June 17, 1915. 



The Florists' Review 



U 



with is on the Harry Ekas place, on 

 Frederick road, Baltimore, Md. It is 

 about seven feet high and about the 

 same in diameter. There are other 

 rhododendrons flourishing in the same 

 place, and Mr. Ekas reports that they 

 seem to do better than those planted 

 where there is a greater depth of soil. 

 The particular shrub that appears in 

 the illustration on this page attracts 

 especial admiration because it stands 

 alone and is unusually well covered 

 with blooms. 



PEONY BUDS BLASTING. 



My peonies are showing a great many 

 blasted buds. If the question is of 

 sufl&cient general importance, I should 

 be glad to know through The Eeview 

 what are considered to be the causes 

 of this trouble. My plants are 12 

 years old. They are on good ground, 

 well drained and cultivated. I have 

 not fertilized for three years, except 

 to drop all of the leaves and stalks 

 between the rows. I discontinued culti- 

 vating with the plow, because the soil 

 was thrown against the plants and I 

 feared the crowns would be covered 

 too deeply. M. C. A. F. — Ind. 



The most probable cause is lack of 

 plant food to support the plants prop- 

 erly and develop the flowers. If you 

 have not given them any fertilizer for 

 three years, there can be no wonder 

 that many buds fail to open. Peonies 

 are gross feeders. If you cannot give 

 them a dressing of well decayed ma- 

 nure each fall, preferably cow manure, 

 you should give the ground a dressing 

 of well balanced commercial fertilizer 

 in spring and work it into the soil. 

 As the plants advance and buds appear, 

 the flowers are greatly improved if you 

 can furnish some liquid manure. If 

 that cannot be done, a light dressing 

 of nitrate of soda or sulphate of am- 

 monia when the plants are eight to ten 

 inches high will be of great benefit. 

 You will never grow peonies satisfac- 

 torily without feeding them. C. W. 



PEONIES NEED EEPLANTINO. 



"We have a field of peonies, consisting 

 of three or four old varieties, that were 

 planted about fifteen years ago. We 

 have cultivated them carefully each 

 year and fertilized them, but for the 

 last two seasons we have been com- 

 pelled to syringe them heavily to get 

 them in flower for Memorial day. They 

 are greatly diminished in size this year. 

 The season was exceedingly dry up to 

 a week before Memorial day. About 

 April 1 we gave an application of pul- 

 verized sheep manure, hoeing it into 

 the soil carefully. There was not 

 enough moisture after that was ap- 

 plied to change the soluble condition 

 of the manure. Would these plants be 

 benefited by transplanting? Could the 

 transplanting be done immediately? If 

 we transplant them, would you advise 

 using the same field. 



J. W. K.— Ohio. 



orating. The present, however, is not 

 a suitable time to transplant them. 

 Wait until the first week in September 

 before doing this. Manure the land 

 liberally and plow deeply. As the 

 clumps must be, in many cases, of large 

 size, it would be better to divide them 

 with a sharp spade before replanting. 

 When planting, cover the eyes to a 

 depth of three or four inches. There 

 is no reason why the same field, if well 

 enriched, should not grow first-class 

 peonies. Fall is vastly superior to 

 spring as a planting time for peonies. 

 C. W. 



RHODODENDRON IN THIN SOIL. 



Two feet of soil is usually consid- 

 ered the minimum for rhododendrons 

 outdoors, and three feet is thought de- 

 sirable by most growers of this shrub. 

 Yet in the accompanying illusjtration 

 will be seen one which has thrived for 

 fourteen years in a spot where, says 

 William F. Ekas, there is only about 

 eight inches of soil and underneath it 

 rotted rock. The shrub shown here- 



BASKET MEN AFTER WILLOW. 



Because the European supply of wil- 

 low rods has been largely cut off, sev- 

 eral American manufacturers of willow 

 baskets have asked the Department of 

 Agriculture for the addresses of per- 

 sons in this country who have taken 

 up willow growing. For some years 

 the department has distributed willow 

 cuttings of imported varieties with a 

 view to developing the production of 

 high-grade willow rods in the United 

 States. The usual imports of willows 

 come chiefly from England, Belgium, 

 Holland, France and Germany, but these 

 sources have been practically closed 

 for several months. 



One manufacturer reports that Japa- 

 nese osiers are taking the market for- 

 merly supplied by Germany, at a slight- 

 ly higher price. Finished willow 

 baskets from Japan have come in, al- 

 though split bamboo was the only Japa- 

 nese basketware on sale before the war. 

 As a consequence of the shortage of im- 

 ported osiers, it is said, the price of 

 American willows has increased, and 

 growers here are meeting with a heavy 

 demand for their product. 



Clyde, N. Y.— Mrs. K. B, Johnson 

 looks forward to a good season for her 

 specialty, asters. 



If it is fifteen years since your 

 peonies were planted, there is little 

 wonder that they are steadily deteri- 



Rhododeodfon on the Grounds of Hany Ekas, Baltimore, Md. 



