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QCTOBKB 7, 1915. 



The Florists^ Review 



19 



Panel Arrangements in the Vincent Dahlia Show at White Marsh. 



tion. Dahlias, with here and there a 

 block of cannas to break the monotony 

 of the sight, were the only things to 

 be seen. More than 200- varieties of 

 dahlias are being grown for commer- 

 cial use by the company, besides 

 numerous varieties in what is known 

 as the trial grounds. These beds take 

 up more space than a city block and 

 are planted with novelties in the dahlia 

 line, some of only two or three plants 

 of an especially new variety. Here all 

 new varieties are tried out before being 

 listed in the catalogues. This block 

 receives careful treatment, each plant 

 being staked and tied and all blooms 

 disbudded. The work is under the 

 direct supervision of one of the sons. 



It would be impossible to enumerate 

 all the different varieties found in the 

 trial grounds, but some of those which 

 impressed the writer favorably are 

 given below. One fact which stands 

 out is the entire absence of any of the 

 quilled, show type of blooms, the trial 

 grounds being planted in cactus, deco- 

 rative and peony-flowering types. In 

 the general commercial collection the 

 quilled, show type varieties are in the 

 minority by about one to six. 



White Delice is one of the newest 

 varieties. It is identical in all respects 

 with its parent, excepting the differ- 

 ence in color. Among the most strik- 

 ing of the newer varieties were Paul 

 Charmant, which may be classed as a 

 da»rk maroon Doazon; Geisha, semi- 

 double, red, tipped with yellow; 

 Beloit, peony-flowering, wine color; R. 

 L. Borden, a peculiar shade of pink, 

 shading to salmon and yellow; Prima 

 Donna, a pink, quilled, cactus variety, 

 and Hohenzollern, a giant red. Numer- 

 ous shades of yellow and salmon pink 

 were seen, which were also attractive, 

 but too numerous to mention separate- 

 ly. In the commercial section were 

 the usual standard varieties, all in full 

 flower. 



The canna fields were a scene of 

 beauty and color. All the standard 

 varieties are grown, besides many of 

 the newer sorts, which are grown for 

 a time before distributing to the trade. 

 The many greenhouses are filled with 

 geraniums and other bedding plants. 

 Scarlet Wonder and Maryland, both in- 

 troduced by Vincent, and Beaute 

 Poitevine, showed up well among these 

 popular bedding plants. 



September 29 was Florists' day. The 

 trade was well represented. Those who 

 attended felt well repaid for the trip 

 to view this beautiful exhibition of 

 the "queen flower of the fall season." 



W. F. E. 



PBOTECTION FROM FBOST. 



I wish to carry a number of thou- 

 sands of potted plants, pansies, etc., 

 over winter in coldframes. I have had 

 some previous trouble, finding pots split 

 by the frost of our central New York 

 winters. How can this be prevented? 

 My plan is to cover with dry leaves 

 to a depth of one foot and provide the 

 coldframes with a slanting, water-tight 

 roof. Should the pots be tiuried to the 

 top in the earth, leaving only the 

 plants exposed, or should I place them 

 close together on the surface? 



0. 8. M.— N. Y. 



The pots should be plunged to their 

 brims in the frames, and when sharp 

 weather arrives, fill over them with 

 loose and perfectly dry leaves. If you 

 do not use sashes over these, you must 

 have tight match-board shutters. If 

 the leaves become wet, a lot of your 

 plants will rot. It is necessary to have 

 them perfectly dry. It will be neces- 

 sary to pack around the sides of the 

 frames with leaves or straw, unless 

 they are below the ground level. Pots 



stood on the surface would be far more 

 likely to freeze and burst than such 

 as are plunged. If you can get pine 

 needles, they make a splendid cover- 

 ing for the plants and exclude a lot 

 of frost. C. W. 



CAMPANULA AND DIGITALIS. 



Can campanulas and digitalis be 

 forced successfully under glass? What 

 temperature should they be given? Any 

 information as to their culture will be 

 highly appreciated. L. L. — Mo. 



Each -of these plants can be success- 

 fully forced into flower considerably 

 ahead of their natural outdoor bloom- 

 ing time. By campanula, you probably 

 refer to C. Medium, or Canterbury 

 bells. These should be lifted and pottei 

 now, kept outdoors for some time, then 

 stood in a coldframe. Forcing in a 

 minimum of 45 degrees can be started 

 in January. They should never have 

 a night temperature exceeding 50 de- 

 grees, as they will not stand hard forc- 

 ing. When they are well established in 

 their pots, they need abundant supplies 

 of water and occasional applications of 

 liquid manure. Canterbury bells need 

 a light, sunny and airy house. The 

 single varieties are far the best for 

 forcing, or, for that matter, any other 

 purpose. 



Digitalis, or foxgloves, want similar 

 cultural conditions to campanulas. 

 Plants can be flowered in from 6-inch 

 to 10-inch, or even larger, pots. Com- 

 mercially I would favor 7-inch or 8- 

 inch pots, and use a rich compost for 

 both plants. C. W. 



S0LANX7MS FOB CHBISTMAS. 



I have some Jerusalem cherries out- 

 side in 4-inch pots. They are six inches 

 high and in bloom. Please state how 

 to handle them to have them in time 

 for Christmas. G. M. — Pa. 



Your plants are somewhat small, but 

 should have ripe fruits before Christ- 

 mas. Place them on a sunny bench in 

 a house with a night temperature of 

 48 to 50 degrees. Give them plenty 

 of water and some liquid manure once 

 a week. C. W. 



Pascagoula, Miss. — L. F. Kramer has 

 a house 40x100, with side walls six 

 feet high, used only for cucumbers in 

 the forcing season and allowed to stand 

 idle all summer. 



View in the Vincent DahUa Show in the Big Packing Shed at White Marsh. 



