1056 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



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■••ii- 



October 20, 1904. 



fringed for six weeks upon the year- 

 round favorites, the rose, carnation and 

 violet, but it must now be considered one 

 of the four staples of greenhouse flori- 

 culture. The times of universally ex- 

 cessive prices are forever past, the read- 

 justment to a final acceptance of this is 

 nearly made, and the chrysanthemum 

 has become distinctly a flower of the 

 people. 



The mission of the chrysanthemum is 

 to fill the dull interval between the mid- 

 dle of October and the last of November. 

 Nevet until the development of the 

 peculiar forcing-house industry, the com- 

 mercializing of floriculture on a vast 

 scale, was it possible for a flower giown 

 almost exclusively by the florists, and 

 under glass, to win its way into the 



hearts of the masses. It is the greater 

 general use of cut flowers that makes flori- 

 culture unique. The popular demand for 

 long-stemmed flowers, and for some fa- 

 vorites in every month of the year, hais 

 conspicuously changed the methods of 

 cultivation of chrysanthemums, roses and 

 violets. Persons buy cut flowers, keep 

 them in vases as long as they are thor- 

 oughly satisfactory, and are very sensi- 

 tive to the delights of arrangement for 

 form and color effects. The keeping quali- 

 ties of chrysanthemums are extraordi- 

 nary, and this happy circumstance is one 

 ^I'eason why this flower has so won its 

 way into the hearts of the masses. Never- 

 theless, the cry is sometimes raised that 

 the clirysanthemum is a "rich man's 

 flower." — Gardener's Chronicle. 



Cinerarias* 



It is not easy to discard these beauti- 

 ful plants, for they are so showy and 

 the straina now are grand and easily 

 obtainable from any reputable seedsman. 

 Seeds sown in August for Easter plants 

 will now be in 2-inch pots and will soon 

 want a 4-inch, in which they will pass 

 the winter, and in February be shifted 

 into their flowering pot, 5-inch or 6- 

 inch. Remember that the cineraria, 

 while ruined by the slightest frost, will 

 thrive during the winter months at 40 

 degrees. In fact, the fullest light and 

 a low temperature and constant fumi- 

 gation are the three essentials to make 

 stout, healthy plants. One thing more, 

 use in potting a rather coarse loam with 

 a fourth of well-rotted manure, so that 

 the water will pass quickly through. 

 In a sandy, flbreless compost that held 

 too much moisture I have seen hun- 

 dreds rot off when quite large plants. 



Palms for Decoration. 



The leading palms, for which there 

 was such a large sale for many years, 

 up to two or three years ago, promise 

 to be again popular this winter. The 

 Boston fern was truly the plant for the 

 past three years, and when you see the 

 magnificent specimens that can be and 

 are grown in living rooms and store 

 windows, it richly deserves all the popu- 

 larity it gained. Yet the kentia and 

 areca, the latania and phoenix are go- 

 ing to sell well. Chief of all these is 

 the kentia. You will often see a large 

 collection of these useful palms in a re- 

 tail establishment and yet with difficulty 

 is one found that is actually perfect. 

 This is because too many of them are 

 lugged out to some function or other, 

 packed and unpacked, bruised, brushed 

 against and perhaps chilled. You can't 

 take a kentia out half a dozen times, 

 with the best of care, without it getting 

 somewhat shop-worn. 



So set aside those palmB for deco- 

 rating, big and little, and at the same 

 time keep in perfect order and health 

 those you have for sale and under no 

 temptation let them go out "into soci- 

 ety." At night 60 degrees is low enough 

 for the small and medium-sized palms 

 that you offer for sale, but 50 degrees 



at night will do very well for the large 

 plants you use for decorations. A mod- 

 erately low temperature is quite as well 

 for them, as they will feel less the great 

 changes of temperature to which they 

 are too frequently exposed. If I mis- 

 take not, early signs say that the me- 

 dium-sized palms that will retail at from 

 $3 to $8 are "coming in" again. 



