620 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Jam AKV 17, 1907. 



SEEDING OF LORRAINE. 



In the is!>iio ol' the (iardeiicrs ' Cliruii- 

 H-lf for J)ect'inher 1.1 lliore was a note 

 'in pjcgoiiia (lloiro de Lonaine, by li. 

 < lonnvoll as follows: " 'J'lie stock was 

 raised by leaf ))ro])a<;atioii from (.'uttiii^s, 

 imi from see<l, (lie laltin- yermiiiatiiiy 

 "11 the surface of the pans, Mhich last 

 Near \\<tc suspended in the cori'idor, 

 .Muis slio\\jn<,f clearly that B. (Jloire dc 

 Lorraine will re|iroilucc itself from .seed 

 jiruvidiiijx thf atinos[iheric suri'oundinjis 

 are suitalde. '' 



There aie many ji;rowers who have yet 

 to learn that Bef^nnia (lloii'e de I.oi'r.-iinc 

 ■ lui's produce see«i. We shall l^e much 

 Mijprisetl if the note by Mr. Cromwell 

 does not fall as a bombshell on (he ears 

 "(' many professional men. The theory 

 that hybrids .'ire not capable ot re|)ro- 

 ducintr themsehes liv seed is, we know. 



gradually being broken down; but that 

 }i, Ciloiro de Lorraine is assisting in up- 

 setting this theory is somewhat surpris- 

 ing. The )inmber of articles that have 

 been published during the past fifteen 

 years, in n^ference to the propagation 

 and cultivation of this plant are enor- 

 mous; but wo do not recollect reading 

 of anyone being successful in the saving 

 of seed, at least with one exception. A 

 note appeared in the Gardeners' Chron- 

 icle about six years ago. It had been 

 inserted by a leading lirm of nursery- 

 men, and stated that they had been suc- 

 cessful in the raising (not saving) of 

 seed, and that they hoped at a future 

 date to lie in a jiositiou to exhibit the 

 jdants a( ;i nieedng of the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society. Whether they had the 

 •'lionoi'"' of doing this we trow not. — - 

 ( ;ar<leners ' Chroniele. 



Bougainvilleas. 



If you have any Imugainv ille:is (hat 

 have Ix-cn I'estiiig it is time to get them 

 into ;i warmer house ;ind freely water 

 and syringe them. They will break 

 from (he rijiened wood auil the breaks 

 '\ill bi' lliiwers. 



Gardenias. 



You can ]>ut in cuttings ot gardenias 

 now. The \ci'y (endei', young growdis 

 .•ire not suK.able fur cuttings. What 

 (iorisis call the h.'dt'-riin'ned wooil of 

 last fall is UK. re suitable for cuttings. 

 Put them in sand where the bottom 

 iicat is 7(» degrees an<l they will soon 

 root. We lately saw a lot of gardenias 

 from wliich we tliought something might 

 be learned. These were a lot in fJ inch 

 ]iOts that had been lit'ted from a bed 

 where they h.ad been planted out. The 

 foliage was yellow, as it had b<>en on 

 (he plants before lifting, whih; half a 

 dozen large plants in 9-inch j)ots were 

 as green as bay trees and cov(;red with 

 buds. Possibly while jilanted out tlie 

 -•mailer plants were o\erwatered, and, 

 it being a rather cool hou.se for gar- 

 denias, the ])lants couhl not use all the 

 materi.al given them; while the larger 

 jdants were a mass of roots and did ab- 

 sorb all the moisture provided them. 



Dutch Hyacinths. 



Vou can Ijring into the greeiilunise 

 now at any time a lew hundred jtots 

 of Dutch liyacinth. They .are alw.ays 

 welcome. (ii\e them, after the first fmv 

 days inside, a temjierature of 00 de- 

 grees to (')') degrees ;ind they soon will 

 ))C in flower. The first b.alch will take 

 tW() w«eks longer to conie intc) llowor 

 than do succeeding i-i"o[>s. 



Fuchsias. 



Yon shonbl i>ut in all the vigorous 

 fiudisia cuttings this month. Fuchsias 

 put in the sand (his month will make 

 (|uick growing, \igorous jilants (hat will 

 be in (lower in May. After the end of 

 this month you can no longer get good 

 fuchsia cuttings. The old ])lants are 

 :^o anxious to er"W (he cuttings will 



w.ani to (lower instead of grow and 

 will not make healthy plants. 



Zonal Geraniums. 



It Is ically remark.altle how many com- 

 plaiats we get from people who say 

 that their geraniums do not flower We 

 have had quite a different experience. 

 Our zonal geraniums would, from May 1, 

 Hower themselves to death if we did 

 not j)ick off many of the full blown 

 trussi's. This is by no design of ours. 

