8 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Febulary 27, 1908. 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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Seed Sowing, 



The lime li;is ;iiii\t'il when :i f^dOil 

 iiinnv fliiwcr seeds sliii\ili| lie snwii. It 

 will ]ircpl>;ilily scciii like rcjx'itt in;,' olil 

 Jiilvice It) L;i\<' ;iiiy ciilliir;!! notes on tins 

 sul)jtH't. hut tlurc iiie so mniw renders 

 of the Kkvikw who have proliahly taken 

 iiji tioriculture as tlieir vocation and who 

 may not have had as nimdi jnactical 

 training as tiiey wonhl like, and there 

 are, i'urtherniore, so many of tlie risinj,' 

 ^jeneration, win) are to till our slioes some 

 day, and who, tudess they are of the 

 "know it all" tdass, are ever ready to 

 improve their minds, even Iiy reading cul- 

 tural hints, that we make no ajxployy for 

 touehinjx briefly on this ini|iortant liraneh 

 of {iropajijation. 



It may seem somewhat stereotyped, but 

 we would say aj^ain. do not buy cheap 

 seed. The best is the least expensive in 

 the lonji run. Seeds of all kinds, which 

 are to Ik- sown under jilass, seem to pre- 

 fer a lijj;hter comjxpst for }i;ermin:ition 

 than tliat which they are to grow in when 

 well established. For this reason leaf- 

 moid should always form the major por- 

 tion of the compost. For the finest 

 seeds, if :i little sand is added to tin- 

 midd, germination will be better than 

 if loam is also used. For the general 

 run of greenhouse annu.nls. three-fourths 

 leaf-mold and one fourth loam, with some 

 s;iiid added, make a snit.-dde mi.xture. 

 ]''or choice seecis, such as begonias, gloxin- 

 ias, piimuhis. etc., it is well to .-idd a 

 little powcjered charcoal to keep tlie 

 compost sweet. if you use steam and 

 can sterilize the soil to kill .all weed seecls 

 and insect l;ir\a', it will be a great ail- 

 \:nitage. 



flats time iiiidiis in dejitli. or ]>ans, 



;iri. tn be plet'erPed to ] int s for seed Sow- 

 ing. Tlity should in every ca^e be per- 

 fectlv cli-an. llartlienware shoidd be well 

 soaked if new. I'or (dioii-e annuals or 

 thiise slow ot' germination, more driiinage 

 i< necessary than f(ir the ipiick grow ing 



\;irieties. Many growers use r ther 



drainage for suidi seeds ;i< asters, ziii- 

 Tuas and stocks than some roneli pieces 

 (d' turf, but it is always better i.. be on 



tlie safe shle in this res|,e,!. When you 

 w;iler you want it to jia-s away (|niidsly. 

 or sour coiiclil iiiiis will --onn arise. In 



Covering seeds. ;i safe ride is 1(1 sc.atter 



c(im|>o<t o\er them to theii" own dejitli. 



With ndnute s Is. ^ncdi ;i- gloxirnas and 



Ijegoni.-is. after the surface has been nni'le 

 smooth and watered, the seeds should be 

 scattered e\enly on the surface ;ind a lit- 

 tle line sand spread o\er it. ^'ou must 

 use tine sifters for your soil, esjiecially 

 if you are sowing small seeils; use the 

 sifter to drop it evenly over the seeds. 

 .\fter sowing, a good plan is to gently 

 (inn the surface with a smooth piece of 

 board. 



In t!ie germination of seecis, mucli 

 depends on their treatment after bidng 

 sown. .\s a general rule, a teini)erature 

 of C)(t degrees at night will sutlice for all 

 seeds; many will grow fretdy in 10 de- 

 grees less heat, but the higher figure in- 

 sures earlier growth and a renuival to 



somewhat cooler (|uai'teis is easy in a 

 few days. Flats containing seeds should 

 never get direct suidight. Covering with 

 newspapers is often resoi'ted to. These 

 should be removed at night and during 

 suidess -weather, and must be gradually 

 discarded as geiMninalion starts. Jf 

 your sludf room is scarce, you can stack 

 several flats luie over the other until the 

 seedlings stait to grow, but you must 

 wat(di them sharply or spindling plaids 

 will result. 



