10 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



June 17, 1909. 



well as give a better effect than so much 

 foreign green for rose sprays. 



Styles in Ties. 



To too many people the tie is a mat- 

 ter of no more than a mechanical frac- 

 tion of the whole. A good spray may be 

 spoiled or a poor one greatly improved 

 by the style of the tie attached to it. 

 "With a spray of two kinds of flowers, 

 two colors may be used on the tie, but 

 with hardly as good taste as one of a 

 color corresponding to the lighter of the 

 two kinds of flowers. 



Vary the style of tying. Sometimes 

 have two thick puffs, with a long end to 

 each; sometimes a square bow and ends 

 of the same length; sometimes a bunch 

 of loops; sometimes a bunch of ends, all 

 cut; sometimes a bunch of ends and 

 loops, all of different lengths, laid one 

 over the other; sometimes a long end 

 caught up toward the tip of the spray, 

 and the rest of the tie hanging over the 

 stem; sometimes two long ends and no 

 bows; sometimes two ends and one bow; 

 sometimes a knot down toward the end 

 of one streamer. 



In using chiffon, never do the actual 

 tying with it. Lay the bow in place, or 

 catch it in place in the fingers, and tie 

 with baby ribbon. Leave the ends of the 

 baby ribbon long enough to tie around 

 the stem of the spray. 



Eibbon and chiffon stock should be of 

 large variety and range of colors, but 

 few pieces of each. 



To Charge or Not to Charge. 



In counting up the profit and loss the 

 question of the cost of green is too often 

 overlooked. To charge or not to charge, 

 that is the question. To charge means 

 to labor with almost every customer to 

 show him the wherefores and the reason- 

 ableness of asking him for more money 

 for the same thing than he formerly 

 paid. It is always the better greens that 

 customers want ' ' thrown in, ' ' with loose 

 flowers as well as sprays and designs, just 

 because some florist in remote ages, for 

 the sake of gaining trade, invented this 

 method of robbing himself and all suc- 

 ceeding generations. It is as sensible to 

 throw in green with flowers as it would 

 be to sell the green and throw in the 

 flowers. 



Along with the charges for green 

 should come a reasonable amount of 

 money for the work, time or skill, which- 

 ever one may have a mind to call it. Of 

 course, in a small spray it is difficult to 

 make a respectable showing and get any- 

 thing for the work. But when the price 

 of the stock used is above $2.50 or $3 

 there should be an allowance made for 

 work in every spray, grading it accord- 

 ing to the size and good appearance of 

 the spray. Gertrude Blair. 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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Smilax. 



It is about time to prepare the beds or 

 benches for the young smilax plants. 

 Choose solid beds, if possible. These 

 will give much finer strings than benches. 

 A compost such as you would use for car- 

 nations or roses will do well for smilax. 

 Well-rotted cow or horse manure should 

 form one-fourth of the whole. Set the 

 plants out eight inches apart, allowing a 

 foot between the rows. It is unnecessary 

 to have a light house. One which will 

 not grow mums or carnations will answer 

 all right for smilax. Shade the glass 

 with white lead and kerosene. Grow the 

 plants fairly warm, and be sure to get 

 the strings in position without delay. It 

 is necessary to look over the shoots fre- 

 quently to prevent them becoming en- 

 tangled. 



Asparagus Sprengeri. 



Asparagus Sprengeri is indispensable 

 to the country florist. Everyone buying 

 a bunch of flowers expects a few sprays 

 of green, and Sprengeri is generally fur- 

 nished. Some florists make the mistake 

 of furnishing this free. There is no more 

 reason why Sprengeri should be given 

 away for nothing than Farleyense fern. 

 One costs more to produce than the other, 

 it is true, but customers should not be 

 led to expect that greenery can be fur- 

 nished for nothing, for it costs money 

 to grow it, as well as flowers. 



Asparagus Sprengeri grows well in 

 beds, benches, boxes and baskets. Nar- 

 row boxes six inches deep along the sides 



of benches are often utilized for them, 

 and in these they will do well. Wire 

 baskets a foot in diameter are first-class 

 in every way, and help out the supply 

 where bench space is limited. This as- 

 paragus enjoys a generous soil. It needs 

 little shade, but an abundant water 

 supply. Scale sometimes attacks the 

 shoots when left to flower and produce 

 berries, but by using a spray nozzle on 

 the hose, this is easily kept in check. 



