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The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



OCTOBEE 27, 1904. 



CARNATION NOTES.-EAST. 



Mulching. 



The question of mulching at this time 

 of year depends upon circumstances, or, 

 rather, conditions decide whether or not 

 it is advisable this early to mulch at 

 all. If the soil was of proper quality 

 at the time of filling the bench and care- 

 ful cultivation, watering, etc., kept up 

 since, there is not need of much fertilizer, 

 as comparatively little food elements 

 have been taken up by the plants. 



It is well to remember that field- 

 grown plants in the vigor of health have 

 much energy stored up within and in 

 their efforts to become established in 

 their new quarters draw upon this stored 

 energy. This is obvious when it is con- 

 sidered that in lifting the delicate feed- 

 ing roots are disarranged or broken off 

 and rendered useless for the time be- 

 ing. This time varies in the different 



varieties and must be considered in cater- 

 ing to the needs of each. 



Prom the fact that little food is re- 

 quired by the plants during the period 

 of reestablishmeni, it has seemed advis- 

 able to add to the bench soil at thfe start 

 but a small quantity of bone meal, ap^y- 

 ing later at intervals in such amounts as 

 are needed, thus making it possible also 

 to give ea^ variety the special attention 

 its peculiarities demand. Then, too, a 

 mulch tends to prevent air from enter- 

 ing the soil and the sun fr«im plaj^ng 

 on the surface. We need alt~~flie sun 

 possible at this time and as the days 

 grow short, so the amount of sunlight 

 grows less. 



So, then, instead of mulches, I would 

 advise light top dressings of a mixture 

 of soil and bone, occasionally substi- 

 tuting hardwood ashes for the bone. 



In the case of stock grown under glass 

 all summer the method of proceeding 

 would be diflferent, but will treat of this 

 later. Geo. S. Osborn. 



'MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



r1 



Variety the G>ndiinent 



We are now in the first flush of the 

 glorious chrysanthemum season and will 

 revel in it, in all its varied forms, for 

 another month, and then will come dark 

 weather and roses and carnations will 

 assert themselves. And there are others. 

 Variety is the spice of life. This is 

 true intellectually as well as in the 

 grosser needs of men, and so it is in 

 flowers, for those who can constantly en- 

 joy the luxury of their presence. The 

 wonder is that our patrons are satisfied 

 with the meager variety that is offered. 



Paper ^hite Narcissus. 



If there is any money in this pretty 

 .flower at any time it most assuredly is 

 at the holiday season. There are times 

 when we can get along without it, but 

 at Christmas it is invaluable. I mention 

 this now so that the Christmas crop can 

 be brought into the houses at once. You 

 can force out this early flowering bulb 

 in a short time in a strong heat, but that 

 is not the way to do it. Give it seven 

 or eight weeks in a night temperature 

 of 50 to 55 degrees and the flowers will 

 be larger, the stem stouter and the stock 

 in every way of better quality than those 

 forced in a higher temperature in half 

 the time. 



Don't think that down on the ground 

 alongside the paths is good enough for 

 the narcissus. It must have the fullest 

 light, and it's worth it, and if all the 

 flowers are fully out a few days before 

 they are cut, so much the better, for 

 the flats can be removed to a very cool 

 house to their advantage. With a poor 

 light these bulbs seem to grow all to 

 leaves, with small flowers. In the full- 

 est light the opposite is the case. 



Roman Hyacinths. 



We usually commence cutting Komans 

 by the middle of November. Very early 

 forcing requires a strong heat, but as the 

 season advances less heat is needed. I 



think for the retailer that Komans pay 

 best to have a few flats in bloom dur- 

 ing every week they are available. Yet 

 Christmas, of course, demands an extra 

 lot and these should be given plenty of 

 time, for size, quality and durability of 

 the spikes will be much superior if given 

 light and moderate temperature over 

 those unduly forced. Don 't say you can 't 

 afford proper bench room for these bulbs, 

 for, considering the short time a crop oc- ' 

 cupies a bench and the amount of bloom 

 you cut, the space required is very small. 



Sweet Peas. 



