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APBIL 18, 1007. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



1667 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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Pandanus. 



Any florist possessing a moderately 

 .varra house will find the variegated Pan- 

 'lanus Veitchii and the newer Sanderse 

 -xcellent sellers. They are of easy cul- 

 'ivation and propagate readily from 

 Flickers or side shoots, which, when placed 

 in a good bottom heat, are not long in 

 rooting. We consider P. Veitchii prob- 

 ably the best variegated foliage plant 

 for pot culture. P. Sanderae, while dis- 

 tinct, is less beautiful, the pure white 

 and green of the former variety making 

 it almost everyone's favorite. 



For propagating purposes a mixture 

 of sand and moss will be found even bet- 

 ter than one of pure sand. Potted off as 

 soon as rooted and grown along in a 

 warm house or a frame in summer, these 

 soon make salable plants. A compost of 

 turfy loam, lumpy charcoal and well 

 dried cow manure, with a good dash of 

 sharp sand, makes a suitable potting 

 medium. Any old plants of pandanus 

 may be planted out to good purpose in 

 suotropical beds and will furnish a fine 

 lot of suckers for propagation by fall. 

 For growing in the dwelling house, the 

 pandanus has few superiors. In winter 

 it should be kept rather on the dry side. 



Ficui. 



Ficus elastica, better known as rubber 

 plant, never seems to lose its popularity 

 as a house plant. With Boston ferns, it 

 stands in the first rank. Florists find a 

 perennial demand for these plants and 

 large numbers are annually imported 

 from Belgium. Propagation is not at all 

 difficult and if a few old, bushy plants 

 are at command it is really surprising 

 what a batch can be worked up. A 

 couple of years ago we rooted sixty plants 

 from one of these old, cut-back speci- 

 mens and even then the plant broke back 

 freely and looked quite presentable by 

 fall. 



While early winter is an excellent time 

 to put in cuttings, they may still be 

 rooted in a warm, rather close and 

 shaded house. We prefer sand and moss 

 for propagation and tie up the leaves so 

 that the cuttings take up less space. 

 Water the cuttings twice a uay, never 

 allow sun to fall on them, and a large 

 percentage will root. 



Another method of propagation entail- 

 ing rather more labor is the ' ' ringing ' ' 

 plan, which consists of making a cut or 

 incision about two inches long midway 

 between two eyes. The cut should be 

 slanting and go half through the stem 

 of the shoot. Drop some powdered char- 

 coal in the cut to prevent bleeding. A 

 small wedge, the thickness of a match, 

 is needed to keep the cut open. A fair 

 sized handful of moss must then be tied 

 around the cut with raffia and frequently 

 moistened; in fact, it must never be al- 

 lowed to get dry. In a close, moist at- 

 mosphere, with a night temperature of 

 65 degrees, the roots will not be long in 

 appearing and, when they are seen push- 

 ing through the moss, the tops can be 

 cut off, placed in as small pots as pos- 



sible, kept frequently syringed until es- 

 tablished and potted on as they require it. 

 Crotons, dracsenas and dieffenbachias 

 may all be rooted by the mossing process 

 and much finer plants can be had by this 

 method than by rooting them in sand. 

 We frequently see beautiful crotons in 

 small pots at the exhibitions and wonder 

 how such specimens can be produced in 

 such tiny receptacles. These plants are 

 usually rooted by the mossing plan. 



Stevias. 



Often in the rush of other spring 

 operations that useful little plant, the 

 stevia, is neglected or forgotten. If cut- 

 tings were put in a month ago they 

 should now be in 2 1/^ -inch pots, nicely 

 rooted, and ought to have been pinched 

 once to keep them bushy. It is not yet 

 too late to insert a batch of cuttings. 

 They root quickly and would be nice, 

 stocky little plants in four or five weeks. 

 The general plan is to plant out stevias 

 as soon as danger from frost is gone, 

 and pot them up early in September. A 

 much better plan is to grow them in pots 

 or boxes all the time. When planted out 



ters. Pinch out the tops to keep them 

 bushy. Old plants which were probably 

 placed under the benches to make room 

 for other stock should be cut back hard, 

 potted up into as small pots as they 

 conveniently Can be squeezed into and 

 started into growth. If you find they are 

 loaded with bug, either destroy the plants 

 or clean out the bug with a strong nico- 

 tine solution. 



Gtlceolarias. 



What are commonly called herbaceous 

 calceolarias are useful for florists having 

 a good retail call for plants. They need 

 cool treatment at all times and are very 

 impatient of heat. As they bloom dur- 

 ing May, they should now be in their 

 flowering pots. Private gardeners grow 

 immense specimens of these in 10-inch to 

 12-inch pots, which, when staked out, are 

 three to four feet in diameter, but these 

 are beyond the limits of the commercial 

 florist. Nice stock can be had in 6-inch 

 to 8-inch pots, which, carefully staked 

 before the stems get bent or broken, will 

 make a fine show. These plants seem to 

 be headquarters for green aphis and 

 should have tobacco stems placed among 

 them and in addition receive weekly 

 fumigations. Their large, showy, self-col- 

 ored or spotted flowers are very attract- 

 ive. If preferred, the plants can be eas- 

 ily held back for Memorial day, when 

 the flowers themselves will be found val- 

 uable, even if the plants are unsold. 



Calceolaria rugosa varieties. Golden 

 Edge and Prince of Orange, which are 

 popular bedding sorts in Europe, are of 

 little value for that purpose here, owing 



Floriculture in North Guolioa* 



(Tin- ostabllshnient of Frederick Roll, a Review reader at Durham, N. C.) 



they grow luxuriantly, but, unless 

 pinched and otherwise cared for, they 

 will break badly with high winds. In 

 8-inch pots they will make beautiful 

 plants, or, if you prefer it, place several 

 in a deep flat and keep in the open, where 

 you can readily reach them with the 

 hose. This little plant is invaluable at 

 Christmas and, indeed, may be had over 

 a long period by holding in a cold house. 



Bouvardias. 



Bouvardias are less grown than for- 

 merly, but, nevertheless, are very useful 

 in winter. Cuttings from pieces of roots 

 or soft shoots ought to be well rooted 

 and potted off by this time. They can- 

 not be planted out with safety before 

 the end of May, but can be gradually 

 hardened by placing them in cooler quar- 



to our hot summers. For pot culture, 

 however, they are excellent and as they 

 have much tougher stems than the her- 

 baceous class, are of special value for 

 bunching for Memorial day trade. These 

 are propagated by cuttings which should 

 be inserted in September or October and 

 can be flowered in 6-inch or 7-inch pots, 

 making bushy specimens. They need cool 

 treatment all the time, but will endure 

 more sun than the herbaceous class. They 

 are also freer from aphis attacks. 



Brief Reminders. 



Seedlings of Primula obconica should 

 now be pricked off in pans or flats. Give 

 them a moderately warm house and shade 

 from bright sun. 



Fuchsias need a cool, airy house and 

 full sunshine. Keep them pinched and 