The jireseiit lime is op])ortune for sow- 

 ing bat(dH>s (d' the lollowing seeds: As- 

 ters (d' sucli early varieties as (Jueen of 

 th(^ Ivirlies, ten weeks' stock; verbenas, 

 petunias, fibrous-rooted begoiuas. vincas, 

 torenias, Santolina maritima, abutilons, 

 ])riinulas in variety. < 'lerodendron fallax, 

 dracaMias. eucalyptus, impatiens and 

 browallia. 



It is r.atht r too early to sow su(di ra|iid 

 growing subjects as S;d\ia spleiidens, 

 zinnias, ricimis. wigandias, suntlowers, 

 cosmos. Phlox 1 )ruinnnunlii and l)alsams. 



Among hai'dy perenidal plaids, the 

 sowing of aqnilegias, hollyhocks, ('ampa- 



yi(dd ])lenty of good cuttings. Where 

 you loot your carnations will suit chrys- 

 anthemums, ericas, acacias, genistas, mar- 

 guerites, \erbenas ami snapdragons, 

 while in the warmer bench ludiotropes, 

 acalyphas. begonias, liftonias, panicum. 

 sidvia, <'oleus, achyranthes and alternan- 

 fher.a will root best. 



Shamrocks. 



The day for "the wearing of the 

 green, ■■ .March 17, will soon be here. The 

 demand for little shamrock ])lants in jiuts 

 anil jians is now (|uite considerable. .V 

 cool house is iieedeil for these clovers. If 

 they are getting crowded, sjiread out the- 

 pots a little. Keej) W(dl watered. An 

 occasional fumigation will ward off the 

 attacks of thrips, whiidi is (juite partial 

 to this ])lant. Quite a number of florists 

 now make a specialty of shamrocks and 

 find a good profit in growing them. 



Easter Lilies. 



I'^'oni the number of in(|uiries recently 

 recei\e(l in regard to the comlitioii of 

 various growers' Faster lilies, it is evi- 

 d<'nt that many are on the anxious seat 

 about them. If your ])lants will show 

 buds at all by March '> to Id, you can 

 get your lilies in for Faster in a night 

 ti'iujierature (d' (id degrees. If you can 

 see these buds now, you can iiold them 

 .•ill right ill a slightly cooler house, but 

 if the buds are three imdies in length 

 they are too forward. Do not make the 

 mistake (d' rusldng the earliest ones into 

 a house kejit at 40 to 4." degrees at night,, 

 as we (uice knew a florist to do; as a re- 



A House of Shamrocks at John F. Rupp's, Sliiremanstown, Pa. 



niil.a |'\ lamiiiali--. jirimio^es. pyrethnims. 

 lychnis. Inpimi-. I.idielia caidinalis. M.al- 

 \a nioscliata. deljihi iiiiinis. < anterburv 

 bells and other sorts is now timely. M.-iiiy 

 of these latter, sown now, will bloom the 

 first season. 



Propagation. 



While the wiatlier jem.ains cidd, wlien 

 heavy firing is still the rule :inil before 

 the sun becomes too powerful, is the best 

 time to ju-opagate. The genial, moist 

 bottom heat soon m.-ikes the little cut- 

 tings root. The propag.ating beiudi 

 should be kept Well filleil, for there are 

 many bedding plants now wiiicdi will 



suit he lost iieaily every ImkI. l-".iicour 

 ;i;^e |dants wldidi ale a lillle backvvaro 

 by t're(|Uent liyht sprayings, ami a litth 

 nitrate of soija in the water (uice a week 

 will hurry them along. S(|uirt tobacce 

 extracd into the tops of the growths to 

 (dean imt ajdos and, if you want plants 

 with nice foli.age, never allow them to 

 becouH ilry at the root. 



Filiuiu candidum can be had in bloom 

 four weeks from the time the buds are 

 so that you can count them, in a night 

 temjterature of '>'> degrees. Do not force 

 in a wjirmer house, as this fine lily ri- 

 seiits smdi treatment. 



