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1080 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Februaby 28, 1907. 



customary. In tying on the card use a 

 piece of baby ribbon of a color to 

 match the flowers; do not use string or 

 wire. If some ignorant person wants 

 "compliments" on a card for a fune- 

 ral, point his mistake out to him in a 

 nice way. H. S. 



TROUBLE WITH GERANIUMS. 



I am sending a few geranium leaves 

 which have bacteria or a fungus disease 

 of some kind. We are almost sure what 

 caused it. It affects our whole stock 

 more or less, and we would like to know 

 a cure for it. We have been using Bor- 

 deaux mixture but we don't think it is 

 doing any good. A. & S. 



The sample leaves received were badly 

 affected with the disease commonly 

 known as spot. There are several con- 

 ditions which cause this disease to spread 



among geraniums. Too much moisture 

 at the root, too frequent overhead syr- 

 inging or hosing, the use of strong ani- 

 mal fertilizer in the soil when the plants 

 are small, and the overdosing of them 

 with liquid or chemical manure and 

 water, will all tend to start this disease. 

 Geraniums in a young state should not 

 be potted in a rich soil. It tends to 

 produce a rank, soft growth and makes 

 the plants easy victims to spot. It is 

 also always better to rather underwater 

 than overwater them. Bordeaux mixture 

 is not likely to be of any value in check- 

 ing the spread of the disease, which we 

 have had on stock ourselves on several 

 occasions. A warm, drier and more 

 buoyant atmosphere is the best antidote. 

 Use soot water in lieu of animal liquid 

 fertilizers and when the plants are well 

 rooted in the pots a pinch of some first- 

 class chemical fertilizer, such as Clay's, 

 will tone them up. W. N. C. 





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Easter Stock. 



March will be here by the time these 

 notes appear in print and it is a reminder 

 that the great Easter festival is drawing 

 near, only four weeks now being left to 

 finish up the lilies and other plants we 

 want to have in season. You should now 

 be able to count the buds on your lilies 

 without pulling back the leaves. If they 

 are still obscured from view, your 

 chances of having them in bloom are du- 

 bious. With hard forcing we have seen 

 them brought in flower within five 

 weeks from the showing of the buds, but 

 it is much better to allow them six weeks. 

 Lose no time in removing any doubtful 

 plants to the warmest house you have 

 and ply the syringe or hose freely among 

 them. Do not neglect the watering on 

 any consideration and give them sufiicient 

 liquid stimulants to keep the foliage 

 green and the plants vigorous. 



Rambler roses should have the sprays 

 advanced now, so that the buds can be 

 counted; then they are all right. Astil- 

 bes, if they start to show color about 

 March 12, will be in season. Hydran- 

 geas should now have heads of fair size 

 and ought to show color about the mid- 

 dle of the month. Azaleas may still be 

 started and if kept warm and sprayed 



frequently will be in season. Keep 

 pinching and rubbing out the early 

 growths, which came ahead of the flow- 

 ers. Acacia armata should be given 50 

 degrees to 55 degrees at night until the 

 little flowers show yellow. Then keep it 

 cooler. 



Dutch bulbous stock should be put in 

 readiness. Better start hyacinths, tulips 

 and narcissi by March 10; they then 

 should be in season. If lily of the valley 

 sells well, a good supply of pips should 

 now be potted and placed in a warm, 

 darkened case with a brisk bottom heat. 

 Gradually inure to light to give the 

 plants as good foliage as possible. From 

 three to four weeks is ample time to al- 

 low valley provided a brisk heat is at 

 command.' Lilacs, Azalea mollis, flower- 

 ing cherries and other deciduous shrubs 

 should all be in bud now and in this 

 case will not need any further forcing. 

 Let them open in a comparatively cool 

 house and they will be much more satis- 

 factory. 



Cypripedium Insifne. 



That old and easily grown orchid, 

 Cypripedium insigne, is found in many 

 commercial places and, in spite of all 

 newer and higher priced introductions, 

 firmly retains its position as the most 



popular and profitable of tne cypripe- 

 dium family. The present is a suitable 

 time to overhaul any which may seem to 

 need repotting. If the growths have be- 

 come much crowded it will be better to 

 pull tlie plants to pieces. If plants of 

 moderate size are desired, 6-inch pots 

 will be large enough. Much larger sizes 

 are often used, but we have found the 

 smaller pots give a larger proportion of 

 flowers than the best specimens. A suit- 

 able compost is fibrous loam, with all the 

 finer particles screened from it, lumpy 

 charcoal and a little old cow manure. 

 The pots should be half filled with clean 

 crocks and in potting the plants should 

 be slightly elevated above the rims. Os- 

 munda fern fiber, with a little sphagnum, 

 will also grow the plants well. They suc- 

 ceed well in a temperature of 50 degrees 

 to 55 degrees in winter and prefer a 

 cool house or open-air culture in summer. 

 They appreciate an occasional applica- 

 tion of manure water during the growing 

 season when well rooted. 



Antirrhinums. 



Probably you are growing a few seed- 

 ling antirrhinums on a bench in one of 

 your houses. The flowers are useful dur- 

 ing late winter and early spring. Well 

 grown spikes which have been carefully 

 disbudded make a beautiful display in 

 large vases and, as they possess remark- 

 able lasting properties, make a most sat- 

 isfactory cut flower. Now is a good time 

 to take some cuttings from the flowering 

 stems of your best varieties. They will 

 soon root and if potted off and gradu- 

 ally hardened can be planted outdoors 

 early in May. From these further cut- 

 tings can be taken late in July and, if 

 grown along in a frame or a cool house, 

 will make fine stuff to plant on the 

 benches about the end of September. 

 Separate colors, like white, yellow, pink 

 and red, will sell better than mixtures. 



Gloxinias. 



If gloxinias were started in flats a few 

 weeks ago in a warm house they will 

 have made considerable root and the 

 young shoots will be one or two inches 

 across. They are better potted before 

 they get crowded. A light, moderately 

 rich compost suits them. Equal parts of 

 leaf-mold, loam and cow manure well 

 dried, with a dash of powdered charcoal 

 and sharp sand, is to their liking. Five 

 and 6-inch pots are sufficiently large, un- 

 less the tubers are of more than ordi- 

 nary size. Keep on the dry side until 

 well rooted. Shade from direct sunshine, 

 do not spray the leaves and keep well 

 up to the light in a temperature of 60 

 degrees at night and a good many will 

 be in bloom for Memorial day, when they 

 will be found extremely useful. 



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New Ran^e of Orchid Houses Built by the Julius Roehrs G>i, Ruther fotd, N. J« 



