VVMSf*!'" 



Septembeb 26, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



u 



Establtthment of Peter Sroczynskit Chicago. 



determination to become a good citi- 

 zen and a successful florist. He im- 

 mediately began work for Mr. Gorkey, 

 at $15 per month, but later was as- 

 sociated with Sam Pearce, and to this 

 day he says that Mr. Pearce is the 

 man who pointed out to him the road 

 to success. In the latter part of August 

 it was sixteen years since Mr. Sroczynski 

 started in business for himself and the 

 anniversary was celebrated in appro- 

 priate style. 



GERBERA JAMESONI. 



E. Adnet, of Antibes, writing in the 

 Revue Horticole, describes his experience 

 with Gerbera Jamesoni, and shows that, 

 like other composites, it is likely to af- 

 ford interesting variations in the form 

 and coloring of the blooms. The red 

 color already varies from the deepest 

 orange to pure scarlet ; also a beginning 

 in the doubling of the florets has been 



noted. The plant requires much nutri- 

 ment and a porous and not too heavy 

 soil. It is easily injured by much mois- 

 ture, but applications of manure water 

 when the plants are in full growth are 

 followed by good results. The collar 

 must be placed slightly above the ground 

 level when planted, this part being other- 

 wise liable to be injured by moisture. In- 

 crease by means of seed is preferable to 

 division of the root-stock. Fresh seed 

 vegetates from ninety to ninety-five per 

 cent in the course of five to eight days. 

 The young seedlings are particularly im- 

 patient of excess of moisture. Under 

 suitable cultivation they flower when 

 about five months old. The plant is em- 

 ployed in the south of France for filling 

 groups and beds and for furnishing 

 blooms for cutting. The florists are hop- 

 ing to obtain a dwarf, compact-habited 

 race, with a less tender constitution and 

 greater vigor in growth than the type. 



CARNATION NOTES -WEST. 



Supporting the Plants. 



After you have finished cleaning the 

 plants of what dead leaves there may 

 have been, and also the soil of weeds, 

 so there will be little w:eeding needed 

 until toward spring, it will be time to 

 put your supports in place. The plants 

 will be bearing some blooms from now 

 on, and while they are not as yet very 

 valuable, it pays to keep them off the 

 ground. The plants, too, will be better 

 off for being kept growing upright. 



In case of early planting it may pay 

 to keep the early flower shoots topped 

 back, but when plants are housed in Au- 

 gust or later I believe it pays to allow 

 the blooms to come, even though you 

 may have little sale for them. There 

 will be less tendency to crop, and while 

 the crop may never be enormously heavy, 

 it will be more steady through the sea- 

 son, and usually more satisfactory. 



Growers who have a steady trade to sup- 

 ply will agree that nothing is more dis- 

 concerting than to have an oversupply of 

 a certain color for a few weeks and then 

 suddenly, a decided shortage. You will 

 usually find the one followed by the 

 other. This is especially true with vari- 

 eties which are inclined to stool out and 

 grow what is usually termed grassy. 



As to supports, there are many styles 

 and methods, and each has its advocates. 

 For the retail grower who grows a few 

 benches of carnations and may need a 

 part of a bench at any time, the wire 

 supports are the proper method. Of 

 these there are a number of good ones to 

 choose from. The main thing to look for 

 is rigidity. A flimsy support is not 

 worth having, as it will not do what it 

 is intended for. Many large growers are 

 using these supports, too, and with good 

 results. We use our old method of wires 

 and twine, and we are in no hurry to 

 change. The main point when using this 

 method is to have the stays at the ends 

 of the bed solid. If they give an inch 

 there will be a sagging of the wires 



which will ruin its effectiveness. The 

 wires should be quite tight and they 

 should not be too heavy, else their own 

 weight will prevent them from being 

 drawn quite tight. Do not economize by 

 using only one strand of twine to each 

 row of plants, as we have seen done. 

 Two strands are required and less will 

 not do the work. You will need three 

 tiers of these wires, or, if you use wire 

 supports, you will need three rings. So, 

 when you lay them in, provide for that 

 many. A bench of plants that are only 

 half supported never looks well and will 

 never give the returns that it would if 

 the plants were supported properly. 



Occasionally we see plants unsupported 

 away up to the middle of the winter, 

 which is rank folly. The supports should 

 be put in place before the plants have 

 made very much growth, else while the 

 supports are put in place the plants will 

 be pulled around and half-grown stems 

 will be standing crooked instead of up- 

 right, and the next crop will be any- 

 thing but satisfactory. The old proverb, 

 ' ' A stitch in time saves nine, ' ' certainly 

 applies here. 



We hear of a few houses which are 

 still unplanted. Plants housed after this 

 date should not be expected to yield a 

 first-class crop for the holidays. That 

 a large per cent of the proper season's 

 yield will be lost goes without saying. 

 The heavy crop will come toward spring 

 instead of midwinter, and instead of 

 good sales at good prices the market will 

 likely be draggy and prices low. Conse- 

 quently there will be a poor chance for 

 profit. A. F. J. Baur. 



CONGRESS OF HORTICULTURE. 



The Jamestown exposition is the cen- 

 ter of horticultural interest this week. 

 In addition to the Congress of Horti- 

 culture, held under the auspices of the 

 National Council of Horticulture, upon 

 invitation of the Exposition company 

 and the Norfolk Horticultural and Po- 

 mological Society, there are the regular 

 conventions of the American Pomolog- 

 ieal Society, the American Nut Growers' 

 Association, the Society for Horticul- 

 tural Science and the Federation of Hor- 

 ticultural Societies. These names have 

 a scientific sound and, indeed, those of 

 the trade are in the minority in most of 

 the societies, but the meetings have 

 called a number of florists, see<lsmen and 

 nurserymen to Jamestown this week and 

 on the program of each of the meetings 

 one or more business growers has a 