As admitted before this, we failed for 

 year^^ to pick sweet peas before Easter, 

 simply because we allowed bottom growth 

 to spring up and smother, the original 

 growth that would have given us flow- 

 ers at Christmas. In many places the , 

 pots of sweet peas will be put on the 

 bench immediately the early mums are 

 removed. Some growers may have so\^h 

 them where they will flower. In any' 

 case keep the strong growth that will 

 start from the lower eyes Carefully picked 

 off, also all lateral growth. From the 

 time they are cut of the ground until 

 you pick flowers the vine should be en- 

 couraged to keep growing straight up, for 

 it is when the vines are allowed to drop 

 over that a stronger growth from the 

 base of the plant is encouraged^ as in 

 so many of our other plants. 1^ • 



There is nothing better thftfl a (»eap, 

 coarpe string for the vines to "climj/^on 

 and 50 degrees at night is fhigh enotfgh, 

 with the fullest light you can gife~them. 

 Four or five inches of soil is enough and 

 headroom of six feet. A deeper soil 

 may keep them longer in bloom, but 

 a succession of crops is better than old 

 vines. Sow again in a week or two, for 

 a February picking. ^^ 



Gardenias. ^ 



It is rather out of season to say any- 

 thing about that most fragrant flower. 



the gardenia. It is likely to be the faci 

 this winter in some fashionable communi- 

 ties. You can offer no criticism for ad- 

 miration of these delicious flowers, a 

 miniature camellia with a delightful 

 odor. I saw some splendidly grown 

 plants a few days ago. They were in 

 6-inch or 7-inch pots, with their glossy 

 toliage as fresh and green, and perhaps 

 more so,, as they could be seen in Florida 

 or Alabama. Cultivation in pots is not 

 what the commercial man would give. 

 Planting out on a well-drained bench in 

 five or six inches of soil is much more 

 satisfactory in every way, with young 

 plants that are planted in the spring. 



I remember hearing a florist friend on 

 his return from California tell us that 

 gardenias were well grown and flowered 

 under glass by the florists of San Fran- 

 cisco and the principal point he noticed 

 was that each plant was growing on a 

 little mound; that is, at the stem of the 

 plant the soil might be seven or eight 

 inches deep, sloping away between the 

 'plants to three or four inches. There 

 may be a good point in this, as it would 

 keep the roots from becoming saturated 

 or constantly wet, which the necessary 

 frequent syringing of plants would be 

 liable to cause. 



More about these lovely shrubs later. 

 Just now they do very well at a night 

 temperature of 60 degrees with a daily 

 thorough syringing. Mealy bug is their 

 worst insect enemy. The buds appear 

 o» the ends of the growth and any lat- 

 eral growth just below the buds should 

 be pinched out. Thousands of these gar- 

 denia flowers will be sent north this 

 winter from the southern states, still a 

 home-grown one is worth a dozen for 

 purity and sweetness. 



Roses for Pots. 



Last fall countless thousands of nur- 

 sery-grown roses of all descriptions which 

 were to have been dug and put in stor- 

 age, were frozen in the ground to stay 

 until April 's sun thawed them out. About 

 November 16 hard freezing commenced 

 and we all exchanged remarks: "This 

 will only last a few days. Lots of 

 time yet to dig up roses, etc." Nursery- 

 men were hit much more seriously than 

 florists, but we all felt it. It is im- 

 probable that we shall scon again see 

 such an early and continuous winter, yet 

 it taught us a lesson. 



The longer you can leave the hardy 

 roses in the ground (I allude to the hy- 

 brid perpetual and Eamblers) that you 

 intend to force, it is to their benefit. 

 Light frosts ripen their wood, take off 

 all the foliage and put them in that per- 

 fectly dormant state in which the dis- 

 turbance and loss of roots is little felt. 

 With us about November 10 is right. It 

 would have been all right last year, but 

 procrastination is a disastrous element in 

 the make-up of lots of us. 



For forcing purposes use one-year-old 

 plants that had their roots shortened back 

 and their growth cut back to one or two 

 eyes and were planted in your own ground 

 last spring and have made four or five 

 canes three or four feet long. Perhaps 

 the majority of florists depend, however, 

 on buying these plants from some good 

 nursery house. If so, ask as a favor 

 that these roses be dug and shipped to 

 you by express the same day. With the 

 hybrid perpetuals a day or two of delay 

 is not so serious, and they recover from 

 a drying out, because in the spring you 

 cut off three-fourths of the growth and 

 leave but a few eyes to break. But 



