1500 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



April 12, lOOG. 



alone. Our soi. is naturally full of lime 

 and, as we grow good asters, we must 

 infer £hey like lime. I will take the lib- 

 erty to ask White Bros., of Gasport, 

 M.'Y., to tell UH through the Keview 

 what manures they use, for they produce 

 wouv.eriul asters and lots of them. 



W. S. 



SOME NEWER EASTER PLANTS. 



lA paper by Kobert CrHlj;, read before the 

 Florists' Club of Philadelphia, April ;i. IIMKJ.] 



Just eighteen years ago, on April 9, 

 1888, I read a paper before this club 

 in which I alluded to the Easter plant 

 trade as having become the most impor- 

 tant of the whole year. I recited the 

 fact that there had been a great advance 

 in the number of plants grown, as well 

 as in the increased variety from the 

 time, only a few years back, when callas, 

 geraniums, mignonette, violets, etc., were 

 the staples. In that year, 1888, I men- 

 tioned Lilium Harrisii, L. longiflorum, 

 Hydrangea Otaksa and Thomas Hogg, 

 azaleas, deutzias, genistas, Astilbe Japon- 

 ica, and hybrid roses as the staples. All 

 of these are still grown, only in larger 

 numbers; the general culture is better 

 and finer specimens are grown. 



TLc Rambler Roses. 



Since that time we have had several 

 notable additions to the list of Easter 

 plants. I think the Crimson Eambler 

 may be mentioned as the most impor- 

 tant. It is a very valuable plant. The 

 much heralded Baby Kambler, while valu- 

 able as a bedding rose, is not so good 

 for Easter purposes, especially in large 

 specimens. Dorothy Perkins, the pink 

 rambler, is fine, and has come to stay. 

 In the same class may be mentioned sev- 

 eral of Mr. Walsh 's new hybrid climbers, 

 particularly Lady Gay, which is a superb 

 thing. 



A German rose called Leuchtstern, 

 single, pink with rings of white inside 

 and the center yellow, which I saw in New 

 York the other day, impressed me very 

 favorably. The foliage was fine and the 

 blooms pretty and abundant. It seemed 

 a good keeper, not easily shaken off. 



A few other varieties of roses are fine 

 for Easter. Chief of these are Magna 

 Charta and Mrs. John Laing. Erau Karl 

 Druschki promises to be a good white, 

 although it has hardly had a fair trial 

 yet. 



Miscellaneous Plants. 



In spiraeas we have had several im- 

 proved varieties. The best one, all 

 things considered, is Gladstone. 



Bougainvillea Sanderiana is another 

 very valuable Easter plant, and if the 

 wood is properly ripened will flower most 

 profusely in all sizes of plants from 

 those in 4-inch pots, suitable for basket 

 work, up to very large specimens. 



Cineraria stellata, of the improved 

 compact-growing varieties, is a very 

 showy plant, but still capable of much 

 further improvement by careful selection 

 of seed from those varieties most snit- 

 able for store use. 



A plant which I have not seen with the 

 Philadelphia growers, but which is well 

 done in New York is the boronia, which 

 bears its globular, purplish-pink flowers 

 in great profusion. 



Another plant worthy of culture is 

 Lilium lancifolium rubrum and album, 

 valuable either for cutting or pot plants ; 

 they are easily obtainable at Easter, 

 from cold storage bulbs. 



Deutzias and Others. 



Another plant deserving of attention 

 is Deutzia Lemoinei, which was tried and 

 discarded several years ago by several 



of our growers as inferior to D. gracilis, 

 but which has now proved to be valuable 

 to several growers, particularly as to the 

 durability of its flowers, which do not 

 drop as easily as those of D. gracilis. 

 The chief point in the culture is the lift- 

 ing by August or before, so as to have 

 the pots full of new roots before cold 

 weather. This also is necessary with 

 D. gracilis. 



There has been introduced to this 

 country this year a valuable new azalea, 

 named for Julius Roehrs. This will un- 

 doubtedly become a leading variety. It 

 is of the same general character as 

 Mme. Vander Cruyssen, but of a richer, 

 brighter color. 



A good novelty this year is Marguerite 

 Queen Alexandra, an excellent pot plant. 



Ehododendrons are now largely grown. 

 The best new one tnat has come to my 

 notice is commonly known as Red Camille 

 de Rohan. 



For the Future. 



As we have had from time to tiine 

 valuable additions to the list of Easter 

 plants, so we may continue to expect 

 them. We are promised a new pink 

 spirsea for next year, of a lovely shade 

 of color, for the stock of which £1,000 

 is reported to have been refused. Both 

 Veitch & Sons and Sander & Son made 

 that offer. 



The growing of plants for Easter in- 

 volves much extra work in the moving 

 from house to house as the weather 

 changes, so as to have everything just 

 right at the one time, the compensation 

 for this extra work being that there- is 

 generally a demand for all good plants 

 offered at a fair price. 



Montgomery 's book on Grafted Roses 

 sent by the Review for 2.5 cents. 



The Conservatory of Samuel Murray, Kansas City, at Easter, 1905. 



