Dbcbubb'b 17, 1014.' 



The Florists* Review 



21 



twenty-five years, have bought descrip- 

 tionsf This seems to be the age of de- 

 scriptions, especially in our line. 



We are perhapsi like a mother with 

 her first-born bab^. "When we get a 

 new vafiety, we think it the finest 

 thing on earth and send it out to the 

 trade with a glowing description be- 

 fore it has been tried out to such an 

 extent that we know it is a winner. I 

 have no doubt that there have been a 

 number of- extra good roses and other 

 plants originated on small places that 

 went by the board and never wer^ in- 

 troduced to the trade, for want of giass 

 area or perhaps lack of fundis." 



In regard to a rose withoui, thorns, 

 that in my mind would be agsurd; a 

 rose would lose half its beau& if de- 

 prived of its thorns, as Mr. %etscher 

 would have it. Let us get aJiFnear a 

 perfect and profitable rose ST color, 

 size, stem and production per pifant as 



possible, and let the thorns alone; that 

 is my idea. 



I have been growing a rose for the 

 last three seasons, a seedling. I have 

 propagated it sparingly and this year 

 I have 300 plants blooming. It is as 

 near Mr. Betscher's description of a, 

 good rose as can be, with the exception 

 that it has thorns. In fragrance it is 

 unlike any other rose, a real fruity fra- 

 grance. In color it is a real red, so 

 much so that when placed by a Rich- 

 mond it has a tendency to make Rich- 

 mond look like a dark pink rose. In 

 blooming qualities it will rival the En- 

 chantress carnation. I have never sold 

 a rose from this variety, yet I have 

 been offered as high as 50 cents for a 

 single flower on a short stem when seen 

 by my customers. I have christened 

 this rose Mrs. Sarah Yeats, and intend 

 to introduce it in 1916. ,J. E. Yeats. 



TELLOW LEAVES ON KIT.T.ARNEY. 



Please let me know what is the mat- 

 ter with my Killarney roses. I mulched 

 them with decayed horse manure and 

 they seemed to bear a crop of yellow 

 leaves inside of a week. I have been 

 using a good deal of sulphur for the 

 purpose of checking mildew. E. K. 



seen, also picking ofl:' all aflfected 

 leaves and blowing air-slaked lime 

 through the house to dry up the mois- 

 ture in the air. This treatment will 

 usually cure a dose of black spot in 

 three to four weeks, but during this 

 time the plants should never be al- 

 lowed to suffer from dryness at the 

 root, or they are liable to receive a 

 bad check, which may do them as much 

 harm as the black spot. W. J. K. 



At this time of the year, when the 

 days are short and the majority of 

 them cloudy, the lower leaves of all 

 roses, especially Killarneys, ripen and 

 turn yellow easily. A large amount of 

 sulphur will hasten the trouble, but 

 there is nothing that will cause it more 

 quickly than a mulching of either sheep 

 or horse manure. Both of these ma- 

 nures are strong in ammonia, and, as 

 it is not possible to give any great 

 quantity of fresh air through ventila- 

 tion, the air in the house becomes 

 charged with ammonia thrown ofif by 

 the manure and will cause a large 

 quantity of the leaves to turn yellow. 

 Therefore it is not advisable to mulch 

 during this time with manure contain- 

 ing a large percentage of ammonia. 



W. J. K. 



SULPHUR FOR MILDEW. 



What method is used for applying 

 sulphur to steam pipes, for the check- 

 ing of mildew on rosesl Or would the 

 application of the powdered sulphur 

 with a blower answer the same pur- 

 pose? In either case, how often should 

 the sulphur be applied? Is sulphur the 

 best remedy for mildew, or is there a 

 more effective one? S. J. J. & S. 



BLACK SPOT ON ROSES. 



What is the best remedy for black 

 spot on roses? Please tell me if you 

 know of anything I can do for them. 



R. G. S. 



About the only remedy for black 

 spot on roses is to keep, if possible, 

 all moisture off the foliage as long as 

 there are traces of the disease to be 



So far as known, sulphur is still 

 the moat effective preventive of mil- 

 ilew. Sulphur can be applied with a 

 blower, dusting it on the foliage, or 

 it can be dissolved in water to a thin 

 liquid and painted on the heating pipes. 

