Febbuabv 21, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists' RevieW. 



100? 



We have invested in some of. the 

 newer varieties, namely Winsor, Helen 

 Gould, White Enchantress, Aristocrat, 

 Victory, Red Chief and Beacon, which 

 we canni)t say much about until they 

 have a thorough trial. 



Encouraging Prospects. 



I feel much encouraged that we south- 

 ern florists and growers are now able to 

 organize as a body and can get together 

 and talk over our experiences and I be- 

 lieve that this first convention marks an 

 epoch in our growth. It means that 

 the south is to come forward soon, in 

 the introduction of new varieties of car- 

 nations, roses and other greenhouse and 

 garden plants, and I believe that in this 

 way we will be able to get varieties es- 

 pecially adapted to our soil, climate, etc. 



mis DELAVAYI. 



There is much to admire in this new 

 species of grassy iris frgm Yunnan — a 

 free-growing plant that seems to be 

 very accommodating in its requirements, 

 and showing such good qualities that en- 

 title it to rank with I. aurea, I. gigantea 

 and I. Mounieri, both in border plant- 

 ing and for waterside. 



The flowers are superb, colored the 

 richest violet, blotched very slightly with 

 white on the long, narrow "fall" pet- 

 als, and they are produced in plenty 

 from clumps two years established. 1 

 have it growing well by a waterside un- 

 der the treatment given to Iris Kaemp- 

 feri, says a writer in the Gardeners' 

 Magazine, and its growth is satisfactory 

 in every respect — the spikes reaching a 

 height of fifty inches, each yielding sev- 

 eral flowers. The leafage i8 particularly 



graceful, and may be likened to that of 

 the lesser reed mace — narrow, slender, 

 slightly arching, and over a yard in 

 height. 



I saw it last autumn in Scotland 

 thriving equally well under drier condi- 

 tions, growing in competition with asters, 

 border phloxes, and pyrethrums. Its 

 growth there was not so tall, but flowers 

 were produced in plenty and they were 

 of good size. The lance-shaped, droop- 

 ing falls remind one of the rarer Japa- 

 nese Iris albo-purpurea, and many of 

 the American group, but none of these 

 has such intense coloring. This rich vio- 

 let is rare among irises. Reticulata and 

 Douglasiana alone have it, and it is 

 rarer still among plants that can be 

 used by waterside in July and August. 

 This iris appears to be quite hardy any- 

 where in Britain. 



PROPAGATING. * 



It is none too soon to begin prop- 

 agating for the coming season's work. 

 All of the early varieties, and ^Iso the 

 slow growers, should be put into the 

 sand t|^is month. Under the head of 

 slow growers I class such varieties as 

 Beatrice May, May Seddon, Merza, Nel- 

 lie Pockett, Cheltoni and Mary Ann Pock- 

 ett. Early propagation of these varie- 

 ties permits of their attaining a good 

 length of stem, which, when propagated 

 later, they do not have a chance to do. 

 Beatrice May, rooted as many commer- 

 cial growers would root it, in May or 

 June, will not attain a height of over 

 eighteen inches and such a stem is hardly 

 long enough for cutting. 



The extra early kinds, too, must be 

 under way in good season so that good 

 stock can be set out in May; this being 

 necessary because, in the case of Mon- 

 rovia, for instance, buds must be se- 

 cured late in July, to obtain the flowers 

 during the last of September. The 

 grower who is looking for very early 

 flowers must always keep in mind that it 

 means early propagation, early planting 

 and early bud selection. The last year 

 was perhaps the best that the growers 

 of early varieties ever enjoyed; prices 

 were excellent and the buyers were clam- 

 orous for flowers. Whether this will 

 continue this year we cannot say, but 

 let us hope so. The scarcity of other 

 stock was a prime factor in bringing 

 about this result and, while we are not 

 selfish enough to desire to profit by our 

 neighbor's loss, it is to be hoped that 

 the early kinds will find a warm welcome 

 awaiting them. One great advantage of 

 the early kinds is the fact that they are 

 gone early and make room for a lot 

 of stock just at a time when room is 

 needed, with everything waiting to be 

 housed from frost. 



