jANtJABT 30, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



27 



are pushing, when the supply can be 

 gradually increased. The plants like 

 plenty of air, especially in summer, and 

 will require some shade from March to 

 November. 



Dendrobium nobile and its various 

 forms, D. Ainsworthii and D. Wardia- 

 num, are some of the many fine and 

 easily grown dendrobes for winter bloom- 

 ing. Their season is February and 

 March. These will be better removed to 

 a cooler and drier house when the growths 

 are completed, where they can be kept on 

 the dry side until flower nodes appear, 

 when they could be placed in the rose 

 house again. They like plenty of water 

 while growing and enjoy syringing over- 

 head in bright weather. Such Iselias as 

 L. anceps and L. autumnalis, if they can 

 be grown during summer in a carnation 

 temperature, with but little shade, and 

 placed in a rose house in November, will 

 do well. 



Many of the cypripediums would do 



finely in such a house all the time, if they 

 could have a piece of bench and be given 

 necessary shade in summer. A few relia- 

 ble, free blooming sorts are: C. insigne, 

 C. Leeanum, C. Spicerianum and C. vil- 

 losum. Coelogyne cristata would be a 

 useful variety, blooming in February and 

 March. Oncidium ornithorhynchum, O. 

 tigrinum, O. varicosum Rogersii, O. in- 

 curvum, Phaius grandifolius, Zygopeta- 

 lum Mackaii and Vanda caerulea are oth- 

 ers which can be recommended. The ma- 

 jority of those named can be suspended 

 from the roof. The cypripediums would 

 do better on a bench, as would the phaius 

 and zygopetalums. Potting or rebasket- 

 ing is best done after the flowering sea- 

 son. "Watering can be safely done with 

 the hose on all occasions. If you do not 

 wish to shade the glass for the orchids, 

 perhaps you have another house you could 

 grow them in during the hottest months. 

 If you can grow good roses, you need 

 not be afraid to try orchids. 



W. N. Craig. 



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I 



Cannas. 



It is too early to divide and start 

 canna roots, unless you want some to 

 bloom in pots for spring trade. It is 

 surprising that these showy plants are not 

 more cultivated in pots. There would 

 seem to be no good reason why commer- 

 cial growers could not make good use of 

 them at Easter. Certainly a pot carry- 

 ing two or three stalks of blooms is very 

 effective, much more so than a number 

 of other plants commonly grown. If you 

 want to have a few in bloom for Easter, 

 lose no time in starting them in a brisk 

 heat. Do not divide to single eyes, as you 

 would for outdoor planting, but leave 

 clumps which will give two or three 

 growths each. Flower the plants in 7- 

 inch or 8-inch pots, gradually accustom- 

 ing them to cooler conditions as the flow- 

 ers open. Customers purchasing cannas 

 in pots have not by any means thrown 

 their money away, for they can be bedded 

 out later and will soon send up additional 

 shoots in rich ground. 



Look over your stock of canna roots. 

 Perhaps they are under a bench where 

 drippings from the daily waterings are 

 starting them to grow. Move any such 

 plants to drier quarters. If you want to 

 raise seedlings, the present is a suitable 

 time to sow the seeds. The majority of 

 growers do not trouble about seedlings, 

 but if you are short of stock and mixed 

 assortments will suit your customers, 

 seedlings will answer very well. Then 

 there is always the prospect, though a 

 rather remote one, that you may raise 

 something that will beat anything yet in 

 commerce. The seed of named varieties 

 comes fairly true and is offered occa- 

 sionally. Seeds should be soaked in warm 

 water for twenty- four to thirty-six hours ; 

 then cut off a little of the shell. Sow in 

 flats or pans of light, sandy compost and 

 plunge in a brisk heat. The little plants 

 •"ire not long in appearing. Pot them off 

 when large enough to handle. 



Misfnonette. 



Do not neglect the benches of mignon- 

 ette. Perhaps you have picked a fine 

 crop of robust spikes and have given the 

 plants but little care since doing so. 

 Mignonette will produce excellent spikes 

 for a long time yet if properly cared for. 

 Rub off any weak shoots. Support those 

 which have taken the lead. If they be- 

 come bent and crooked you cannot sell 

 them. Keep the soil clear of weeds. If 

 you have not given any top-dressing, 

 sprinkle some pulverized cow or sheep 

 manure over the surface. It will provide 

 some food in liquid form for the roots 

 and will also attract them to the surface. 

 Mignonette, like the majority of plants 

 grown in benches, enjoys some liquid 

 stimulant. Once a fortnight is as often 

 as it will be required yet. Keep the 

 temperature at night down to 40 to 45 

 degrees and, other conditions being right, 

 there will be plenty of this popular flower 

 for many weeks yet. 



