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10 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



JfXE 27, 1907. 



place to another when the process of 

 pricking off takes place. 



Hollyhocks are grown chiefly for the 

 use of their flowers for cutting by flo- 

 rists in summer and for such use the 

 double pink is in by far the greatest de- 

 mand. The double white comes next. 

 Mixed hollyhocks are used largely for 

 planting for use as decorative plants out- 

 doors in borders along with perennials 

 or close to or among shrubs. Growers 

 should have all kinds on hand, but more 

 of pink and Avhite than of mixed or any 

 other distinct shade of color. D. M. 



ASPARAGUS SPRENGERI. 



Are old and divided plants of Aspara- 

 gus Sprengeri as good as younger plants? 

 My plants are several years old and each 



season I usually divide them. They do 

 well, but not as well as I would like. 



R. C. E. 



While Asparagus Sprengeri can be 

 propagated by division of the root, far 

 better results are had from seedlings. 

 The seed can be sowed at any time dur- 

 ing the year, but if started in January 

 or February splendid plants may be had 

 before winter. Some growers plant 

 their seedlings in the open air. Keep 

 well cultivated, lift and place in benches 

 early in September. Such plants hardly 

 notice the removal and quickly start 

 away into active growth when housed. 

 Plant outdoors about the middle of May. 

 They require liberal food supplies. 



C. W. 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



Palms and Feros. 



The arrival of warm weather and pres- 

 sure of duties at this season sometimes 

 causes a neglect of the palms and ferns. 

 As the sun now shines with great power, 

 more shading will be needed on the glass 

 to prevent burning and to keep the 

 foliage a dark green. A little nsglect 

 may cause sunburn on the foliage of 

 valuable palms which will probably unfit 

 them for sale. If the house is small, the 

 shading, preferably of kerosene and 

 white lead to which a little whiting has 

 been added, may be put on with a long- 

 handled brush, but where there are large 

 structures this method is too slow and 

 laborious. A force pump with a short 

 nose attached, or, better still, a spraying 

 bawel with pump attached and contain- 

 ing an agitator to keep the liquid thor- 

 oughly stirred, such a barrel as is useful 

 for spraying fruit trees and shrubs, will 

 be found the correct thing. By using a 

 Vermorcl or other fine spraying nozzle 

 the glass can be quickly covered with a 

 fine, misty shading. Possibly a little 

 more shading may be needed before the 

 end of the season, but the fall rains and 

 early snows will take off most of the 

 shading by the beginning of December, 

 although if your liouse is glazed with 

 dear glass you may need some shade all 

 winter. 



Do not allow any palm to suffer from 

 want of a larger pot. A shift now may 

 double their value by winter. Be care- 

 ful not to overpot Cocos Weddelliana, 

 which makes but few roots and should 

 be kept in as small a pot as possible. 



Plants wiuch are well established in 

 their pots will be benefited by applica- 

 tions of weak liquid manure once a week. 

 Soot \\-ater is also good for keeping the 

 foliage of a dark green color. 



Use the hose thrice a day on days that 

 are 90 degrees in the shade, and keep 

 the floors and beds well moistened to 

 preserve a good growing atmosphere. 



Shift ahmij any small adiantum, pteris, 

 cyrtomium or other ferns needing it. 

 These will make splendid growth now in 

 frames if kept well shaded and care- 

 fuly watered. Adiantum Farleyense 

 needs a warm, moist house heavily 



shaded. Be careful not to play the hose 

 on the foliage or you will speedily ruin it. 

 Take off runners from the various 

 nephrolepises which are now being freely 

 produced. 



Propagatiog. 



In summer we usually find the propa- 

 gating benches untenanted except for a 

 few straggling weeds. During the hot 

 summer months is an excellent time to 

 increase your stock of crotons, dracsenas, 

 dieffenbaehias and other ornamental- 

 leaved plants. Gardenia, ficus and other 

 plants also root easily if care is taken 

 to keep the sand well soaked with water. 



Where ficus shoots were tied with moss 

 two months ago and have been kept warm 

 and well syringed, roots should now be 

 appearing. As soon as they commence 

 to push through the moss cut them off 

 and pot them with as small pots as they 

 can be conviently placed in. Tie up the 

 leaves to economize space, place in the 

 propagating house and give light spray- 

 ings frequently until they are well rooted 

 round the pots. They can then be placed 

 in cooler quarters and do well under can- 

 \-as outdoors for two or three months, 

 taking care to house them before frost 

 threatens. 