 Perhaps it is merely the soil. For the 

 lirst two or three Aveeks of January we 

 are busy shifting the geraniums from 

 li-inch (o uinch pots. This is a small 

 shift, but you can always so reduce the 

 ball that it will make it a substantial 

 shift. Some growers will say this is 

 too gre.at an ex])ense. If you want fine 

 4iii(di gi'i'.aniums in .May it A\ill pay. In 

 shifting use a lieavy loam, with little, 

 if any, animal manure. The only ma- 

 nure of that kind that you should use 

 would lie the remains of an old hotbed, 

 which ctuild only be of mechanical bene- 

 fit to the soil. 



About the first part of February you 

 should move and go over all your 3- 

 iiich geraniums. Most of them will give 

 you a cutting. Don't ruin or stunt a 

 plant for the sake of a cutting. If 

 the growth is not sufficiently long to 

 give you a cutting, then just nip out 

 (ho center of growth and you will have 

 an extra fine branching plant, but the 

 majority will give you a cutting and 

 still leave you encuigli stem to branch 

 and m.ake a good jilant. Firm, hard 

 potting at this time is of great conse- 

 ipience, liut not so important as the later 

 shift from 3-ijich to 4-incb pots. 



The cuttings you take off the young 

 plants .should not be put into the sand. 

 Put them into 2-inch pots, making sure 

 the soil is firm and compact around 

 the base of each cutting and place the 

 pots on a bench in a house where the 

 tem])erature is 50 degrees. "Water once 

 thoroughly and then give no more water 

 until the plants are decidedlv drv. You 

 should not lose ten per cent of them. 

 I'lants rooted in the jiots are much bet- 

 ter (lian those rooteil in sand. These 



winter-struck plants will not be as larg, 

 or early as those you are shifting ini, 

 3-inch, but they will come in for lat. 

 beds in June. This class of geraniuti! 

 is largely succulent and will do wit 

 less ^vater than is generally given then 

 Let them be decidedly dry before y(; 

 water. Up to the first part of Apr; 

 you do not want them to grow and niak 

 leaves; you only want them to ma I. 

 good roots in the 3-inch pots. 



There is one advantage in an earl 

 Easter; you have a chance to attend t 

 your bedding plants, so this year yo 

 will be able, early in April, to gi\ 

 your zonal geraniums their 4-inch poi 

 Avoid any rich manure, which will jU' 

 duce leaves and not flowers. At tU. 

 shifting pot firmly, using a fresh loai 

 with the addition of a 4-inch pot < 

 bone flour to a bushel of soil. P.i 

 firmly and give geraniums at all tini< 

 the fullest light and plenty of venl i 

 lation. 



Do this and I do not see how yoi 

 can complain that your geraniums d 

 not flower. We have often seen ger.m 

 iums, tall, leafy things, grown in pai 

 tial shade, but always found such plant- 

 were grown in soil that was half rotten 

 manure or leaf-mold and they had gom 

 to leaf instead of flower. 



Begonia Semperflorens. 



Sow seeds of Begonia semperfloren- 

 this month. The seed is very minute 

 and needs no covering. Scatter flu 

 seeds very thinly over the freshly 

 watered surface of the soil and place 

 the pots or flats where no ray of sun 

 will reach them. This class of begonia- 

 is very useful. They make a most ac- 

 ceptable pot plant. They are fine for 

 filling vases and window-boxes and some 

 of the varieties make splendid flower 

 beds. You cannot sow the small see<l- 

 too thinlv. William Scott. 



NEV YORK. 



The Market. 



Hiothers Scott, the beavers, the deer 

 and the wild birds wore all false 

 prophets this year and the long, cohl 

 winter is now an impossibility. Before 

 we know it the equinoctial storm.s and 

 Faster will be here. Last week was one 

 of rains, fogs and high temperatures 

 and this week opens just as depress- 

 ingly, with little prospect of clear, cold, 

 seasonable weather. The result of it all 

 is seen in the color of the flowers am: 

 the scarcity of fine roses, while the in 

 fluence of clouds and wind is felt in 

 every department of the florists' trade. 

 All prices have naturally fallen. The 

 best Beauties seldom go above $50 per 

 hundred and Bride, Maid, Killarney 

 and the red roses especially, have all 

 declined in values. The same may be 

 said of carnations, valley and even cat- 

 tley.as, while of hyacinths and narcissi 

 there is enough ami to spare. With a 

 change to winter weather will come a 

 brisk demand, better quality of stock 

 and a revival in the general business 

 that has already been too long delayed. 



President's Dinner. 



President C. II. Totty, of the New 

 York Florists' Club, entertained at din- 

 ner on Saturday evening, at the Hotel 

 Earlington, the following gentlemen 

 whom hie constituted his cabinet, and in 

 addition the secretary of the S, A. F., 

 P. J. llauswirth. of Oiicago: John Bir- 

 nie, Wm. Dvckhamr^^J, Manda, J. B. 



