V . - "r.'j.'^T*' 



Febbuaby 11, 1915. 



The Florists^ Review 



17 



mon newspaper and saturate it in a 

 solution consisting of three tablespoon- 

 fuls of saltpeter dissolved in one quart 

 of warm water. Hang the soaked 

 sheets up on a wire to dry. When 

 nearly dry, paint the sheets with a 

 forty per cent nicotine solution and 

 give a good dusting with red pepper. 

 The paper, of course, must be burned 

 before it becomes too dry and about 

 twelve sheets are used for a house 

 20x100 feet. Experience will soon teach 

 the user how to prepare and use this 

 paper, which is much cheaper than the 

 papers you can buy, and we consider 

 it better. I do not wish to receive 

 credit for making this paper, as the 

 directions were given to me by a 

 brother florist and they are worth try- 

 ing. We have tried all these methods 

 and find them good. The latter method 

 will also clean out thrips. 



H. W. Spath. 



VINCA BOSEA. 



In a recent issue of The Keview I 

 noted the following question: "When 

 should Vinca rosea be pinched back 

 to make the best plants for Memorial 

 day?" The answer, by C. W., was: 

 "Vinca rosea should not be pinched 

 at all." The advice given by this 

 writer is so uniformly dependable that 

 in dissenting from him in this instance 

 it may be well to say that suggestions 

 here offered are based on experience 

 gained in handling thousands of these 

 plants yearly. Unpinched plants would 

 prove disappointing under our methods, 

 both in quality of plants and in cash 

 returns. Pinched stock produces nu- 

 merously branched, symmetrical plants, 

 each shoot flowering unremittingly 

 from May to October; so profuse and 

 persistent is their flowering propensity 

 that if your stock is in flower May 15 

 you may rest assured that it will be in 

 bloom May 30. Likewise this same 

 stock may be planted out May 15, if 

 your season permits, and you can heart- 

 ily assure your customers that plants 

 will be in flower May 30; they are en- 

 tirely trustworthy in this particular and 

 around Memorial day relieve many 

 worries. Fall seedlings may be pinched 

 and carefully stored until March on a 

 light bench, in a manner to avoid over- 

 watering, as this would prove disas- 

 trous. With the advent of March some 

 plants may be advanced to larger pots 

 and t^eir size and branches will be a 

 matter of treatment. Pinching may be 

 done as late as April 15. If short of 

 stock, cuttings will root readily and 

 make nice 2%-inch pot plants. 



January seedlings are to be grown on 

 without check and pinched in March 

 and will produce nice 4-branched plants; 

 possibly with stove treatment they 

 could be grown stronger, but our facili- 

 ties did not permit high temperature. 

 This leads to the thought that under 

 stove treatment plants may break natu- 

 rally and form bushy subjects, yet I 

 recall individual plants that through 

 some injury had made but one break, 

 which shot out at an angle to form a 

 lop-sided specimen a foot or more in 

 length without any sign of laterals. 



As these plants are perennials, they 

 may be held over for an ensuing sea- 

 son and grown to large specimens. Un- 

 sold stock will also afford fine sprays 

 for cutting. These branches in water 

 will develop flowers persistently for a 

 week or more, the indoor-grown being 

 preferable. 



It should also be noted that vincas 



Standing Wreath of Lilies, Orchids and Hyacinths. 



may be planted in full or partial sun 

 exposure or with no direct sunlight and 

 do admirably well in all these positions. 

 The white with pink eye will answer 

 all purposes of the pure white variety. 

 The pink-magenta is a pleasing shade, 

 but has lured me often to selection 

 for something better. 



Theo. F. Beckert. 



AZALEAS HAVE PAI£ FOLIAGE. 



I have some azaleas that I carried 

 over from last year with good success, 

 except that the foliage has not the dark 

 green color it should have. Will you 

 please tell me what I can do to give 

 them the dark green color? Do they 

 need food of any kind? They still are 

 in the same pots as when I purchased 

 them a year ago. The plants are full 

 of buds. Will they need feeding to 

 develop the buds? S. M. 



Home-grown azaleas always carry 

 foliage somewhat paler in color than 

 that seen on newly imported plants. 

 Azaleas will not tolerate much feeding, 

 but if you give your plants a watering 

 with soot water, using the real, black, 



soft coal soot, at intervals of ten days, 

 it will green them up if anything will. 

 The best plan is to place the soot in 

 a bag and soak it in a tub or barrel 

 of water; then, when the water is 

 black, use some of this for your plants, 

 but first dilute it to one-fourth its 

 strength. Soot water is fine for coloring 

 up the foliage, especially of soft- 

 wooded plants. C. W. 



STANDING WREATH. 

 The funeral of Wm. D. Scott, a 

 prominent railroad man of Portland, 

 Ore., was the occasion of a large dis- 

 play of florists' work and called forth 

 some of their best efforts. In the ac- 

 companying illustration is shown a 

 standing wreath made by Niklas & Son 

 for that occasion. In it were used cal- 

 las, Easter lilies, orchids, Roman hya- 

 cinths and violets. 



Shaxon, Pa.— W. J. Bamett, who has 

 had his share of troubles of late, is 

 getting things straightened out and has 

 high hopes for the future. He recently 

 has opened a store at 403% State 

 street. 



