*jmi^f^ ij«.,j,»ui juiiHiHH" .'miiuL.iiviR!i!ii^H. ^ w»i",-' .> 



^ TTV-"«;^;5-»- ,T?mT 



July 27. l!)<»r.. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



499 



Small Ferns. 



You ought to lay in a good stock of 

 voung ferns just now, for use in filling 

 tlie ferneries during the winter. They 

 are usually pretty well cleaned up by 

 I'ebruarj' and then you have to buy at 

 ail increased price and get decreased 

 .juality. If you lay in a good stock now, 

 ( ither small plants from 2-inch pots or 

 llats, that are once transplanted, you can 

 keep them over winter in 2^-inch pots. 

 It is desirable for the purpose that you 

 have a good plant in as small a pot as 

 possible. 



When you receive them, put them on 

 a bench on which is spread at least one- 

 inch of sand or coal ashes, so that they 

 are not continually drying out, and when 

 firing commences they should be still 

 further protected against the heat from 

 the j>ipe8. The list of the ferns used 

 for the purpose includes many genera. 

 not to mention species, and a difference 

 of temperature may suit different genera, 

 hut you cannot bother with that and 

 ")') to 60 degrees at night will do for all. 



I have repeatedly seen these little ferns 

 ill l.*'/2-inch pots standing on a bench of 

 inch boards with a very slight covering 

 of sand and in many places the sand 

 washed away. In many spots the little 

 plants were parched from the heat below 

 and were drying up. Ferns are found 

 growing in various conditions and en- 

 \ ironments, but nearly all those we grow 

 for ferneries like a warm, moist atmos- 

 j)liere with coolness at the roots. 



There is a great variety of ferns used 

 for small ferneries. The favorite Ad- 

 iantum cuueatum is not considered a 

 good fern for the purpose, but that is 

 In'cause it is used too often when the 

 fronds are immature. We Avill leave that 

 out, as there are plenty of others. Here 

 are a few of the best: Aspidium tsuss- 

 imense, Davallia stricta, Nephrodium hir- 

 tipes, Microlepia hispida, Onychium Ja- 

 ixmicum, Pteris cretica Mayii, P. cre- 

 tica albo-lineata, P. Ouvardi, P. serru- 

 lafa cristata, Selaginella Emmeliana and 

 !^. flabellata. Included in the list 

 could be small plants of Pteris Argyrira, 

 Nephrolepis Scottii and Cyrtomium fal- 

 catum. 



A Dwellinsf-room Fern. 



One of the very best ferns for a room 

 is Cibotium Schiedei, beautiful in every 

 it'spect and, although not so robust look- 

 '"k'. it does finely almost anywhere you 

 I'ut it. Buy young stock now and it 

 will grow into value. In addition to the 

 ♦'ins, do not forget that Asparagus plu- 

 •iiosus is one of the very best i)lants for 

 ^'"ull ferneries. It will outlast most of 

 11i(> ferns. If you have not sown seed 

 ''1' have not a stock of young plants, buy 

 tlii'm. We fill ferneries entirely with this 

 graceful asparagus and they are always 

 ^satisfactory. 



Alternantheras. 



I'he little alternantlieras will be al- 

 ^^ays in use as long as any formal 

 fiower gardening is done. Some varieties 

 ■'rv easily wintered and some are not, un- 

 ''■^'s you can keep up a high temperature. 



Among the latter is the best of them all, 

 A. paronychioides major. A good plan 

 to perpetuate a stock is to prepare flats 

 with two inches of very sandy loam and 

 insert cuttings thickly. They root quick- 

 ly if kept watered on any bench or in 

 a cold frame and by fall are strong little 

 plants and winter well in these flats if 

 kept almost dry during the dark tlays 

 of winter, in a temperature of 55 de- 

 grees. 



Clean Out the Fly. 

 The black fly as well as the green is 

 froublesome with many plants just now, 

 and so are thrips and spider, and it is 

 not always convenient to fumigate. 

 There is great comfort in the use of the 

 Knapsack Eclipse compressed air pump 

 and Nikoteen. Some say you can dilute this 

 500 time& in water. We have never meas- 

 ured the proportion, but we know in 

 practice that you can fill the cylinder 

 two-thirds full of water, add a 2-inch pot 

 full of the Nikoteen and then pump in air 

 until you get the desired pressure. This 

 will kill thrips and spider and at the 

 above strength it will discolor no flower. 

 We applied it to Ivory chrysanthemums 

 when in bloom last fall and there was 

 not the slightest stain on the flower. The 



have made a good growth since their 

 flowering time and should soon be ripen- 

 ing their growth. Put them where they 

 will get the fullest light and keep them 

 Hlightly on the dry side, as you will want 

 to cut them down liard at the end of 

 August. 



Gnerarias. 



Xot many florists care about cinera- 

 rias before February on to Easter and 

 seed sown the middle of August is in 

 l>lenty of time for that. Seed sowing of 

 any kind is rather a risky operation 

 in the hot months, as it is coolness you 

 want, not heat, and to be cool you must 

 shade, and too much shade is a poor 

 start for the young plants. A north- 

 side llou^e where there is light without 

 direct sunshine, is a favorable place. 

 There is considerable said of late about 

 Cineraria stellata for the decoration of 

 a conservatory. Tliey are excellent, 

 showy plants and may be valuable for 

 cutting, but we do not think they will 

 be ever largely in favor as a florists' 

 I»lant. They occupy too much room for 

 the price you can obtain for them. 



WiLUAM Scott. 



VARIEGATED VINCAS. 



Please tell me the treatment required 

 for variegated vincas so as to have good 

 vines in the spring. What temperature 

 and jiosition do they require? .1. W. C. 



There are several ways of raising 

 plants of this, the most useful of all 

 drooping plants for vases or veranda 

 boxes. For many years we found the fol- 

 lowing method the cheapest and best for 



Horticulture at the New York State Building at the Portland Fair. 



Nikoteen is expensive, yet a 2-inch pot 

 is sufficient for a house of chrysanthe- 

 mums 20x100 and what a blessing it is 

 for American Beauties that are troubled 

 at this time with thrips. The fight 

 against our enemies, the insects, is really 

 the most important part of our work 

 and the least excusable if neglected, for 

 it is not science you have to apply, sim- 

 ply faithfulness and energy. 



Pelargoniums. 



Tliese rather neglected plants will 



raising 4,000 or 5,000 young plants an- 

 nually : 



Plant out a few dozen plants in the 

 spring in good soil. They will by Sep- 

 tember have made a large growth, from 

 which you can get any number of cut- 

 tings. You can cut up their long growths 

 into cuttings of two joints, discarding 

 the very tender tips and also the woody, 

 hard growth near the crown of the plant. 

 They root readily in sand the end of Sep- 

 tember or anywhere in October, or before 

 a very severe frost. Keep the sand 



