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Skfibmbbb 24, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



LILY OF THE VALLEY. 



Will you please tell us how to grow lily 

 of the valley, how long they last, and if 

 the pips are any good after blooming 

 once! * A. F. C. 



For outdoor culture, lily of the valley 

 can be planted in nursery rows two and 

 one-half feet apart, or in beds four feet 

 wide. The plants last indefinitely. All 

 the attention needed is a dressing of 

 rotted manure eaeh fall and a replanting 

 when they become too thick. 



For indoor culture, valley needs a good 

 bottom heat and cooler atmospheric con- 

 ditions; 80 to 85 degrees at the root 

 and 60 to 65 degrees above will produce 

 good flowers. The pips can be planted 

 in either sand or soil; as they make no 

 roots, the nature of compost is of small 

 importance. The case in which they are 

 forced should be darkened until the flow- 

 er stalks are well advanced, when light 

 can be gradually given to give them sub- 

 stance. To produce a steady succession, 

 it is necessary to start batches of valley 

 at frequent intervals. Forced roots are 

 of no value for forcing again. The Re- 

 view will print cultural directions about 

 lily of the valley from time to time, 

 which please consult. C. W. 



IRIS AND LILY OF THE VALLEY. 



I would like to know the best time 

 of the year to plant iris and lily bulbs 

 or pips outdoors. Please mention some 

 hardy lilies that do well planted in au- 

 tumn outdoors. Is lily of the valley 

 hardy enough to plant out here in south- 

 ern Iowa in autumn f I have never had 

 any experience with either iris or lily 

 pips out of doors. Any information 

 along^ this line will be appreciated. 



H. M. 



German and Japanese iris should be 

 planted as soon as possible. They will 

 flower much more satisfactorily next 

 season if set out now, rather than in 

 spring. In planting the Japanese iris, 

 I. Kaempferi, it is always welL to re- 

 member that while this variety loves 

 semi-aquatic treatment in the growing 

 season, it must not be given a location 

 where water stands in winter, or it will 

 rot. The bulbous irises, such as Hispan- 

 ica and Anglica, are best placed in the 

 ground just before it freezes. The Span- 

 ish iris will be found more reliable than 

 the English one. All the irises will be 

 benefited by a winter mulching of leaves 

 or strawy manure. 



Lily of the valley should prove per- 

 fectly hardy in your state.^ Select ground 

 which has been deeply spaded over and 

 well manured, to secure best results. A 

 little shade is also an advantage. As 

 the pips do not arrive until November or 

 early December, it may be necessary to 

 place a covering of leaves or straw on 

 the ground where you intend to plant 

 them. Fortin's variety of lily of the 

 valley is the best I have seen for out- 

 door culture. It costs a little more 



than the general run of Berlin or Ham- 

 burg pips. 



AH liliums are much better planted in 

 fall than spring. No matter how careful 

 a seedsman may be with, his bulbs, it 

 stands to reason that they must fritter 

 away a large part of their strength if 

 stored in a dry room for four months. 

 Lilium candidum requires to be planted 

 earlier than any other hardy garden lily. 

 This beautiful, pure white variety starts 

 to make roots and growth early in Sep- 

 tember, and planting should be done at 

 once. Set the bulbs four inches deep. 

 Lilium speciosum album and the colored 

 varieties, roseum, rubrum and Melpomene, 

 are all reliable, flowering in August and 

 September, and are useful commercial 

 sorts. L. Henryi is somewhat high priced 

 still, but possesses wonderful vigor and 

 seems perfectly disease-proof. The gor- 

 geous L. auratum does not usually last 



over two seasons. L. tigrinum is a first- 

 class, reliable sort, seeming to do well 

 under adverse conditions. The foregoing 

 comprise the best lilies of commercial 

 value. 