Oocidium Varico&um Rogersii. 



Newly imported plants of that l)eau- 

 tiful Brazilian orchid, Oncidium vari- 

 cosum Eogersii, are now being offered at 

 reasonable rates. This is unquestion- 

 ably one of the best commercial varieties 

 to grow, commencing to flower, as it 

 does, in autumn and giving a Succession 

 of spikes all winter long. Newly im- 

 ported plants usually give a crop of 

 spikes the following winter, but the fol- 

 lowing year they are much stronger. 

 They succeed well on blocks, or in bas- 

 kets and pans, baskets being perhaps the 

 most convenient form of receptacle as 

 giving perfect drainage. 



The plants, after being basketed, 

 should be hung near the glass, in a north 

 house, if possible, or if in a brighter 

 house be given moderate shading. Water 

 must be given sparingly until roots are 

 being freely produced, when a more lib- 

 oral supply is necessary. Spraying over- 



head on hot afternoons is also gqpd. A 

 winter night temperature of 52 to 55 

 degrees is quite sutficient for this orchid 

 and it can be grown successfully in an 

 ordinary greenhouse; in fact, many of 

 the finest plants we have ever seen, car- 

 rying 150 to 200 flowers per spray, were 

 grown on small places where there were 

 no special facilities for caring for them. 

 After flowering a period of rest is neces- 

 sary and the plants will do well hung in 

 a house which does not fall below 50 

 degrees. 



For florists this is one of the best 

 half dozen orchids and no trouble will 

 be found in growing it successfully. Use 

 quite small pans or baskets and a com- 

 post of moss and coarse fern fiber. 



Oleanders. 



That beautiful and well-known ever- 

 green shrub, the oleander, is better 

 known in the southern than in the north- 

 ern states, where it is not infrequently 

 used for shade and lawn decoration. In 

 our northern states the plants are usually 

 seen in pots or tubs, mere ghosts of the 

 beautiful specimens of the southland, but 

 even grown in this way they are desir- 

 able for piazza or lawn decoration. If 

 the pots or tubs are sunk in the grass 

 they look well even when out of flower. 



Propagation at this season is easy, 

 even quite hard cuttings rooting without 

 trouble. Potted when rooted, kept cool 

 like azaleas during winter, planted out- 

 doors the second season and freely 

 syringed, nice plants may be had in a 

 couple of years. Some pinching is needed 

 to keep them bushy. The Nerium olean- 

 der is a native of the orient and in addi- 

 tion to the pink form usually seen there 

 are pure white, flesh, purple and one or 

 two other shades in cultivation. 



In Bermuda the huge oleanders, twen- 

 ty-five to thirty feet in height, excite the 

 admiration of visitors. Here we must 

 be content with more modest specimens. 

 The worst insect pests are scale and 

 mealy buy, the former being especially 

 bad. Some pruning is necessary each 

 year to keep the plants shapely. 



Lagentroemiat. 



The crape myrtles, or lagerstroemias, 

 are too well known in our warmer states 

 to need any description here. They are 

 as popular and easy of culture there as 

 syringas, lilacs and viburnums are far- 

 ther north. They are beautiful shrubs 

 and are worthy of more extended cul- 

 ture in our colder states. They need 

 little winter protection. An ordinary 

 <old plant pit or cellar where frost is 

 excluded will suffice, although we have 

 never seen a few degrees of frost harm 

 them in the least. Propagation by either 

 soft cuttings rubbed off with a heel, or 

 fully matured wood, is easy. If the 

 yK)ung plants are planted out during the 

 summer, lifted and heeled in in a cool cel- 

 lar during winter, pruned back a little 

 and planted out again early in May, 

 they will soon make nice specimens in 

 large pots or tubs. They are effective 

 for lawn or piazza use. Pink and white 

 are the colors mostly seen, but other 

 shades are sometimes noted. These make 

 a pleasant change from the overdone 

 hydrangeas, and, lasting, as they do, in 

 bloom for many weeks, they are es- 

 pecially valuable. 



Vallota Purpurea. 



This brilliant member of the amaryl- 

 lidaceffi family, commonly known as the 

 Scarborough lily, is rarely seen in com- 



