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The Weekly Florists* Review. 



FOBRDABX 20, 1908. 



TROUBLE WITH EARLY TULIPS. 



I have mailed you today several sam- 

 ples of tulips that I have trouble with. 

 The bulbs were of good size; I planted 

 them at the same time I planted the 

 Paper Whites and Von Sions, in the same 

 soil, and gave them all the same treat- 

 ment and same protection against frost, 

 and still the tulips are a failure. They 

 had a night temperature of 50 to 55 de- 

 grees ahd 60 to 65 degrees in the day 

 time, cjxactly the same as the Paper 

 Whites, Von Sions and Eomans. The 

 samples' I pulled out of the soil and con- 

 sequently some of the roots have been 

 broken pflf. C. L. 



The samples received were certainly 

 sickly ones. Are you quite sure that 

 your tulips had plenty of water, not only 

 just after being planted, but later? Many 

 bulb failures are directly traceable to too 

 little water. A good many growers still 

 cling to the idea that if they give a good 

 soaking at planting time, no mor^e is 

 needed until the bulbs are housed for 

 forcing. There could be no greater mis- 

 take. Dutch bulbs should be kept moist 

 at the root. They start to root imme- 

 diately after being potted or boxed, and 

 if you expect the initial watering to 

 carry them along for the matter of three 



elaborate and expensive. I would rec- 

 ommend one by William Watson, Kew, 

 England, as an inexpensive and useful 

 book. Williams ' * ' Orchid Manual " is 

 another good work. Each of these is 

 well illustrated. The latter is also an 

 English work. Bailey 's ' ' Cyclopedia pf 

 American Horticulture" contains an ex- 

 haustive and practical article on orchid 

 culture, and the needs of the various 

 genera will be found alphabetically ar- 

 ranged in this work and in Nicholson's 

 "Dictionary of Gardening." 



W.N . Cbaig. 



SPRING STOCK. 



With the lengthening days we are re- 

 minded that it becomes imperative to 

 turn our attention to the bedding stock, 

 although- as yet it is rather early for 

 many items. Geraniums that have be- 

 come leggy may be topped and the cut- 

 tings rooted. If the fall struck plants 

 have been wintered in 2^4 -inch or 2^/^- 

 inch pots, as soon as they have broken 

 again they are fit for a shift into a 3l^- 

 inch or 4-inch. Let your soil for pot- 

 ting be stony ; too large stones throw out, 

 but pot firmly, to induce stocky growth. 

 Unless you intend to specialize, do not 

 have too many varieties. A representa- 

 tive dark red, white, salmon, pink and 



pots and water freely; they will root in 

 a remarkably short time. For quantity, 

 St. Katherine and Cycle throw cuttings 

 very freely. Mrs. W. Slack, Mrs. Lang- 

 try, Mrs. Gladstone, John Bennett, Uncle 

 Tom, Ard Patrick and Keyne's White 

 make a large bunch with a few blooms, 

 besides being a good assortment of colors. 



The heliotropes and verbenas may be 

 started up, not forgetting the lemon- 

 scented variety, Aloysia citriodora. Have 

 a look around the greenhouses; the sight 

 of a plant often suggests possibilities. 

 The red and variegated tradescantia, pos- 

 sibly forgotten since last summer, or the 

 Saxifraga sarmentosa, and a few dilapi- 

 dated-looking Eex begonias, if they have 

 been worth keeping, are worth attention. 



Hydrangea cuttings, taken as soon as 

 the plants commence growth, will flower 

 during the summer. For a comparative 

 novelty, try Kochia tricophylla, or sum- 

 mer cypress, easily raised from seed. 

 These sell readily in 6-inch. An occa- 

 sional trim with the scissors keeps them 

 symmetrical. 



The old-fashioned musk, Mimulus mo- 

 schatus, some people's abomination, still 

 finds favor with a good many. Seed may 

 be sowu now, very thinly. It is some time 

 before the seedlings are large enough to 

 prick off into flats. This should be done 



Lancaster, Pa., Feb. 11, 1908. 



