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The Weekly Florists^ Review! 



July 18, 1907. 



4 



tion of stable manure is what I have 

 used, and as soon as the roots are round 

 the pots it is almost impossible to be too 

 liberal with liquid manure. The usual 

 remedies for the preveiition of mildew, 

 greenfly, etc., must be applied. If the 

 stock plants are kept well dusted with 

 sulphur and lime, it will not be necessary 

 to disfigure the plants that are growing 

 on for flowering. 



MYOSOTIS. 



Will myosotis sown now in a green- 

 house do to sell from pots or a frame in 

 the spring? C. U. 



Myosotis sown now, preferably in a 

 coldframe, will give excellent plants by 

 next spring's sales. If you have any old 

 plants on hand, they can also be readily 

 propagated from cuttings. Cover the 

 seed lightly, water well and keep well 

 shaded until the little plants are above 

 ground, then gradually move them to full 

 sun. M. palustris is an excellent hardy 

 variety. C. W. 



A NASTURTIUM BORDER. 



The accompanying illustration is re- 

 produced from a photograph taken at 

 the place of Weeks & Co., Sawtelle, near 

 Los Angeles, Cal., and shows a novel 

 use of the nasturtium. The chamserops 

 is commonly used in that section for 

 avenue planting. But the special feature 

 is the border of nasturtiums, which has 

 been this summer one of the finest dis- 

 plays imaginable and has attracted wide 

 attention. Practically every person see- 

 ing it has been enthusiastic in praise of 

 the effect and few have known that 

 there were so many varieties of nastur- 

 tiums. The beds contain altogether, of 

 both tall and dwarf sorts, some eighty 

 different kinds, the flowers including al- 

 most every color found in nature, and the 

 foliage also varies greatly in shades of 

 green. So successful has this border 

 been that thfere is demand for others like 

 it in the neighborhood. 



FORC3NG VALLEY. 



Fresh Stock. 



Growers with only a small amount of 

 glass will be well advised to take up 

 the culture of lily of the valley, and to 

 use both the retarded crowns, a batch 

 of which should be started into growth 

 regularly each week of the year, and the 

 fresh crowns, which can be forced from 

 Christmas until the end of March. 



As to cultivation, this is a matter 

 needing very careful attention, coupled 

 with a general knowledge of the usual 

 methods employed. The crowns are re- 

 ceived from abroad during November 

 and can be forced into growth in order 

 to bloom from Christmas to the end of 

 March. These crowns can either be 

 packed in damp moss and stored in a 

 cold place, or they can be trenched in, 

 without parting thfe bundles, in the open 

 ground. Frost will not in any way in- 

 jure the growth; in fact, some growers 



The Kdltor Is pleased 

 when a Reader 

 presents his Ideas 

 on any subject treated in 



eVEO^ 



As experience is the best 

 teacher, so do -wn 

 learn fastest by an 

 exchanee of experiences. 

 Many valuable points 

 are brought out 

 by discussion. 



Good penmanship, spelling' and grram- 

 mar, tboucrh desirable, are not neces- 

 sary. Write as you would talk when 

 dolner your best. 



WK SHALL BX GLAD 

 TO HKAR VROM TOU. 



say it is necessary they should be sub- 

 jected to frost before they can be forced 

 to the best advantage. 



They can be potted or boxed in quan- 

 tities as required. The boxes should be 

 made about five inches deep, and the 

 crowns given about two inches space 

 each way in planting. Any good, clean 

 and sweet garden soil is suitable as a 

 potting medium, if made freely porous 

 by the addition of sand; and, if neces- 

 sary, this soil can be used many times 

 over, provided it is allowed to stand in 

 a heap and turned over occasionally to 

 sweeten before it is used again. Each 

 time a little fresh soil may be added as 



occasion may require. Place the boxed 

 crowns under glass in a dark place; 

 under a bench is the usual situation, 

 with a screen to keep out the light. The 

 atmospheric temperature for the first two 

 or three days should be of about 70 

 degrees, after which it may be kept at 

 90 degrees continuously. 



As soon as the flower spikes and some 

 foliage show themselves the plants can 

 be placed on the bench, and the bench 

 or space below be filled up with another 

 batch of crowns, but at no time should 

 they be exposed to much light. While 

 they are growing on the bench they 

 should still be grown in from 80 degrees 

 to 90 degrees of heat, but when the 

 flower spike is well expanded a lower 

 temperature of about 60 degrees, or even 

 less, will be suitable. If they are not 

 hardened off in this manner they will 

 not stand cutting so well and the spikes 

 will not last so long, nor will they stand 

 up so stiff and straight. 



Retarded Pips. 



The cultivation of retarded crowns is on 

 many points different from that adopted 

 for the fresh ones. The soil, type of 

 boxes and the system of culture in the 

 dark are the same, but in the matter of 

 temperatures a great difference exists. 

 Eetarded crowns should not be grown in 

 more than 60 degrees of atmospheric 

 heat, and they should never be subjected 

 to bottom heat. For retarded plants, 

 heating by mean'^of pipes running down 

 the paths and not directly under the 

 benches is the most suitable. The fault 

 with this system is that it subjects the 

 crowns to too much heat. Growers are 

 apt to lose sight of the fact that re- 

 tarded crowns do not require forcing, 

 but rather checking in growth after they 

 are taken from the ice. The buds are 

 ready and impatient to grow in a normal 

 temperature without artificial heat. If, 

 when the crowns are received from the 

 refrigerator, they are not thawed, this 

 should be done gradually, and in sum- 

 mer an outside shed is the most suitable 

 place. 



After the crowns, fresh or retarded, 

 are boxed and growing, they require dur- 

 ing the whole period of forcing an 

 abundance of water at the roots; the 

 atmosphere of the house must be kept 

 constantly damp, and the floors and path- 

 ways wet. — Gardeners' Chronicle. 



The Review gives its advertisers quick 

 results. — G. Fbed Bav^kle, Lansing, 

 Mich. 



The Nasturtium as a Bolder flant as Used in CaHfornia. 



