12 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Deckmbeii 19, 1»07. 



:•/';•: 



a turn in a nursery where 100,000 bulbs 

 of this were grown annually. They were 

 placed thickly together in boxes, which 

 were piled one on another and covered 

 with ashes outdoors. Before the foli- 

 age was too crowded, the bulbs were 



placed in 4i/i>-in(h pots, and had a ready 

 sale at a good price. This is a rough- 

 and-ready method of tulip growing, but 

 it answered well, and should be worth 

 adopting where labor is scarce and space 

 at a preininm. 





SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



Winter Protection. 



Where the needful winter protection 

 has not yet been given, it would be well 

 to afford it as soon as possible. We may 

 expect zero temperatures with some regii- 

 larity, notwithstanding all predictions of 

 weather sharps about a mild winter. Pan- 

 sies winter very well outdoors in many 

 places in the coldest eastern states if on 

 well drained ground where no water will 

 lie, and mulched lightly with leaves or 

 straw kept in position by hemlock or pine 

 boughs. A heavy covering is hurtful; so 

 merely cover the plants. Similar protec- 

 tion should be given hollyhocks and any 

 other biennials or perennials of doubtful 

 hardiness. 



Khododendrons, more especially the Ca- 

 tawbiense hybrids, need protection for a 

 few years after being planted in the 

 colder states, and in very severe locations 

 will require covering every winter. A 

 heavy mulching of leaves, well packed in 

 among the bushes, will keep the roots 

 moist and prevent their becoming frozen. 

 A framework covering of evergreen 

 boughs above the tops of the rhododen- 

 drons makes an ideal protection. The 

 great damage comes late in the winter, 

 when we get severe frosts followed by 

 warm, bright days. This is the time when 

 the covering is of the greatest service. 

 There are a number of so-called ironclad 

 American hybrids, all Catawbiense hy- 

 brids raised in Europe, which, once well 

 established and given some shade from 

 the morning sun, will not need protec- 

 tion. Such sorts as Delicatissimum, Al- 

 bum elegans, Eoseum elegans, Everestia- 

 num, Charles Dickens, C. S. Sargent, Ket- 

 tledrum, Caractacus and some others are 

 included in this list. 



Preparing Christmas Plants. 



All florists do a considerable pot plant 

 trade at Christmas, if at all, especially if 

 the weather is not too severe. All salable 

 plants should be gotten into as present- 

 able a shape as possible. Scrub pots 

 clean; dirty pots are aniabomination and 

 any.one sending out such to customers de- 

 serves a severe calling down. Do any nec- 

 essary staking and remove dead or dying 

 foliage. Even a plant but moderately 

 well grown looks presentable under these 

 conditions. If you have a small division 

 you can use in which to display your best 

 pot plants, all the better. Even a bench 

 with a nice assortment will be more apt 

 to create buying than the same plants 

 would be if scattered here and there over 

 your establishment. 



While flowering plants take precedence 

 over foliage varieties at Christmas, there 

 is usually some call for palms, Boston 

 and other forns, araucarias, ficus and 

 other sorts. Ferns in shallow pans for 



tables are gpnerally in demand, as are 

 the same pans if filled with colored 

 leaved plants in variety. These should 

 have been filled some days ago. Light 

 and graceful palms, such as Cocos Wed- 

 delliana, make suitable subjects for cen- 

 terpieces. See that the leaves are clean 

 on all foliaged plants. 



Christmas weather is a variable quan- 

 tity, some years below zero and probably 

 a year later warm enough for frogs to 

 peep and bluebirds to sing. In all like- 

 lihood, however, plants you sell will re- 

 quire wrapping up, and in sharp, frosty 

 weather use plenty of paper and see that 

 no plants are allowed to go out if insuf- 

 ficiently protected. Your customers have 



Tlie editor Is plsased 

 ^vhen a Reader 

 presents Ills Ideas 

 on any subject treated In 



r\/WB: 



As experience Is the beat 

 teacher, so do we 

 leam fastest by an 

 ezchansre ol experiences. 

 Many valuable points 

 are brought out 

 by discussion. 



