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JONB 27, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



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mercial establishments, but where there 

 are many calls for summer blooming 

 plants this is one of the best subjects 

 to handle. The name, V. purpurea, is 

 something of a misnomer; V. coccinea 

 would be more appropriate, there being 

 nothing purple about the flowers, which 

 are brilliant scarlet. Failures in the cul- 

 ture of vallotas are due to growers dry- 

 ing them oflf as they would an amaryllis. 

 The vallotas are evergreen bulbous 

 plants and must never be rested. It is 

 also, like the nerines and Belladonna 

 lilies, impatient of root disturbance, 

 flowering best when well potbound. The 

 bulbs need to be kept in comparatively 

 small pots and a compost of fibrous loam, 

 dry cow manure and sand suits them. 

 The bulbs must not be buried. The 

 plants never need any shade and in win- 

 ter can be kept in the coldest house, 

 even a little frost not injuring them. 

 We have often seen beautiful specimens 

 of these standing outside cottage doors, 

 enough to excite the envy of even the 

 most expert cultivators. i'The present is 

 a siiitable time to do anwp^tting needed, 

 but be sure to give on'^^ a small shift. 

 The finest specimens of vallota we ever 

 saw in Great Britain carried sixty-three 

 spikes and would have created a sensa- 

 tion at any American exhibition. The 

 plant is of easy culture in America and 

 should be far more seen. 



Brief Reminders. 



Use great care with the hose and water- 

 ing pot now. Plunge as many plants as 

 possible outdoors to save drying out at 

 the roots. Spray overhead several times 

 on hot, drying days. This applies to 

 indoor as well as outdoor plants. 



Soak sweet peas with a sprinkler or 

 hose if droughty weather prevails. Re- 

 member one soaking is better than twenty 

 sprinklings. 



If shrubs are suffering from drought, 

 draw loam away with a hoe to form a 

 large saucer. Allow the hose to run into 

 this. After the water has soaked away, 

 push back the dry soil. This is better 

 than playing the hose on the surface 

 soil. 



Keep amaryllis quite dry now in a 

 fairly sunny spot. 



If you have not ordered your early 

 Lilium Harrisii, freesias, Eoman hya- 

 cinths and Paper Whites, do so at an 

 early date. 



Hybrid roses outdoors are now in sea- 

 son. A hosing overhead these warm 

 evenings will refresh them and keep 

 aphis in check. 



Cut spikes of outdoor-grown candidum 

 lilies and place them in water just be- 

 fore the first buds open. They will ex- 

 pand as well as on the plant and in a 

 cool room keep much better. 



Keep hydrangeas in tubs well soaked 

 with water. Peed liberally to secure 

 large flower heads. 



Pot on seedling tuberous begonias and 

 gloxinias to flower in August and Sep- 

 tember. 



Keep plenty of moisture in the houses 

 these warm days. 



Disbud the mums as side shoots appear 

 and stake them before they become bent 

 or broken. 



McPherson, Kan. — Chas. Simonson 

 has commenced the work of remodeling 

 and enlarging' his greenhouses. When the 

 task is complete he will have over 5,000 

 feet under glass and will have the most 

 up-to-date floral establishment for its 

 size in this part of the state. 



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Eremurui Robtutus* 



THE EREMURUS. 



This stately plant, a native of the 

 deserts in Turkestan, Asia Minor, Persia, 

 Siberia and the Himalayas, is a striking 

 object in the herbaceous garden when in 

 flower. While the price of the roots re- 

 mains moderately high, due to the slow 

 propagation of the plant, it has declined 

 considerably during the last few years, 

 and whereas five years ago eremuri were 

 looked upon as novelties, they are now 

 to be met with in many gardens and are 

 listed by a good number of American 

 dealers. The notable exhibits of these 

 plants for a number of years by Veitch's, 

 of London, drew public attention to their 

 merits. Last year a collection staged 

 at one of the exhibitions of the Massa- 

 chusetts Horticultural Society received a 

 silver gilt medal. Thesp were grown 

 several hundred miles north of Boston, 

 showing that they can be successfully 

 grown in the coldest portion of our New 

 England states. 



September is a good month in which 

 to plant the eremuri, but they can be 

 moved with safety while the ground is 

 open. Great care is needed in lifting 

 them, as the large, octopus-like roots are 

 easily broken. While the plants appear 

 to thrive in any good garden soil, a com- 



post containing a good proportion of 

 meadow muck, leaf-mold and well rooted 

 cow manure seems especially suitable. 

 The land should be well drained and the 

 crowns buried eight to ten inches deep, 

 A coating of leaves should be placed 

 over the crowns after the ground freezes, 

 and as growth commences very early in 

 the spring and tn3 young shoots are 

 liable to injury from late frosts and 

 cutting winds, it is well to leave a mulch- 

 ing round the plants until early in May, 

 A few short pine or spruce boughs also 

 may be stuck in the ground around the 

 plants for protection. 



The tall, naked flower scapes are ter- 

 minated by racemes two to four feet 

 in length, of yellow, white, pink or red- 

 dish brown flowers. The leaves are long 

 and linear, dying down a few weeks after 

 the plants have flowered. The flower 

 scapes need no supporting unless the 

 mistake has been made of planting them 

 in a wind-swept location. The plants 

 produce seeds with great freedom, which, 

 if sown when ripe, germinate readily. It 

 takes five to seven years to flower them 

 from seed, however, and few have the 

 patience to wait so long. Division of th« 

 root is the usual means of propagation. 



Probably the best known eremurus is 



