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The Florists^ Review 



May CT. 1915. 



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SEASONABLE 

 ^ SUGGESTIONS 



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Bedding Out Time. 



'I'iif \V()il< (if solliii;i and j)lantiiijj 

 b<ni<liii;r plants will occnpy a lot of our 

 tinii- 1'(ir siinio wcol^s; in lac|. some call 

 will lie liail liir thcni »'\ en as late as 

 tlio niiddle of .Inly. It is always an 

 advariTa;:!' to lia\(> a ^'ooilly iicr("(Mitaj^o 

 of tilt' jilants in tlowci' or nearly so, as 

 eustoniers wlio eoine to make a scloi- 

 tion always jtii-k plants with a liloom 

 on. no matter how many otheis there 

 may lie of doulile the size nut in bloom. 

 Siirne \aiieties. suih as heliotropes, are 

 e:i>ily pnslied a little, but it does not 

 ]ia\ to run <:eraniums hot for the mere 

 sake of .uettimx a few blooms ojten. 

 Be sure the jdants are kcjit Avell 

 watereil, especially when bedding out 

 is beinjj^ done. C'ar(dt>ss workmen will 

 jilant them with dry balls and the 

 jilants will then remain dry probably 

 for we<^ks and ne\er de\ elop as others 

 d(i. which had moist balls. A beddinjj; 

 jdant witli a damp ball, if well firmed 

 and the soil left loose on tlie surface, 

 will withstand a lot of droujiht and too 

 much care cannot be taken to see that 

 roots and suil are really damp when 

 bedded out. 



Select Stock for the Field. 



XdW is the time to jilant an ample 

 supply of stock jilants. especially of 

 geraniums, in the field. S'ear after 

 y<;ii' ;,Mowers sell out all their stock 

 of s(une sorts and mu'^t then buy from 

 siinie mcire or less distant source. The 

 wonder is, therefore, tliat fjrowers do 

 not res('r\e an am[il(> sujiply of stroiii; 

 stock Tilants before the real selling; 

 season is under way. and make attrac- 

 tive beds of them near the ajiproach 

 to the- house or frreenhouses, or use 

 thei7i in nursery rows. If this is done 

 there is a certainty of an ample supply 

 of stiong cuttin<:s in fall. 



Asters. 



The earliest batch of a>ttMs is n(jw 

 ^ettintr well established outside and 

 later sowinjjs can po out at any time. 

 P>e sure the ground has lieen well 

 manuied and tliorou;;hly jmlverized 

 rind asters are then sure to thri\e. The 

 lat.'^t sowings should be made now. 

 Tliev ^\ill <lo just as w.dl outdoors as 

 under glass ami tluMe is then far less 

 ]>rid>ability of the jdatits de\tdoping 

 the yellows or stem-rot. Vick 's 



l'.rancliini.r, American iJramdiing, Vic- 

 toria and Seniple"< c;in all be sown 

 now. Smh soit> as Queen of the 

 Earlies and liwarf ( hrysanthemum 

 may b(^ >o\vii ;is late as the mid<lle of 

 .Inne. lio\ve\er. 



Sweet Peas. 



s^weet peas set out from pots in 

 Aj'ril \\ill now be making rapid head- 

 way and will soon lie iii ibiwci'. Now 

 is a suitable time to u'ive the plants a 

 mulch of old, decayed inanuri'. hotbed 

 manure, grass, partly decayeij leaves, 

 spent hojis or any similar material. 

 Thi'^ I'cnelits tlie plants wondeifully 

 and lielps to keep the roots cool and 



moist. In hot weather it will be found 

 a decided advantage to spray the plants 

 o\er each evening. In order to secure 

 the best llowers on outside sown plants, 

 do not leave them too thick in the 

 rows. The general tendency is to have 

 the seedlings touching one another. Jf 

 allowed to rcunain thus, good stems ami 

 llowers cannot be expected. 



Hardy Annuals for Cutting. 



The ineseiit is a suitable time to 

 make a liberal sowing of such useful 

 hardy annuals as hunnemannia, lark'- 

 spurs, hqdnes, candytuft, mignonette. 

 ►Sliirley jiopjiies, clarkias, (;y[isophila 

 elegans, chrysanthemums of the Bur- 

 ridgeanum type, nigellas and others. 

 These will give an abundant sujiply of 

 useful flowers from late summer until 

 frost, and not a few of them are valu 

 able for use in design work. 



Canterbury Bells and Foxgloves. 



