NOVEMBEB 23, 1905. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



yl^'>-p9 



MISCELLANEOUS 

 SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Pot Roses for Easter. 



"We are a little late to give hints on 

 H. P. roses for Easter but it is not too 

 late as long as nurserymen can dig. The 

 frosts have well ripened the vpood. Un- 

 less you have them grovring on your own 

 place, the stock procured from our homo 

 nurserymen is the best. "When received do 

 not do any pruning at the top. Just 

 pot them in 5, 6 or 7-inch, as they may 

 require. Use a heavy loam with a 

 fourth of manure and pot firmly. If 

 the roots are long, straggling or muti- 

 lated, shorten them back. "When all are 

 potted give them a thorough soaking. 

 Then choose a spot in your garden where 

 surface water will not lie. Spread an 

 inch of hay or straw over the surface. 

 This is only to prevent the pots from 

 sticking to the earth when the time 

 comes to remove the plants to the green- 

 house. Lay the first row of plants on 

 the ground with their tops pointing to 

 the end of the bed and quite close to- 

 gether; then lay another row with the 

 tops resting over the pots of the first 

 row, and so on until your space is filled. 

 Then cover with four or five inches of 

 earth, or till pots and roses are entirely 

 covered. 



"With ordinary weather the whole mass 

 will be sure to freeze, but the freezing 

 and thawing will be so gradual that no 

 harm will be done and when you lift 

 them to begin forcing the wood and eyes 

 will be found sound and plump. The 

 time of Easter will determine when to 

 bring them in. Then it is that the prun- 

 ing is done. The weak shoots should be 

 cut out entirely and the strong canes 

 down to three or four strong eyes. 



It is not our very finest H. P. roses 

 that are best adapted to pot culture. 

 Free-flowering and the characteristic of 

 opening most of the buds at the same 

 time are desired. Do not attempt to force 

 a great variety, but have quantities of 

 the desired sorts. A lialf dozen most 

 desirable sorts for this purpose are 

 Magna Charta, Ulrich Brunner, X'me. 



Gabriel Luizet, Baroness Kothschild, Clio 

 and La France. 



Poinsettias. 



Just now the small bracts of the poin- 

 settias ari assuming color, later to be 

 brilliant pcarlet, and it is also just now, 

 or a week or two later, that mealy bug 

 delights to settle down among the true 

 flowers of this showy plant. "We have in 

 the past allowed these insects to form 

 such a colony that we had to take down 

 each pot or pan and hose each individual 

 head of bractij. This can be prevented 

 by the compressed air pump with nico- 

 tine extract diluted 300 times and give 

 each head a spray. Nicotine or tobacco 

 in any form is not death to a healthy 

 mealy bug but this spray of the solution 

 will go a long way in preventing them 

 settling there. 



Early Lilies. 



And while you have your little pump 

 at work, and there should b* one of these 

 useful implements in every establish- 

 ment, don't forget your early Bermuda 

 lilies. Many of them are showing their 

 buds above the leaves. If so, they are 

 safe, because fumigation in some form 

 will keep them down, but before the 

 buds show deep down in the cluster of 

 leaves the aphis is at work and fre- 

 quently does much damage and the nico- 

 tine solution will exterminate this pest. 



Speaking of lilies, there is always a 

 fine sale for the early lilies, particularly 

 around the holidays. They will, after 

 they once show the buds, stand a severe 

 forcing. "V\'e know one establishment 

 where they cut lilies in abundance 

 through November and December, and 

 they subject them to a night tempera- 

 ture of 70 degrees and even 80 degrees 

 without injury. 



Azaleas for Christmas. 



Soon after received you should have 

 put the azaleas you wanted for Christ- 

 mos into a strong heat and syringe them 

 daily imtil the blossoms open. Our ex- 



perience with the early forcing varieties 

 is limited, but we do not believe there are 

 many varieties that it pays to try. From 

 its ease in forcing and splendid habit, 

 Deutsche Perle is, of course, the queen 

 of them all. Helen Thielmau forces 

 fairly. It is a rosy carmine. Next to 

 Deutsche Perle in value is Simon Mard- 

 ner, of fine compact habit and a rich 

 Lawson carnation shade of pink. This 

 variety would outsell Deutsche Perle at 

 Christmas if you could get it in as well 

 flowered. 



You will have noticed of late that at 

 Christmas the demand is for deep warm 

 colors. The universal use of the holly 

 and the scarlet berry is accountable for 

 this. Hence the present and growing 

 popularity of the ephemeral poinsettia. 

 The other azaleas that will force, al- 

 though habit and form of the plant are 

 poor, is Vervajneana, a beautiful mottled 

 pink and white. If you get those four 

 varieties into flower you have enough 

 for Christmas. 



Stevia for the Holidays. 



A very simple reminder is that if you 

 grow that very cheap but graceful 

 flower, Stevia serrata, or sweet stevia, 

 that yo\i keep it as cool as possible, 

 anything but freezing. This flower is 

 in great demand witli us at Christmas 

 and it is then you want it and can make 

 it pay. In a temperature of 50 degrees 

 it will be out and gone before that 

 season. Florists who grow only roses 

 and carnations may look upon it as 

 almost a weed. Not so with our patrons, 

 whose refined taste want it because it 

 takes off the stiffness and formality of 

 our expensive flowers. 



Flowering Begonias. 



Look out for your young Gloire de 

 Lorraine just now and for two months 

 to come. I allude to those you propa- 

 gated from loaf or cutting in September 

 and which make your largest plants 

 next fall. Look over them every few 

 days and water those that are really 

 dry. In spite of care a good many will 

 die, but careful watering will prevent 

 too great a loss. I hope you grow Be- 

 gonia incarnatji grandifloia, especially 

 that variety or sport, Sandeiiana. This 

 type of begonia is too often a disap- 

 pointment because it is grown too warm, 

 shady and moist. Give it about 50 de- 

 grees at night and all the light you can, 

 with sun and air, and it will soon bo 



What the Model Back Yards were to the Chicago Show, the Italian Garden was at Kansas City. 



