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J DNS 10, 1909. 



T 

 The Weekly Florists' Review. 



"WTV"' 



A Plateau of Roses, Sweet Peas and Valley. 



ANCHUSA ITALICA DROPMORE. 



As stated in the Eeview of May 27, 

 the easiest method of propagating this 

 new variety of the old Anchusa Italica 

 is from seed. Another method, however, 

 which experience has proved to me to be 

 better in some respects, is the propagat- 

 ing from root cuttings. This method, if 

 not quicker, certainly produces stronger 

 plants in the same period of time. 



Although root cuttings can be made at 

 almost any time of the year, the best 

 time, I think, is in February. They 

 should be made three inches long, and 

 placed almost side by side in boxes con- 

 taining a mixture of leaf -mold and sand, 

 and about half an inch on the top. Care 

 should be taken to cut the top straight 

 and the bottom end with a slant, as 

 otherwise, when a large number of cut- 

 tings are made at once, many of them 

 may perhaps be put upside down in the 

 boxes. 



When kept inside, these cuttings will 

 be ready to be potted in a month. Or, 

 when to be sold as field-grown plants, 

 they may be planted out in the last part 

 of April, if the weather is favorable. 



The writer at one time had charge of 

 the propagating department at the nur- 

 sery of Amos Perry, at Enfield, England. 

 This nurseryman occupies a leading place 

 among the growers of herbaceous and 

 Alpine plants and was one of the first 

 to bring Anchusa Dropmore into com- 

 merce. It was he, also, who introduced 

 the still better variety, after the Drop- 

 more came out, called Anchusa Italica, 

 Perry's variety. This variety, although 

 at first sight it may appear to be much 

 the same as Dropmore, is a much larger 

 form and of a rich gentian blue. The 

 individual flowers are fully an inch and 

 over across, with handsome, spreading, 

 well formed spikes. I believe that this 



variety is not yet known in this coun- 

 try, as it is not even contained in the 

 stock of Henry A. Dreer, by whom I am 

 now employed. C. Gronloh. 



VIOLET PRINCESS OF WALES. 



Can you tell me where I can buy some 

 Princes of Wales violets and what treat- 

 ment they would require here, in South 

 Carolina, to give good results? I am 

 going to plant several thousand violets 

 this season and it will be my first expe- 

 rience in this line of the florists' busi- 

 ness, for I have in the past bought my 

 violets and had them shipped in. This 

 is very unsatisfactory for many reasons, 

 chiefly because they do not last so well 

 after being shipped so far. 



I have a small house which I have 

 been using to start early vegetable plants 

 in. It is low and is in need of repairs, 

 but I thought that I might grow violets 

 in it this year without spending much 

 money for repairs, as I expect to re- 

 move it next summer and replace it with 

 a modern greenhouse. How will it do to 

 plant them in beds on the ground and 

 not in benches? F. B. H. 



Review, where in season you will find 

 offers of Princess of Wales violets. You 

 can procure these in a rooted state at 

 once and plant outdoors, or you can buy 

 field-grown stock in the autumn. 



The violets will do just as well on the 

 ground as in benches, better in many 

 respects. Use a generous soil, adding a 

 good quantity of decayed cow manure 

 to it. Of course, the more Ught the 

 plants get the better they will grow. A 

 winter minimum temperature of 40 de- 

 grees is sufficient. Afford plenty of air 

 on every possible occasion. The idea, 

 once common, that violets succeed better 

 in small, narrow, low houses, is now thor- 

 oughly exploded. The most successful 

 specialists use houses 200 to 300 feet 

 long and twenty-five to forty feet wide, 

 planting in the ground. C. W. 



Consult the advertising columns of the 



NEW AZALEAS AT BERLIN. 



Among the first and most noteworthy 

 novelties exhibited in the International 

 Exhibition in Berlin were those of aza- 

 leas. J. B. Haerens & Wille, Somergem, 

 Belgium, exhibited a group which was 

 awarded a silver medal. The chief vari- 

 eties exhibited by them were: Som- 

 ergem White, New York Pearl, Ellen 

 Blossfeld, Winfried Haerens, Haerewills 

 alba, Mme. John Haerens, White Pearl, 

 Snowflake, Brooklyn Perfection, Eobert 

 Blossfeld, Excelsior, Centenaire, Mile. 

 Marie Antoinette and Mme. Auguste 

 Haerens. Of these the following three 

 novelties attracted the most attention: 

 Winfried Haerens, a glossy cherry red; 

 flowers are very large and so numerous 

 that they verily cover up the foliage. 

 Haerewills alba, a counterpart in white 

 of the foregoing variety. Mme. John 

 Haerens, large and profuse flowering, of 

 a fresh carmine color. 



