14 



The Florists* Review 



JUNB 10, 1915. 



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Poinsettias. 



The propagation of poinsettias must 

 now be pushed along in earnest. There 

 is still ample time to secure cuttings 

 for dwarf plants for pans, but if sizable 

 bracts are needed, earlier propagation 

 is necessary. Cuttings rubbed off with 

 a heel are the best. If allowed to grow 

 long and cutting below a leaf joint is 

 necessary, the chances of damping off 

 are increased. Never allow cuttings to 

 wilt. The best plan is to let them lie 

 in clear, cold water for an hour before 

 placing in the cutting bench. If the sand 

 is not too fine and water passes readily 

 through it, there is not much danger 

 of damping off. A majority of florists 

 discontinue the use of fire heat after 

 this date, but we have had an exception- 

 ally cool season of late and a little fire 

 heat, which will warm the sand some- 

 what, will greatly aid the work of prop- 

 agation. 



Primulas. 



Plants of Primula obconica and P. 

 Sinensis are now making good growth 

 and the early batch is in 4-inch pots in 

 a coldframe. Here they will remain un- 

 til September, lath shades being used to 

 protect them from bright sun, with the 

 sashes tilted top and bottom, and re- 

 moved entirely on sunless days and at 

 night. Dampness and rain are harmful, 

 but light showers are beneficial while 

 plants are uncovered. A spraying once 

 a day during hot weather is helpful. 



Sow seeds of P. malacoides between 

 now and July, and the plants will be of 

 ample size. Earlier sown seeds make 

 plants of too unwieldy size. P. mala- 

 coides has become immensely popular. 

 At the New York show last March it 

 was far more largely exhibited than all 

 others of the genua comoined. It is far 

 the most graceful and decorative of 

 greenhouse primroses and every florist 

 who retails his output should grow 

 some. It germinates readily and is a 

 quick grower. Never give it a warm 

 house; the cooler it can be grown short 

 of actual freezing, the better will be its 

 quality, but to be ready for Christmas 

 a little more warmth after the end of 

 October is necessary. 



Annuals. 



The earliest sown annuals are now 

 quite well advanced. Now is a suitable 

 time to make additional sowings of such 

 useful varieties as candytuft, alyssum, 

 Gypsophila elegans, larkspurs, Mexican 

 poppies, or hunnemannia; Shirley pop- 

 pies, lupines, clarkias, etc. Be sure the 

 ground is well pulverized before seed 

 sowing and once the little seedlings are 

 above ground it is astonishing how much 

 dry weather they will withstand if the 

 soil is kept constantly stirred. 



Antirrhinums. 



Those who want antirrhinums to 

 flower in early fall must bench the stock 

 from July 20 to August 10, the earlier 

 date being preferable. That time will 

 soon be here, and it is necessary to keep 

 the little plants moving slong, no matter 



whether rooted cuttings or seedlings are 

 used. Cuttings should have been potted 

 off into 214-iiich pots before now and, 

 if the seedlings are in flafs, they will 

 be fit to pot within twenty days, as the 

 growth is rapid now. From cuttings 

 we are assured of stock absolutely true 

 to color, but my experience has been 

 that seedlings have greater vigor, prove 

 more disease resistant, and give decid- 

 edly better results taken the season 

 through. We are sometimes told that 

 antirrhinums do not come true from 

 seed. Everything, of course, depends 

 upon the class of seeds bought. If they 

 are bought from a really first-class firm 

 specializing in these flowers — we have 

 not, as yet, many of these specialists 

 in America, but they are coming — not 

 over five per cent will come false to 

 color. Having had occasion to use 

 many thousands for bedding as well as 

 growing under glass, I have always had 

 a small percentage of rogues, and if 

 we want our present good forcing snap- 

 dragons to maintain their vigor for 

 more than a few years, propagation 

 from seeds and not from cuttings is 

 necessary. 



Sometimes snapdragons sell poorly; 

 at other times, splendidly. Averaging 

 the season through they pay well. Few 

 growers realize how long plants will 

 profitably bloom under glass. "Raised 

 benches have a decided advantage for 

 winter flowering and not over five 



inches of soil is needed. Plants set 

 out by August 1 will give their first 

 cut early in October and will continue 

 to flower profitably as late as the mid- 

 dle of July, although usually they are 

 thrown out a few days earlier than 

 this to make room for the new crop. 



If there is any excess of seedlings or 

 cuttings coming along, try them bedded 

 out or even in nursery rows. They are 

 not yet half appreciated as bedding 

 plants. Mark the seedling varieties 

 carefully and note what a small pro- 

 portion fail to come true to color if 

 your seed has been carefully bought. 

 It need hardly be restated that pink 

 shades have far the greatest sale. 

 White comes next, then yellow. Other 

 shades are little called for. 



CO-OPERATE ON WINDOW BOXES. 



Through cooperation with the Greater 

 Dayton Association, an organization for 

 the improvement of the city of Dayton, 

 O., the florists of that municipality are 

 doing a remarkable business in selling 

 and planting window boxes. The asso- 

 ciation recently sent out folders to each 

 one of its 6,000 members, urging the 

 planting of window boxes and giving 

 a few suggestions as to their installa- 

 tion and care. Forming a part of the 

 folder was a detachable mailing card, 

 which the member was asked to use to 

 notify the association of the number 

 of lineal feet of flower boxes he had 

 put out. On the folder was a list of 

 the florists cooperating with the Greater 

 Dayton Association. They are: The 

 Advance Floral Co., John Boehner, 

 Edgemont Floral Co., the Heiss Co., 

 George W. Frisch & Sons, the Miami 

 Floral Co., H. H. Bitter, M. D. Schmidt 

 & Son, Mrs. L. D. Johnson and J. F. 

 Young. 



SWEET PEAS DYINO. 



Can you tell me the cause of my 

 sweet peas dying off at the top of the 

 ground! I thought I could get rid of 

 pests by not growing the peas for a 

 few years, so I started this year in 

 a new location. I planted them in 

 February and they were doing well un- 

 til about two weeks ago. ' I am afraid 

 I shall lose them all if I do not find a 

 remedy. I am trying tobacco water, 

 which I have used before. I have also 

 tried lime, but without success. I am 

 enclosing one of the plants. I think 

 that wireworms are perhaps the cause 

 of the trouble. D. E. W.— Ind. 



Trenches for sweet peas should be 

 prepared in the fall. The cultural col- 

 umns of The Review contain directions 

 for this work at the proper season. 

 How deep did you cover your seed 

 when sowing itt Some catalogues and 



books still advise covering the seed 

 half an inch deep and filling in the 

 trench to the depth of three, four or 

 even six inches as the plants grow. If 

 you treated yours thus, the culture is 

 to blame and not the wireworms. More 

 sweet peas are ruined annually by this 

 filling up process than are injured by 

 any soil pests, and the wonder is that 

 people will still recommend it. The 

 burying of the stems, no matter how 

 carefully done, is bound to cause stem- 

 rot to set in, especially after a heavy 

 fall of rain followed by strong heat. 



Cover the seed two and one-half to 

 three inches and do not cover any more. 

 Sow the seed thinly, or thin out well. 

 In order to have the best sweet peas, 

 the plants should stand four inches 

 apart in the rows. Sweet peas are 

 naturally bushy in habit, as you can 

 easily prove by giving them the sug- 

 gested space, and if they are properly 

 thinned they will fill the row just a» 



