March 18, 1915. 



The Florists^ Review 



37 



PERTINENT POINTERS §g 

 X ON EASTER PLANTS 



Careful calculation and preliminary planning will enable the grower 

 to market his plants in the best condition and so realize top prices 



ASTER comes this year at 

 a moderately early date. 

 This will necessitate consid- 

 erable forcing and frequent 

 moving of plants in order 

 to time them to a nicety. 

 Any disadvantages of an 

 early Easter, however, are more than 

 compensated for by the clearance of 

 houses of pot plants, which will allow 

 us a much longer season for Memorial 

 day crops. It will be quite otherwise 

 in 1916, when the date of Easter is 

 April 23, within two days of the lat- 

 est possible date on which it can occur. 

 March so far has been true to its 

 characteristics. An occasional day is 

 suggestive of the tropics, but the ma- 

 jority are cold and piercing, with far 

 less precipitation than usual, and unus- 

 ually clear skies. It is a great advan- 

 tage to the retailer when we get clear 

 and balmy climatic conditions for the 

 great floral festival, but we cannot de- 

 pend upon it. Even April Easters are 

 sometimes bitterly cold, with snow- 

 storms thrown in for good measure. 

 Therefore, we must be prepared to 

 wrap plants securely, especially if they 

 have to %o to any distance in care of 

 the slow moving express companies. 



All plants which are ordered some 

 days in advance should be retarded in 

 a cool shed or greenhouse. If in the 

 latter, see that the glass is well shaded 

 and air freely admitted. There is a 

 great advantage in having a roomy 

 shed or storage house for Easter, and 

 it is usually possible to arrange the 

 plants 80 that they can be readily select- 

 ed from by visiting customers. Do not 

 rush the plants too suddenly, however, 

 from strong heat to a low temperature. 

 Some plants will not mind it, but others 

 will soon present a woeful, wilted ap- 

 pearance. Keep a dry atmosphere 

 where these plants are, and, if we get 

 nnusually cold weather, a little fire 

 heat may be necessary, especially for 

 shrubs which have been hard forced and 

 are not established in their pots. Al- 

 ways wash the pots of all plants in 

 the storage shed or house. In fact, as 

 pot washing is a job of considerable 

 niagnitude where thousands of plants 

 are grown, it should be pushed now 

 and completed before the real Easter 

 rush starts. 



Easter Lilies. 



Easter lilies are, by long odds, the 

 i^iost important of Easter pot plants. 

 As the plants get one or two open 

 fiowers move them into a cool house. 

 pe sure not to make the blunder of tak- 

 ing them from a temperature of 70 de- 

 irrees to one 25 degrees lower before 

 he flowers are opening, or the great 

 <;hange will blast practically all the 



buds. Once several blooms are open, 

 however, it is safe to move the plants. 

 See to it that the pollen masses are 

 removed daily to insure clean flowers. 

 It is a pity to remove the pollen, but 

 it is really a necessary mutilation of 

 the flowers. The pollen masses on 

 Lilium candidum give an added charm 

 to the flowers, but it is not possible 

 to pack or ship any lilies without re- 

 moving the pollen and, at the same 

 time, have clean flowers. If plants are 

 to be made up, the soil can be washed 

 away to allow a number to be ac- 

 commodated in large pans. While L. 

 longiflorum giganteum makes the best 

 pot plants, it is a little too dwarf, 

 and it will be found an advantage to 

 shade the house well where the plants 

 are growing in order to draw the stems 

 up. The Formosa lily is the lily par 

 excellence for cutting, and is wonder- 

 fully clean. As a pot plant, it exceeds 

 all others for use in churches, where 

 a little added height of stem is a great 

 advantage. 



"If the lilies are late, give them 70 

 to 75 degrees at night. Spray frequent- 

 ly, using warm water, and close the 

 ventilators tightly early in the after- 

 noon. This sweating will cause some 

 bursting of flowers, but it is the only 

 way to get backward plants ahead. 

 Water freely and give a weak dose of 

 nitrate of soda once a week until the 

 first flowers open. 



Bambler Boses. 



It does not pay to force rambler 

 roses hard near Easter. It may mean 

 a few open flowers, but the color will 

 be poor. Such plants fall a natural 

 prey to mildew, and no plants thus 

 affected will be easy to sell. Try to 

 open the flowers moderately cool and 

 a little shaded. This will prevent the 

 bleaching out of the pink varieties. 

 The baby ramblers are going to be more 

 in favor than ever, and there seems 

 to be a return of the hybrid perpetuals 

 to favor, Frau Karl Druschki and Ul- 

 rich Brunner being more grown than I 



Niobe» the Double ^hite Azalea Most Popular at Easter. 



