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AuausT 2, 1000. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



637 



anuounccd from the platform at Thurs- 

 day 's session. 



HARDY PLANT NOTES. 



Best Sorts for Florists. 



The majority of florists, more espe- 

 cially those doing a local trade, grow a 

 number of the more useful hardy peren- 

 nials for cuttings. In addition to their 

 value for this purpose many customers 

 by seeing them nicely grown will be 

 tempted to buy roots of them, and as: 

 the majority of these plants increase 

 quickly and can be divided readily they 

 form a satisfactory investment. In 

 growing hardy plants, as indeed any 

 class of plants, it pays to handle a few 

 of the best sorts only. It is poor policy 

 to pay $3 per hundred for an old and 

 inferior phlox, for instance, when a sim- 

 ilar investment in one-fourth the num- 

 ber of a first-class sort will put more 

 money in your pocket. 



There is still time to sow seeds of a 

 number of perennials and biennials for 

 flowering another season, including del- 

 phiniums, aquilegias, sweet williams, 

 hesperis, campanulas of sorts including 

 Canterbury bells, hibiscus, digitalis and 

 many others. Sow in light soil in cold- 

 frames in rows six inches apart. Shade 

 the sashes with whitening and kerosene 

 in preference to lime wash. Tilt them 

 up top and bottom to insure plenty of 

 air, water daily unless the weather is 

 damp and the seeds will soon appear; 

 when nicely up pull the sashes ofF nights 

 and dull days, also for any gentle show- 

 ers, but keep them covered during heavy 

 downpours which will wash them badly. 

 Gradually inure them to full sunlight 

 and transplant into other frames or 

 spare ground outside during damp 

 weather. Keep the hoe well plied among 

 them and keep weeds down, and it is 

 really surprising what fine plants can be 

 had by fall. Subjoined are a few notes 

 on desirable plants for the general flo- 

 rists' trade. All are easily grown, free 

 blooming and perfectly hardy. 



Malva moschata alba; flowers are pure 

 white, keep well in water and come in 

 splendidly for design work. Seed sown 

 now will give flowering plants for next 

 season. Blooms the last of June and 

 the early part of July. M. alcea, a deep 

 pink variety, is also pretty but less de- 

 sirable than M. moschata. 



Lobelia Cardinalis. 



Lobelia cardinalis, the brilliant and 

 well-known cardinal flower of our 

 swamps, is seldom seen on florists' 

 places. It is generally supposed that 

 this needs wet ground. While it luxuri- 

 ates on marshy land, it can also be finely 

 grown on high and comparatively dry 

 ground. Seed sowing in February in 

 heat is a good method of propagation. 

 The seedlings can be planted outdoors 

 by May 1 and a few will bloom the same 

 season. The second year they will make 

 a gorgeous show and even if the flowers 

 cannot be sold customers will be found 

 for the plants. The blue variety, L. 

 syphilitica, is a more robust grower than 

 L. cardinalis. Its densely flowered 

 spikes of dark blue flowers are very 

 effective in borders. The lobelias usual- 

 ly flower from the end of July until 

 September. 



Lychnis. 



Lychnis vospertina plena, or tlie 

 double evening campion, flowers over 

 quite a long period. It may be picked 



High School and Soldiers' Monument at Dayton, O. 



in June and continues blooming until 

 September. The double, scented flowers 

 arrange nicely in small vases and are 

 useful in design work when good carna- 

 tions and roses of the same color are 

 scarce and before asters come in. Sev- 

 eral others of the lychnis family should 

 be grown. L. Viscaria splendens, with 

 its double red, fragrant flowers, is fine 

 for cutting or making a mass display. 

 L. Chalcedonica, the old London pride, 

 grows a yard high and flowers in June 

 and July. Its brilliant flowers make it 

 a desirable border plant. L. Flos-cuculi 

 plenissima, with delicate soft pink 

 flowers, and L. Haageana in a variety 

 of shades, are both desirable and may 

 easily be raised from seeds sown now. 



Delphinium. 



Delphinium Chinense, intense blue 

 flowers with feathery foliage, and album, 

 a pure white form, are the best of the 

 larkspur family commercially. The 

 flowers are produced in open panicles 

 and may be had the whole summer. This 

 plant may either be treated as an an- 

 nual or perennial. If the latter the 

 spikes are gtronger and more numerous. 

 The flowers are of great value cut. They 

 look and last well. We think a small 

 bed of this would be of great value 

 to any florist who has any design work 

 or calls for cut flowers in July and 

 August. 



Phlox Miss Lingard. 



This is the best of the early or suf- 

 fruticosa section and perhaps the best 

 and most useful phlox in cultivation. It 

 can ho cut from the middle of June 

 until October. Flowers are pure white 

 except for a delicate lavender eye. The 

 stalks are strong and the flowers last 

 very well in water. It is readily propa- 



gated from soft-wood cuttings either in 

 fall or spring. No up-to-date grower 

 should be without this grand sort. Sev- 

 eral forms are sold purporting to be 

 Miss Lingard which are not true to 

 name. They usually have deeply colored 

 eyes and a considerable suffusion of 

 color over the petals. 



Achillea the Pearl. 



Achillea Ptarmica the pearl is one of 

 the most widely grown of perennials 

 for summer flowering. It is so readily 

 propagated from the roots that once a 

 small bed is established all it needs is 

 occasional replanting or keeping within 

 bounds, as it spreads with alarming 

 rapidity. It is one of the perennials no 

 retail florist can well afford to do with- 

 out. It is splendid for cutting, and for 

 design work in July and August is of 

 great value. Varieties raised from seed 

 are liable to be single and of poor qual- 

 ity, but plants of the true tvpe are so 

 cheap that no one need be without them. 



C. W. 



BROWN FLIES ON ASTERS. 



What can I do to get rid of the 

 brown flies which are destroying my 

 asters? They seem to puncture the 

 stem just below the bud, causing the 

 bud to wilt and die. These flies are on 

 them in geat numbers and I am in dan- 

 ger of losing my whole crop. N. E. B. 



We are not familiar with the brown 

 flies, although we have often been 

 troubled with the aster beetle. The 

 beetle eats the center petals of the 

 flowor and attacks them directly they 

 sliow color. They are a chewing insect 

 and a teaspoonful of Paris green in a 

 pail of water applied to the buds and 