Good penmanship, spelUngr and gram- 

 mar, thouff h Uealrable, are not neces- 

 sary. Write as you would talk when 

 doing your best. 



WK SHALL. BK OLAD 

 TO HEAR FROM TOU. 



a right to expect to receive plants in as 

 good shape as when they viewed them at 

 the greenhouses or store. Unless you are 

 something of a floral artist, do not essay 

 to decorate with ribbons. We have al- 

 ways hitherto failed to see much beauty 

 in this ornamentation, although some- 

 times the judicious use of a little ribbon 

 will make a rather miserable looking 

 plant present a better appearance, but 

 well grown specimens need none of this 

 decoration. 



Mijfnonette. 



You should have some fine spikes of 

 mignonette for the holidays if your 

 plants are from seed sown early in Aug- 



ust and have been grown cool. It is the 

 height of folly to attempt any gentle 

 forcing at any time, for mignonette sim- 

 ply will not endure it. A temperature of 

 45 degrees at night is ample. Attend to 

 the necessary disbudding and supporting 

 and, as the benches are now well filled 

 with roots, a surfacing of well decayed 

 cow manure broken up finely and spread 

 evenly over the soil will be found bene- 

 ficial. Use great care in fumigating. 

 Mignonette is very susceptible to injury 

 from tobacco smoke, and if the leaves 

 are even slightly singed the flowers will 

 be almost unsalable. If you chance to 

 have an excellent strain of mignonette, 

 it will pay to mark and select one or 

 two of the .best spikes for seed. 



Gladioli. 



If you have some unoccupied bench 

 space and are uncertain what to do with 

 it, make a planting of gladioli. The 

 bulbs of the large flowered or Gandaven- 

 sis type are now ready. Such varieties 

 as May and Shakespeare force well. The 

 separate shades of the Groflf hybrids are 

 very pretty and Childs' fine variety, 

 America, the peer of this class, is down 

 in price sufficiently to make it profitable 

 to grow where you can secure a fair 

 price for the flower stalks. Sometimes 

 carnations die out with stem-rot and a 

 catch crop is needed. Gladioli then fill 

 the bill very nicely. Plant the bulbs 

 three inches deep. Make the rows a foot 

 apart, allowing the bulbs four inches of 

 space in the rows. 



Spiraea* 



Though sometimes called astilbe, the 

 old name of spiraea dies hard. In fact, 

 we doubt if the old name does not sur- 

 vive the new one. The newly imported 

 roots are at hand and, after being 

 soaked, exposed to frost and potted up, 

 may be stored in any place just clear of 

 freezing. In securing stock for 1908, do 

 not plant too much of the old S. Japon- 

 ica. The improved sorts, such as Queen 

 Alexandra, pink; astilboides, grandiflora, 

 Gladstone and others, are superior either 

 as pot plants or for cutting purposes. 

 Better not try any forcii% until after 

 Christmas, after which date it will begin 

 to start naturally. 



Dielytra Spectabilis. 



The well known bleeding heart, Diely- 

 tra or Dieentra spectabilis, with its deep 

 rosy red flowers, makes a pretty pot 

 plant for spring sales. While the spi- 

 raeas will stand very hard forcing, the 

 dicentras are impatient of such treat- 

 ment and should be started in gentle 

 heat, such as a carnation house would af- 

 ford. Keep them well up to the Bght 

 at all times. 



Bouvardias. 



If you have a few nicely flowered pots 

 of scarlet bouvardias, they will probably 

 sell at Christmas. Other colors will go 

 more slowly. The time was when this 

 flower was vastly more popular than it 

 is today, but even now it fills an accept- 

 able place in the market. Plants are 

 much the best gyown in benches in a 

 night temperature of 55 to 60 degrees. 

 The hose must be worked among them 

 to keep mealy bug in check, as it seems 

 to possess a peculiar liking for this 

 plant. To increase your stock and se- 

 cure strong plants for 1908, put in a 

 batch of root cuttings in a propagating 

 bed. Use the thickest portions of the 

 roots, cut in pieces about half an inch 

 long and lay them quite thickly on the 



