-fourth ma- 

 nure, a good proportion of sand and 

 the balance clay soil, which is all we 

 have in this part of the country. They 

 are planted two inches apart each way. 

 Will you kindly tell me the trouble and 

 the remedy t The whole flat is spoiled. 

 We have the same trouble with our let- 

 tuce, which is the main crop in winter. 

 Do you think it is the result of the 

 larvae of the black flyt We have mil- 

 lions of them and have used carbon 

 bisulphide without success. Can you 

 suggest any remedy! G. F. F. C. 



I would use a plant of ricinus, or 

 castor oil plant, in the center, and 

 make the balance of the bed cannas. 

 They are perpetual bloomers and the 

 foliage is always handsome. You could 

 get a batch of the tall flowering sorts 

 for the central part of the bed and run 

 a band of a dwarfer variety near the 

 edge. If desired you could plant a 

 border of coleus, or, if you prefer 

 some more tropical looking subject, 

 use Caladium edculentum. A block of 

 tall scarlet or yellow cannas, with a 

 band of the reverse color in front, 

 would make a good contrast, although 

 the tendency now is to have beds of 

 one solid color. I would not advise you 

 to have a mixed bed; it will not look 

 well. C. W. 



I think your trouble may be due more 

 to allowing the plants to become too 

 crowded before transplanting than to 



Washington, Pa^ — B. W. Spragg's 

 5-passenger touring car was destroyed 

 by fire June 1 on the road near Wash- 

 ington. 





OW$N LETTCG^v^-" READEU^ 



DOUBLE PBOFIT CBOPS. 



If The Review has the Country Gen- 

 tleman on its exchange list I should like 

 to have the editor turn back to the issue 

 of May 16, in which Maurice Fuld has 

 an article on "Double Profit Crops." 

 It tells the farmer how he can secure 

 $10,000 an acre from gladioli, $1,000 an 

 acre from dahlias, etc. To those of us 

 in the vicinity of Coraopolis, who have 

 not had Mr. Fuld's wide experience, 

 this sounds almost as alluring as the 

 erstwhile tales of profits in ginseng. 

 Theo. F. Beckert. 



UNIQUE IN HABIT OF BLOOM. 



The article entitled ' ' A Showy Bor- 

 der Plant," in The Review of June 4, 

 with the picture of a border of liatris. 



prompts me to write to j^ou in regard 

 to two varieties of liatris that are grow- 

 ing on my place. On a gravelly knoll 

 in my field are some plants of Liatris 

 spicata, the variety shown in The Re- 

 view; the other sort on my place is L. 

 pycnostachya. There is no striking dif- 

 ference between the two kinds, though 

 spicata forms its buds in knob-like 

 masses on the stalk, while pycnostachya 

 has them more nearly uniformly distrib- 

 uted. The flowers of the two are identi- 

 cal in color, which is purple. Both have 

 the habit, unique among spike flowers, 

 of beginning to bloom at the top, the 

 bloom advancing downward along the 

 stalk and dying in the same order, so 

 that what is at first a tuft of flowers 

 at the top becomes a slowly descending 

 ring. B. C. Auten. 



