5J4 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



AuursT 11, 1904 



Forcing and Packing. 



\ii\\ till' wliiilcsiile iiiMii, w lio is ui(is\ 

 iii^ fur tlif trade, will iHlupt, ilifrt'icnt 

 iiR'lhiids. Ilo will yrinv Imt low lines ami 

 s|i('iializc (III liii'sc. J I is cxpcrieiict' will 

 ii'.-iili him tiie jn'uper time that thes(> 

 .sIkiu'IiI lie- hruuj^hl iu. .Slumlcl it hupjieii 

 liial ho i.s a little late and has to force 

 li;ii'l. in (iider to have them in on time, 

 111' iim^t iHit forj,'et Ihat satisfaetioii to 

 his ciistonicis must be his first eoiisidera- 

 limi. ami in mdei- liiat Ids j)lants may 

 pnivc s;it iv|;i,-t,ii-_v liiey must have a few 

 d;ivs in ;i hnusi' ni' cooler 1i'm[)eraturo to 

 inri'arr thiiii ten- the stoi'e man or cus- 

 iiiiM( f. His (iiip having been prepared, 

 lii^ next step is to ad\ise his customers 

 wlial lie lias un hand, gising in detiiil 

 ihi'ir exact cinidit ion and \aiue. As soon 

 :is iiidirs are roceivetl they should be 

 .•i(i<no\\ledgi'd, so tiiat custtimers may 

 dipiiid iipnn getting wliat thev have or- 



drivd. 



livery phuit should In- carefully 

 wrnpped. All lloweiing plants, with llow- 

 crs tiiat are easily bruised, should lirst 

 receive a wrajipiiig ill tissue paper and 

 then some heavier material to protect them 

 t'liim the cidd and bruising or breaking 

 while in transit, ('ases sImuiM lie lined 

 with heavy building pajier or severul 

 thickru'ssos of newspa]»er and e\erv row 

 111' plants should be elealed in so th;it 

 there will be no daiigiM' of the plants dis- 

 lodging slmuld the ex]>ress company turn 

 ihe cases ujisidi.' down. 



Easter Plants. 



Onee the ('hristmas holiday.s are y\'r\ 

 preparations for the next great lAcnl 

 in the j)lantsman"s year, l^aster. must be 

 attended to. The \arying dates on which 

 Master falls must .always be Ijoi-ni' in 

 mind, so that you may govern your ciop 

 accordingly. l\)r the lOastei' holiday ;i 

 numlier ot dilTerent \arieties ot' plants 



th:in tiiose forced for the C'hristm.as holi- 

 days will be used. 



first and foremost are Easier lilies, 

 either loiigitlorum or llari'isii. Vov pot 

 ]>lants i consider the 7-'.)-inch bulbs the 

 best size. There is a dill'erence of opin- 

 ion liow these should be grown, some con- 

 tending that they should first be ])otted 

 in 4 or 4'L'-'"cli i>ots and then shifted 

 u|i into () or 7-incli as the plants come 

 uiong. Others say that they should be 

 potted in tlie ]Pot in wliiidi they are to 

 bloom. Till' only ditference that I can 

 siH- is n slight economy of space in their 

 early stages. I'roni my s<!veral j'ears' 

 experience in growing and liandliug these 

 I see but little dilfereuce in the result 

 when handled by careful growers. There 

 is Just one essential point to always bear 

 in mind: ^'nun the time a lily starts 

 glowing it, should never receive a check, 

 for if it does, any germs of disease that 

 are lying dormant are sure to develoj). 

 Kor can you gauge its date of flowering 

 with the same degree of success as if it 

 had not received a check. 



There are a numlier of brands of Lil- 

 ium longifiorum on the market but I do 

 not think that there is any material 

 dilfereuce between them. The maiji ob- 

 jiH't is to have good, sound, well-ripened 

 bulbs. Vnder the same conditions, longi- 

 tloruni will come in if started from four 

 to five weeks later than llarrisii. While 

 the lily is the Easter flower par excel- 

 lence, it is also the most expensive to 

 grow .-iiid hardest for the stcu'o men to 

 liandle. 



