May 20, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



\9 



aphis before applying this remedy. This ' 

 mixture is useful for keeping black fly 

 down on chrysanthemums, but be sure to 

 keep the liquid well agitated in the case 

 of this and all other poisons. 



Bordeaux mixture is the sovereign rem- 

 edy for mold, mildew and all fungous dis- 

 eases. It is much cheaper to make, 

 rather than buy the mixture. For fifty 

 gallons, dissolve six pounds copper sul- 

 phate placed in a coarse bag in an 

 earthen or wooden dish containing five 

 gallons of water. Slake four pounds of 

 lime in a similar way, then pour the cop- 

 per sulphate and lime together into one 

 barrel ; mix these thoroughly and they are 

 ready for use at once or will keep almost 

 indefinitely. 



For all leaf-eating insects, arsenate of 

 lead at the rate of four pounds to fifty 

 gallons of water is a superior remedy to 

 Paris green. The latter poison, if care- 

 lessly used, will cause much foliage to be- 

 come badly burned. Arsenate of lead, 

 having some glucose in its make-up, will 

 stick on the foliage practically all sum- 

 mer, while Paris green is washed away 

 with the first showers. In using Paris 

 green, one pound to 200 gallons is as 

 strong as we dare to use. It is always 

 safe to add a little lime before applying 

 Paris green, to lessen danger from burn- 

 ing the foliage. Paris green and arsenate 

 of lead may each be added to Bordeaux 

 mixture, the action of neither of the 

 former poisons being weakened. 



EASTER PLANTS. 



In this issue there are reproductions 

 of photographs showing two of the plants 

 offered at Easter by Jacob Schulz, at 

 Louisville. In a great many firat-class 

 stores this year it was noted that single 

 plants sold better than the so-called plant 

 arrangements, those made up with sev- 

 eral plants of one or different varieties 

 in baskets, hampers, etc. The popular 

 taste seemed to run to Avell grown speci- 

 mens in unique receptacles. The sub- 

 jects illustrated include a forced crab- 

 apple and a forced lilac. Flowering 

 shrubs are not the easiest of subjects to 

 improve by the addition of ribbons and 

 other "decorations," and in the case of 

 the crab-apple nothing of this sort was 

 attempted; merely the pot was covered 

 and the cover brought well up around 

 the bare stem of the plant. The lilac 

 was planted in an entirely different re- 

 ceptacle and the addition of the ribbon 

 was a distinct improvement. As a gen- 

 eral thing, less embellishment is desira- 

 ble with single plants than with com- 

 binations of them; indeed, a well grown 

 plant needs little else than a pot cover. 



DESIRABLE HARDY PERENNIALS. 



Lupinus Polyphyllus Roseus. 



The white and blue flowered forms of 

 Lupinus polyphyllus are too well known 

 to require any exploitation, but the 

 newer variety, roseus, of which there are 

 already several distinct types with beau- 

 tiful rosy pink flowers, is a decided ac- 

 quisition. No hardy flower garden is 

 complete without a few clumps or masses 

 of hardy lupines, and in early June they 

 are always striking objects in the herba- 

 ceous garden. L. polyphyllus roseus is 

 as hardy as the blue and white 

 varieties. It comes readily from seed 

 and, if sown early under glass, many of 

 the seedlings will flower the same year. 

 The hardy lupines are liable to be heaved 

 out of the ground with continued freez- 



Forced Lilac as an Easter Plant. 



ings and thawings, unless mulched with 

 hay or leaves. This was especially no- 

 ticeable after the late comparatively 

 mild winter. 



Acoaitum Wilsoni. 



Introduced by Mr. Wilson for James 

 Veitch & Son, of London, the new acon- 

 ite, Aconitum Wilsoni, has become de- 

 cidedly popular. Like the rest of the 

 genus, it is a late bloomer, being at its 

 best in September. It is of vigorous 

 habit, attaining a height of five to six 

 feet, but I have seen it nearly eight feet 

 high in rich ground. The flowers are of 

 a violet blue color, and are produced dur- 

 ing the whole of September and October, 

 the side racemes following the terminal 

 one. Propagation from seed or root 

 division are the usual methods for in- 

 creasing stock. For the back row in the 

 herbaceous border, A. Wilsoni is a fine 

 subject. 



Astilbe Davidif. 



While commonly called the blue spiraea, 

 the color of Astilbe Davidii is con- 

 siderably removed from the cerulean 

 hue, being in reality violet rose. The 

 plant has surprising vigor, and has 

 proved perfectly hardy in New England. 

 Plants noted in flower at the Mount 

 Desert Nurseries, Bar Harbor, Me., in 

 late August last year were striking ob- 

 jects, having in an unusually dry season 



attained a height of six feet. This is 

 another of Veitch 's recent introductions 

 from western China, and has undoubtedly 

 come to stay. Propagation by either 

 seed or root division is possible, the lat- 

 ter process giving strong plants earlier. 



Gypsophila Paniculata Flore Pleno. 



The common baby 's breath, or G. pani- 

 culata, is well known to about every flo- 

 rist, being specially serviceable in summer 

 for use in funeral work. The double 

 form, whenever shown, has attracted 

 great attention, and it is certainly a 

 splendid subject for florists to handle. 

 Unlike the single variety, the double one 

 must be raised from root division only. 

 The flower panicles are numerously pro- 

 duced and much branched. This is the 

 best novelty in hardy flowering plants for 

 commercial use introduced of late years. 



Montbretia George Davison. 



The new varieties of montbretia show 

 an immense advance over the old varie- 

 ties, such as Pottsii, crocosma>flora, Gerbe 

 d'Or and Eayon d'Or, the flower stalks 

 being longer and stronger and the indi- 

 vidual flowers much larger. On M. George 

 Davison the flowers are orange yellow in 

 color and arranged so that each bloom is 

 seen at once. The montbretias are usually 

 treated as tender bulbs, like the gladioli. 

 Tills is entirely wrong. They are per- 

 fectly hardy in well drained ground, but 



