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Maech 30, 1905. •■' 



The Weddy Florists' Review. 



1067 





A Department Store Decoration at Kansas Qty, by "W, J. Barnes. 



ing or getting too dense, prune at the 

 end of July. You will see better then 

 just what is necessary to cut away. 

 Evergreens, so-called, also want little 

 pruning unless used for hedges, and 

 this is better done in July. 



The time to prune a hedge of a decid- 

 uous shrub will depend entirely on what 

 the shrub is. If it is privet, then now 

 is the time to prune and it should be 

 pruned back to within five or six inches 

 of where the growth started last spring. 

 A chapter could be written on the mis- 

 management of these privet hedges. It 

 is more often due to the impatience of 

 the owner, who wants a fine hedge in 

 about two years. The increase in its 

 size must be slow and gradual. It 

 should be broad at the base, narrowing 

 to the top. It is more times seen the 

 reverse and when that is the case there 

 are only naked stems for a foot or 

 two, as ornamental as a board fence! 



The beautiful little Berberis Thun- 

 bergii, so hardy and neat, should be 

 pruned now. It is not right to attempt 

 to keep this plant as formal as a privet. 

 Cutting back the strongest growths with 

 a' knife is all that should be done. The 

 cydonia (Japanese quince) makes a 

 most beautiful hedge. Don't touch it 

 until it is out of flower; then prune. 

 The African tamarix is also used for 

 a hedge where formality is not wanted. 

 It should not be touched in the spring 

 until its innumerable little pink blossoms 

 are gone ; then cut hard back. 



When to Prune. 



Broadly speaking, nearly all shrubs 

 can be classed into two groups as far 

 as pruning is concerned; viz., those that 

 set their flower buds in the fall and 

 those that flower on the current or 

 spring and summer , growth. We will 



take the common lilac as an example of 

 the first group. The lilac sets its flower 

 buds the previous summer and fall and 

 is ready to burst into bloom at Gen. 

 Spring's summons. Now, to cut back 

 severely the last summer's growth would 

 resylt in your getting a strong growth 

 but little flower. So all this class, if 

 pruning is necessary at all, and it does 

 amount to a necessity with some, should 

 be pruned directly the bloom has 

 dropped. 



As an example of the other group, or 

 those which should be pruned in earlv 

 snring, we will take the popular hardy 

 Hydrangea paniculata. If you left all 

 the last year's wood you would get a 

 growth from every eye, but it would be 

 crowded and weak and the flowers would 

 be small. By cutting last summer's 

 growth back to, say, four or five eyes 

 you would get plenty of strong growths 

 and large flowers. There are also shrubs 

 that, when well established, want to be 

 left alone. Here are a few familiar 

 shrubs and the time to prune them. 



Prune in spring: H. P. roses, Hv- 

 drangea paniculata grandiflora, weigelia, 

 golden elder, late flowering spiraeas, al- 

 theas in variety, berberis, philadelphus, 

 symphoricarpos. 



Prune after flowering: Pynis Jap- 

 onica, forsythia, tamarix, Prunus trilo- 

 ba, dwarf almond, Spiraea prunfolia, 

 deutzia, lilac, hardy azaleas, staphylea. 



A very good guide is that the early 

 flowering shrubs should be pruned after 

 flowering and the late flowering kinds 

 before they start in the spring. 



William Scott. 



Peoru, III. — Charles Loveridge is en- 

 larging his plant this spring to the ex- 

 tent of a car-load of roof material re- 

 ceived from A. Dietsch Co., Chicago. 



A PLEA FOR VARIETY. 



We are in receipt of the following 

 communication from a Philadelphia 

 reader who addresses his letter "Dear 

 Review" and refers to himself as an 

 amateur florist, which he certainly ig 

 not. He probably meant amateur con- 

 tributor, but his ideas are worthy of 

 consideration, and we take pleasure in 

 printing the letter: 



"I trust that it may not be thought 

 conceited for me, an amateur florist, to 

 give some ideas to professionals. I have 

 learned much from you; the articles you 

 print have helped me much in my little 

 business, but to the point. 



' ' The carnation from the buyers ' point 

 of view is losing its value. It was fash- 

 ionable, it became popular and now it is 

 getting out of date. Still the growers 

 devote much space and time to its culti- 

 vation. The papers are full of pictures 

 of new sorts and the best methods of 

 raising them. The florists and growers 

 appreciate their size and beauty, but the 

 public does not. To them Lawson and 

 our great Fiancee are the same, both 

 pink carnations, nothing more. 



"I arrange decorations. Recently 

 when we were discussing flowers for a 

 dinner table, the lady threw up her hands 

 and exclaimed: 'Not carnations! I 

 would as soon give my guests plain 

 boiled potatoes, as the carnations one 

 sees everywhere.' 



"There is a great demand for flowers 

 one does not see everywhere and has not 

 seen for a number of years past at all 

 the private and public entertainments. I 

 have tried to get camellias and prim- 

 roses enough to make up into many bou- 

 quets, without much success. In Paris I 

 could have been supplied with any 

 amount of them in their season. Stocks 



