

NOVEMBEB 26, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 





add one-third leaf -mold. Vigorous grow- 

 ing subjects like marguerites, hydran- 

 geas, fuchsias, chrysanthemums, etc., will 

 prefer decayed manure. Your soil con- 

 tains no fiber at all. The best soil for 

 all these plants is pasture sod cut and 

 stacked for a year. If not yet too late, 

 plow up and make yourself a pile of 

 this compost. You can layer it with cow 

 or sheep manure. When chopped down 

 this will jgrow nearly any plants you 

 have satisfactorily. C. W. 



LATHYRUS LATIFOLIUS. 



Will you please explain the best treat- 

 ment of Lathyrus latifolius, or everlast- 

 ing pea? I have several hundred in 4- 

 inch pots, four or five in a pot, sown last 

 August, and would like a better idea of 

 the temperature required, the time to 

 expect bloom, etc. V. L. 



I have had no experience with the 

 everlasting pea, Lathyrus latifolius, 

 under glass, and do not know of anyone 

 who has so cultivated it. I doubt if it 

 will pay you to grow it in the green- 

 house. The flowers lack odor, and even 

 if the plants bloomed freely, which they 

 would not in all probability, they would 

 be of little commercial value. 



The everlasting pea is useful on trel- 

 lises and for rambling over walls and 

 fences. It succeeds best if left for years 

 undisturbed. The pure white form is a 

 useful florists' flower. I would advise 

 you to carry 'your plants over winter in a 

 coldf rame and plant them outside in early 

 spring, feeling sure that indoor culture 

 would only cause you disappointment. It 

 will pay you much better to sow some 

 of the winter-flowering sweet peas now. 

 ■ . . C. W. 



SPIRAEA QUEEN ALEXANDRA. 



When first exhibited at the Temple 

 show in London a few years ago, this 

 beautiful spiraea or astilbe caused a 

 greater furor than any other novelty. 

 It is the first really good pink forcing 

 spirtea and has jumped into instant 

 popularity both in Europe and America. 

 The plant is much more vigorous in habit 

 than S. Japonica, more closely resem- 

 bling S. astilboides. The dense, compact 



Spiraea Queen Alexandra. 



spikes are of a beautiful peach-pink 

 color and are produced in surprising 

 abundance from the smallest clumps. 

 Not only is it valuable for early forcing, 

 but it is excellent as late as June. For 

 both Easter and Memorial day trade it 

 is one of the finest novelties introduced 

 for years. The illustration shows a plant 

 in a 6-inch pot. W. N. C. 



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SUGGESTIONS 



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Cyclamen. 



Possibly a few of the earliest cycla- 

 men plants may have had sufficient flow- 

 ers open to make them salable for 

 Thanksgiving, but it is at Christmas that 

 the principal quantity should be moved. 

 Be sure not to crowd the plants. To do 

 them justice each plant should stand 

 clear of its neighbor. This will make 

 perfect foliage possible, and a cyclamen 

 well leaved will sell if only a small num- 

 ber of blooms are open. Avoid all over- 

 head syringing. Pick off any damping 

 or decaying foliage, and, if the pots are 

 well filled with roots, afford the plants 

 manure water twice a week, taking care 



not to make it too strong. A night tem- 

 perature exceeding 50 degrees will be 

 liable to draw the foliage up. It never 

 pays to try any forcing tactics on cycla- 

 mens. Give plenty of fresh air unless 

 severe outside. 



How are the little seedlings coming 

 along for another year's crop? All should 

 now be pricked off in flats and growing 

 on a light shelf. Keep the surface soil 

 constantly stirred and avoid overwater- 

 ing. We have found it a good plan to 

 sow seeds two inches apart each way in 

 flats and let the seedlings remain until 

 large enough for potting. These seed- 

 lings a»e much larger than transplanted 



ones. The main trouble with this plan 

 is that if seed is not good there will be 

 many blanks, giving the flats a spotty 

 appearance, and considerable care must 

 be exercised in watering. 



Gladioli. 



The bulbs of the Gandavensis section 

 of gladioli are now to hand and forcing, 

 varieties, such as May, Augusta and 

 Shakespeare, may be planted at once. A 

 bench from which mums have been cut 

 will make an ideal spot for gladioli. 

 Fork over the compost, adding some well 

 decomposed manure, and there will be 

 no need to renew the soil. 



If there chances to be no vacant bench 

 for gladioli, do not try dropping them 

 among your carnations, snapdragons and 

 other crops. One will only spoil the 

 other. A better plan in this case would 

 be to plant in boxes containing six inches 

 of soil. The boxes can be moved around, 

 but the benched bulbs of course are fix- 

 tures. 



That fine variety, America, is the most 

 popular variety grown today. G. Colvillei 

 The Bride and the sports from same, 

 with the various forms of G. nanus, ar« 

 much better grown in flats than in 

 benches, and there should be no delay im 

 planting the main batch of them. They 

 only fritter away their strength in paper 

 bags. 



Lily of the Valley. 



The new season's valley pips are now 

 coming to hand. It will not pay to force 

 these before January, as they will start 

 erratically. To grow valley a brisk bot- 

 tom heat in winter is essential, that pro- 



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