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October 22, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Baby's Pillow. 



nervations. They would thereby make 

 sure that they would have only what 

 would be of some practical utility, in- 

 stead of having a lot of stuflf from which 

 no profit could be derived. It is evident 

 that the propev plan is to have a large 

 ■enough number of e.'^ch type and color to 

 give flowers in sufficient quantity to meet 

 all possible demands. 



Of the three or four different types of 

 ■dahlias now more or less extensively 

 grown, I am inclined to think that the 

 singles are, for general cut flower pur- 

 poses, ahead of all the others. The 

 cactus dahlias are without doubt beauti- 

 ful and capable of being used with good 

 €ffect in decorative work, but for large 

 vases I do not take to them as readily as 

 to the singles. The decorative dahlias, 

 though on the whole somewhat heavy and 

 stiff, include several varieties of excep- 

 tional merit for cut flower purposes, and 

 this can be especially noted of Fire Eain 

 and that favorite of Newport, Katherine 

 Duer. M. 



SWEET PEAS. 



I have a north and south house, 200 

 feet long, planted with chrysanthemums; 

 one-half are midseason, the other half 

 late varieties. They are in a ground 

 bed, with from six to eight feet head- 

 room. The bed is six feet wide. One- 

 half will be ready November 15, the 

 other half December 1. I wish to plant 

 this house with sweet peas, and have 

 the best of Zvolanek's and Burpee's 

 winter blooming varieties ready in pots. 

 Will you kindly give me some cultural 

 instructions in your valuable paper? 



C. M. A. 



spade it over thoroughly, getting the ma- 

 nure in the bottom of the trench each 

 time. Your bed, being six feet wide, 

 will not hold more than two rows of 

 sweet peas. Jt will, of course, be much 

 the better plan to run these the length 

 rather than the breadth of the house. 

 In planting, allow two or three inches 

 between each individual plant and this 

 will give you far better results than set- 

 ting them thicker. The best plan is 

 to have a single line of plants. 



It would have been better could you 

 have given your plants more headroom, 

 as they will need it late in the winter. 

 A night temperature of 45 degrees will 

 suffice until buds appear, when 45 to 50 

 degrees should be given. Avoid all cold 

 draughts. Fumigate every week, using 

 light doses, to keep insects in check. 

 Use the spray nozzle where there is any 

 danger of red spider getting a foot- 

 hold. A topdressing of bone flour 

 worked into the soil, or some of the 

 dried animal manures can be given with 

 benefit towards spring. 



Seeds were saved and those sown that 

 fall grew the following spring, but those 

 carried over dry never germinated. The 

 seedlings proved absolutely hardy and 

 the plants have seeded themselves since, 

 so that I have merely to hoe away what 

 I do not want. We have had many win- 

 ters running to 20 degrees below zero, but 

 never has a plant been injured, though I 

 do not give them the slightest protection. 

 Compared with a color plate in an old 

 magazine, they seem to be identical with 

 Hibiscus coccineus. It seems certain, 

 therefore, that I have a new hardy strain 

 of this plant, which has proven one of 

 the most valuable of my collection. At 

 three years the plant throws four to six 

 stems six to eight feet high, blooming 

 profusely for six weeks. 



I have no seeds or roots for sale, for I 

 am now out of the business. If, how- 

 ever, the Editor will suggest a proper 

 channel, I will assist in saving this plant 

 from obscurity and possible extinction. 



Paoli, Ind. J. W. Hollingsworth. 



THE READERS' CORNER. 



After your chrysanthemums are cut, 

 give the bed a coating of two or three 

 inches of well-rotted cow manure and 



A Hardy Hibiscus. 



Your kindly answer to my question as 

 to the hardiness of Hibiscus coccineus, 

 stating that this is a tender plant ex- 

 cept in the warmer southern states and 

 will not winter in the open in Indiana, 

 prompts me to make statement of the 

 following facts, which may prove of in- 

 terest to your readers. 



Some twenty years ago I chanced to 

 find a little seedling in a border devoted 

 to native wild plants, where I had sown 

 no seeds whatever. The following sum- 

 mer it gave me a wide open, single red 

 flower, eight and a half inches across. 



GARDENIAS FOR CHRISTMAS. 



I have a few gardenias in pots and all 

 set with flower buds. Could I manage 

 to have these in flower before Christmas 

 by keeping them in a temperature of 

 about 65 degrees at night? J. M. 



If your plants are well set with buds 

 there is no reason why you should not 

 get a good number of them in flower for 

 Christmas. Maintain a night tempera- 

 ture of 65 to 68 degrees and give a 

 spraying over once a day. An excess 

 of water at the root will cause buds to 

 drop quicker than dryness; therefore:, use 

 care in watering. If the buds seem a 

 little backward when December comes, 

 endeavor to raise the minimum tempera- 

 ture 5 degrees for a short time. 