If the seeds o^ Canterbury bells and 

 foxgloves are not yet sown, get the 

 seeds into a coldframe without delay. 

 You can postpone the sowing for some 

 time and still get llowers, but if you 

 want strong plants do not delay seed 

 sowing much beyond June 1. The 

 seedlings can go into nursery rows 

 later, selecting a place where they will 

 have dry feet in winter and yet not be 

 too exposed. Outdoor plants wintered 

 with a mulch of leaves or straw are 

 vastly better than lifted ones stored 

 in frames. 



Hard-wooded Plants. 



Plant out any left-over azaleas, 

 camellias, ericas and other hard- 

 wooded stock. Pick away some of the 

 soil, so as to rciluce the balls, and be 

 sure to plant firmly, if the soil where 

 they are to be planted can have some 

 leaf-mold spaded in, the plants will ap- 

 jireiiate it. All these hard-wooded 

 plants do well out in the full sun, but 

 let it lie within reach of the hose, so 

 that they can have liberal sjirayings 

 overhead and in extremely hot weather 

 an occasional soaking at the root, (^are 

 for these left-overs well; the outlook is 

 more uncertain for IJelgian importa- 

 tions than it was in 11M4. 



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I SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS I 

 I FOR SOUTHERN FLORISTS | 



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MUMS IN THE SOUTH. 



The Early Varieties. 



In the south the early varieties of 

 chrysanthemums ought to be planted 

 in their jiermauent quarters by this 

 time. From the middle to the end of 

 June is early enough to plant the mid- 

 season and later varieties. 



Add a o-gallon bucket of bone meal 

 or commercial guano to every 500 feet 

 of bench surface and work it in with 

 a rake before jilanting. I prefer the 

 guano, with a guaranteed analysis of 

 eight per cent of ammonia, five per cent 

 of potash ami five per cent of phos- 

 phoric acid, rather than the bone meal, 

 as the guano is a more complete fer- 

 tilizer and I have had better results 

 with it. 



To get three gooil flowers from each 

 plant, the rows should be twelve inches 

 .ajiart and the jdants ten inches apart 

 in the row. Some of the smaller-leaved 

 varieties can be set more closely. It 

 is always well to keep the varieties of 

 equal growth together, planting the 

 dwarfer ones at the south end of the 

 house, the medium tall ones in the mid- 

 dle and the talle-t ones at the north 

 end. Ka(di variety then gets an equal 

 share of light. 



Syringing and Other Attentions. 



In the south the plants are likely 

 to require water twice on every bright 

 ilay. Keeji the weeds down and work 

 o\ or the surface of the beds every week 

 for the first month. Then a mulch of 

 any old, strawy manure will keep the 

 beds cool and do away with cultivating 

 the surface for some time. 



Start to tie up the plants before they 



get bent over and keep them tied up 

 straight during their whole period of 

 growth. 



The most important part of the sum- 

 mer cultivation in the south, and one 

 that cannot be neglected even slightly, 

 is the syringing and spraying. Each 

 bed should be well syringed every clear 

 morning, and during hot days should 

 also be sprayed over at least three 

 times. Do this thoroughly from each 

 side of the bed. If you spray only 

 from one side, the foliage on the other 

 side will be weak and the flowers de- 

 ficient, and spider will be almost sure 

 to develop. Aphis, spiilcr and thrips 

 are the most troublesome pests, but 

 weekly sprayings with one of the to- 

 bacco extracts will keep the plants 

 clean. 



The Fight with Thrips. 



Thrips are the most dangerous of all 

 these pests ami are sure to show up 

 in the fall unless great pr<'caution9 are 

 taken. From the time the bud is taken 

 until it shows color, keep spr.aying with 

 nicotine twice a week; also have to- 

 bacco stems in the walks and hangin;.' 

 here and there on the wires. Keep ;• 

 jiungent tobacco odor in the house, t^' 

 be safe from the ravages of this pest. 



The end of .Fuly or the beginning of 

 August is a good time to give another 

 top-dressing of guano, a sj)rinkling of 

 lime and a heavy mulch of fairly fresh 

 cow manure. This will carry the plants 

 until the luid is taken. 



Many grow(>rs in the south complain 

 of the old standby, Major Bonnaffon, 

 doing poorly, having yellow foliage, etc. 

 it i-- usually :i plain i;y<i' of indiges- 

 tion caused by too much water. If 

 the u.'iter is withheld, the plants will 