In pulling out any old stock, try the 

 plan of planting outdoors. They will 

 give a fine lot of serviceable shoots be- 

 fore cold weather. 



Asters. 



It is time to make a late sowing of 

 asters. For this purpose, such varieties 

 as Mignon Victoria, Chrysanthemum and 

 Queen of the Market are suitable. Comet, 

 Ostrich Feather and Semple's should 

 have been sown before now. These later 

 sorts are beautiful, but lack the sub- 

 stance in the petals of some others, spot- 

 ting quite badly during a spell of damp, 

 warm weather. 



The main batch for late summer or 

 fall blooming should be planted out as 

 soon as possible. The ground should pre- 

 viously have been well manured, plowed 

 and harrowed, as asters want rich soil 

 to do themselves justice. Choose damp, 

 cloudy weather for planting out the stock 

 in the field, and once it is set out, keep 

 the surface soil well tickled with the cul- 

 tivator. 



The earliest batch of asters should 

 now be running up for flower. Queen of ' 



the Earlies remains the best of this class. 

 Its free branching habit, long stems aiui 

 floriferousness are all strong points in its 

 favor, although the individual blooms are 

 less fancy than Comet or Semple's. 8o 

 far, the present season has been particu- 

 larly favorable for asters over a wide 

 section of the country, comparativch- 

 cool weather with frequent showers beim* 

 exactly to their liking. If cutworms aiv 

 troublesome, lay a poisoned mash of 

 shorts (bran), molasses, and Paris green, 

 dropping a little here and there when' 

 they have made their presence felt. 



Lilies. 



The demand for lilies is not great dui 

 ing the summer months; especially is 

 this true of the longiflorums, there beino 

 a preference given to the speciosums 

 during the hot months. Bulbs potted in 

 late fall should give a succession ol 

 flo'wers for the next two months. The 

 most generally useful is L. speciosum 

 album, the flowers of which are fine foi' 

 design work. Grown under glass, they 

 are also larger and purer than the out 

 door stock. One advantage of growing 

 a good number of these lilies in pots is 

 that it is easy to advance or retard them. 

 L. auratum possesses too heavy, an odor 

 to be popular. In pots it flowers earlier 

 than L. speciosum. It has some call in 

 the markets, but its big, handsonip 

 flowers are not used in floral designs 

 much, on account of its heavy perfume. 

 Where a succession of lilies is wanted 

 during the fall months, it is now time to 

 procure and pot up some retarded bulbs 

 of longiflorum and speciosum album. It 

 is a little too early to start bulbs for 

 Christmas, but for October and Noveni 

 ber flowering they should be started now. 

 Stand the plants in a cool frame or pit. 

 Give one good watering. Scatter some 

 leaves or moss over them. Keep them 

 where the sun will not strike them, and 

 where temperatures do not fluctuate 

 much. Keep on the dry side until the 

 pots are well filled with roots. 



Show Pelargoniums, 



As the pelargonium plants pass out ot 

 bloom they can be stood outdoors in full 

 sunshine. The water supply can be grad 

 ually reduced, and as the wood hardens 

 the pots can be laid on their sides. Cut 

 tings can be taken now, but most growers 

 prefer to wait until the latter part ot 

 July; when pruning back the plants, 

 plenty of suitable propagating materia! 

 can be had. 



Greenhouse Repairs. 



Now is the time to start on any neces 

 sary painting and glazing about thi 

 houses and frames. Do not wait unti! 

 the first chilly nights remind you of wha' 

 you ought to have done long before. An.\ 

 piping or alterations in the heating plani 

 should be attended to during the warn^ 

 months, when fire heat is in the mail 

 entirely dispensed with. 



All florists are entitled to some vaca 

 tion during the summer months, when 

 business is at the lowest ebb. Even it 

 you cannot get as far away as the S. A 

 F. convention, try to take your wii'i 

 and family to some quiet spot for i' 

 week or two of rest. Too many of us an 

 prone to work at the mill all the time. 

 This is not as a rule a necessity. A littl< 

 change will do each and all lots of good. 

 Push ahead the repairs now, and plan 

 to get away when they are completed. 



Holly, Mich. — H. J. Green is ini 

 proving and enlarging his greenhouses, 

 on North Saginaw street. 



