U98 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



Apbil 12, 1906. 



public affairs, and is contiguous to the 

 works of the National Cash Register 

 Co. As soon as planted, the advertising 

 label of each owner will be placed on 

 the groups and same will be cared for 

 all through the summer until the S. A. 

 F. convention meets in August. Many 

 thousands of tourists and local visitors 

 will inspect the plantings, and the op- 

 portunity thus provided dealers in coni- 

 fers, shrubs and ornamental trees, 

 herbaceous plants, summer bulbs, roots 



and bedding plants, for widespread and 

 eflfective public advertising has never 

 been equaled. Dayton is well known as 

 ' one of the most advanced communities in 

 this country in the matter of adornment 

 of streets and public and private 

 grounds. A goodly number of applica- 

 tions for space for cannas, roses, 

 phloxes, asters and evergreens are al- 

 ready filed with the secretary. For fur- 

 ther information address 



Wm. J. Stewart, See'y. 



I, ROSE SOIL FOR CARNATIONS. 



Kindly advise me in regard to using 

 soil for carnations that has grown roses 

 one year. The soil was nfade from two- 

 thirds rotted sod and one-third rotted 

 cow manure. I thought by making a 

 compost of this soil, mixing in bone 

 meal and horse manure, would be better 

 than the soil I now use, as it is very 

 heavy, with some clay, an ideal rose soil 

 but too heavy for carnations. 



W, F. Y. 



A few years ago it was a common prac- 

 tice to use old rose soil for carnations, 

 and very good carnations were often 

 grown on it, but when carnation spe- 

 cialists began the practice of .using new 

 soil it did not take them long to demon- 

 strate that new soil is far sui)erior, for 

 growing carnations, to any old rose soil 

 you can find. 



While roses as a rule like a heavier 

 soil than carnations, yet both take very 

 much the same food from the soil, and 

 after a crop of roses has been grown 

 on the soil it is no more fit for carnation 

 growing than it would be if the crop had 

 been carnations. Because carnations like 

 an open soil and because old rose soil 

 is usually light and loose, it does not 

 follow that it is good carnation soil. 

 The plant food has been taken from it 

 and what remains is merely the bulk. 



I would advise you to use the same 

 soil you use for rosea and if, as you 

 say, it is too heavy for carnations, in- 

 stead of mixing in cow manure in com- 

 posting, use horse manure with consider- 

 able straw. If you can get sand you can 

 mix it in to help cut up the clay, say 

 about one load of sharp sand to eight 

 or ten loads of soil. , 



You should have composted your car- 

 nation soil last fall, and you would be 

 more certain of having it in good con- 

 dition by planting time. When making 

 such marked changes in the mechanical 

 condition of your soil it requires more 

 time and more frequent handling to get 

 the component parts thoroughly incor- 

 porated. Instead of the one or two 

 turnings we usually give the compost 

 heap, it will require three or four turn- 

 ings to get it thoroughly mixed. This 

 can hardly be done after it dries off 

 enough to handle, when carnation hous- 

 ing Ls practiced as early as it is done 

 nowadays. On the other hand, if you 

 make your compost pile in the fall, the 

 sod and manure will rot by spring and 

 the whole is in better condition to mix. 



I cannot understand why growers so 

 often leave such an important part of 

 their preparations until spring, when it 

 should be done in the fall. Not only 

 will the soil be in much better condition 

 for the carnations, but there is more 

 time in the fall for that kind of work. 

 For^rolses soil that is composted in the 

 spring does very well and in fact is 

 preferred by many growers, but not so 

 wit^ carnations. If there is anything 

 carnSitions like it is a soil that is well 

 prepared and in which all sod and such 

 matter. is well decomposed. 



It is very important that the soil be 

 in proper condition when you turn it. 

 During early spring, when rains are fre- 

 quent, it is apt to be too wet to handle, 

 and in such case you would better put 

 off all such work until it has dried off 



enough to crumble nicely when being 

 handled, even though it may make it 

 rather late. It will be in much better 

 shape in the end. 



Some growers mix in the bone when 

 turning the soil in the spring, but we 

 prefer to wait until it is on the benches 

 and ready to plant. Much of it is washed 

 away by heavy rains if mixed and left 

 outdoors, but the main reason is that 

 when it is mixed into the soil three or 

 four months before it is wanted by the 

 plants, it decomposes and is all avail- 

 able when the plants are set and will be- 

 come exhausted much sooner than when 

 it is mixed in at planting time. In the 

 latter pase it becomes available as the 

 plants require it and will last almost 

 through the season. A. F. J. Baur. 



AT THE CREAM CITY. 



The illustration opposite is from 

 a photograph of the establishment of 

 Holton & Hunkel Co., Milwaukee, Wis. 

 This is one of the progressive concerns 

 of the west. Both F. H. Holton and 

 H. V. Hunkel are well known and popu- 

 lar in the trade and their energy and 

 promptness to grasp the opportunity af- 

 forded for doing business with Milwau- 

 kee as a base has enabled them to build 

 up a constituency covering a large part 

 of the northwest and spreading constant- 

 ly. Milwaukee is not only a wealthy 

 city but it has several natural advan- 

 tages as a center for wholesaling cut 

 flowers. The business of the Holton & 

 Hunkel Co. in this department has grown 

 rapidly, perhaps because they have main- 

 tained an equipment capable at all times 

 of handling just a little more business 

 than was being done. 



Solanums. 



It is about time to sow seeds of the 

 ornamental fruiting pepper, Jerusalem 

 cherry and that very ornamental species 

 grown so largely the past five or six 

 years that bears scarlet, yellow and white 

 fruit at the same time, the correct name 

 for which I must admit I do not know, 

 unless it is the celestial cherry. If these 

 solanums are grown too large they are 

 in poor demand. A plant of moderate 

 size, well fruited, is most to be desired. 

 Therefore, if sown now and planted out 

 at the end of June, it will be early 

 enough. A sandy soil that has not had 

 any manure recently is about right. 

 After making a moderate growth, the 

 hot midsummer weather will produce a 

 profuse blooming, and as soon as the 

 fruit is set they should be lifted and 

 potted. This wjll insure small plants 

 with plenty of fruit, and that is what 

 we are after. 



The Rambler Roses. 



Although Easter is not yet here, we 

 already can see where we could improve. 

 We had occasion to say last January 

 that we had mastered the art of lifting 

 the Rambler roses in November and get- 

 ting them to break in January and flower 

 well the following spring. They did 



break finely, but nearly all the lower 

 eyes on the canes were blind and pro- 

 duced no flowers, and we are going back 

 to our old method of growing them in 

 pots over summer, feeling sure this is 

 the method to get a well-flowered plant 

 the following spring. This spring we 

 have seen plants of Crimson Rambler 

 that came from Philadelphia. They have 

 a few nice trusses of flowers at the tops, 

 but are leggy, bare plants and not by 

 any means what we should consider well- 

 flowered plants. 



Many of you will have plants among 

 your Crimson Ramblers that have so few 

 flowers you will not expect to sell them. 

 They will most likely have made two or 

 three strong sucker growths, or growths 

 from near the base of the plant, that 

 will not flower this year. If you cut away 

 all last summer's growth and encourage 

 these young, strong shoots to grow you 

 will be sure to have fine, strong flowering 

 canes for next spring, and you will get 

 more flowers from two strong well 

 ripened canes than you will from six un- 

 ripened canes lifted next fall from the 

 fields. Old heads will say, "Yes, but 

 that won't pay." You have had them 

 two winters and one summer in pots and 

 the soil in the pots will be exhausted. 

 The exhaustion can be overcome and the 



