12 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Ai (iisT i; 



I'JOT 



will always 1)0 fuund llio chfaiiost and 

 inosi, jirolitablf ill the ciul. 



]''la1s three inches in depth, (ir pans, 

 may ho used to sow the se<'ds in. If 

 any cimsidcrable <juanti1y is to he sown, 

 tlats aic the best. l*nt in }^ood draina^r(. 

 and over this place a little rou<Th turf 

 or moss. Halt each scrcenetl turfy loam 

 and leaf-mold, \\itli some powdered char- 

 coal and sand added, makes a suitable 

 compost. Smooth the surface over with 

 a lifiht pief<' of hoard liel'ore sowing (1h> 

 seciJs. 



The general plan is to sow the seeds 

 quite thickly, transplant to other flats 

 when large enor.jih to handle, and later 

 pot on. A better method is to sow the 

 seeds one and a half to two inches apart 

 each ■vvay, sinjjly, and allow them to 

 l,frow into Juce little j)laiits in the flats 

 before shifting them. Try this plan and 

 see if it iloos not prove more satisfactory 

 than the one <;eueially adopted. The 

 seeds nc'd little covering. A line dust- 

 ing of sand over them will be found 

 sullicient. \Vater through a tine sprin- 

 kler after sowing, and jdace the Hats in 

 the ])ropagating house or any structure 

 wheie they can be well up to the light 

 but shaded from the sun. T'over the 

 ilats with news|ia]»eis, or hang some 

 scrimp cloth over them until the little 

 seedlings germinate. Then, if possible, 

 place on a slidf well up to the light, but 

 shadc<l. A moderateh warm and moist 



of the plants liecoiniii- putbouiid bcd'ore 

 you can bench them. There is no need 

 to keep the plants in the greenhouse. 

 They will do lietter in a frame and when 

 well rooted may be stood outdoors for 

 some six AM'cks. taking care to water 

 them ]u-oi)erly. If yoit ha\(' a bench un- 

 occupied you can plant out at any time 

 and thus get in a nice crop for Christ- 

 mas and .lauuary trade. 



Do not make the mistake ot jilantiug 

 on a low side bench. Snajidragoiis need 

 mit less than four to five feet of head- 

 room if first-class spikes are wanted. 



Cuttings may still be jait in where 

 plants are desired for spring blooming. 

 Take cuttings from the plants carrying 

 the finest s])ikes. The advantage of cut- 

 tings over seedlings is that tlie former 

 are absolutely true to color and strain, 

 while the latter usually come consider- 

 ably mixed. A good plan is to sow seeds 

 in J^Vbruarj' or ]\larch. Set the seedlings 

 outdoors in May, mark the most desir- 

 able jdants and cut these back a short 

 lime before you need a crop of nice cut- 

 tings. In the case of antirrhintuns, pure 

 while, jiink, bright red and yellow prove 

 the most pojmlar market colors. Mixed 

 bunches will lie t'cuind hard to sell unless 

 the grower has a letail trade, where he 

 can utilize them, .\ntirrliiiuims make a 

 good successidii crdji to ctirysanthemums. 

 If the soil in which the latter have been 

 grown is nuxed willi a inating of wi'U- 



The Pot-making Machine of Fifty Years Ago. 



atjuosidieie will assist germination. Later 

 cnohr and airier conditions arc essential. 



Antirrhinums. 



Cuttings of antirrhinum \<\\t in late in 

 •Tunc or early in .luly should now be 

 growing nicely in 2C,-inch or .'i-inch pots. 

 Keep thejn pimdied ami yive a further 

 sin ft with '1-inch i>ots if there is danger 



iridw 



rotted maimre or fertilizer it will 

 splendid snapdragons. 



Early Bulbous Plants. 



You have probably started a batch of 

 fiecsias. Do not put all the l)iilbs in the 

 soil at once. Iiut make successive plant- 

 iiiiXS a month apart until October. 



Koman hyacinths and Paper Whites 



are now arriving and no time should bo 

 lost in getting in a good batch, as rec- 

 ommended in these notes in a late issue. 

 Lilium candidum will arrive in a few 

 days. More of it should be grown, but 

 it wants radically different treatment 

 from Harrisii or longiflorum. Do not 

 plant it in a greenhouse bench or failure 

 will result. A successful method is to 

 put three bulbs in a 7-inch or 8-inch pot, 

 according to the size of the bulbs. Let 

 the soil come an inch or more over tho 

 tops of the bulbs. After potting, stand 

 outdoors in full sun, soak with water 

 and keep fairly moist all the time. Tho 

 bulbs will commence to root and make 

 leaves at once. Keep outdoors until 

 quite sharp frost threatens to break the 

 pots, then stand in a coldframe and 

 house about January 1, if you want your 

 flowers for Easter. A temperature of 50 

 degrees at night is ample. Bulbs may 

 be grown in boxes or singly in 6-inch 

 pots, but larger pots will give better 

 results. 



Planting Evergreens. 



From the middle of August to he end 

 of the month is a suitable time to move 

 evergreens. There is an increasing ten- 

 dency to somewhat relieve the spring 

 pressure by doing as much of the work 

 as possible in August. The work should 

 not be attempted in dry weather unless 

 there are facilities for soaking the balls 

 before lifting and after planting. As 

 frequently happens, however, we get 

 damp, cloudy spells in August, which are 

 ideal for the replanting of evergreens. 

 Tn digging evergreens every effort should 

 be made to get as nice a ball of earth 

 as possible. Cover the ball with burlap 

 to prevent drying out at the root. Of 

 course, it pays to prepare a hole of 

 generous size for all trees and shrubs, 

 substituting loam for gravel, sand or 

 stones. It is better not to use manure, 

 but if any is mixed in the compost it 

 should be old and well decayed. 



After the shrubs or trees are placed 

 in their new locations and a little soil 

 has been carefully tramped about the 

 roots, soak well with the hose or by 

 pouring several pails of water in. Let 

 this settle before filling in the balance 

 of the soil. Be sure to tramp firmly. 

 Loosely planted stock will never thrive. 

 Mulch with old manure, straw or leaves. 

 After planting leave a saucer-like cavity 

 so that you can give them additional 

 soakings if droughty conditions prevail, 

 and a hosing overhead each evening will 

 be V>eneficiai. 



Kvergreens can be made to grow with- 

 out so much fussing, but attention to 

 these little details will make success 

 much more certain. In addition to pines, 

 spruces, arbor vitfrs. retinosporas and 

 other coniferous evergreens, kalmias, 

 rhododendrons, Azalea amo'iia and an- 

 dromodas do as well transplanted at this 

 season as in spring if they arc not kept 

 long lint of the ground. 



Brief Reminders. 



I'oinsettia cuttings should not Ite put 

 in after this date. Keep rooted stock 

 potted on, finish any bench planting and 

 get a good supply of serviceable sized 

 pans filled. Grow the plants cool for 

 some time yet. 



Show pelargotiiums should all be on 

 their sides resting and can be pruned 

 back towards the end of the month and 

 restarted. 



Keep plying the hoe constantly among 

 growing crops. Notice how fast thev 

 grow after stirring among and how they 



