16 



The Florists' Review 



NOVBMBBB 4, 1915. 



overdone^ as to seem worthy of high- 

 est praise. Yet it sank into second 

 place when compared with another that 

 was a work of genius. The compara- 

 tive values of these two vases, while 

 lost on the uninitiated, are quickly seen 

 l>y the connoisseur. 



The values of the vases on display 

 Tan from trifling to large amounts. 

 Nearly all were intended for utility as 

 well as for beauty, though some were 



only ornamental. Their makes ran 

 through every known material and com- 

 bination of materials susceptible to fine 

 artistic finish. Some, such as copper- 

 colored glass, are so cunningly devised 

 that they trap the unwary into think- 

 ing them metal. The practical lesson 

 that one learns in vases is that no pot- 

 tery of plain earthenware is water- 

 proof without shellac or some kindred 

 preparation inside. 



fully? Would I have to irrigate. the 

 landf I wish to plant an acre of 

 peonies if they can be grown profitably, 

 but I have not seen any in my vicinity. 



C. L. B.— Tex. 



In my opinion the Texas summers are 

 too dry and too ht)t for growing 

 peonies successfully. I have had good 

 peonies, but not enough of them to be 

 profitable. The land would have to be 

 irrigated, especially in the vicinity of 

 Austin. 



It would seem that peonies would 

 grow more successfully in the coast 

 country than in central Texas. I would 

 not advise any Texas florist to try to 

 grow peonies for profit. There are 

 some varieties better than others, but 

 none are successful in Texas. 



T. J. Wolfe. 



THE BEST PEONIES. 



Will you please give us the name of 

 the. best peony in each color for cut 

 flower purposes for bur home trade! 

 We had intended using P. festiva for 

 white. Also, is it permitted to use 

 nursery stock for local delivery with- 

 out first having it inspected by the 

 state? S. & S.— Ohio. 



While-' it is difficult to name the 

 •"best" peony, if I were restricted to 

 one in each color I would say the four 

 best commercial peony varieties would 

 lae Mme. de Verneville, white; deli- 

 oatissima, light pink; Modesto Guerin, 

 •deep pink; Felix Crousse, clear red. 



No one is allowed, in any of our 

 ■states, to sell nursery stock which has 

 not been favorably passed upon by the 

 •state examiner. W. A. Peterson. 



PLANTING IBISES AND PEONIES. 



I am going to plant 100,000 irises this 

 fall and should like to know how deep 

 to set them, and how far apart. What 

 fertilizer should be used, and how 

 much? I should also like to get the 

 same information about peonies. 



E. M. D.— Va. 



You do not state what variety of iris 

 j^ou have. If it is I. Germanica, cover 

 the stools three inches. The plants can 

 :go in nursery rows twenty-four inches 

 apart, allowing twelve inches between 

 the plants, or, if you are to use horse 

 •cultivation, run the rows three to three 

 and one-half feet apart if you can spare 

 the ground. Or you can plant four 

 rows a foot apart, and then leave a 

 path of twenty-four or thirty inches for 

 liand cultivation. Allow I. Kaempferi, 

 the Japanese iris, twenty-four inches 

 between the plants and thirty-six 

 inches between the rows. Bulbous 

 irises, such as Hispanica and Anglica, 

 <!an go six inches apart in the rows. If 

 in beds three feet wide, you can plant 

 seven rows. Cover these four inches 

 ^eep. 



Cover the eyes of the peonies four 

 inches deep. Allow twenty-four inches 

 between the plants and a yard between 



the rows. For both irises and peonies 

 well decayed cow or horse manure is 

 the best fertilizer. If this is unprocur- 

 able, use a good potato fertilizer, with 

 some bone added for. the irises, German 

 and Japanese, and the peonies. The 

 bulbous irises will do better if you can 

 use pulverized sheep manure. Use 

 twelve cords of manure per acre if you 

 can spare it. If you use commercial 

 fertilizer, apply 1,500 pounds per acre, 

 of a high-grade article. Apply part 

 now and work the balance into the soil 

 in the spring. 0. W. 



PEONIES IN TEXAS. 



Are the Texas summers too hot and 

 too dry for growing peonies success- 



SOWINa IBIS AND PEONY SEEDS. 



Will you kindly let me know through 

 The Review when to sow German iris 

 and peony seed? E. M. — Wis. 



Sow the German iris seeds when ripe, 

 in pans or flats of sandy loam in a 

 coldf rame or cold greenhouse. The 

 seeds germinate irregularly. Peony 

 seeds can be sown in a prepared bed 

 outside before freezing weather. Do 

 not let the seeds become too dry be- 

 fore sowing. If you have only a small 

 number of seeds, pans or flats would be 

 preferable. The seeds usually do not 

 germinate until the second year. It 

 takes three or four years after that be- 

 fore any flowers appear. C. W. 



WILL THESE SUIT HEB? 



A customer wishes us to get her a 

 peony of the following description: 

 American Beauty in color and of rose 

 type, with wide petals, and as double 

 as possible. Can you tell us what one 

 to order for her? P. G. — la. 



Try Paeonia rubra superba, or Louis 

 Van Houtte. C. W. 



OPEN LCTTER^-/^" READEftjg> 



MOBE ABOUT BLUE HYDBANGEAS. 



The discussion on how to make 

 hydrangeas blue, begun in The Eeview 

 of October 14, page 68, and continued 

 in the issue for October 21, page 16, 

 has greatly interested me and has led 

 me to investigate the matter just a 

 little on my own account. I have con- 

 sulted such horticultural literature, an- 

 cient and modem, as I have at com- 

 mand, in the hope of finding some hints 

 on the subject. As a result I discov- 

 ered the following paragraph in an old 

 number of the Cottage Gardener, dated 

 August 8, 1850: 



"Alum has been employed also, with 

 some success, to change the color of the 

 hydrangea's flowers from pink to blue. 

 About seven years ago some experi- 

 ments on this subject were tried in the 

 Chiswick Garden, and the plants sub- 

 mitted to the trial were exhibited in the 

 rooms on Eegent street. One plant, 



cultivated as usual; was the most 

 healthy, and bore its pink flowers. An- 

 other, to which half an ounce of phos- 

 phate of iron had been administered, 

 was unhealthy, its leaves yellow and 

 its flowers small but pink. A third 

 plant, treated with half an ounce of 

 caustic potash, had a similar appear- 

 ance. But a fourth hydrangea, to which 

 half an ounce of alum had been given, 

 produced blue flowers. The quantity, 

 however, was excessive, for the plant 

 was weakly and the flowers small. Mr. 

 Beaton flnds that the best mode of ob- 

 taining blue hydrangeas is by rooting 

 cuttings of them in February, and pot- 

 ting them in loam with which iron fll- 

 ings have been mixed." 



Harold E. Murray. 



SUSTAINING MB. COBFIELD. 



Noting the article by H, J. Corfield 

 on page 16 of The Review of October 



