The Weekly Florirts^ Review; 



• March 19, 1908. 



upon by ugly and debasing signs main- 

 tained for private gain. We cannot real- 

 ize the "city beautiful" if we fail to 

 check the extension of objectionable bill- 

 boards. 



The American Civic Association wants 

 the cooperation of every florist in this 

 campaign — first, through his enrollment 

 as a member so that it may have the 

 support of his name and contribution, or 

 if he is a member, then by help through 

 enlisting friends, neighbors and news- 

 papers. Surely there is no one more in- 

 terested than the florist in the city 

 beautiful movement, either from his love 

 of nature or for what he has to gain in 

 money. A beautiful city means increased 

 sale for plants and flowers. 



SALVIAS FOR BEDDING. 



The beautiful display of salvia on 

 the grounds of the St. Louis exposition a 

 few years ago attracted the attention 

 of all flower lovers. After seeing that 

 display at its best, the writer, having 

 been a grower of decorative plants and 

 flowers for thirtjv year^ was so im- 

 pressed with the effecx produced by well 

 grown salvia, that he has jexperimented 

 each year since the date mentioned and 

 last year grew on his premises the bed 

 illustrated in this issue of the Eeview. 



It is the practice of florists to keep 

 over a few plants of salvia, from which 

 they propagate their supply for the com- 

 ing season. Plants thus produced are 

 not as vigorous as those raised from 

 seed, and the old plants are troublesome 

 to keep over on account of mealy bug 

 and white fly. Seed planted in pans any 

 time during March will make the best of 

 bedding plants and be ready to set out 

 before the weather will perSrrtrS[nywl|e5(^ 

 in this state (Pennsylvania). As soon 

 as the plants show their second leaves, 

 they should be transplanted into flats 

 about four inches in depth. In about 

 two weeks transplant again, giving them 

 more room, and then continue to trans- 

 plant, always in flats, as in pots they be- 



come spindly and are always too dry. 



If propeny grown in flats, by the time 

 the weather is fit to allow them to be 

 set out, they will be eight or ten inches 

 high and the main stem as thick as a 

 good sized lead-pencil. They are good 

 feeders and therefore must have good 

 garden soil, well enriched with well- 

 rotted manure. 



After being first set out, they make 

 little progress the first two weeks, but 

 should be cultivated and well watered. 

 After growth has started, cultivation 

 every three or four days should be kept 

 up, with profuse watering. In a month 

 after planting they will bo strong and 

 vigorous, and, if the bett results are 

 wanted, both in height of plants, good, 

 strong, dense foliage, and a profusion 

 of flowers, this may certainly be obtained 

 by vigorous feeding. 



Last year my canna bed, with an 8- 

 foot border of Salvia Bonfire, and con- 

 taining about 600 salvia plants, the 

 border being 150 feet in length, not all 

 shown in the illustration, was the most 

 vigorous and tallest, with the most beau- 

 tiful mass of bloom I have ever seen. 

 I am a man of more than ordinary 

 height, and in thQ picture, as will be 

 seen, the salvia plants came to my 

 shoulders. To produce the growth I 

 placed between the rows, as soon as the 

 foliage shaded the ground, as much 

 manure of the preceding winter's saving 

 in the cow yard as could be placed on the 

 ground without resting against the stems 

 of the plants. I used eight large wheel- 

 barrow loads, hoed it into the ground 

 a little, continued the watering with 

 garden hose, not much on the foliage, 

 throwing the water under and keeping 

 the ground always damp. They were 

 in bloom from August 1 until October 

 10. Now, I hear growers say after 

 reading this, ,"0h! That's too much 

 work." But remember, "There is no 

 excellence without great labor." And 

 you may rest assured this bed of salvia 

 was worth to me in a business way all 

 it cost in time and effort. 



W. H. H. Riddle. 



SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



Asters. 



A good sowing of asters should now 

 be made. Stand the flats either on a 

 shelf or a light bench. A strong heat 

 is not necessary for successful germina- 

 tion; 50 to 55 degrees is better than 

 10 degrees higher. If sown in the higher 

 temperature, remove the flats soon after 

 the seedlings appear to a somewhat cool- 

 er structure, or the little plants will 

 become drawn. In transplanting them 

 use heavier soil than when sowing the 

 seeds. A little well spent hotbed manure 

 or old mushroom manure can take tb* 

 place of leaf-mold. A close atmosphere 

 is to be avoided, or many of the seed- 

 lings will damp off. Do not sow the 

 .seeds thickly, or the result will only 

 be spindling plants instead of short, 

 stocky ones. 



