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1524 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



APlttL 4, 1907. 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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Hydraogeas. 



Many of our benches presented a truly 

 cyclonic appearance on the evening of 

 March 30, few flowering plants of any 

 kind being left. The warm wave 

 brought along many late plants we had 

 given up all hope of. Averaging things 

 up, we find it was once more the most 

 satisfactory and profitable Easter we 

 had and we hope this experience has 

 been general. We have been crowded 

 for room for weeks and now we have the 

 much-needed space, let us utilize it for 

 the stock coming on for Memorial day 

 and for bedding purposes. Geraniums 

 and other plants referred to a week ago 

 will already show the advantages of 

 more growing space. 



One of the important Memorial day 

 plants is the hydrangea. "While it meets 

 with a fair sale at Easter, it is essen- 

 tially a Memorial day variety. The 

 plants grow fast now and will continu- 

 ally need more space. Never allow them 

 to suffer for water. Feed liberally and 

 if you can just see the heads peeping 

 in the ends of the shoots, they will be 

 along in plenty of time without forcing. 

 Plants in a more backward condition 

 should have a warm house until color 

 shows in the flower-heads, when a cooler 

 house should be afforded them. 



Asters. 



The early batch should now be strong 

 plants in flats and will soon be large 

 enough to bed out. Of course, it is 

 weeks too early to think of planting 

 any Chinese asters outdoors, but you may 

 possibly have a bench vacated by vio- 

 lets, or which may contain carnations 

 hardly worth carrying any longer, and 

 in this case, unless you have an abund- 

 ance of bedding plants to occupy the 

 space, you may be puzzling your brains 

 what crop to run. If you can use or 

 sell good asters, give them a trial under 



glass. First give the benches a liberal 

 coating of rotted manure and spade it 

 in thoroughly. Plant your asters a foot 

 apart in the rows and nine inches be- 

 tween the plants. Attend carefully to 

 watering. Scratch over the surface oc- 

 casionally and you will have a grand 

 crop of these most useful flowers long 

 before any outdoor ones are in season. 

 We think Queen of the Earlies the best 

 variety to grow, but Comet does well. 

 If large flowers are desired and a fancy 

 price can be had, they had better be 

 disbudded, staked up and treated like 

 chrysanthemums. Of course, it might 

 not pay to devote a house to asters, but 

 a bench may produce a very profitable 

 crop. 



Hetbaceous Perennials. 



While fall is the best time to do any 

 dividing or transplanting of herbaceous 

 perennials, the majority can be moved 

 successfully now. If they are grown for 

 cut flower production only, it is well to 

 bear in mind that they relish liberal 

 treatment and plenty of manure should 

 be worked into the soil. Any winter 

 covering placed on sorts of doubtful 

 hardiness should be removed at once, 

 before the shoots piish too far through 

 it, in which case many get broken dur- 

 ing its removal. 



Greenhouse Bulbous Plants. 



Seedlings of gloxinias and tuberous 

 begonias should be pricked off in flats 

 or pans before they crowd one another. 

 They need a light, somewhat shaded 

 position in a warm house. For com- 

 post a mixture of half leaf-mold and 

 loam, with some sand and fine charcoal 

 added, is suitable. Plants being grown 

 from bulbs will now be. making rapid 

 headway. Do not overwater them and 

 keep' water off the foliage as much as 

 possible, or many leaves will soon be- 

 come disfigured. A light but rich com- 



post containing a good proportion of 

 well decomposed and dried cow manure 

 is to their liking. 



Streptocarpuses are not much seen 

 nowadays. A good strain, however, makes 

 a handsome show. Unfortunately the 

 leaves have a peculiar fascination for 

 mealy bug. They succeed well with 

 gloxinias. Their stems are stiff and well 

 adapted for cutting. Some day we hope 

 gloxinias, by incercrossing, may have 

 just such wiry flower-stalks and then 

 their value as cut flowers will be greatly 

 enhanced. 



Hardy Annuals. 



You will have sown your sweet peas, 

 or ought to have done so, by this time, 

 if you want best results. There are a 

 few other flowering annuals which can 

 be sown quite early. Among them are 

 such useful varieties aa mignonette, 

 bachelor's button, larkspur, sweet alys- 

 sum, candytuft and Shirley poppies. The 

 last named should be sown several times 

 during the season. Its rather fragile 

 flowers are wondrously beautiful and al- 

 ways sell well where there is a home 

 trade for flowers. Of course, for ship- 

 ping purposes they are of no value. 



Bulbous Plants. 



Dutch bulbs may also safely be un- 

 covered. It should be borne in mind 

 that it is really more for a mulching and 

 to prevent freezing and thawing of the 

 ground that we cover them, for they are 

 not tender plants. Some bulbous plants 

 may now be set out, such as liliums of 

 sorts, Galtonia candicans, montbretias 

 and an early planting of gladioli. Do 

 not put out all your bulbs of the latter 

 at once. They can be planted until June 

 and will flower well. 



Miscellaneous. 



Give the lilies for Decoration day a 

 light, sunny bench. If you can count 

 their buds a month ahead of the time 

 the flowers are wanted you will be all 

 right. 



Cuttings of coleus, alternanthera, 

 ageratum and other bedding plants will 

 still make fine plants by the time they 

 are needed. Keep the propagating bed 

 full, but be sure to pot or place in flats 

 before the cuttings become hardened. 

 Throw away old stock plants of coleus. 

 They are liable to be lodging places for 

 mealy bug. 



The Boston Gardeners' and Florists' Club on a Visit to W. "W, Edgar & Co.. Waverley, Mass., March 23. 



