12 



The Florists^ Review 



June 17, 1915. 



r 



f^^?^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^'^^i^(^^(^if^'i^i^-idi^-i^^^ 



Notes of the 



^ 



Hardy Garden 



HAEDY PERENNIALS IN JUNE. 



Money-Makers for Florists. 



The hardy herbaceous borders have 

 a freshness, luxuriance, variety and 

 brilliancy in mid-June surpassing all 

 other seasons. The heat waves we get 

 in July and August have not yet af- 

 fected the plants and almost every 

 morning some new, interesting and at- 

 tractive subject can be found in 

 flower. 



The June perennials are, or should 

 be, of special value to the commercial 

 growers, as during this month large 

 numbers can be sold for weddings, class 

 graduations and other functions. Not 

 only is there a sale for cut flowers, but, 

 flowering, as so many do, at a time 

 when bedding plants are selling, there 

 is a big and increasing field for the 

 sale of these most charming of hardy 

 flowering plants. The florist who has 

 not yet taken up the culture of hardy 

 perennials is much behind the times, 

 and there is no better time than the 

 present to start seeds of many varie- 

 ties and get a good stock for next 

 spring's sales. Eeference follows to a 

 few of the more useful and important 

 of June-flowering perennials, all of 

 which are serviceable either for cut- 

 ting or border effects. 



Aquilegias, or ColUmblnds. 



Aquilegias, or columbines, are prob- 

 ably the most graceful and beautiful of 

 June perennials. Not only are their 

 spurred flowers chai^ming, but their 

 foliage, being beautifully divided, is in 

 itself attractive. Good varieties of the 

 long-spurred section are: Chrysantha, 

 bright yellow, and ccerulea, the Rocky 

 Mountain columbine, blue and white; 

 or, if a variety of colors is desired, and, 

 by the way, the columbines have no 

 bad colors, the best plan is to secure 

 seed of mixed hybrids. Not only will 

 the long-spurred aqliilegias bloom in 

 June, but flowers will be produced to 

 some extent all summer. For natural- 

 izing or rock garden effects A. Cana- 

 densis, the native red and yellow va- 

 riety, and vulgaris, the common Euro- 

 pean form, violet blue in color, are ex- 

 cellent. 



To keep up a good stock of aquilegias 

 it is necessary to raise seedlings each 

 year, as eome of the long-spurred va- 

 rieties lack the vigor of the varieties 

 Canadensis and vulgaris and die out 

 ^fter two or three years. They come 

 so easily from seed, however, that it 

 is easy to keep up a stock. 



Luplnus, or Lupine. 



For stately effect in the herbaceous 

 borders none of the early June peren- 

 nials can equal the lupines. There are 

 three principal forms of L. polyphyllus, 

 producing pure white, clear blue and 

 bright pink spikes of flower. The last 

 shade is the most recent in introduc- 

 tion. Tiiere are a number of interme- 



diate shades also offered. In rich soil 

 lupines carry magnificent spikes, which 

 are equally good for cutting or for 

 stunning effects in the garden. It is 

 usually assumed that lupines are at- 

 tacked by no insects. This is not cor- 

 rect. If they become dry at the root 

 they sometimes become smothered with 

 aphis .'111(1 a foap spray is necessary to 

 clear them. Seed sown now will pro- 

 duce strong flov.-ering plants for next 

 season. 



Campanulas, or Bellflowers. 



The most showy and useful cam- 

 panula now blooming is C. Medium, 

 better known as Canterbury bell. This 

 is not a perennial, however, but a 

 biennial, and seed should be sown not 

 later than this month in order to have 

 strong flowering plants for another sea- 

 son. The singles are the best for pot 

 culture or bedding, as the flowers are 

 lighter and stand up much better than 

 those of the calycanthema, or hose 

 in hose, and double forms. 