Other |ihints that will need immediate 

 attention are hydrangeas, Crimson Ram- 

 bler ••ind hybrid jierpetual roses. These 

 should be brought in and started into 

 growth in a moderate temperature, grad- 

 ually increasing it. governed by the time 

 al your disposal. 



Azaleas that are to be held for Easter 

 should be kept in a coed house, with an 



The Anheuser-Busch Bowling Trophy. 



even temperature, free from drip or ex- 

 cessive moisture. Other varieties of 

 ]dants such as metrosideros, lilacs, rho- 

 dodendrons, deutzias, etc., will not need 

 to be brought in before the last week in 

 E(d)ruary or the first iu March. 



Among the soft-wooded plants the im- 

 jiroved varieties of pelargoniums are go- 

 ing to take a prominent place as Easter 

 plants. These if propagated during Sep- 

 tember and October, and kept growing 

 along, will make fine, bushy plants in 

 .") or G-iiudi pots, with from six to ten 

 large trusses of flower, by the first of 

 April. They are easily handled, very 

 lloriferous and find a ready sale, giving 

 customers as good satisfaction as an 

 azalea or a Crimson Kambler and will 

 yield a better profit to the grower. 

 S[)ira'a or astilbo is also a prominent 

 Easter plant and is sold in large quanti- 

 ties. Dutch bulbs should not be lost 

 sight of. I'ans of hyacinths, tulips and 

 narcissi, in their various varieties, are 

 sold in large quantities and are easily 

 brought in at the right time. Three 

 weeks in a moderate temiierature is all 

 that is re()uired to bring them to per- 

 fection. Lilies of the valley and forget- 

 me-nots in ]iots and pans are also desira- 

 ble. It Avill also be necessary to prepare 

 a few foliage jdants, such as Boston and 

 I'iersoni ferns, palms and rubbers, but 

 let your main effort be to prepare a 

 stock of good flowering ])]auts for the 

 Easter trade. Of all the holidays in the 

 year, lOaster is the one on which most 

 flowering plants are used. Its associa- 

 tions are of .a joyous nature and all 

 people, be they rich or poor, high or 

 low, are imbued with the happiness at- 

 tending the occasion .and want something 

 bright and cheerful, in keeping with 

 their feelings. 



The same care in handling and deliv- 

 ering j)lants .as mentioned for the Christ- 

 mas trade will apply at all times. Easter 

 lilies are very hard to handle without 

 liruisiiig. For shipjiing, the best method 

 that we have fcnind is to allow the plants 

 to become somewhat dry, so that the 

 flowers will be .just a trifle wilty, a?d 

 each individual flower and bud wrappeti 

 in cotton batting. The plants should be 

 firmly staked and e.ach row should be 

 deated into the cases and ji top cleat 

 nailed across the case just behnv the 

 buds and e;i(di row of plants tied to this 

 cje.it. If this work is thoroughly done 

 you will ha\e no dr.awbacks or rebates 

 lo ninke for bruised flowers while in 

 lr-:iiisit. 



Prospects in Canada. 



'fill re are ;i number of plants that I 

 lia\e not mentioned \\liich might be 

 lifoiii^iit ill tor the holid.ays, such as 

 fieesiiis. eiic;is. ardisias. cajisicums, 

 iiougaiii\ ilicM. etc. \'ou are all familiar 

 with llie li:ini|ling ui' liiiin and I do not 

 need 111 ^o into ijet.ails. The deiiiaiid in 

 your loc.-iljiy must go\erii you largely in 

 wiiat ymi glow. It is well, from year to 

 year, to change the varieties thiit you 

 .lie ■flowing. dro|ipiiig some that you find 

 till' demand deciea^iii^ on and adding 

 others liiat .'ire likely to create ;i demand. 

 TJi:iI file demand is increasing, .and will 

 continue to do so. is without .a (jiiestioii 

 of ijoulit. The lime \v,-is wlieii all our 

 ell'iirls were ci i lice III lU I ed ill ellijea Vori llg 



lo have .-I sullicieiit sujiply id' cut flowers 

 lo fill llie demand, bill gradually ]>lants 

 are suipcrsediiig this demand and. wliil' 

 .•il holiday limes there will always be a 

 ilem.iiid sutlicient to t;ike all the cut 

 flowers tli.it can be jirodmed, the demand 

 fur both ]il;inls ;iiid cut flowers is not 



