400 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Jolt 5, 1906. 



that the 7x9 bulbs are always used. 

 They are stronger and will endure a 

 higher temperature, and I am convinced 

 from this firm's success that the 7x9 

 bulbs should be used. For Easter use, 

 when the plants are mostly sold in pots, 

 the 7x9 bulbs, both of the Bermuda and 

 Japan grown, are always used, and some 

 9x11 bulbs are grown for extra fine 

 plants. 



We know nothing about the ether ex- 

 periments at Cornell university. There 

 have been some very interesting experi- 

 ments at Cornell with plants grown 

 under the influence of the light of 

 acetylene gas. By applying to the horti- 

 cultural department of the university 

 you could doubtless obtain their latest 

 bulletins on both subjects. 



W. S. 



Lancifolium Lilies. 



The lancifolium type of Japan lilies 

 that were potted in midwinter will now 

 be opening their flowers, and very useful 

 they are to the commercial florist for the 

 next two months. They should not be 

 subjected to the glare of the sun under 

 unshaded glass or their season will be 

 short, the flowers of poor quality, and 

 they will need so much water that the 

 entire plants get exhausted. A shaded, 

 cool house is the place for them, or a 

 sheltered place outside under the shade 

 of trees. I wiU just mention here that 

 these lilies, if the stem and foliage are 

 not cut, and after flowering are gradu- 

 ally dried off, are just as good for forc- 

 ing the second and third or fourth year 

 as the new bulbs you buy. All they 

 want is two or three months' rest after 

 the foliage is ripe, and new soil before 

 you start them up. 



Poinsettias. 



You now will be propagating poinset- 

 tias about as fast as you get the young 

 growth. We have seen a large percent- 

 age of these cuttings shrivel up and 

 perish in the sand, as we have chrysan- 

 themum cuttings in midsummer. In fact, 

 years ago we believed it was necessary 

 to build a hotbed and keep it well 

 shaaed to root these plants. It was a 

 mistake. There is no need of it; neither 

 is it at all necessary that you should 

 lose fifty per cent of either. Water is 

 the secret, if it's worth calling a secret, 

 and plenty of it. Never let them wilt 

 for want of it, or from sunshine. Keep 

 the sand saturated and guard against 

 sun and draughts and you will root nine- 

 ty-five per cent. 



Begonias. 



The shrubby section of the begonias 

 also root very easily at this time of the 

 year, although rather late to make good 

 plants for winter flowering, but the be- 

 gonia being more of a succulent plant 

 does not need so much shade or water. 



While speaking of begonias of this 

 type, such as incarnata and its improved 

 forms, President Carnot and others, it 

 is a mistake to keep them in summer in 

 a shaded greenhouse. What with shade 

 and the moisture that is necessary, a dis- 

 ease which is a rust will often appear in 

 August and ruin all your plants. Those 

 you propagated in the spring months 

 and which now are in 4-inch pots, as 

 well as old plants that you wish to 

 carry over, should now be plunged out- 

 doors in partial shade. An ideal situa- 

 tion would be plunged in a frame where 

 a light shade could be used in the bright- 



est hours and dispensed with on dull 

 days and hours. The begonias, with this 

 treatment, will assume a robustness that 

 you never can get on a plant kept all 

 summer in a moisture-charged, stuffy 

 greenhouse. This class of begonias, of 

 which there are so many species and 

 varieties, is in good demand with the 

 amateur and there are few more satis- 

 factory house plants. 



Gloire de Lorraine, which belongs to 

 the semi-tuberous section, is best man- 

 aged indoors. As I am promised some 

 hints on the management of this im- 

 portant plant for next week's issue by 

 an expert, I will only say that young 

 plants in 3-inch and 4-inch pots should 

 have a shaded bench and an abundance 

 of air at all times, day and night. 



Primulas. 



Primulas of the various species that 

 were sown in May should be pricked off 

 from seed pans into flats, or into 2-inch 

 pots, and they will do well in a frame 

 with the shaded sash raised back and 

 front so that they will receive the freest 

 circulation of air. 



Obconica has so many good qualities 

 that it has put Sinensis in the shade. 

 For an Easter plant you can still sow 

 obconica and you should procure only 

 the finest strains of size and color you 



can hear of. Fifty cents or $1 is no 

 consideration on a packet of seed if you 

 get the right quality. 



Pruning; Hedges. 



If you have charge of any hedges, July 

 is the time to do the summer pruning. 

 The privet hedges are the most abundant. 

 If rather severely pruned before starting 

 to grow in spring they now will have 

 made a strong growth and should be 

 shortened back a few inches only to in- 

 duce the present year's growth to break 

 into lateral growth, which makes the 

 hedge compact and dense, which is the 

 condition you are after. An evergreen 

 hedge, spruce, hemlock or arbor-vitse, 

 should also be trimmed this month, but 

 not with the shears. An evergreen hedge 

 sheared off looks like a Southdown sheep 

 just out of the hands of the shearer. 

 Use a knife on evergreen hedges. They 

 only need the cutting back of strong 

 growths that are taking the lead of 

 others. 



The writer is no friend of hedges, es- 

 pecially where there is no need of them. 

 Where planted purely as an ornament 

 they are unsightly and absurd, but if 

 planted keep them compact and trim. 

 You can't help their being stiff and 

 formal, but this trimness and uniform 

 height, width, and density is their only 

 beauty, and if ragged, irregular in size 

 and neglected they are only an eyesore. 



Cultivate. 



We have been blessed with frequent 

 showers of late and have to hoe and cul- 

 tivate continually to keep down the many 

 little plants we call weeds, yet many 

 localities in this large country, even the 

 eastern half of it, may be suffering for 

 want of rain and I say unto you dearly 

 beloved brethren and sisters, keep the 

 hoe at work. The hoe is often a curse. 

 The constant use of the hoe is a bless- 

 ing. WiLLUM Scott. 



THE UBIQUITOUS SPIRAEA. 



The spiraea is a plant which knows 

 no one locality. All it wants is a fairly 

 good soil and a chance to grow. The 

 plant illustrated is one on the grounds 

 of H. E. Bolinger, Afton, la. It is 



Spiraea on the Grounds of H. E. Bolinger, Afton, la. 



