28 



The Florists^ Review 



Max 20. 1915. 



of their number had initiative enough 

 to fight for what he believed to be the 

 rights of those engaged in the florists' 

 business. 



Doubtless florists in other places 

 could secure as good results under like 

 circumstances if they are willing to 

 fight for them. E. B. M. 



BEGONIA PRIMA DONNA. 



"When shall I sow seeds of Begonia 

 Prima Donna to make nice plants in 



5-inch and 6-inch pots for Christmas t 

 How should the plants be cared for 

 while growing upt Should they be 

 stopped when four to six inches in 

 height, or should they be allowed to 

 grow naturally? E. A. C. — Ala. 



Sow the seeds at once. It would have 

 been better to sow a month ago. This 

 variety is naturally a stocky grower 

 and should need little pinching. Merely 

 head back any shoots that show a run- 

 away tendency. C. W. 



:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!£ 



I SPRING WORK 



WITH PLANTS I 



nillllllllllllllllllllllllilllililllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllli? 



FUiIJNa BOXES AND VASES. 



Profit in Window Boxes. 



Practically every country florist 

 does more or less bedding out. Not 

 all of them have yet, however, done 

 much with window and piazza boxes, 

 hanging baskets and vases. As this 

 is a branch of the business which is of 

 great and growing importance and one 

 in which there is a good margin of 

 profit for the growers, it is worthy of 

 increased attention. Many of us of 

 late years have seen the numerous 

 windows of some great department 

 store or office building on the business 

 streets of our large cities with window 

 boxes. They instantly attract the no- 

 tice of those passing by and every 

 store that has carried out this window 

 box plan seems to be prosperous; in 

 fact, growing plants appear to com- 

 bine prosperity with good taste. 



To encourage and develop the win- 

 dow Tsox business, there can be no bet- 

 ter advertisement than one's own 

 home. Fill some boxes and vases 

 tastefully, care for them well and you 

 are bound to have inquiries from your 

 customers as to their cost, etc. If you 

 cannot fill your own windows, you can, 

 at least, make a couple of boxes, three 

 feet long, eight inches deep and eight 

 inches high, paint them dark bronze 

 green and stand them outside your 

 greenhouse or salesroom. Fill one with 

 mixed plants, the other with one va- 

 riety, preferably geraniums, with some 

 green hanging plant along the edge. 



Soil and Water. 



The length, depth and height of the 

 boxes will depend on the sizes of the 

 windows to be filled. Use cypress. 

 Bore a few holes in the bottom to let 

 the water out. As a rule window boxes 

 do not often suffer from a surfeit of 

 water, but it is not advisable to have 

 a tight bottom. It also is advisable 

 to place a little drainage in the bot- 

 tom. To produce a rustic.efEect, pieces 

 of bark can be nailed on the front of 

 the boxes if desired. 



As there is only a limited root run 

 in window boxes, it is necessary that 

 good soil be used. If you have a sod 

 heap which was stacked last fall and 

 layered with cow manure, chop a good 

 pile of it down, give it a generous 

 sprinkling of bone meal and you will 

 have suitable compost whenever 

 needed. It is no use taking poor soil 



for window boxes; the plants will eke 

 out a miserable existence and have a 

 more or less starved look all summer. 

 I have in mind a grower who used 

 well prepared soil for thirty of sixty 

 boxes he fitted for a dry goods store. 

 Bather than prepare soil properly for 

 the balance, he told his men to use old 

 carnation soil. It did not need an 

 expert to pick out the boxes containing 

 this soil six weeks after planting, and 

 the boxes had so irregular an appear- 

 ance that another florist got the con- 

 tract the following season. 



The Best Box Plants. 



Undoubtedly the best of all window 

 box plants is the zonale pelargonium. 

 This is a persistent bloomer,- and, if 

 care is taken to remove the , dead 

 trusses, it never presents a poor ap- 

 pearance. It is an advantage to have 

 some green or variegated vinca in the 

 front of the boxes. Some other good 

 bloomers for boxes are fibrous-rooted 

 begonias, petunias, heliotropes, dwarf 

 nasturtiums, lantanas, lobelias, agera- 

 tums and verbenas. Geraniums are far 

 and away the most popular flowering 

 plants, however. With a moderate 

 amount of shade, Marguerite Mrs. San- 

 der, fuchsias, tuberous begonias and 

 even show pelargoniums can be used, 

 especially if these are on the piazza 

 and the customer likes and is willing 

 to pay for an occasional change. 



Good boxes can be had without using 

 any flowering plants at all. Boston 

 ferns for piazza use are splendid. They 

 will even stand the sun and wind, last- 

 ing in a window quite well. Dracaena 

 indivisa and many other green-foliaged 

 plants, in addition to a host of varie- 

 gated plants, are available also. The 

 green foliage is more pleasing and 

 more suggestive of coolness than that 

 which is variegated. There are many 

 hanging plants available in addition to 

 English ivy. Some of these are As- 

 paragus Sprengeri, green and varie- 

 gated tradescantias, Abutilon vexil- 



t'/' ^.. 





■e" 





»/'. 



>« ^ 





r-" 





>..t!^'. 



■A- --:•_. 







■».-•< 



• <:\ 



Lawn Vasei, Window Boxes and Bedding Are Now to the Front. 