Lobelias. 



Perhaps you carried over a few pots 

 of that useful little trailing, flowering 

 plant. Lobelia speciosa. If so, get in a 

 good batch of cuttings without delay. For 

 hanging baskets, rustic work, window 

 boxes and vases, this pretty dark blue 

 lobelia is very effective. You can raise 

 seedlings if you have no stock plants to 

 propagate from. These, however, will not 

 give you as fine a lot of plants as those 

 you get from cuttings, neither are they 

 so uniform in color. The dwarf lobelias, 

 which are so fine for carpet bedding in 

 Europe, are unfortunately not successes 

 here, except in shore and mountain re- 

 sorts, where the moisture-laden air and 

 cooler conditions are more to their liking. 



The newer race of tall lobelias make 

 excellent pot plants for spring sales. The 

 flowers are much larger than those of the 

 other sections named and attain a height 

 of nine to twelve inches. There are now 



several colors of Lobelia tenuior, or ra- 

 mosa as this new class is termed, includ- 

 ing dark blue, pale blue, white and rose. 

 For bedding out these lobelias are also 

 very useful, being of thinner growth than 

 the speciosa and gracilis section. They 

 do not rot off in hot, moist, cloudy 

 weather, as the other varieties do. Lobe- 

 lias have fine seeds and a thin dusting of 

 sand is all the covering they require. 



The perennial Lobelia cardinalis is a 

 beautiful border plant. It is the most 

 brilliant of all our herbaceous plants. It 

 is a popular fallacy that the Cardinal 

 Flower must be grown in moist ground, 

 as it is generally found in such locations 

 in a wild state. It grows splendidly in 

 any good garden soil, and by sowing seeds 

 in heat now, some of the plants will 

 bloom in the field the first year. All will 

 do so the second year, and customers see- 

 ing them in flower can hardly resist the 

 temptation to try one or two. 



Sweet Peas. 



The splendid sunshine which was vouch- 

 safed to us during the major portion of 

 January was ideal for sweet peas. The 

 early batch, which has furnished flowers 

 since Thanksgiving, is still in heavy crop 

 and will produce excellent sprays for a 

 long time yet. A good supply of water 

 is needed, and as this early crop is now 

 exhausting the soil, afford them liquid 

 manure, also a surfacing of some well 

 rotted manure. Look out for that in- 

 sidious foe of sweet peas, the red spider. 

 It is most likely to attack them in the 

 hottest part of the house, near the heat- 

 ing pipes. Use a fine sprayer on the hose 

 if it appears and do not give it any 

 quarter. 



Seeds of any of the sweet peas, sown 

 now, will come in very useful in carna- 

 tion houses or wherever there is room to 

 plant a few. They will give a nice lot of 

 flowers in late spring, at which time they 

 always sell well. It is better to sow in 

 flats and transplant, or in small pots, 

 rather than to drop a few seeds here and 

 there among other plants and expect them 

 to make satisfactory headway. A few 

 good sorts to sow now are: White, Dor- 

 othy EcKford; pink, Countess Spencer or 

 Gladys Unwin; orange-pink. Miss Will- 

 mott; red shades. Queen Alexandra or 

 Phyllis Unwin ; lavender, Mrs. W. Wright 

 or Frank Dolby; striped, Blanche Ferry; 

 mottled blue and white, Helen Pierce. 



lAntirrhinums. 



Antirrhinums carry magnificent spikes 

 when well grown. Their keeping qualities 

 in a cut state are excellent, and as their 

 culture is not difficult, it is not surpris- 

 ing to find them increasing in popularity. 

 Plants which have followed chrysanthe- 

 mums will be starting to give a few 

 spikes. Keep them tied up, for twisted 

 stems are of little value. If you want 

 extra strong stalks, it is better to rub off 

 all the shoots on a plant but three or 

 four. Attend to the disbudding of these, 

 as a swarm of side shoots will appear, 

 which will largely weaken the flower 

 stalks if left on. Mark some of your 

 finest plants and propagate stock from 

 these now. Plant them outdoors in May 

 and you will get vigorous cuttings from 

 them for next winter's crop. 



Seedling antirrhinums possess greater 

 vigor than those raised from cuttings, but 

 do not give such uniform excellence of 

 spikes as the latter. Neither do they come 

 so true from seeds. Antirrhinums will 

 run out in a few years, however, and it 

 is necessary to start fresh seedlings and 

 save the best of these for cuttings. It is 