A few other sorts worthy of outdoor 

 culture are L. Chalcedonicum, L. super- 

 bum, L. Hansoni, an excellent sort, deep 

 golden yellow flowers, spotted crimson; 

 L. Batmannise and L. Brownii. All the 

 lilies named, with the exception of L. 

 candidum, will do better if planted eight 

 or ten inches deep, and as they usually 

 arrive after the ground is frozen, spaces 

 where they are to be planted must be 

 protected. L. candidum needs only a 

 light winter mulch. The other lilies should 

 have a heavy one; for this purpose pine 

 needles or leaves are preferable to ma- 

 nures. W. N. Craig. 



TIGRIDIAS. 



Are the tigridias, or shell flowers, ever 

 forced, or would it be possible to have 

 them in bloom in May? F. E. C. 



I have never seen the tigridias forced. 

 They are usually planted outdoor* in 

 May, lifted in October and stored in sand 

 for the winter. Possibly by starting your 

 bulbs under glass in February in a car- 

 nation temperature, you could forward 

 the flowering season sufficiently to have 

 them in bloom in May. C. W. 



EARLY VARIETIES. 



A Visit to Well*. 



While on a recent visit" to England 

 I went down to see the veteran chrysan- 

 themum grower, W. Wells, at Merstham, 

 Surry, and was astonished at the show- 

 ing of early flowering varieties he had at 

 that date, August 15. There were sev- 

 eral acres just commencing to flower and 

 the sight was an inspiring one. 



I took notes of a few of them, which 

 I considered the best at the moment, 

 though a week later would show many 

 more kinds which I have no doubt would 

 be equally good. Arranging the kinds 

 in their colors, I give the following: 



Yellow — Polly, Koi des Jaunes, The 

 Champion, Harry, J. J. Hart (a very 

 fi-ne thing), Maggie, Carrie. 



Pink — Perle Rose, Pink Aster, Marie 

 Masse, Merstham Pink, Hector, Hetty, 

 Lillie, Pink Bedder. 



Wliite — Emily, Holmes White, M. Des- 

 grange, Roi des Blanc, Tapis de Neigo, 

 Market White. 



Crimson — Wells' Scarlet, Mrs. W. 

 Sydenham, Nina Blick. 



Bronze — Gertie, Geo. Bowness, Tonkin, 

 Veseuve. 



I afterwards saw many of these vari- 

 eties lifted and potted into 6-inch pots 

 on sale in Covent Garden market. They 

 made beautiful pot plants, the whole- 

 sale price running about $12 per hun- 

 dred for them. 



Mr. Wells had a lot of splendid new 

 varieties of his own raising, and many 

 from Nonin, and the early flowering sec- 

 tion will shortly be enriched thereby. 



One variety raised by Mr. Wells, called 

 Mignon, is worthy of special note. It 

 is a lovely pink and when disbudded 

 makes a fine flower, perfect in stem and 

 foliage, and up to midseason size and 

 finish. 



Early singles were represented also by 

 many thousands of plants, a large batch 

 of seedlings being distinct. I do not 

 think that these singles would flower so 

 early with us, nor, as a matter of fact, 

 do we want them, since we have no call 

 for stock till the end of September, but 

 I do not see why they should not be 

 largely planted as border plants to 

 flower outside when the early frosts 

 have caught many of the tender bedding 

 plants. 



I was there too soon to see how the 

 large flowered exhibition kinds were going 

 to pan out, but the wood was in fine shape 

 and I have not the least doubt that Mr. 

 Wells, as usual, captured his share of 

 the prizes. He has phlox, Michaelmas 

 daisies and other hardy stock on hand, 

 but the chief attractions to me, outside 

 of his mums, were the pentstemons^ I 

 had no conception of the size and lovely 

 coloring of the present-day hybrids till 

 I saw them. The flowering spikes are 

 over two feet long and the individual 

 flowers two inches across and set closely 

 together. Many of the finest are now 

 named, I understand, and a collection of 

 these would grace any garden, as I 

 believe they are hardy in this country. 



Mr. Wells sent me a magnificent col- 

 lection of chrysanthemums just before 

 I sailed for home and they kept splen- 

 didly on the tables throughout the trip 

 across the Atlantic. C. H. Totty. 





