16 



1 he Florists^ Review 



July 28, 1014. 



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better the plants grow and flower. 

 Again, the light green color is best pro- 

 duced in heavy soil." 



FERN BUNNEBS IN SOLID BED. 



Will you please inform me whether 

 three inches of soil would be enough to 

 grow good Boston fern runners? The 

 bench is solid; that is, it is filled with 

 cinders up to five inches from the top. 

 We have heretofore grown good nephrol- 

 «pis in four to five inches of soil, in 

 the same bench, but desire to know 

 whether three inches of good soil would 

 be enough for a bench which we intend 

 to leave all winter for runners. 



C. P. W. 



Three inches of good soil, on a cin- 

 der bottom, may hold the ferns through 

 the winter, provided they are given a 

 top-dressing of a mixture of soil and 

 short manure in the spring. W. H. T. 



FEEN QBOWEB OF FLORIDA. 



Surrounded by splendid specimens of 

 nephrolepis, all grown by his own firm, 

 W. P. Newell, of Apopka, Fla., may bi' 

 said to be in his element. He is the 

 first half of the firm of Newell & Ust- 

 ler, who have been growing Boston, 

 Whitmani and Amerpohlii ferns at 

 Apopka for the last two and one-half 

 years. The plants shown in the accom- 

 panying illustration are a few of tho 

 thousands that are grown there under 

 slats, with great success. 



The slats that cover the liouses are 

 twenty feet long and three inches wide, 

 and are laid with 3-inch spaces between 

 them. These aflford favorable conditions 

 for the growing of these ferns, as 

 well as for some vegetable plants 

 in their season. Among the lat- 

 ter are grown pineapples and .Jap- 

 anese climbing cucumbers. The ferns, 

 however, are a steady source of 

 profit, for three crops can be produced 

 in a year, the young ferns growing to 

 4-inch size in about four months. The 

 <lry season is the great difficulty these 

 growers have to contend with and thi? 

 has been met by the installation of an 

 effective watering system. In spite of 

 the fact that the sandy soil which the 

 young ferns hold in their roots in ship- 

 ment, dries out in a short time, the 

 plants travel well for long distances. 

 The runners, which are packed in wet 

 moss, do not meet this diflSculty. 



Mr. Newell takes care of the financial 

 end of the firm's business, while his 

 partner, H. J. Ustler, gives the slat 

 houses and garden his personal super- 

 vision. The latter has had a large ex- 

 perience as a grower, having spent some 

 years under glass up north. 



ASPABAOUS LUTZI. 



The European trade papers contain 

 notes of a new asparagus, named after 

 its raiser, P. Lutz, of Bingen, the mouse 

 tower town. 



It is supposed to be a cross between 

 Asparagus plumosus nanus and Aspara- 



gus deflexus scandens. The shoots, five 

 to six feet long, grow straight upward 

 without showing any tendency to wind 

 around each other. If planted out in a 

 house, it is best to put a strong bamboo 

 stake, six to eight feet long, to each 

 plant. One or two shoots are tied to 

 this stake, but the following shoots need 

 no artificial support. They will grow 

 straight up between the others, and will 

 be held upright by the lateral fronds. 

 When cutting the trails, simply cut 

 them off at the bottom and pull down- 

 wards. This is easily accomplished with- 

 out disturbing the remaining shoots. An- 

 other advantage that Asparagus LrUtzi 

 has over Asparagus plumosus is that the 

 trails have laterals right down to the 

 bottom. There are no bare stems, and 

 no thorns. The lateral fronds or leaflets 

 are of a feathery texture, and of a beau- 

 tiful light green color. 



Thousands of snow-white, star-like 

 little flowers cover the plants, and give 

 them the appearance of being veiled. 

 The flowers appear everywhere, not for 

 a short time but nearly uninterruptedly. 

 .According to one account, "these flow- 

 ering trails make splendid material for 

 the florist. When cut, the branches of 

 Asparagus Lutzi last for weeks, no mat- 

 ter whether they are kept in water or 

 not. Many experiments have proved 

 this. Asparagus Lutzi should be grown 

 quite cool. Air is a first consideration, 

 and after this comes a heavy soil, a good 

 clayey loam. The heavier the soil, the 



GENEBAL STOCK FOB BEGINNER. 



I am getting ready to start a small 

 greenhouse establishment and want to 

 carry a small line of cut flowers, pot 

 plants and ferns. I have a greenhouse 

 20x60, arranged with four benches the 

 length of the house. I will put in the 

 frames I need. This is my first at- 

 tempt in the line and I would welcome 

 some suggestions as to what to carry 

 and how to rotate in order to utilize 

 fully my limited space. I am in a town 

 of 10,000, but am located in the heart 

 of a university community and expect 

 a large part of my patronage from uni- 

 versity students and faculty. I hope to 

 be able to open September 15, the date 

 of the opening of the first semester of 

 the university. L. C. W. 



It is not easy in one house to carry 

 such a variety of plants as you need, 

 and grow them successfully. In the 

 way of ferns, you will find such varie- 

 ties as Nephrolepis exaltata Bostonien- 

 sis, or Boston fern, N. elegantissima 

 and N. Eooseveltii as useful as any. 

 The ferns require a little more shade 

 than the flowering plants. If you wished 

 you could plant a couple of your 

 benches with carnations, such as Pink 

 Delight, White Wonder, Beacon and 

 Benora. Part of one of these benches 

 could be pulled out right after Memo- 

 rial day and your nephrolepis stocK 

 planted out and potted up in August. 



In the way of miscellaneous flowers, 

 you will find bulbs useful. A few good 

 sorts to grow are La Reine, Yellow 

 Prince, Murillo, Couronne d'Or and 

 White Hawk tulips; Golden Spur, Trum- 

 pet Major, poeticus ornatus, Double 

 Von Sion, Emperor and Victoria nar- 

 cissi; Roman hyacinths; Paper Whit*' 

 narcissi; Gladiolus Peach Blossom, 

 Blushing Bride, America and Augusta; 

 Spiraea Gladstone and Queen Alexandra; 

 yellow and white marguerites; hydran- 

 geas; berried solanums, and Primula ob- 

 conica and Sinensis. One bench miglit 

 be devoted to chrysanthemums, of which 

 you should plant some each of early, 

 midseason and late varieties. These 

 could be followed with sweet peas or 

 snapdragons, or some part could be de- 

 voted to the forcing of bulbous flowers. 



It would be better not to grow too 

 many varieties. Wait until you have 

 more glass before increasing the va- 

 riety. The more coldframe sashes you 

 liave the better. Bulbs can be carried 

 in the frames until wanted for forcinp- 

 The frames are useful for bedding 

 plants in spring and later are ideal for 

 growing cyclamens, primulas and other 

 winter flowering plants. If you want 

 geraniums, coleus and other bedding 

 plants, I would advise buying rooted 

 cuttings ready for potting. You will 

 probably find it necessary to buy roses, 

 carnations, asters, gladioli, sweet peas 

 and other flowers from time to time. 



C. W. 



W. P. Newell. 



Ann Arbor, Mich.— Mr. and Mrs. Mel- 

 vin D. Lennon, who have been in th^ 

 greenhouse business for the last four- 

 teen years, have adopted the firm name 

 of the Broadway Greenhouse Co., to 

 avoid confusion with a company r^' 

 cently formed. Their range at present 

 includes thirteen houses 15x165 and one 

 house 10x165. 



