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APRIL 11. 1007. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



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Crowd Lined Up Awaiting Admission to the Easter Flower Show at Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburg. 



Courteay Plttaburgr Oazette-Tlmes. 



themselves to every florist who grows 

 lilies, if it were only for the one reason 

 that they can be brought into flower in 

 twelve weeks from the time they are 

 potted. As can readily be understood, it 

 requires the space of the greenhouse but 

 a very short time, compared with what is 

 ordinarily required to bring the fresh or 

 green stock of lilies into bloom. The 

 saving is anywhere from two to three 

 months. Then, at the same time, the 

 amount of labor required is of much 

 shorter duration, as is also heat, etc. 



A large grower of lilies has said that 

 he would not grow any more fresh stock, 

 because he figured out that unless every 

 square foot of his greenhouse brought 

 him in $1 per year it ceased to be 

 profitable, and he says he can make this 

 very easily in lilies when growing cold 

 storage stock. 



Narcissi and Tulips. 



I want now to take up your time just 

 a few minutes further, by calling your 

 attention to one or two other good bulbs 

 which are very largely forced. Take, for 

 instance, the Narcissus Paper "White and 

 the Boman hyacinth. There is not much 

 comment necessary, because almost every 

 florist seems to have reasonably good 

 success and we have invariably traced 

 failures in Paper Whites to be princi- 

 pally due to lack of root development. 



Upon questioning some florists who 

 have reported failures and upon refer- 

 ring to their orders, we find that they 

 have not allowed suflBcient time for the 

 bulbs to really produce a bud; for the 

 fact is that the strength which should 

 have gone into the roots was divided and 

 part went into the flower and part into 

 the roots, and the result was that there 

 was neither root nor flower. It is almost 

 impossible to force these bulbs in six 

 weeks, as some florists suppose. 



This applies equally well to Eoman 

 hyacinths. And I can only repeat, with 

 emphasis, that it is absolutely necessary 

 to root aJl bulbous stock in a most thor- 

 ough manner. 



I will now take up the items of tulips, 

 hyacinths, and daffodils. Every little 

 while one hears the report that such a 

 variety of tulip, hyacinth, etc., did not 

 do well. Frequently we find that the 

 florist has not chosen his varieties well; 

 probably has not selected the right ones. 

 Take, for instance, the Pottebakker tulip. 

 While these may be forced successfully 

 at times, still there are years when there 

 will be no bloom at all when they are 

 grown indoors. The Hollanders claim 

 that this is not a forcing tulip, and 

 therefore should not be used for that 

 purpose. 



There are a number of other sorts 



which can not be counted upon to bring 

 the best success, such as (Jhrysolora, 

 Duchesse de Parma, and similar varieties. 

 In their catalogs most seedsmen have 

 the forcing tulips marked with an aster- 

 isk, or by some other method, and as 

 the seedsman takes his experience largely 

 from the Hollander, it is well sometimes, 

 if not always, for the florist to be guided 

 largely by this in using these sorts. 



Now take the item of hyacinths. It 

 seems that the florist will persist in buy- 

 ing Baroness Von Thuyl, which is a 

 handsome white sort. This variety, how- 

 ever, is not at all adapted to forcing, 

 unless in a very slow way, and it cer- 

 tainly should not be used to bring into 

 flower for Easter. It has a tendency to 

 "cut its throat," as the seedsmen claim. 

 In other words, after the bud and stem 

 have developed nicely, down below the 

 foliage, it seems to come to a stand-still, 

 while the stem a little further down sim- 

 ply rots off. The cause of this, I do not 

 believe has ever been determined. 



Now we will take the item of narcissi. 

 Some florists plant alba plena, odorata, 

 poeticus, and similar kinds, which are 

 wholly undesirable for forcing. There- 

 fore, you can always be assured when 

 there are failures in bulbs, it is some- 

 times the fault of not choosing the right 

 kinds, as well as for other reasons. 



Other Bulbs for Forcing. 



There are a few bulbs which I want 

 to call attention to, which are not used 

 as much as they should be used by the 

 florists, that is, for forcing. Take, for 

 instance, the dielytra, or bleeding heart. 

 You have no idea what demand there 

 would be for this by the Koman churches 

 for Easter decorations. It costs very 

 little, requires very little attention to get 

 it into flower and pays as well as any 

 Easter plant one could force. 



Again, there is the Spanish iris. It 

 reminds one very much of dainty little 

 orchids. Irises may be planted among 

 carnations and will do very well. They 

 bring a handsome price when cut, while 

 the cost of the bulbs is in the neighbor- 

 hood of $3 or $4 per thousand, and they 

 require no attention from the time they 

 are planted until they are cut. 



The hardy Japanese lilies, such as 

 auratum, album, rubrum, etc., while they 

 can not be brought in very well for 

 Easter, make excellent lilies for selling 

 in pots or for cut flower purposes during 

 the summer. They can be potted up 

 when they arrive from Japan, say in 

 October, and can be brought into flower 

 without a bit of trouble by April or 

 later, as required. 



I do not know that these are ex- 



tensively forced now by florists, but I 

 think Eobert Craig, of West Philadel- 

 phia, has had some little experience with 

 them and I believe he still forces them 

 with excellent results. They cost con- 

 siderably less than Harrisii and other 

 Easter lilies, while they probably bring 

 greater results. Do not, however, con- 

 fuse them with Easter lilies, as they 

 must not be planted with the idea of 

 supplying the demand for the latter. 



In the short talk on the above I have 

 endeavored to bring out the most im- 

 portant points on the subject, as I did 

 not have much time, even to prepare the 

 data, owing to the great rush which ex- 

 ists in the seedsman's business at this 

 time of the year. 



If there are any questions which any- 

 one would like to ask I will answer 

 them so far as is in my power; but, as 

 stated before, the seedsman's knowledge 

 of bulbs is largely theory, as he does 

 not have the opportunity of always being 

 on the ground to watch everything in a 

 practical manner, as the florist does. 



PITTSBURG FLOWER LOVERS. 



Pittsburg has a wide reputation in 

 the trade as a city of flower lovers. 

 From a florist's business point of view 

 the city of steel and smoke is one of 

 the best flower towns in the country. 

 Business there always is good and the 

 florists prosperous. Greenhouse building 

 has gone on at a rapid rate for the last 

 few years, but production never has 

 overtaken demand, so that Pittsburg 

 calls on Philadelphia, Chicago and other 

 markets for large quantities of stock. 



The extent to which Pittsburgers are 

 flower lovers perhaps will be impressed 

 more clearly upon the average mind by 

 the accompanying illustration than it 

 would be by any array of business sta- 

 tistics. The photograph was taken on 

 the afternoon of Easter and shows the 

 line of people waiting admission to the 

 annual spring display at Phipps con- 

 servatory, at Schenley park. It is esti- 

 mated that there were 2,500 persons in 

 the line at the time this photograph was 

 taken by a staff photographer of the 

 Pittsburg Gazette-Times. The conserva- 

 tories were filled to their capacity at the 

 moment, and as fast as visitors had 

 passed through the houses others were 

 admitted to take their places. It is said 

 the waiting line was of this size for 

 hours during the afternoon. 



The display at Phipps conservatory is 

 one of the most magnificent made by 

 any public institution in this country. 

 Indeed, its fame has become so great 

 that the railroads run special trains to 



