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14 



The Florists^ Review 



Dbcehbeb 31, 1014. 



Irwin Bertermaon* 



(President of the Florists' Telegraph DeUvery, who becomes an " Affiliation " Director of the S, A. F.) 



PEOPAOATINO FICUS BLASTICA. 



Will you please describe the best way 

 of starting rubber plants? C. W. H. 



In propagating the rubber plant, or 

 Fieus elastica, the surest and most com- 

 mon method, at least in this country, is 

 what is known as mossing. Cuttings 

 are also used, especially in Europe, but 

 frequently disappoint American grow- 

 ers by failing to root. Late spring is 

 a good time to propagate by cuttings. 

 The cuttings, usually from six to eight 

 inches long, and with several leaves 

 attached, should be taken from the 

 latest growth and should be cut just 

 below a joint. They may be inserted 

 in small pots of sand and loam, and 

 the pots may then be plunged in a 

 bench which has a bottom heat of 

 about 80 degrees. It is well to fasten 

 the leaves up to a small stake, so as 

 to save room and facilitate watering. 

 After the first watering, the soil should 

 be kept only moderately moist. The 

 cuttings should be well rooted before 

 being shifted. 



In propagation by mossing, the tops 

 of young plants can be used, but it is 

 customary to retain large, branching 

 plants as stock plants at establishments 

 where much propagating is done. The 

 minimum temperature should be 60 de- 

 grees at night. Nine or ten inches 

 from the tip of the shoot, where the 

 wood is not too green or too hard, a cut 

 about an inch and a half long is made 

 in the wood, from the bark to about 

 halfway through the shoot. Sphagnum 

 moss is inserted to keep the cut open 

 and more moss is wrapped around 

 the stem, so as to envelop it entirely 

 where the cut has been made. If the 



moss when tied on ia as large as a hen's 

 6gg> you have enough on. Keep the 

 moss syringed daily. In five or six 

 weeks you will see roots protruding 

 through the moss. Let them get well 

 rooted and then sever from the plant 

 just below the moss, and pot. The 

 young plants should be kept from sun 

 and draft till they take hold of the 

 new soil. This method of propagation 

 is successful at any season of the year. 



ENQLI^H IVY IN ABIZONA. 



Enclosed you will find some leaves 

 and seeds from a plant which I have 

 seen used for floral work, but which 

 is new to me, as I have nothing re- 

 sembling it in my greenhouses or gar- 

 den. Please give me the name and 

 describe the habit of the plant. State, 

 also, whether it is hardy here, in 

 central Arizona, and whether it is 

 much used for floral work. 



W. N. K. 



This plant is the common English 

 ivy. Its botanical name is Hedera 

 Helix. English ivy is a remarkably 

 fine ornamental evergreen climber, as 

 grown in most parts of the southwest. 

 It is extremely tolerant of the winter 

 temperatures there, enduring at least 

 10 degrees below zero, and is also re- 

 sistant to the summer temperatures. 

 To be successful, however, it should be 

 planted on the north and east jsides 

 of houses, where it receives some, pro- 

 tection during the hot summer i sea- 

 son, from the sun. It is slow-growing 

 at first, but when once established it 

 makes a rapid growth and is excellent 

 for clinging to walls — brick walls, plas- 

 tered walls and especially wooden 



walls. The leaves are an inch or twQ 

 in diameter and 5-angled. They are 

 thick and leathery, dark green in color 

 and remain on the plant for several 

 years. Occasional varieties have va- 

 riegated or silvery leaves. The speci- 

 men enclosed has roundish or oval 

 leaves, due to the fact that with the 

 portion of the plant in flower the 

 leaves are rounded or oval. 



I am pleased to be able to reeoin- 

 mend this plant highly as an ornamen- 

 tal evergreen climber for the south- 

 western climate. J. J. Thornber, 

 Botanist, University of Arizona. 



FROM CHICAGO TO KEW. 



Those whose memory goes back to 

 the World's Fair year of 1893 may re- 

 call the plant of Grammatophyllum 

 speciosum exhibited at Chicago as a 

 part of the display of Sander & Sons, 

 of St. Albans, England. After the fair 

 the plant was sent home and presented 

 to the Royal Gardens, Kew, where it 

 first bloomed in 1901. This year the 

 famous grammatophyllum is bearing 

 only a single spike, about eight feet in 

 length, with fifty blooms. The flowers 

 at the base of the spike are male, these 

 having only four segments and no lip. 

 The color of the petals and sepals is 

 vellow blotched with chocolate-brown. 



ROCHESTER, N. Y. 



The Market. 



Christmas has come and gone for 

 another year. At the time of writing 

 it is hard to state just how good a 

 Christmas trade we had, as practically 

 no comparisons have been made. The 

 rush did not commence so early this 

 year, and it was not until Tuesday 

 that good, brisk business was noticed. 

 Stock was good and there was plenty 

 of it. An extra demand for red carna- 

 tions was keenly felt and fine stock 

 was offered. During the Christmas 

 trade funeral work was heavy and so 

 the white and pink carnations were 

 much sought for. American Beauties 

 were choice and retailed at $5 to $12 

 per dozen. All other kinds of roses 

 were plentiful and sold readily at holi- 

 day figures. Violets, cattleyas and gar- 

 denias sold well. Valley is plentiful 

 and moves a little more easily. Easter 

 lilies are plentiful and sell well. The 

 demand for sweet peas is large, but 

 the shipments are small. Paper White 

 narcissi are being used extensively in 

 design work. Some good chrysanthe- 

 mums are on the market, among them 

 some fine Chadwicks. Forget-me-nots, 

 stevia and snapdragons complete our 

 line of stock. The supply of galax, 

 leucothoe, boxwood and other greens is 

 satisfactory.. 



Almost all the florists have decora- 

 tions for New Year's. A large number 

 of weddings, receptions and dances are 

 booked, and it looks as though we may 

 be busy for a few weeks yet with this 

 kind of work. H. J. H. 



Batavla, N. Y. — Gustav Noack has 

 torn down two of his old buildings at 

 the range on Bank street and is re- 

 placing them with two large modern 

 houses. 



Morton Grove, DL— The firm of Platz & 

 Sons Co. has been incorporated by Nick 

 Platz, Paul M, Platz and Victor A. 

 Platz, with a capital stock of $31,000. 

 They grow greenhouse vegetables. 



