March 18, 1015. 



The Florists^ Review 



45 



./r-i 



An Easter Table Centerpiece Filled with a Variety of Light G>lored Spring Flowers. 



pedium than fern fiber; add a little 

 old, dry cow manure and lumpy char- 

 coal. Divided plants will bloom less 

 freely for one season, but will give a 

 grand crop the second season. Plants 

 which may not need repotting can be 

 given a little top-dressing. This, with 

 some judicious feeding, will carry them 

 through all right. 



C. Leeanum is still in flower. It also 

 should be treated in the same way as 

 C. insigne after flowering. This is 

 a valuable florists' cypripedium, 

 worthy of increased attention. The 

 old C. villosum is now coming in sea- 

 son. Here is another good commercial 

 sort; still another is C. Sallieri aureum. 



The cypripediums require somewhat 

 more shade than cattleyas, or there 

 will be danger of the foliage scorch- 

 ing. They appreciate sprayings over- 

 head and enjoy a more stuflfy atmos- 

 phere than cattleyas and Iselias. 



MEXICAN TUBEROSES. 



Can you tell me whether the Mexican 

 everblooming tuberose will do well in 

 Indiana? Explain the nature of its 

 flowers, etc. C. Y. — Ind. 



I presume you refer to the common 

 Mexican tuberose, or polianthes. I 

 have never met with any possessing 

 overblooming qualities, though they 

 may be so described in some catalogues. 

 Tuberoses can be grown under glass, 

 in pots, boxes or benches. A brisk heat 

 suits them best. Bulbs can be planted 

 outdoors in your latitude about May 1. 

 Cover the bulbs to a depth of two 

 inches. Give them an open and sunny 

 spot. The soil can be light, but mod- 

 erately rich; it should be free from 

 fresh manure. You should get a good 



crop of spikes before freezing weather. 

 The spikes will not come all together, 

 by any means, and this fact has prob- 

 ably caused someone to dub them ever- 

 bloomers. C. W. 



CASH AND CUT FLOWERS. 



The Flower Growers' Depot, Ed. 

 Liittrnfin, district manager, Abraham 

 Littman, president and treasurer, was 

 established October 31, 1914, at 317 

 Westminster street, Providence, R. I., 

 with aims different from most retail 

 stores. One was to pay cash for all 

 stock shipped to the store by the grow- 



Outside the Flower Growers' Depot. 



ers, immediately upon receipt of the 

 flowers. Another was to distribute 

 large quantities of flowers at low cash 

 prices, with the object of offsetting 

 the small margin of profit by the large 

 volume of business. The head of the 

 concern reports that the plan is a suc- 

 cess. The growers are glad to receive 

 the prompt payment of cash in return 

 for their stock. That the public takes 

 kindly to the idea is shown by the fact 

 that 15,000 carnations were sold during 

 the first week of February, in addition 

 to large quantities of other flowers. 



TABLE CENTERPIECES. 



The Easter table will call for a cen- 

 terpiece of spring flowers. It should be 

 something low, so as not to obscure the 

 view. Frequently the florist will be 

 called upon to fill some receptacle owned 

 by the customer, but in other instances 

 he can sell the receptacle with the flow- 

 ers. In such cases a low, round or oval 

 basket is to be recommended, equipped 

 with a tin liner that is water-tight. 

 With such a receptacle, provision is 

 necessary to make the flowers stay in 

 place. One florist takes care of this 

 in the autumn by procuring and stor- 

 ing a large quantity of dried grapevine 

 twigs, but dried wild smilax, from 

 which the leaves have been stripped, is 

 just as good. The liner can be stuffed 

 with these twigs before it is filled with 

 water. Inserting the stems between the 

 twigs will enable the florist to place 

 the flowers just where he wants them. 



In the accompanying illustration the 

 centerpiece was in a receptacle nearly 

 two feet in diameter, for a large table. 

 It was made up of a great variety of 

 the popular spring flowers, all in light 

 colors, and did not stand as high as the 

 diameter of the pan. 



