July 6, 1906. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



405 



keep them dry in a wet time and wet in 

 a dry time, but in this climate they 

 must be mulehed well every year. I 

 wouIq also suffgeat shading, and of 

 course, disbudding. These hints must 

 not be- taken as sufficient to the novice> 

 and if a would-be grower is wise he 

 will employ some one to plant them who 

 understands the proper method to pur- 

 sue. The peonies I have seen in this 

 country look dreadful after seeing them 

 abroad and I conclude the conditions are 

 not favorable, but with care they can be 

 grown and flowered well. Abroad, where 

 the sun does not shine all the time, one 

 has but to dig a hole and drop the root 

 in, and all is as well as can be. 



As to peony fungus, this is rather 

 rare abroad and it is partly caused 

 through lifting the roots annually to 

 propagate the stock. I never saw it on 

 any roots three years or more of age, 

 and I make a point of getting any roots 

 so infected right off the farm alto- 

 gether. O. W. D 'Alcorn. 



GAILLARDIAS. 



Gaillardias have been so materially im- 

 proved within the past few years that 

 they now constitute one of the most valu- 

 able of the several groups of plants avail- 

 able for the summer months. The more 

 recent of the varieties possess a robust 

 habit, are free in blooming, and the 

 flowers are of large size and rich color. 

 They have the additional advantage of 

 being nearly, if not quite, hardy. They 

 will pass through the winter safely when 

 left in the beds and borders; but, ac- 

 cording to my experience, the best re- 

 sults are obtained when they are regarded 

 as half-hardy, and treated accordingly. 



The perennial gaillardias, which alone 

 will be referred to in these notes, may 

 be raised from seed, which should be 

 sown early in the spring, and placed 

 where it can have the assistance of a 

 little artificial heat. The raising of seed- 

 lings is a very simple and inerpensive 

 method of obtaining a stock of plants, 

 but, speaking in a general way, it is not 

 the best. Seedlings of gaillardias, as of 

 most other plants, differ materially in 

 habit, and in the form and color of their 

 flowers, and also in merit. The best of 

 the gaillardias that may be obtained 

 under name are certainly not expensive. 

 Moreover, it is most desirable that the 

 planter should know the character of the 

 growth and the color of the flowers of 

 the plants with which he is filling beds 

 and borders. 



The beginning of March is the best 

 time for sowing, and a house ±n whicb 

 a temperature of about 60 degrees is 

 maintained is the best place for the seed 

 pans. The seedlings should be pricked 

 off into shallow boxes when an inch or 

 so high. They should be put about two 

 inches apart each way, and when they 

 are becoming crowded be potted singly, 

 3-inch pots being used. It is a good rule 

 to keep them in the structure in which 

 the seed pans were placed until they are 

 established in the shallow boxes, and 

 then remove them to an unheated house. 



Gaillardias are readily raised from cut- 

 tings of the young growths in the au- 

 tumn or in the spring, and by division 

 of the roots in the spring. Cuttings 

 rooted early in the autumn should be 

 placed in a frame where they can be 

 kept rather close, and be shaded from 

 the direct rays of the sun. They should 

 remain in the cutting pots, with protec- 

 tion from frost, during the winter, and 

 be potted off singly some time in March. 

 Spring-struck cuttings should have the 



A Good Form of Single Gaillardia. 



assistance of a little artificial heat from 

 the time of their insertion until struck, 

 and be potted off singly as soon as they 

 are nicely rooted. 



Some growers leave gaillardias in the 

 beds through the winter, and the practice 

 is frequently recommended. When win- 

 tered in the open ground ashes are heaped 

 over them to a depth of seven or eight 

 inches, this covering being necessary for 

 protecting the roots from frost during 

 the winter, and the tender growth from 

 the ravages of slugs in spring. The 

 practice is admirably adapted to the re- 

 quirements of many cultivators, but it is 

 not free from objections. My practice 

 for many years, says a writer in the 

 Gardeners' Magazine, has been to lift 

 the roots late in the autumn and to put 

 them in large boxes, about ten inches in 

 depth, with plenty of soil about them. 

 One variety is put in each box to avoid 

 the risk of their being mixed. The boxes 

 are placed in unheated frames and cov- 

 ered to a depth of several inches with 

 partly-decayed leaves. The lights remain 

 off until the approach of frosts of suffi- 

 cient severity to pass through the leaves 

 and reach the roots. In the spring, when 

 new growth has commenced, the roots 

 are taken out of the boxes and divided, 

 each portion being put in a 3-inch pot. 



The planting of gaillardias should be 

 done early and in the preparation of the 

 soil it should receive a moderate dressing 

 of old hotbed or decayed farmyard 

 manure, or, to be more definite, the 

 manure should be sufficient to form a 

 layer of about four inches in thickness. 

 Plant about fifteen inches apart. 



The following varieties are remarkable 

 for their high quality and effectiveness, 

 and can be strongly recommended to 

 those who require a few of the most dis- 

 tinct: Banquo, deep orange with red 



center; Captain Alwyne Oliver, bright 

 yellow; Captain Percy Scott, deep red 

 with yellow margin; Glory, brilliant red, 

 the florets tipped yellow; Gold Standard, 

 deep yellow; Isabella Louch, orange- 

 yellow, with brown disc; James Kelway, 

 brilliant red with yellow margin, the 

 blooms exceptionally large; Langport, 

 rich crimson, with broad margin of gold; 

 Leonard Kelway, rich crimson with nar- 

 row margin of gold; Madame Patti, rich 

 yellow with maroon zone to the disc; 

 Primrose Dame, a pleasing variety with 

 primrose-yellow blooms ; Splendidissima 

 plena, a handsome double form, the flow- 

 ers large, the color crimson with golden 

 margin ; Vivian Grey, rich yellow ; W. B. 

 Child, deep yellow with red base to each 

 floret; William Kelway, bright crimson 

 with golden margin. 



LEAF BLIGHT ON GERANIUMS. 



Would you kindly tell me the cause 

 and cure for leaf blight on geraniums in 

 the houses? We had no end of trouble 

 with blight this spring. S. C. C. 



We do not know that this trouble is 

 any specific disease; it is merely a con- 

 dition brought on by improper manage- 

 ment, mostly want of light and too much 

 water. I quoted a few weeks ago an 

 instance of a batch of the semi-double 

 pink ivy-leaved geranium that became 

 badly affected with diseased foliage. 

 The circumstances were these: They 

 were in a house that was kept at 55 de- 

 grees at night and quite light. Although 

 in only 2%-inch pots they were growing 

 most vigorously and had made a long 

 growth. Then they were cut half-way 

 back, shifted into 3-inch pots and placed 

 on a shady bench in a temperature at 

 least 10 degrees cooler. Here waa a com- 



