16 



The Florists^ Review 



OCTOBEB 7, 1015. 



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Spanish Iii& 



Spanish iris bulbs increase in popu- 

 larity, as their ease of culture and 

 value for cutting becomes better 

 known. They are so inexpensive that 

 every florist can afford to try some. 

 In additon to being cultivated in flats, 

 they can be successfully grown in beds 

 or benches in a cool house. They are 

 also hardy and well adapted for out- 

 door culture. As these irises start to 

 grow soon after planting, do not keep 

 them in a dark cellar, and do not 

 <50ver with sand or ashes. Good varie- 

 ties to grow are Louise, porcelain blue; 

 British Queen, pure white; Cajanus, 

 yellow; Midley, pale blue. 



OladioU. 



Oladioli of the small-bulbed, or 

 nanus, type need treatment similar to 

 that of the Spanish iris, and can be 

 successfully cultivated in either flats 

 or benches. The two most popular com- 

 mercial varieties are Peach Blossom, 

 pink, and Blushing Bride, white with 

 crimson blotches. The Bride, or Col- 

 villei alba, is a pure white variety. 

 Orange Queen is orange scarlet in 

 <5olor, and Pink Perfection, bright rose. 



Anemones and Sanuncull. 



The Persian ranunculi and such 

 anemones as fulgens, St. Brigid and 

 The Bride are prized in early spring 

 by many critical buyers. All need 

 cool treatment, and they succeed best 

 in benches or flats. Kanunculi may 

 also be grown in 6-inch pans, six to 

 eight bulbs in each. Sometimes it is 

 possible to grow these in a violet house 

 where any violet plants chance to die 

 out. They are also sometimes dotted 

 thinly among the violet plants. 



Miscellaneous Bulbs. 



Among bulbs which find a place in 

 some florists' windows in spring and 

 which are not generally known or 

 grown, are ixias, of which Wonder and 

 crateroides major are splendid varie- 

 ties; tritonias of the crocata type, of 

 a lovely salmon orange color; sparaxis 

 and babianas. All these succeed best 

 in 6-inch or 7-inch pans of rather light 

 but sandy soil, in a cool greenhouse, 

 with a minimum of 45 degrees. They 

 need more careful watering than other 

 bulbs. Without it many will rot off 

 below the soil. 



Nerlnes. 



The nerines, or Guernsey lilies, as 

 they are commonly called, are already 

 showing flower spikes. To flower them 

 at all successfully, it is necessary to 

 have them well potbound and to give 

 them a thorough baking through the 

 summer. As soon as spikes show, stand 

 the plants on a bench in a cool green- 

 house and give them some water. Ne- 

 rines flower at a time when there is a 

 comparative dearth of blooming plants, 

 and for that reason are extremely use- 

 ful. Their slow rate of propagation 



and somewhat high price militate 

 against their extended use commer- 

 cially, but some growers, who cater to 

 high-class stores, have taken them in 

 hand of late years. 



Poinsettias. 



The nights are becoming much cooler 

 and care must be given the poinsettias, 

 or a loss of foliage will surely result. 

 Water more carefully and guard against 

 excessive dryness or anything approach- 

 ing sogginess. iLet the night tempera- 

 ture be about 55 degrees, advancing it 

 to 60 degrees as the bracts show. Make 

 up any late propagated stock into pans, 

 using small ferns, asparagus or cyperus 

 among them. Plants which are well es- 

 tablished in pots or pans should have 

 weak manure water once in four or five 

 days. It can be applied a little stronger 

 when the bracts appear. 



Amaryllis. 



Do not dry amaryllis plants off too 

 suddenly. If they have been in frames 

 through the summer, give them, if pos- 

 sible, a shelf in a sunny house and grad- 

 ually withhold the water supply, rather 

 than lay them on their sides under a 

 drippy bench. There is a general im- 

 pression that amaryllis plants want a 

 long, severe drying in order to make 

 them flower well. This is an utterly er- 

 roneous idea. Never mind if your plants 

 hold some green leaves until the next 

 season's flower spikes appear; they will 

 be all the better for it. 



Hydrangeas. 



Hydrangeas are easily injured by 

 frost while their growths are green 



and immature, as they are after so 

 damp a summer. The plants, if not yet 

 lifted and potted, should be taken up 

 at once. Stand them in frames where 

 they will get a full exposure to the sun, 

 but where sashes will protect them from 

 frost or heavy rains. It is specially 

 necessary to use care with the French 

 hydrangeas, which are more tender than 

 H. Otaksa and more easily injured by 

 mold. Plants that were pot-grown 

 through the summer should be grad- 

 ually dried, in order to mature the wood 

 more thoroughly and fit them for early 

 forcing. Rambler Koses. 



Where rambler roses have not been 

 pot-grown through the summer and 

 they are wanted for early forcing, the 

 lifting and potting should be no longer 

 delayed. Cut away the soft growth on 

 the shoots. Pot firmly. Stand them 

 where they will get lots of sunshine. 

 To prevent the plants from being blown 

 over, plunge the pots partly in soil or 

 coal ashes. These plants will wilt badly 

 for a time, but never mind that; 

 if carefully potted and occasionally 

 sprayed they will soon start to make 

 new roots, and it is surprising how 

 many they will make before the ar- 

 rival of cold weather. 



Single Violets. 



It is better not to house the single 

 violets until they have had one or two 

 moderate freezings. Usually from Octo- 

 ber 10 to 30 is a suitable time to plant 

 them, according to locality. Before they 

 are lifted they should be gone over in 

 the field and all runners removed. Do 

 not lift and plant any stock which 

 seems weak or at all sickly. To keep 

 violets in good condition, careful selec- 

 tion of stock is necessary. This is a 

 fact which even some large specialists 

 are now only becoming alive to. It 

 need hardly be said that violets like 

 a soil containing plenty of well de- 

 cayed manure, as they are strong feed- 

 ers. They also need a cool house, with 

 an average winter minimum of 40 to 42 

 degrees. Princess of Wales is much the 

 best variety. 



HOW OLD WERE THE BULBS? 



I was much interested in the inquiry 

 from E. H. J., which appeared on page 

 16 of The Review of September 23, 

 under the head of "Soil for Gladioli." 

 The inquirer said, in part: "We have 

 about 50,000 gladioli in several varie- 

 ties. Among some of the kinds there 

 seems to be a decrease the last two years 

 in the size of the blooms and in the 

 quantity and size of the bulbs. Every 

 spring, since we took up the gladioli 

 three years ago, we have changed their 

 growing location and kept the soil, 

 which is sixty per cent clay, well culti- 

 vated and weeded. All the varieties 

 have fine, long spikes. What is the rea- 

 son for the decrease in size of blooms 

 and in quantity of bulbs?" 



After carefully reading the question. 



and the reply to it by The Review's 

 correspondent, I was surprised to see 

 that the correspondent apparently had 

 failed to take note of the advanced age 

 of the bulbs. E. H. J. " took the bulbs 

 up three years ago." It would seem 

 that they must have been planted at 

 least once in order to be taken up. -It 

 is a fairly safe conclusion that E. H. J. 

 insisted on getting the largest bulbs 

 possible — nice, old, flat stock, say about 

 2%-inch. This would make the stock, 

 say, 3 years old when E. H. J. came 

 into possession. He has had them four 

 years and, allowing 2 years to be their 

 age when he got them, this would 

 make the bulbs at least 6 years old. 

 Will some grower please step forward 

 and give us a good line on fertilizer and 

 soil to use for 6-year-old gladiolus 

 bulbs f R. E. Huntington. 



