«.r;w»^3jyf.i"'-. 



Februart 22, 1906. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



9J5 



JASMINUM PEIMULINUM. 



Plants of Jasminuni Primulinum shown 

 at the Royal Horticultural Society, Lon- 

 don, on January 23, created quite 

 a sensation, says a writer in the Horti- 

 CHltural Advertiser. It was about six 

 years ago that Veitch & Sons introduced 

 it. Some growers took it up at once, 

 but it was not until the plants referred 

 to above were seen that its value was 

 fully recognized. I have since then had 

 several inquiries from market growers 

 respecting the plant, I understand that 

 it requires rather careful treatment in 

 ripening the wood to flower it so well 

 as those shown. These were specimens 



about five feet high, with long drooping 

 branches, covered with clear yellow flow- 

 ers, which were mu<?h larger than in J. 

 nudiflorum; just the sort of plant for 

 decorative purposes, and one whicli 

 would be sure to be appreciated by 

 florists who do decorations. 



Some years ago we used to have Jas- 

 minum grandiflorura flore pleno grown 

 as a pot-plant, and this should be worth 

 reviving, for it comes in early without 

 forcing and always flowers freely. The 

 flowers have a pleasant perfume, re- 

 minding one of spring. The plants I 

 have seen have been grafted, (on offici- 

 nale probably) and have formed com- 

 pact bushes. 



COLD STORAGE VALLEY. 



In the Review of January 11 a reader 

 told of his trpuble in forcing cold stor- 

 age lily of the valley pips, in part as fol- 

 lows: "In a lot of 2,000 about one- 

 fourth have thrown up good flowering 

 shoots with eight to twelve bells, but 

 without a particle of foliage. Others are 

 coming with foliage and flower and are 

 ready to cut, but about one-half have 

 made no growth at all. These pips were 

 flatted up and kept in a house at 60 

 to 65 degrees for a few days, then put 

 in the forcing case, with 80 to 90 de- 

 grees of heat under the flats, or about 

 75 degrees of heat in the sand in the 

 flats. We have had success with the fol- 

 lowing treatment: Four or five days in 

 the warm house without bottom heat, ten 

 to twelve days with 75 degrees heat in 

 the sand and four to five days without 

 bottom heat to harden off in a house at 

 55 to 60 degrees." 



In his reply W. S. said in part: "It 

 is difficult to say what the trouble is, but 

 I will say that there was no need of 

 your putting these cold storage pips into 

 any such heat as 80 to 90 degrees. That 

 is the treatment for the newly imported 

 roots, which you are forcing into growth 

 and flower three or four months before 

 their normal season of flowering. It is 

 entirely a different story with the cold 

 storage stock. You have arrested their 

 natural growth and at any time after the 

 first of last May, directly they were re- 

 lieved from the arresting cold, they were 

 ready and anxious to grow, so 60 to 65 

 degrees was warm enough for their roots 

 or pips. You mention flats as being used. 

 That would be of little consequence, but 

 I would rather hear of six inches of 

 sand on an ordinary bench without bot- 

 tom heat and only protected from 

 draughts or bright sun," 



This has brought forth a long and 

 interesting letter from E. Neubert, 

 Wandsbek, one of the largest valley 

 growers in Germany, who annually ex- 

 ports millions of pips to America and 

 who says that the above notes "greatly 

 interest me, as I am forcing myself very 

 large quantities of cold storage valley." 

 This is what he says: 



As the writer, W. S,, already states in 

 his article, the correspondent made the 

 chief failure in the culture of his re- 



tarded valley pips by overheating the 

 greenhouse. Retarded valley must be 

 slowly thawed up after being drawn from 

 the freezing rooms, in which the average 

 temperature should not be less than 24.8 

 degrees. 



Small boxes about four inches high, 

 filled either with light sandy soil or any 

 other material like sand or sawdust, are 

 best adapted for planting the roots, 

 which may be cut off at their ends, up to 

 the breadth of a hand. 



Never apply bottom heat to cold stor- 

 age valley, but provide for an average 

 air temperature of 60 degrees to 65 de- 

 grees and for a constantly damp atmos- 

 phere in the house. During the first 

 forcing period keep the retarded crowns 

 quite dark, which will be of benefit to 



distinct colors and also the foliage will 

 have grown in the meantime in sufficient 

 proportion to the height of the flower 

 stalks. Before selling the valleys har- 

 den them off in a cooler house, at 46 de- 

 grees to 5<i degrees. 



I am forcing retarded valley through- 

 out the summer and autumn until 

 Christmas, planting during October and 

 November daily 20,000 to 30,000 re- 

 tarded crowns and have for many years 

 obtained the best results in the way de- 

 scribed. 



The most important matter upon which 

 depends a good share of the success 

 with retarded valley is the selection or 

 condition of the crowns which are used 

 for storing. In my long years of expe- 

 rience as a wholesale grower and expor- 

 ter of lily of the valley crowns I could 

 often observe that American growers 

 sometimes make very grave error when 

 ordering the crowns. 



Valley pips with abundant fibrous and 

 bunchy roots are most adapted and ap- 

 preciated for Christmas and early forc- 

 ing. Being grown in a light soil, where 

 they mature the quickest, they should 

 not be used for cold storage for reasons 

 which only the producer of the crowns 

 is able to explain: 



After a wet and cold summer, even 

 tliese early forcing crowns do not mature 

 enough and sometimes give unsatisfac- 

 tory results when forced very early in 

 the season, though the appearance of 

 the crowns and the roots was ex- 

 ceptionally good, and after such years 

 they will give favorable results even as 

 cold storage valley. In normal years, 

 however, and such are prevailing in this 

 country, the American growers will make 

 the experience that such abundant rooted 

 cold storage crowns will develop too 

 much in foliage at the expense of the 

 flowers, which to the grand astonishment 

 of the grower remain short-stalked and 

 set with small bells. If such retarded 

 valley are grown in benches with bottom 



Lily of the Valley Forced on Hot- Water Pipes. 



the development of the flower embryo 

 and prevent the foliage coming first. 



After about ten to twelve days place 

 the boxes under glass, protected, how- 

 ever, from bright sunshine. Some days 

 left here, they will finish the develop- 

 ment of their flowers, have the natural 



heat, the success will undoubtedly be a 

 disaster. 



Just the opposite experiences will be 

 made with a "late forcing" valley. 

 These are cultivated in a heavy and gen- 

 erally loamy soil. Their appearance is 

 from the first less favorable compared 