Apart from C. Medium, there are 

 some good perennial bellflowers now 

 in bloom. Of these C. rotundi- 

 folia, the Scotch bluebell, growing a 

 foot high, with clear blue flowers, is 

 now effective in clumps in the border 

 or rock garden. The Carpathian bell, 



or C. Carpatica, is just opening. It 

 makes a beautiful border plant, and, 

 with its white form, makes one of the 

 finest of rock plants, blooming the en- 

 tire summer. C. latifolia macrantha, 

 growing three feet in height, is an ef- 

 fective border variety with dark blue 

 flowers. C, Trachelium is another form 

 with dark purple flowers, also growing 

 a yard in height. C. persicifolia, the 

 peach-leaved bellflower, will be open in 

 a day or two. Of this grand perennial 

 there are some beautiful varieties. In 

 addition to alba and ccerulea, the single 

 forms, there are Hamosa, semi-double 

 blue, and Moerheimi, double white, both 

 of which are superb border plants. 

 Still another fine campanula now open 

 is C, grandis, the great bellflower, with 

 large, saucer-like violet-blue flowers. 



All the campanulas can be raised 

 from seed, with the exception of the 

 double forms of persicifolia, which can 

 be increased by division of the root. 



Pyrethrums. 



The single and double forms of Pyre- 

 thruin roseum are invaluable for cut- 

 ting. They commence to bloom in 

 May, but persist through June. For 

 Memorial day they are useful, as the 

 stems are long and stiff. -If the old 

 flower stems are cut back at the end 

 of June, a nice late summer crop is us- 

 ually produced. Only a small percent- 

 age of doubles can be had from seed, 

 but, once obtained, these are readily in- 

 creased from divisions. The best time 

 for dividing double pyrethrums is 

 either right after flowering or early in 

 August, selecting moist weather for the 

 work. 



Pyrethrum seed germinates easily and 

 good blooming plants can be had for 

 next spring sales by sowing between 

 now and the middle of July. 



FIELD CULTURE OF CARNATIONS. 



[A paper read by Ira H. Landls, of Paradise, 

 Pa., before the Lancaster County Florists' Club, 

 June 17, 1915.] 



As soon as the soil can be got into 

 shape early in April, we like to com- 

 mence planting in the field. Assuming 

 that the soil has been well manured 

 and properly prepared, with three men 

 and a few boys, the planting proceeds 

 nicely. We always use two lines and 

 draw a rake along each row to make 

 the soil mellow and planting easy. 



Where a great many thousands are 

 grown, I believe it advisable to plant 

 in beds of about five rows each, fifteen 

 inches apart, and ten inches between 

 the plants, and cultivate by hand. 

 We plant in rows thirty inches apart 

 and ten inches in the row, and cultivate 

 with a horse. This method of cultivat- 

 ing I prefer to the hand cultivator 

 where the space is not limited, as the 

 deep cultivation helps the soil retain 

 moisture for a greater period. Care 

 must be taken not to cultivate so close 

 to the plants as to injure the roots. 

 Cultivate about every two weeks and 



as soon as possible after a rain, with 

 a fine-toothed harrow, in order to leave 

 the soil nice and mellow. 



As soon as the plants have become 

 thoroughly established and their fiow- 

 ering shoots begin to push up, the 

 pinching back or topping must be at- 

 tended to and the stock gone over 

 about every two weeks. About August 

 1 this topping must be discontinued if 

 you want early blooms, and if you 

 have good, healthy stock to start with 

 in the spring, the greater part of it 

 should be ready to plant in the houses 

 early in August. 



A MICHIGAN CARNATION HOUSE. 



The accompanying illustration gives 

 a view of the interior of one of the 

 carnation houses of William Murdoch, 

 at Port Huron, Mich. In regard to the 

 carnations, Mr. Murdoch writes: 



* ' May 9 was cut every available flower 

 from this house, and the photograph 

 was taken May 18, giving eight days to 

 develop this crop. The blooms average 

 from three to three and one-half inches 

 in diameter, with a few 4-inch flowers. 

 The stems are from thirty-six to thirty- 

 nine inches long, and almost as tough 