Imported Hardy Shrubs. Z^.^ 



The hardy shrubs from Europe will not 

 be here for a week or two, but I have 

 seen them arrive when we had a spell of 

 very severe weather. Even if most of 

 the deciduous flowering shrubs we force 

 are hardy in the open ground during our 

 coldest winters, that is no reason why, 

 after being in a close box in the hold of 

 a vessel and on the cars for sometimes 

 three weeks, that they are in any con- 

 dition to stand a zero freeze, which I 

 have seen them exposed to when un- 

 packed, greatly to their damage. The 

 deutzia, lilac, prunus, pyrus, wistaria, 

 viburnum and the Ghent azaleas are all 

 hardy, yet when first taken out of the 

 pacKing cases, if the weather is severe, 

 they should be stood in a cool shed for 

 a few days and at the first opportunity 

 heeled in with plenty of soil around 

 their roots in a deep cold-frame, where 

 they can be protected with sash and 

 mats or shutters. 



Importing nurserymen have houses 

 especially adapted for this purpose, with 

 no artificial heat, yet constructed so that 

 no frost enters, lliis would be an ideal 

 place. In place of that, the small im- 

 porter can get along very nicely with a 

 substantial cold-frame. It is the sudden 

 exposure to frost after being first un- 

 packed that does the harm. Later on 

 severe cold may do them no harm. Rho- 

 dodendrons will do very well with the 

 same treatment. They are bulky plants 

 and you can not afford to give them 

 bench room all winter, even if it were 

 good for them. The temperature of pro- 

 tected cold-frames is more congenial to 

 them and two months on your benches 

 is all you can afford. 



Young Ferns. 



I think there are many young ferns, of 

 which we have to keep a few thousand 



all winter for filling fern dishes, much 

 injured, and sometimes entirely ruined, 

 by being placed on a bench which is 

 usually an inch board and there may be 

 three or four 4-inch pipes beneath it. 

 There may be a scant half-inch of sand 

 or ashes on the boards, but when firing 

 strong the sand or ashes get dry and 

 warm and that's the very worst condition 

 for these little ferns in 2-ipch or 3-inch 

 pots. It is doubtful if any ferns ^ like 

 fire heat near their roots. 



Ferns, the very great majority, like 

 moisture. Not the moisture we produce 

 by syringing, as we do palms, but a 

 steady moisture at the roots and sur- 

 rounding them. Those who have noticed 

 where the wild ferns grow, know that 

 they are found beneath the shade of 

 larger vegetation, on shady banks, on 

 the margins of streams -And often where 

 there is a constant trickling of water 

 over rocks. There are exceptions to this 

 we know, but all the ferns we grow for 

 fern dishes are tropical and, while they 

 do not want spraying, the surroundings 

 should be moist; hot, dry sand parch- 

 ing the roots in the little pots is the 

 very worst condition for them. So if 

 you must put them on benches over 

 pipes, put a depth of sand, ashes or soil 

 that will not dry out. 



Genista. 



As Easter is very late, this pretty 

 yellow flower is likely to be too early 

 unless you keep it cool. It does not 

 make as much growth in summer as in 

 the cool of winter. When the young 

 growths are two or three inches long 

 they can be clipped back to make the 

 plants rounding and shapely, but don't 

 do any clipping or stopping after New 

 Year's or the flowering growths will be 

 short and stubby. 



Rambler Roses. 



I have mentioned several times that 

 just about now there is danger of your 

 pot-grown Ramblers, in case a warm 

 spell occurs, breaking at their strongest 

 eyes, which would be unfortunate. They 

 are as well laid on their sides for the 

 next three or four weeks, or until you 

 put them away in cold-frames for a rest 

 until you force them. Don't, however, 

 if the weather is bright and dry, let 

 them get dust dry. Now, when you have 

 them so far along, they will well repay 

 a little extra labor. Water once a week 

 will do, for the foliage is about gone. 

 There is a difference between moderately 

 moist and a soaking for two or three 

 days. 



Primula Obconica. 



Primula obconica is sure to be as 

 popular and useful as ever and, with 

 the wonderful improvement in size and 

 color of flower, it is now indispensable. 

 What a pity it poisons some people. I 

 thought for years it was all imagination 

 or affectation. Of a dozen men and 

 boys who handle it and speak as they 

 pass by, not one complains, yet we have 

 % very successful lady florist on Main 

 street who has to run out at the back 

 door if she sees P. obconica coming in at 

 the front. It is a beautiful pot plant 

 all winter and the cut sprays are most 

 useful in designs. 



We planted out the little plants from 

 the seed pans in May, to some flats of 

 finely prepared soil, and in July trans- 

 planted about eight inches apart in four 

 or five inches of soil on a bench. Those 

 we want for pot plants for Christmas 



