V^ i. •"^^^•^'-: 



26 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



Deccmueb 12, 1907. 



.■H-^r 



other varietiee. They also will sell better 

 later in the winter. 



Some of the Dutch hyacinths will now 

 be well sprouted and a few can be in- 

 troduced to heat. Draw them up well 

 before exposing them to the light. While 

 you have them in the dark, be careful 

 not to pour water in the center of the 

 growths or the tender flower spikes may 

 decay. 



In addition to Trumpet Major narcis- 

 sus, Golden Spur should now be ready 

 for housing if placed in flais. Princeps 

 also comes in early, but while cheap, is a 

 rather flimsy flower. 



Boman hyacinths want little forcing 

 now. They are better opened in a cool 

 house. One about 50 degrees at night 

 is warm enough. Paper Whites can 

 stand a little more forcing, but should 

 not be kept in a warm house after the 

 flowers start to open. 



Weathtr reports indicate that winter 

 set in over a considerable section of the 

 continent early in December. In the 

 colder states, if the stock of bulbous 

 plants is plunged outdoors and has not 

 yet been protected, no time should be 

 lost in affording the necessary covering. 

 It is true we may have spells of open 

 weather, but do not be lured by these 

 mild intervals. 



When the ground is hard frozen is a 

 suitable time to apply a mulching of 

 leaves or coarse strawy manure to bulb 

 beds outdoors. Do not make the cover- 

 ing a heavy one. The mulch is less for 

 protection than it is for preventing the 

 heaving of the ground after thaws. 



Azaleas. 



Christmas will soon be here and it be- 

 hooves us to look carefully after our 

 azaleas wanted at that season. Some of 

 the varieties, such as Hexe and Deutsche 

 Perle, will flower without hard forcing, 

 but other sorts will take considerable 

 pushing to time them rightly. Bemove 

 to a cooler house any which you are 

 sure will be flowered sufficiently. Give 

 the more backward ones frequent spray- 

 ings and a night temperature of 65 de- 

 grees. 



Poinsettias. 



Poinsettias are the most brilliant of 

 Christmas decorative plants. Pans of 

 well grown plants, which should be stocky 



and furnished with foliage to the 

 ground, are good sellers. If your foliage 

 is not what it might be, mix a few 

 nephrolepis ferns in among the poin- 

 settias, or any other common fern you 

 may have in small pots. 



As the bracts ^ould now be pretty 

 well developed, gradually lower the tem- 

 perature to 52 to 55 degrees at night. 

 This will harden the plants somewhat 

 and they will not mind the change, if 

 not too sudden. Do not give them a 

 lower temperature than this, or a loss 

 of foliage will be the result. Water 

 carefully and especially avoid an over- 

 supply. Try to k^p your foliage good, 

 and even if the bracts are not large the 

 plants will sell. 



Berried Plants. 



Ardisia crenulata is probably the best 

 of the Christmas berried plants. It 

 takes several years to grow a salable 

 plant, so we never find an oversupply in 

 the market. The berries hang on the 

 plant almost a year. The leaves are 

 tough and the ardisia will stand much 

 ill treatment without resenting it. They 

 do well in a cool house now, but can 

 be grown warmer while ripening the 

 berries. 



The Jerusalem cherry, as Solanum 

 capsicastrum is called, is an easily grown 

 berried plant w^ich can be sold at a 

 popular price at the holidays. Let the 

 plants have plenty of water and grow 

 them cool. Christmas and Chili peppers 

 have some call at Christmas, but are 

 less desirable than ardisias and solanums, 

 and do not make nearly so good pot 

 plants. 



English hollies are now arriving and 

 some of them are finely berried. The 

 beat are grown in small tubs, but some 

 are shipped with a ball, and if potted or 

 tubbed at once and kept well watered, 

 will soon look as bright as the estab- 

 lished ones. The same applies to Aucuba 

 Japonica, Skimmia Japonica and other 

 berry-bearing shrubs, which are mostly 

 imported at this time and make desir- 

 able stock for the festive season. These 

 imported shrubs, if they can be kept in 

 a cold greenhouse a few days before 

 going to the store, will wear better. 



Primulas. 



Chinese primroses, especially of scarlet 



and crimson shades, make pretty Christ- 

 mas plants. They should now be in a 

 light and airy, but not too sunny, house, 

 kept at 45 to 50 degrees at night. A 

 warmer house will draw them too much. 

 These primulas must not be overwatered 

 and should never be sprayed overhead. 

 Primula obconica, apart from its poison- 

 ous effects on some people, is a useful, 

 cheap holiday plant. The brighter shades 

 will sell the most freely at this season. 

 Its persistent flowering qualities make 

 it specially valuable as a house plant. 

 We now hear little of the so-called but- 

 tercup primrose and the baby primrose, 

 P. Forbesi, has a decreasing band of 

 admirers. The newer P. Kewensis, of a 

 golden yellow color, promises, however, 

 to be a useful winter-flowering plant, al- 

 though it is not at its best until the 

 end of January. All the primulas need 

 cool, airy treatment and a dry atmos- 

 phere. 



Cyclamen. 



Cyclamens always prove one of the 

 best winter-flowering plants for store 

 sales, and any who have a batch with at 

 least a few flowers open on each for 

 Christmas will easily dispose of them. 

 Like primulas, cyclamens dislike cod- 

 dling. To keep them stocky grow them 

 cool and airy. The sun we get at this 

 season is beneficial to them. Do not at- 

 tempt the forcing of backward- plants. 

 You will only ruin them. 



How are next year's seedlings coming 

 on? Do not allow them to become pot- 

 bound, nor should they be left in their 

 flats too long. They can be grown a few 

 degrees warmer than the flowering size 

 plants. 



Lorraine Begonias. 



That popular begonia, Lorraine, is 

 now somewhat overdone and does not 

 sell so well as a few years ago. At 

 that time few had mastered the grow- 

 ing of them and, while everyone cannot 

 handle them creditably today, many 

 more growers are able to produce fairly 

 good plants. In common with all flower- 

 ing stock needed for sales, the tempera- 

 tures in the houses should be reduced or 

 the plants moved to cooler quarters. 

 P'ifty degrees at night is now ample 

 for Lorraines, although 10 to 15 degrees 

 higher suits them better prior to the 



A Raffia Hamper and the Leichen Covered Wooden Shoes. 



