■'.■irJ^r:''':'M 



16 



The Florists^ Review 



A60C.ST 12, 1915. 



I 



SEASONABLE x 

 Mr SUGGESTIONS 



3C=3C 



aiz^c 



acac 



3C 



3C 



• 



1 



Show Pelargouliims. 



:- The wood on show pelargoniums will 

 now be well ripened and the plants 

 can be pruned back quite hard. At 

 the same time, save any cuttings 

 needed to work up an additional stock 

 for another year. After the plants 

 have started to break, shake out and 

 repot them, using smaller pots, into 

 which the roots can just be conveni- 

 ently squeezed. 



Callas. 



Early in August is the proper time 

 to shake out and repot the callas. As 

 between growing single tubers in 6-inch 

 pots and three in 8-inch pots, I find the 

 latter size much the more profitable. 

 Use a strong loam, with one-fourth of 

 well rotted manure and a good dash 

 of coarse sand. The plants can stand 

 outdoors for some weeks after potting. 

 The Godfrey calla I have found to be 

 much purer in color and far more pro- 

 lific than the old Calla ^thiopica. It 

 will also produce equally large flowers 

 /when the plants are of sufficient size. 

 It is not possible, however, to pot on 

 small plants and get the same results 

 as from^ older stock. 



Freesias. 



The earliest batch of freesias, which 

 are to produce flowers for the holidays, 

 are already above ground. These were 

 covered with leaves and protected with 

 board shutters until they appeared 

 above ground. Now they are exposed 

 to full light. They will remain in a 

 coldframe until September. The pres- 

 ent is a suitable time to make a suc- 

 cessional planting of freesias to flower 

 from the middle of January onward. 



Pansies. 



Nothing is gained by sowing pansies 

 too early^ In a warm, moist fall they 

 continue to grow late and make plants 

 of rather unwieldy size. Early in 

 August is a sufficiently early date to 

 sow seed for northern sections, while 

 a fortnight later will be better farther 

 south. For the small grower the best 

 plan is to sow in a coldframe. Screen 

 the soil well and sow either broadcast 

 or in rows six inches apart. Shade 

 with cheesecloth until the seeds germi- 

 nate and then give full sun. Where 

 large quantities are needed a good plan 

 is to sow broadcast on beds three feet 

 wide, having previously pulverized the 

 soil well and removed all stones. If 

 these beds can be located, not under, 

 but near large trees or buildings, in 

 order to get partial shade, all the bet- 

 ter. Water the beds well after sowing 

 the seed; then give a mulch of dry 

 moss or leaves until germination starts. 

 This prevents the soil from drying out 

 so severely. 



A number of special pansy strains 

 are offered. The Giant Trimardeau i? 

 good. Some improvements on this also 

 are offered. Whatever you do, pur- 

 chase good seed. This will insure 



flowers of good size. As a ruldi mixed 

 colors are preferred by customers, but 

 if you have need of special colors, a 

 number of separate shades are pro- 

 curable. 



Violas. 



The bedding violas make fine ground 

 covers for bulb beds and can be kept 

 flowering all summer if given a little 

 shade and some water. They are 

 smaller than the pansies, but much 

 more free-flowering. A few good va- 

 rieties of these bedding violas, or tufted 

 pansies, as they are commonly called, 

 are V. grandiflora lutea. Mauve Queen, 

 White Perfection, and Admiration, 

 dark blue. 



Myosotis. 



It is better to sow myosojis a few 

 days later than pansies, so^that the 

 plants will not be too large when 

 winter sets in. For a compact variety, 

 alpestris is excellent. Blue, white and 

 pink varieties are procurable. Myoso- 

 tis sylvatica, a more robust and spread- 

 ing variety, is good for use as a ground 

 cover in bulb beds. All are good in 

 the wild garden or rock " garden, and 

 all prefer some shade. 



Hollyhocks. 



If seeds of hollyhocks are not yet 

 sown, there is still time to get plants 

 of flowering size. Sow either in a 

 coldframe or in rows, outdoors. While 

 the double flowers are more seed than 

 the singles, the latter are much more 

 refined and beautiful. Clumps of these 

 in the hardy flower borders have been 

 fine this season, many being eight to 

 ten feet in height. 



NEW YOEKEES ON AN OUTING. 



A certain coterie of New Yorkers 

 holds the championship for versatility 

 — not only are they proficient in the 

 florists' business but they are cham- 

 pion bowlers and expert fishermen, as 



shown by the accompanying illustra- 

 tion, prepared froi^ a snapshot by 

 Roman J. Irwin. .4t 



It was July 28 tl^- the New York 

 Florists' bowling CMp started on its 

 outing down the Jeraly shore. In the 

 party were Jdll'h ^fesem, W. H, Sie- 

 brecht, Sr., Wm. P. Bird, H. C. Riedel, 

 C. W. Scott, Peter Ja»bsen, Wm. Ihick- 

 ham, C. H. Totty, R._/. Irwin and A. J. 

 Guttman, who late^ were joined by 

 Joseph Fenrich, wh6 was picked up 

 when the fishermen' reached his home 

 at Bradley Beach, ^he fishing proved 

 good, but that was aji incidental, as one 

 of the chief accomplishments of this 

 aggregation of good fellows is an abil- 

 ity to have a fine time under any and 

 all circumstances. 



ASPAKAOUS TUENINQ BROWN. 



I am enclosing a spray of Asparagus 

 Hatcheri. Will yoii kindly inform me 

 what is turning the plants bjownf 

 Whatever it is, it is going through the 

 whole bed. I am growing the plants in 

 a solid bed. I have noticed a few 

 small white caterpillars and occasion- 

 ally a cutworm, but it does not seem 

 possible that so few of these could do 

 so much damage. The bed is 2x100 

 feet. I fertilize with old cow manure, 

 but have not used any since spring. 



J. H. S.— Conn. 



The asparagus shoot in question had 

 turned brown in patches throughout its 

 length; or, rather, the side shoots had 

 done so. Its condition suggested at 

 once that the troubla'^was at the roots 

 and was not due to caterpillars. The 

 most likely cause of such a condition 

 is defective drainage, with the conse- 

 quent souring of the soil, and the best 

 remedy, if such is the case, would be to 

 lift the plants, then refill the bed with 

 fresh soil, and replant. Some provision 

 should be made for drainage, by putting 

 a layer of • coarse cinders or broken 

 brick in the bottom of the bed. 



W. H. T. 



Bossford, O.— O. C. Jordan has a 

 good shipping business, marketing his 

 flowers in Toledo, Cleveland, Detroit 

 and Chicago. 



Grand Bapids, Mich. — Miss W. Irene 

 Erb, for some time in the employ of 

 S. W. Coggan, Battle Creek, is engag- 

 ing in business at 1339 Turner avenue. 



The New York Florists* Bowling Club on a Fishing Trip. 



-*■_-.■- I 