 The former method is mostly used dur- 

 ing the summer; the powder is ap- 

 plied on clear days, while the foliage 

 is dry, and the application should be 

 repeated after the plants are syringed 

 as long as there are signs of mildew. 

 Some mix air-slaked lime with the sul- 

 phur, whether used as a powder or as 

 a liquid. When mixed with the powder 

 and blown on the foliage, the lime 

 takes up any moisture in the house; 

 when painted on the heating pipes 

 with the sulphur, the lime helps to 

 hold the sulphur to the pipes, as it 

 otherwise easily drops off, especially 

 if painted on too thick. It is a good 

 idea to keep a little sulphur painted 



on one pipe in each house at all times, 

 as a preventive. W. J. K. 



POT PLANTS FOR EASTER. 



Will you kindly advise us how to cut 

 back pot-grown Conrad F. Meyer and 

 J. B. Clark roses for Easter forcing? 

 Are they handled the same as hybrid 

 perpetuals, or as climbers, and how 

 much time should they be given? 



Ia & S. 



Conrad Ferdinand Meyer is a variety ' 

 of Rosa rugosa and will not do well 

 treated like the hybrid perpetuals. It 

 must be pruned lightly. While a 

 splendid outdoor rose, I do not con- 

 sider it a particularly desirable sort for 

 forcing. 



J. B. Clark is a hybrid tea. All this 

 section must be cut back much less 

 severely than the hybrid perpetuals. 

 Remove dead and weak wood, merely 

 cutting back the strong shoots about 

 one-fourth their length. If wanted for 

 Easter, which comes April 4, start both 

 these roses early in January in a cold 

 house. As growth starts, give them 58 

 to 60 degrees at night. Run a trifle 

 cooler as the buds show color. C. W. 



MOTT-LY MUSINGS. 



Jack frost was a welcome visitor to 

 Norfolk, Va., when he cut down the 

 outdoor mum crop, which was heavy. 

 The blooms presented a sorry sight 

 in the market the next morning. The 

 trade is jubilant, for this makes the 

 prospects good for holiday business. 

 All are advertising extensively. 



Blick, of Norfolk, offers to escort 

 those interested out to his greenhouses; 

 .1. W. Felton has a most inviting and 

 suggestive window; Grandy the Flo- 

 rist is offering Saturday specials in dol- 

 lar boxes, and each is aiming to stim- 

 ulate trade. 



Norfolk seedsmen are well satisfied 

 with the season's work. Geo. Tait & 

 Sons, Norfolk, have just received a 

 big. importation of spinach, one of 

 their heaviest lines at this time. The 

 low temperature has cut off the crop 

 of peas and beans; ten baskets of peas 

 formed the last shipment and they 

 sold for $5 per basket. The snap bean 

 yield has been ahead of previous years. 

 The return for spring was 265,000 

 baskets; for fall, 150,000 baskets. The 

 prices have kept up well. The Wil- 

 liams Seed Co., Norfolk, is the latest 

 addition to the ranks, catering es- 

 pecially to the retail trade. They are 

 handling bulbs of extra fine quality, 

 in keeping with their other lines and 

 their surroundings. 



F. L. Wertz, Roanoke, Va., has suc- 

 ceeded to the business of Cannaday & 

 Wertz and has opened a store down- 

 town. The store is complete in every 

 detail and he will undoubtedly benefit 

 by the move. Mr. Wertz is well satis- 

 fied with the outlook. 



.7. J. Fallon, of Lynchburg and Roa- 

 noke, Va., is well prepared with a fine 

 lot of stock for the holiday season. 

 Corsage bouquets are being worn with 

 considerably more green than usual. 



Howard Gardner, Greensboro, N. C, 

 is a trinity, being a druggist, seeds- 

 man and owner of the Summit Avenue 

 Greenhouses, an enthusiast in all. He 

 is especially proud of his Timothy 

 Eaton mums, some of which brought 

 50 cents apiece — strong evidence of 

 skillful culture. 