You may diBcontinue my advertisement for awhile, as I have all 

 the orders I can fill for about two months. 



The little advertisement in the Review helped to get them, and 

 I am very well satisfied with the results. 



Geo. a. Swope, Flower Pot Manufacturer. 



V 



What Classified Advertising does for one, it will do for another 



months, when they are making masses of 

 roots, failure only can result. 



The Romans, Paper Whites and Von 

 Sions are French bulbs and g^ow much 

 more speedily than the tulips, preferring 

 also quarters a trifle warmer in the early 

 stages of growth. The fact that they 

 need covering with cinders, loam or other 

 material but a short time, if at all, gives 

 opportunities to water them, which the 

 tulips no doubt sorely need. We incline 

 to the opinion that dryness at the root 

 is the cause of the tulips doing so 

 poorly. Perhaps your soil looked moist, 

 but was in reality far too dry for them. 

 Dutch bulbs, if in well drained pots, pans 

 or flats and placed where water will not 

 stand, are not likely to be injured by 

 too much water at the roots. C. W. 



BOOK ON ORCHIDS. 



I would like to ask the name of the 

 best book devoted to the cultivation of 

 orchids. I have never grown them and 

 would like to read up a little. Just a 

 plain, practical treatise is what I want, 

 something a fellow not a college graduate 

 can understand. L. H. 



Quite a number of works have been 

 pi;l) ished on orchids. Some are very 



bright red are for ordinary usage suffi- 

 cient. 



If you are short of coleus stock, prop- 

 agating may be commenced. If infested 

 with mealy bug, carefully destroy by 

 hand at once, as it is much easier to 

 eradicate this pest when your stock is 

 low than it would be later. 



Fuchsias plunged in heat and syringed 

 several times a day soon break readily, 

 and cuttings taken off when there are 

 three or four pairs of leaves root readily 

 in 60 to 65 degrees. These should be 

 cut off, and not torn off, as by cutting 

 one can leave a small portion of the new 

 break that will break again and give 

 more cuttings. Fuchsias do not root very 

 readily in hot weather; therefore early 

 propagation is advisable. This also ap- 

 plies to marguerites. Both of these, if 

 once allowed to flag, take a great deal 

 longer to strike, if indeed they root at 

 all. . Sheets of newspaper placed over 

 the bench, after having sprinkled the 

 cuttings in the morning, assist greatly. 



In regard to those few old dahlia roots 

 you contemplated spli^ang up: Put them 

 into a greenhouse a little later on; just 

 cover the roots with soil, only leave the 

 base of the old stem clear, and after a 

 short interval they will give you lots of 

 cuttings. Pot them straight into 3-inch 



separately and not in clumps. Take cut- 

 tings off the seedlings, putting about six- 

 teen into a 3% -inch pot, and water lib- 

 erally, thrips being very partial to musk. 



Panicum variegata is very useful in 

 conjunction with tradescantia for basket 

 work. A few echeverias stuck in the 

 moss through the wire help to hide the 

 bareness of the basket when viewed from 

 below. Isolepis gracilis makes for variety 

 and the variegated vinca should not be 

 forgotten. The blue lobelia, although 

 best from cuttings, can be grown from 

 seed and requires early attention. Do not 

 let it grow so that a bunch of flowers 

 hangs over the side of the pot; snip it 

 off with the scissors and keep it level. In 

 a 5-inch pot, well done, this looks superb. 



There is as yet plenty of time before 

 the bulk of seeds need be sown, such as 

 stocks, asters, zinnias, salvias, pyrethrum, 

 sweet alyssum, marigolds, Cobsea scan- 

 dens, nasturtiums, etc., but attention 

 might fvell be paid to the other items 

 mentioned. Ferns and their ally, selagi- 

 nella, sell readily during the early days of 

 spring and summer. Numerous tasteful 

 and effective comoinations are possible, 

 both for basket and dish work, and to 

 those thirsting for novelty the field pos- 

 sesses almost endless variety. 



Vernon T. Sherwood. 



