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August 26, 1915. 



The Florists^ Review 



19 



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Palace of HorticulturCf Panama-Pacific Exposition, San Francisco, with Garden Exfiibiis. 



plants may not show any ill effects of 

 overwatering for a time, but, as the 

 weather becomes cooler, buds will be- 

 gin to drop heavily and the leaves will 

 take on the yellow tint which is the 

 bane of gardenia growers. The benches 

 will now be getting fairly full of 

 roots, and, in order to reduce the num- 

 ber of waterings, a light mulch is ad- 

 visable. Use half rotted leaves rather 

 than cow manure. If manure is used, 

 let it be old and crumbly, such as can 

 be got from a spent hotbed or mush- 

 room bed. In order to keep mealy bug 

 down, frequent syringings are neces- 

 sary, but during damp, sunless weather 

 it is better to leave the foliage dry. 

 Maintain a minimum temperature of 

 65 degrees. 



Scented Verbenas. 



Verbenas outdoors now have an 

 abundance of nice, soft cuttings. Those 

 rubbed off with a heel are the least 

 liable to damp off. If a propagating 

 bench is not at disposal, make up a 

 single sash in one of the coldframes, 

 so that a brisk heat can be bottled up. 

 The present is also a good time to root 

 some heliotropes and scented geraniums. 

 The latter, however, need somewhat 

 cooler and airier quarters than the 

 scented verbenas. 



FLOWERS AT THE FRISCO FAIR. 



In looking over the exhibit of flow- 

 ering plants at the San Francisco ex- 

 position, one of the main things that 

 appeals to the man from Chicago is the 

 choice quality of what might be called 

 the garden flowers. The planting of 

 gladioli is extremely fine and, in fact. 



is the best I ever have seen. The 

 dahlia exhibit was a disappointment, as 

 the quantity planted out was less than 

 I had expected to see. There was an 

 extremely fine exhibit of daisies. While 

 it was not large, still it was excep- 

 tionally good and had a great many va- 

 rieties that we never see in the east. 

 The planting of sweet peas was not 

 large, but those that were in the horti- 

 cultural gardens were extremely fine. 

 I saw some varieties that were bent 

 down, similar to our method of growing 

 Beauties, as they had attained such a 

 high growth that they had turned the 

 vines along for three or four feet on 

 the ground and then let them grow up 

 again. I was told that these peas have 

 been in bloom since May 1. There cer- 

 tainly are some good varieties there, 

 with extra long stems. The planting 

 of carnations was so small, and the 

 plants had made such poor growth, that 

 it would have been better to have dug 

 them out. The planting of roses was 

 quite large, but the plants had made 

 poor growth. 



The writer had visited the grounds on 

 which the plantings are made some 

 three years ago and can appreciate the 

 difl&cuity the horticultural commission- 

 ers encountered in getting good soil. 

 The tract on which the gardens are lo- 

 cated three years ago was the scrubbiest 

 piece of ground that could be imagined 

 and all the soil had to be hauled in and 

 made, so that with a number of the 

 plantings the soil was not adapted to 

 the best development of the plants, es- 

 pecially roses. The plantings for the 

 $1,000 prize best variety of new rose 

 were a disappointment, for not over a 

 dozen varieties out of about seventy- 



five had made a good, healthy growth. 

 The writer's idea of a good outdoor 

 rose is one that is a vigorous grower 

 under almost any condition, and also a 

 continuous bloomer. It is not so much 

 the quality of the flowers, as it is that 

 there should be plenty of them. There 

 are about a dozen varieties in this 

 prize exhibit that looked good to me. 

 The general view of the exposition 

 from the floral standpoint is extremely 

 good. The planting around the building 

 and grounds has been done in such an 

 artistic manner that it is of the great- 

 est possible value to the general ap- 

 pearance of the exposition and worth a 

 great many times the cost of the work. 

 The wall surrounding the grounds on 

 two sides, and a great many bare places 

 which needed to be screened off, were 

 filled with flats or small boxes of ice 

 plant and the top of the boxes covered 

 with wire of about %-inch mesh, so 

 that the plants are held in the boxes. 

 These boxes are set on edge, one on 

 top of the other, producing an extreme- 

 ly good effect. It is certain that the 

 horticultural work done at the exposi- 

 tion will be of great advantage to the 

 trade in general, as it was the admira- 

 tion of every visitor on the grounds. 

 The parties who had the landscape 

 work in charge are to be highly com- 

 mended. They had difficult soil to con- 

 tend with and have made their plapt- 

 ings grow well and produce charming 

 effects; in fact, to sum up the horticul- 

 ture and landscape work of the exposi- 

 tion, they proved to be one of the best 

 points of the whole exposition and wore 

 commented on by all in conjunction 

 with the general view of the buildings 

 as well as the illuminating effects. 



; G, L. Washburn. 