Getting back to the propagating. The 

 •operation of making cuttings and put- 



ting them in the sand is so simple and 

 well understood that there is no need of 

 going into detail; but one should, wher- 

 ever possible, judiciously select the cut- 

 tings. The suckers that spring out of 

 the ground around the stem of the par- 

 ent plant make the best cuttings. The 

 shoots that appear on the old stem should 

 never be used, as they almost invariably 

 run up to bud when they begin to grow, 

 and never make really good plants. 



It is, of course, assumed that the stock 

 plants are up on a bench in a good light 

 position somewhere and not thrown un- 

 der the bench and left there. Simply 

 because a chrysanthemum will make 

 some kind of a growth, no matter where 

 it is put, is no reason why it should not 

 get a fair show. I like to plant my 

 stock plants out on a bench in new soil 

 and when this is done the old stools will 

 produce quantities of stock; when, if 

 left in the old, sour soil, oftentimes the 

 plants will go back and, in any case, they 

 do not as a rule seem to push out so 

 freely as the transplanted stock. I have 

 for years propagated the finest cuttings 

 I could get in November and used these 

 for stock plants to propagate from in 

 early spring. This method does away 

 with the old plants, with their legacy 

 of leaf-spot, fly and other diseases, as 

 one is propagating only from vigorous 

 young plants. This sounds perhaps like 

 forcing to some growers, who are in 

 favor of holding the old plants in a semi- 

 dormant condition all winter, "giving 

 them a rest." But if the young stock 

 is grown in a proper, temperature, 45 

 to 50 degrees, they produce better cjit- 

 tings in spring than the old stools, and 

 unless rushed to death they, to my mind, 

 give better results. 



Chaeles H. Tottt. 



Monroe, Mich. — Walter Vandegrift, 

 of Adrian, has bought property here and 

 will engage in the florists' business. 



MUMS IN THE SOUTH. 



[A pap^r by P. P. Davis. Mobile, read before 

 the Society of Soathern Florists at the New 

 Orleans Convention, February 14 to 16.] 



The chrysanthemum to be a commer- 

 cial flower must have perfectly clean 

 foliage and the delicate texture which 

 can only be had under glass, and, there- 

 fore, the chrysanthemum of commerce 

 must be so grown. 



The Only Vay. 



Many inquiries have been made by 

 beginners as to how to grow chrysan- 

 themums in the garden in the south. I 

 have read some of the answers by au- 

 thorities on the subject of mum grow- 

 ing in cold climates, and have been as 

 often amused. When such queries have 

 been submitted to me my invariable an- 

 swer has been, "It cannot be done." 

 Surely the plant will grow, and grow 

 luxuriantly, in the open, but the flower 

 is coarse, soiled, weather beaten, thrips 

 eaten, and what not. Some of our re- 

 tailers grow it outdoors and use it large- 

 ly for funeral work; for which class of 

 work it is well known anything can be 

 used, as the dead man never kicks, and 

 his family, however unattractive the 

 flowers sent in by friends may be, would 

 not give expressions to wound the feel- 

 ings of such friends. I make this 

 apology for having been assigned to ad- 

 dress the convention of southern florists 

 on "Growing Chrysanthemums Under 

 Glass" — when there is no other way to 

 grow them. 



A Matter of Knowledg^e. 



Mum growing in the south, unlike 

 most of the other commercial flowers, 

 has passed the age of guessing. There 

 is no difference as to the knowledge 

 required to produce fine flowers in Chi- 

 cago, or in New Orleans. The differ- 

 ence is in applying the knowledge to the 

 conditions, and in choosing the varieties 

 that respond to the conditions. The 



