Febbuabt 15, 1906. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



84t 



Genistas. 



This is a good time to put in cuttings 

 1' genista (cytisus). Don't take for a 

 utting a small single growth, but use a 

 ittle branch with several shoots and en- 

 deavor to have with it what is known to 

 gardeners as a heel. These will root as 

 readily as the young, tender shoots and 

 you have the foundation of a strong, 

 young plant. Booted now (perhaps a 

 week or two earlier would be better) you 

 can have a plant as large as desirable 

 for Easter of 1907, providing you do not 

 allow them to become stunted in their 

 growing season. 



Australians. 



Those who were fortunate enough to 

 attend the recent Boston carnation con- 

 vgntion must have seen in the small hall 

 what we will call the side show. Among 

 many beautiful plants an^. flowers there 

 were a few plants of Chorizema ilici- 

 iOlium. There are several species of this 

 small shrub, but the above is the most 

 useful to the florist or private gardener. 

 'Ihis pretty plant belongs to that large 

 class of small, hard-wooded plants known 

 for many years by European gardeners 

 as New Holland plants, because, I be- 

 lieve, the island continent of Australia 

 was called New Holland for a while 

 after its coasts were explored. It will 

 be noticed that these antipodean plants 

 have not lost their inherent instinct to 

 grow in our winters and rest ia sum- 

 mer, as our January is their midsummer 

 and their July the aepth of our winter. 

 As specimens of Australian small shrubs 

 I might mention eriostemon, metrosi- 

 deros and others. 



The Chorizema. 



The chorizema is a beautiful decora- 

 tive plant. The flowers of ilicifolium are 

 pea-shaped, orange red. It propagates 

 now from the young growths and should 

 be grown right along. Peat is very suit- 

 able as a potting son, but in its absence 

 chopped up turf with leaf -mold and sand 

 w^i do very well. Large plants can be 

 plunged outside in the summer months, 

 but young plants are better kept plunged 

 on the bench under glass and all the rest- 

 ing it requires is to slightly withhold 

 water. It l^cars clipping, or cutting into 

 shape, and flowers profusely in January 

 and February. . All the heat it requires 

 in winter is 45 degrees to 50 degrees. 



Eriostemon I can say little about. It 

 is many years since we had the care of 

 one, but we remember that although a 

 very pretty plant that Avill bear training 

 into a fine bush, it is not sliowy enough 

 to be of much profit to the commercial 

 florist. 



Salvia Splendens. 



I trust you will not forget the present 

 great popularity of the scarlet sage, 

 Salvia splendens. Each year there are 

 more and more asked for. After the 

 frost has nipped our cannas and coleus, 

 and perhaps geraniums, the salvia shines 

 in warmth and harmonizes with the 

 orange and scarlet tints of the oaks, 

 maples and ampelopsis. If you propa- 



gate too early you must keep them grow- 

 ing or they get stunted and are quickly 

 attacked by red spider. But you should 

 be in a position to put in a lot of cut- 

 tings about the first of March. 



Propagating Bedders. 



Lemon verbena should be propagated 

 now. Only the tender young growths 

 that start from rested plants will root 

 and these should have bottom heat, copi- 

 ous daily watering of the sand and no 

 bright sun on them. 



All other bedding plants that are 

 propagated by cuttings should go on 

 lively now, coleus, acalypha, achyranthes 

 and others. 



The Vincas. 



If you lifted any vincas from the 

 ground last fall now is the time to puil 

 the roots to pieces. They will bear di- 

 viding to any extent and small pieces 

 with a few shoots will go into 3-inch or 

 4-inch pots and soon send up vigorous 

 shoots from the old crown, which will 

 make much finer plants than any struck 

 from cuttings. In looking at a lot lately 

 divided, our vase specialist remarked a 

 good job when the vinca is the only vase 

 or basket vine grown. The ivy geranium 

 flowers no more when put outside; the 

 lobelia shrivels up ; the moneyvine and 

 glcchoma get brown and unsightly; the 



feet flowers. As remarked many times, 

 now is the time to retard azaleas and not 

 the month of April. Besides giving a 

 cool house, it may be necessary lo shade 

 as well. 



Cyclamens. 



Early sown cyclamens that have been 

 in flats for two months and have little 

 bulos the size of a pea, and two or three 

 leaves, must not be allowed to crowd. 

 Instead of potting singly in small pots, 

 we prefer to transplant into other flats, 

 giving them more room. They seem to 

 thrive better in the more uniform moist- 

 ure of a flat with three inches of soil 

 than in small pots and you are able to 

 transplant with a little tuft of roots 

 without losing a fibre. 



Sweet Peas. 



Those wishing to have good sweet 

 peas at Easter can do so by sowing at 

 once. A raised bench will do, but six to 

 eight inches of soil on the ground will 

 be still better. Sow where they are to 

 flower, very thinly in rows eighteen 

 inches apart. There are few flowers so 

 influenced in flowering by sunshine as 

 sweet peas. After seeing the wonderful 

 peas grown by Mr. Sim there is no 

 doubt that for pink Earliest of All is 

 the one to grow, and for white the more 

 expensive Mt. Blanc. It is superb. 



William Scott. 



DESIRABLE CHRISTMAS PLANTS. 



Skimmia Japonica. 



Skimiiiia .Japonica, sometimes also 

 called S. fragantissima, while a popular 

 ornamental evergreen in Europe, is only 

 hardy in our southern states, but makes 

 a pretty and very desirable pot plant 



A Christmas Basket of Azalea Firefly. 



senecio (German ivy) and tropffolum 

 blow into rags, and so on with the list 

 of the so-called vines. The vinca is king 

 and queen of th6m all and good vincas 

 in June are as scarce as the proverbial 

 hen's teeth. 



Indian Azaleas. 



The extraordinary sunny days of late 

 have stimulated growth and just now is 

 tne time that Azalea Indica is breaking 

 into growth at the base of the bud. Keep 

 the growths pulled out if you expect per- 



t'or Christmas. It was ofTored in Boston 

 in considerable numbers last Christmas 

 and sold well, but was not mentioned as 

 shown in other cities. 



Pronagation is either by cuttings in 

 gentle heat in winter or from seed sown 

 in the fall and carried in a cool house 

 during winter. The little plants can be 

 either kept potted on or be planted out, 

 the latter method preferably. They pre- 

 fer a compost of sandy peat or loam. As 

 they are of slow growth, several years 

 are required to produce a good salable 



