The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



June 3, 1909. 



/ = 



Lorraine Begonias. 



It is still possible to get in a late 

 batch of cuttings of these popular, win- 

 ter-blooming begonias. When established 

 .in little pots, they can be fped to good 

 •advantage for making up '^ into 6-inch 

 pans. 



During the hot months these Lorraine 

 begonias grow painfully slow, but do not 

 on this account neglect and starve them. 

 Even when not making much ]ea| growth, 

 there is activity at the roots, and just so 

 soon as the first cool nights iA August 

 come along they start into new life. Do 

 not allow the early potted off plants to 

 suffer from want of a shift. For soil 

 use plenty of flaky leaf -mold, that from 

 oak leaves being the best. The plants 

 will not grow well in a heavy, clayey soil. 

 Avoid large shifts; an inch at a time is 

 ample now, increasing this towards fall. 

 Lorraines do not require a heavy shade, 

 but are better broken from the sun's di- 

 rect rays. Give them a fresh stand from 

 time to time, picking off any decaying 

 leaves, removing weeds and lightly loos- 

 ening the surface soil where necessary. 

 After this date the plants will do well in 

 a frame, if you need greenhouse space for 

 mums, nephrolepis or other crops. 



Stevias. 



Many growers still plant out their 

 stock of stevias, but there is so much 

 danger from shoots breaking at lifting 

 time that a much better plan is to keep 

 them in pots or plant them in boxes, 

 standing them outdoors where they can 

 be conveniently watered and later in the 

 season furnished necessary supports. It 

 is not too late to root cuttings of stevias. 

 These can still be grown along into fine 

 plants before fall. 



Sweet Peas. 



The indoor crop of sweet peas will 

 now be on the wane and after this date 

 is liable to become spidery. There is no les- 

 sening in the popularity of sweet peas 

 as a market flower. All during the sea- 

 son now closing they have sold better, on 

 the whole, than anything else in the cut 

 flower line, and there is room for a great 

 development of their culture under glass. 



In milder localities, the outdoor vari- 

 eties are just beginning to come in sea- 

 son and, while a little short-stemmed, will 



to root cuttings from these as easily aa 

 when taken from walls, as they make few 

 roots while on the parent plants. 



W. N. C. 



HAERENS' NEW AZALEA. 



The accompanying illustration is from 

 a photograph of the original seedling 

 plant of a new azalea raised by August 

 Haerens at Somergem, Belgium. It is 

 now 5 years old and when photographed 

 was flowering for the fourth time. Mr. 

 Haerens is extremely enthusiastic over 



this variety, coDHrderiog it one of the 

 best ever raised in Belgium, where is 

 located the azalea center of t^jgjvorld. 

 The plant is robust, the flow^*?lftrge 

 and described as deep rose shaded *wira. 

 carmine. The center is brilliant crimson. 



Mr. Haerens formerly travelM in this 

 country in the interest of the firm to the 

 business of which he has since suc; 

 ceeded, and he has many friends in the 

 trade here who hope that all his sanguine 

 anticipations may be fulfilled by the aza- 

 lea to which he has given his wife 's name. 



r^Tissriafi^Sfj^ 



^<<^.' 



SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



,<<^<*^.'»^.'»^.'i»^.<»^.<*^.<<^'^^r»>'fer»!>'^r»)'fe»>-fer»|-fer»>''yr»>'^r»>'fer»>'fe»> 



I 



Beddine Out. 



The rush of another Memorial day has 

 passed and all indications point to its 

 having been an excellent one for florists. 

 Everything considered, Memorial day is 

 now a more important holiday with many 

 than even Easter, for everyone buys some 

 flowers or plants, less expensive, it is 

 true, than at Easter, but with many the 

 aggregate sales are as large or larger. 



A large proportion of bedding plants 

 will now be sold, but sales will continue 

 well through the month of June. Never 

 have we had more ideal weather for get- 

 ting the plants into the ground, for it 

 has been uniformly moist and they have 

 made a splendid start. As sales increase, 

 the plants will present a scattered ap- 

 pearance in the houses and frames. It 

 will facilitate handling and watering if 

 what are left over of each kind are placed 

 together in compact batches. Be sure to 

 remember your own needs for another 

 year. Do not sell all your good plants 

 of geraniums, cannas, etc., and leave a 

 few starvelings to plant out for stock 

 for yourself. It is to be hoped you have 

 found time to set out at least one or 

 two attractive beds on your own lawn. 

 It pays any florist to make his own 

 grounds attractive. The neater appear- 

 ance a place has, the more it will draw 

 customers. 



In setting out stock plants of the vari- 

 ous geraniums and other bedding plants, 

 give them an open, sunny spot and use 

 large labels for each variety. As the flow- 

 ering season progresses carefully mark 

 any not true to name. 



Marguerites. 



Memorial day sales practically clean 

 out the balance of the marguerites, al- 

 though in such a cool season as we ex- 

 perienced this year it is easily pos-sible to 

 hold them well into June. There are, 

 however, so many outdoor hardy peren- 

 nials and shrubs flowering then that it 

 scarcely pays to hold them so long. A 

 number of stock plants of each variety 

 should be cut back moderately hard and 

 planted outdoors in rich soil. They will 

 not make much wood suitable for propa- 

 gation before early September, but when 

 the cool evenings come on a plentiful 

 crop of cuttings will be procurable and 

 from stock taken at that time you can 

 grow along plants for either Easter or 

 Memorial day next year. 



Dahlias. 



There is no great advantage in plant- 

 ing out dahlias early. Many growers say 

 they always have better results from 

 June than from May planting. Each 

 year they are more disinclined to use pot | 

 pla:nt8, especially those produced from 

 rooted cuttings, for if there chances to 

 be a good crop of cutworms, these soft 

 dahlia tops make toothsome chewing for 

 them. Divided pieces of root containing 

 at least one good eye cannot be beaten 

 for planting out. Reduce the shoots to 

 one, where several appear, and if nice, 

 stocky plants are wanted, pinch out the 

 tops of the shoots when eight to twelve 

 inches high. 



Dahlias are destined to hold a more 

 important position in the cut flower trade 

 of the future than they have in the past. 

 There is no good reason why a house of 

 them planted for Memorial day should 

 not be profitable, if the right colors ajfe 

 selected. They bloom nicely indoors-S^nd 

 they should certainly prove better sellers 

 than many of the flowers now produced. 

 There would seem to be a fine opening 

 here for some enterprising and progress- 

 ive florist. 



Original Plant of Azalea Mme. August Haerens. 



