The Weekly Florists' Review, 



Apbil 16, 1908. 



battle won of right over wrong, we too 

 were counted worthy of remembrance. 

 Any effort toward making the city beau- 

 tiful can but make more beautiful the 

 lives of its citizens, since 



The soul, the immortal part. 

 The sparkling of divinity wKbin, 

 According as its aspirations are 

 For high and holy things, or base or low, 

 GiTes him a nobler or a meaner look. 

 His outward acts affect his Inward thoughts; 

 For, as a sainted bard bath truly said, 

 Even from the body's purity the mind 

 Keceives a secret, sympathetic aid. 



AN OHIO STORE. 



At Marion, Ohio, F. E. Blake combines 

 all the lines of market gardener and flo- 



rist, doing both a wholesale and a retail 

 business, and is just now entering upon 

 his busiest season. He grows vegetables 

 and vegetable plants, and also decorative 

 and flowering plants and cut flowers, re- 

 tailing a large part of his output from 

 his store at 126 West Center street, which 

 is shown in the accompanying illustration. 

 He says the lilies pictured are the finest 

 he ever had, some of them being five feet 

 high, with from eight to thirteen flowers. 

 With Mr. Blake there is no thought of 

 dull trade this spring. He has constantly, 

 as have most general florists in the small 

 cities, an outlet for rather more stock 

 than he has facilities to produce. 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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Pruning Hardy Roses. 



The majority of florists have some 

 hardy roses and a goijd j»aiMr are asked 

 to prune those ^1>elonging to their neigh- 

 bors. Anyone who grows flowers of any 

 kind whatsoever is looked upon as some- 

 thing of an expert in matters of this 

 kind. We are afraid the work done by 

 them is often somewhat amateurish. It 

 behooves members of the ancient and 

 honorable craft, therefore, to acquaint 

 themselves with some of these little 

 branches of floriculture, even though it 

 may be a trifle different from the work 

 of growing the particular specialty they 

 depend upon for a livelihood. 



Hardy roses planted now, while they 

 may be shortened back a little, should 

 not be finally pruned for about three 

 weeks after planting. Then they should 

 be cut back to within three or four eyes 

 of the previous year's growth. Estab- 

 lished plants can be pruned at once. We 

 are referring more particularly to the 

 class known as hybrid perpetuals. Cut 

 out all dead and weak wood entirely. Do 

 not be afraid to prune hard. Light trim- 

 ming back will give you some early flow- 

 ers, but the quality will be inferior. Hy- 

 brid teas are being more and more grown 

 each year. Merely cut out dead wood 

 from these, and the dead and thin ends 

 of the remaining shoots. The rambler 

 type requires, also, but little pruning. 

 Beyond dead wood and the ends of the 

 long canes, they should not be touched. 



Such varieties as Persian Yellow, Aus- 

 trian Copper, Wichuraiana, multiflora, 

 Soleil D 'Or and the Baby Kambler prefer 

 light pruning. The rugosas and mosses 

 should also be shortened much less than 

 the hybrid perpetuals. 



Tea roses grown in benches under glass 

 give good rwults if cut back quite hard. 

 Planted firmly and given a good soaking 

 when set out in May or June, these give a 

 nice lot of blooms in late summer and fall. 



Care of Lawns. 



The click of the lawn mower is a sure 

 sign that spring is here. Before any 

 grass cutting is done, however, the lawns 

 should receive some attention. A raking 

 to remove sticks, stones and other debris 

 should be followed by a thorough rolling 

 with as heavy a roller as can advan- 

 tageously be used. After a soaking rain. 



when the mcristure on the grass has dried, 

 is the best time to do this. If no fer- 

 tilizers have been applied, some should 

 be given now. Well decayed and broken 

 barnyard manure, sheep nianure in a pul- 

 verized state, or some special lawn chem- 

 ical mixture is suitable. I^resh barnyard 

 manure cannot be recommended. It 

 brings too many weed seeds into the lawn 

 and is, furthermore, unsightly and foul 

 smelling, and often does far more harm 

 than good to the grass. 



Bare places can be scratched over, 

 some lawn seed spread on them and a 

 little more fine loam spread over it and 

 the rake again applied before rolling. 

 In mossy places it is best to dig the land 

 over and reseed altogether. If this en- 

 tails too much labor, scratch up the moss 

 with iron rakes and add fresh loam con- 

 taining some fresh lime. Feed the grass, 

 as that is the best way to smother out 

 both moss and noxious weeds. 



Bedding Stock. 



With the passing of Easter there will 

 be, we hope, many bare benches and this 



will enable us to give the much needed 

 extra space to the rapidly growing bed- 

 ding plants. Geraniums, being of the 

 first importance, should be spread out. 

 No more topping should now be done and 

 all should be in the pots in which they 

 are to be sold. By giving the plants a 

 little breathing space between them, 

 there will be less yellow foliage and far 

 finer and stockier plants. Cannas will 

 demand more room. Most of these should 

 now be ready for potting. Petunias, ver- 

 benas, fuchsias, ageratums, and the large 

 variety of annuals constantly being pot- 

 ted or boxed oflf, will take a lot of room. 

 Coleus grows rapidly now and will need 

 frequent spreading out, as will other 

 colored leaved subjects. As the pots in 

 which bedding stock is grown are usu- 

 ally quite small, liberal water supplies 

 are a necessity, A careful hand at water- 

 ing is a jewel to any commercial grower 

 at this strenuous season. 



Antirrhinums. 



If cuttings were taken from some of 

 the best antirrhinums some time ago, 

 they should now be ready to pot off. 

 Gradually hardened and set outdoors by 

 the end of May, these will give plenty of 

 strong cuttings late in the summer. These 

 same plants can be lifted and benched 

 themselves, and many of the finest spikes 

 it has ever been my privilege to see were 

 grown from these. Continual taking of 

 cuttings causes deterioration and it is 

 well to sow a packet or two of seeds. 

 Plant the young stock outdoors and se- 

 lect cuttings from the very finest for 

 forcing purposes, 



Lily of the Valley. 



Those who handle lily of the valley in 

 small quantities and may not have the 

 many conveniences of specialists in its 

 culture, can now grow it well in a close 

 frame. If there is a little bottom heat 

 from horse manure, all the better, but 

 this is not necessary. Keep the frame 

 close and darkened until the ,shoots are 

 of a good length. Then gradually admit 

 more light. For Memorial day, if you 

 start the pips in this way between three 

 and four weeks before May 30, you will 

 have it in season. 



Memorial Day Stock. 



Spiraeas for use at the next floral car- 

 nival should now be starting naturally. 



Store of F. E. BIake> Mariont O. 