If a sowing of Queen of the Earlies 

 was made when suggested, for an early 



crop, a second sowing of this same ex- 

 cellent sort will now be timely. Other 

 suitable kinds are Victoria, American 

 Branching and Comet. The colors to be 

 used must depend on the particular calls 

 of the grower. As a rule, white, rose, 

 lavender and pink sell the best and 

 are most useful in floral work. In 

 asters, as in all flowers, buy only the 

 best seed. It will be found the cheap- 

 est in the end. 



Transplanting; Seedlinc^s. 



From the early sowings quite a few of 

 the little seedlings will require prick- 

 ing off. In the case of such varieties 

 as bedding begonias, petunias and lo- 

 belias, this must be done while the plants 

 are very small, or a large part of them 

 will be hopelessly ruined. The surface 

 soil for these, at least in the flats, must 

 be fine, light and rather sandy, and 

 careful watering with a fine rose will be 



necessary for a time. With verbenas, 

 dahlias, stocks and others of more robust 

 habit, the soil can be a little coarser and 

 stronger. Avoid the use of soil which 

 has not been thoroughly warmed, or you 

 will probably lose a large proportion of 

 your crop. A light shade, either on the 

 glass or provided by a sheet of thin cot- 

 ton cloth, will be needed for a few days. 

 This is preferable to laying sheets of 

 paper on top of the plants, as we often 

 see done. Watering of newly trans- 

 planted seedlings must be attended to 

 religiously. It is work which cannot 

 be skipped, even if a big funeral order 

 comes in or other work is pressing. Look 

 them over twice a day during bright 

 weather and they are not likely to take 

 any harm. 



Dahlias. 



While some growers make a point 

 of starting their dahlia tubers even be- 

 fore this date, nothing special is to be 

 gained by so doing. Of course, with 

 new varieties, the effort is to get as 

 many cuttings rooted as possible. These 

 are less serviceable for shipping pur- 

 poses than roots, but for home planting 

 are fully as good as root divisions. In 

 fact, our experience has been that they 

 give finer flowers than the shoots from 

 divided pieces of root. Possibly these 

 facts may not be accepted by some dahlia 

 specialists, but it is easy for any one 

 to try the two methods and prove for 

 himself which of the two is preferable. 



It must be remembered that the eyes 

 are on the crown and that, therefore, 

 the roots should be placed in. moist, 

 gentle heat to start these before any 

 root division can be done. For purely 

 local trade there is no need to start the 

 roots for a month yet, but if cuttings 

 are to be rooted, a start should not be 

 delayed. Wo like those rubbed off with 

 a heel, as they will root in sixteen days 

 in a bottom heat of 65 to 70 degrees. 

 If they become too long to put in as 

 heel cut4ings, shorten to four pairs of 

 leaves and cut directly under the low- 

 est pair. These will take a few days 

 longer to root than those untrimmed at 

 the base. A top hejfl a few degrees 

 lower than the bottom heat is to be 

 preferred for dahlias. 



To those who may merely be growing 

 a certain number for themselves, the 

 foregoing notes may be of no service, 

 p for in many cases the roots are planted 

 outside before being started and excel- 

 lent results are had from this system. 

 Dormant tubers set out any time be- 

 tween May 1 and June 20 will flower 

 well. In fact, too early planting is not 

 to be recommended. 



Rambler Roses. 



Rambler roses intended for Easter 

 should now have the buds separated so 

 that they can be counted, and if they 

 start to show color by April 1, they 

 will be on time. As the pots are now 

 full of active roots, they need a lot 

 of water, or loss of foliage will soon 

 ensue. Liquid manure can be given once 

 in three or four days, discontinuing it 

 after the flowers open. As growth is 

 now very rapid under glass, the plants 

 will need, constant attention in spacing. 

 Every effort should be made to have each 

 plant as perfect as. possible. This can 

 only be done by elevating some of the 

 finest specimens and spreading out the 

 others. Keep the hose off the plants 

 now, and if sulphur is kept on the steam 

 pipes, mildew will probably not trouble 

 you. Cold draughts, however, must be 

 avoided. Mildew-covered plants are not 



