32 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



; -I'V 



Alqlst 22. 1907. 



The Mold in Place for the Wittbold Cement Bench. 



good-keeping root; foliage rampant, 

 growth somewhat resembling a fern ; im- 

 mense spikes of gloxinia-like flowers. 

 If you plant 500 strong roots, the flow- 

 ers will absolutely come in bloom the 

 same 6ay. It is claimed by some that 

 the roots are hardy. 



Madeira vine bulbs keep almost in- 

 definitely and are, therefore, a good bulb 

 for store trade. 



Why the montbretia is so neglected, I 

 cannot tell. It has many good quali- 

 ties, is easier to raise, easier to keep, 

 and will continue in flower much longer, 

 than the gladiolus. The sprays are ex- 

 ceedingly graceful and beautiful. The 

 newer varieties are very striking. The 

 bulbs are nearly hardy. 



The summer-flowering varieties of oxa- 

 lis are largely planted and have some 

 merit, while the winter-blooming sorts, as 

 lutea, Bowiei and the so-called Bermuda 

 buttercup, are among the best of the 

 winter-flowering plants. 



Peonies and Dahlias. 



Can I tell the members of the Peony 

 Society anything about peonies? I think 

 not; but, by the way, it just occurs to me 

 to say that I have i>ought during the 

 last three or four years, from the most 

 reliable firms who raise peonies, some 

 twelve or fifteen of the best varieties, 

 several plants of each kind, for my 

 private garden. When they bloomed this 

 year, should you take out four of the 

 best colors there would be nothing worth 

 speaking of left. Marie Lemoine is what 

 I call a good peony. 



Dahlias, as we very well know, are an 

 important class of plants. These alone 

 could be made the subject of a long talk. 

 At one time there was a dahlia society; 

 perhaps there is now. I will only touch 

 on a few points. Many seedlings will 

 bloom the first year, ilany beautiful 

 varieties of dahlias produce few flowers. 

 With all the many varieties, a sort that 

 will commence to bloom early and con- 

 tinue through the season, with a profu- 

 sion of bloom, and do it every year, will 

 always have some value. It is a well- 

 known fact that the single sorts are the 

 most reliable bloomers and produce the 

 most flowers. 



Notwithstanding the fact that bulbs 

 and bulbous and fleshy-rooted plants 

 form the most important division of 

 flowers, they have never had such close 

 attention from our professional class as 

 cut flowers, simply because there is not 

 the money in them. They are slower to 



produce, and the outlet is through smal- 

 ler channels, than if they belonged to 

 the more profitable branches of the pro- 

 fession. 



A Point for Catalogue Men. 



There arc two points I wi?h to bring 

 to the attention of the profession and 

 the venders of its products. 



We all catalogue the different kinds 

 of bulbs as though they were ready for 

 delivery at the same time, and in most 

 cases we try to deliver them. Is it not 

 about time we should state after the 

 description of certain bulbs that they 

 can only be delivered at such and such 

 times f And should not the buyers be 

 taught to wait until the bulbs are in 

 condition to deliver, instead of insisting 

 that they all be delivered at once? 



Is it not about time that reliable 

 firms shouhl state that such and such 

 varieties will never bloom, or, if in a 

 very rare case they do bloom, that they 

 are not good for anything? Millions of 

 Anomatheca cruenta have been sold. 

 Should five out of a hundred of these 

 bloom, as poor as the flower is, it would 

 be a large percentage. Seedling gladio- 

 lus has been sent to this country for 

 this plant. How many people here have 

 seen Lilium Humboldtii, L. Washingto- 

 nianum and L. parvum bloom? I have 

 never seen twelve spikes of these varie- 

 ties of lilies outside of California, and 

 I have sold tens of thousands of the 

 bulbs, and exported a number each year. 

 This will serve for an evening-up process. 



Hardy Lilies. 



Lilium pardalinum from California is 

 a good-keeping, free, and sure-flowering 

 lily. Ninety-five per cent of the bulbs 

 should bloom. 



Lilium Parryi is a very handsome yel- 

 low variety from California and is not 

 difficult to bloom. The California bulbs, 

 like Calochortus, brodiaeas, Erithroni- 

 um, Camassias, are all beautiful things 

 and really can be flowered if their l-e- 

 quirements of cultivation are met. 



On the line of Lilium Humboldtii, I 

 will ask, what is the use of selling Lilium 

 candidum in the spring? And yet many 

 do it. 



I suppose it would be well to mention 

 what I consider the most valuable varie- 

 ties, or species, of lilies. The auratums 

 and varieties are a magnificent class and 

 very popular with most amateurs. You 

 may as well say that the bulbs of the 

 auratum cannot be grown in this coun- 

 try but are imported each year. The 

 varieties of speciosum'I consider some 

 of the most reliable sorts for the ama- 

 teur to plant. 



Double tiger and single tiger and our 

 native lilies, Canadense and superbum, 

 are being used in greater quantities each 

 year, on large estates and in gardens 

 of all kinds. They are low in price, 

 reliable bloomers, and very graceful, par- 

 ticularly Canadense. ■ 



The Lilium elegans, L. umbellatum, 

 and L. Thunbergianum are very reliable 

 bloomers, bulbs easy growers and good 

 keepers, and many varieties are very 

 handsome. 



Florist/ Most Important Lilies. 



Of course, we could easily talk all day 

 on the lilium family, but we shall have 

 to stop somewhere. Lilium candidum 

 and what is known as the Bermuda East- 

 er lily are the most important ones for 

 florists' use. Lilium candidum should 

 be planted outside, the latter part of 

 September. To me, it is a more beau- 

 tiful lily than the Bermuda Easter lily. 

 There are several varieties of candidum, 

 but the broad scale, large bulb variety 

 raised in the north of France is the only 

 one worth forcing. There has been more 

 said, and more can be said, on the Ber- 

 muda Easter lily than ten such papers 

 as this would contain. I think the sub- 

 ject has been pretty well thrashed out 

 up to the present time. 



Many varieties of lilies have been 

 dropped from the lists of late years, 

 which is probably a good thing. Many 

 sorts could be furnished in good condi- 



Corks for Drainage in the Wittbold Cement Bencli. 



