JO 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



.Iii,Y ], 1909. 



Pr 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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Gardenias. 



It is lillli' til yet the ynuil<; stock ni' 

 <;;ii'<l('nins |i|;iiitt'(| out in tlic liciii-lics, 

 in Older lliat tiic |ii;inls iumv nttain a 

 yooil sizi' licl'orc lull. After cleaning 

 out tlie soil, wash tiie I'eiu-lies out well 

 \\itli tlie liose ami jiivc llie hoanis a coat 

 of I'itlier whitewash or ci-iule oil. The 

 latter is to some extent a wooil |ireser\a- 

 live ami those who use it ha\e ne\(>r 

 I'oiiml it in any way harnit'nl to ])lant 

 life. 'I'liorouiih ilraina;^e is alisolutely 

 essential 1'or successful ^arilenia culturo. 

 .Many throwers fail, owinj^' to usiny a 

 compost from which all the coarse male- 

 jial has lieeii shaken out. It is this 

 latter which the ]>lants re\el in. Throe- 

 foiirths iijuj^h. fibrous loam anil one- 

 fourth well decayed and ratiier luinj)y 

 i-ow manure, with some cuai'so saiul aud 

 broken charcoal, makes an ideal rooting 

 modium and one of sullicient porusity. 

 Tlio \vater should )iass (|uickly llirouiih a 

 sjardeiiia liencli wiien applied, or a bad 

 tlose of the yellows is a certainty. 



I'lants from o-indi pots are stilliciently 

 hu'iie ami if these are set in rows t'iglit- 

 cen inches apart, witii fifteen inches Ije- 

 twceii the jilants, they will easily cover 

 the benches before fall. Plant firmly and 

 leave a small hollow space around each 

 ])laiit for water. This is better tiian 

 soaking the wlioh; bench at each \\ater- 

 ing. The soil in the benches need not 

 I'xceeil fi\e inches in depth and the coars- 

 est ('oin[iost should, of course, be ])laced 

 in the lK)ttom. Kee]i a moist atinos])lu're: 

 S])ray three times a day in hot \veather. 

 .Sh;ide lightly, air freely in warm \veather, 

 <-l()se u|> .about 4 ]i. m., to bottle ii|i a 

 brisk heat, and the ]dants will surprise 

 you with their growth. Keep the shoots 

 ])imlied and do not allow any tlowi'rs to 

 be produceil. 



Stephanotis Floriburda. 



Stejihamitis lloribunda, the onetinu' 

 jirinie fa\drit<' with florists, is less grown 

 than its irn'rits would seem to warrant. 

 In Mnro]pe it is one of' the staiid.ard mar- 

 ket flowers anil for bou(|Uets an<l fu- 

 neral work is in strong clemaml. Flow- 

 ering in spring anil early summer ami 

 not being by any means a fus-iv subject 

 to li;indle. it wiudd |pay many a i-ouiitry 

 (lo)i>^t. r-|iecially those who ha\c- calls 

 for' rlliiice white lloWrrs. to grow at least 

 one plant ol' this slephanot i--. Although 

 a native of .M;ii|;ig;isca r. S. lloribunda 

 does not. ,is js lonunonK' viipjiosed, re 

 (jiiire trojiiial treatment. As line plants 

 as one Would can> to s ■(■ aie gidwn in 

 ordinary greenhouses, with ;i winter min- 

 iinnm ot' ."o il"Mii>es. llowerin;^ profusely 

 ill .May and .Inm each year. 



A liiiht house is not necessary, al- 

 though the |d;nit will stand fairly stioiig 

 .sunlight. 'I no much root space causes a 

 rampant growth and spaisity of (lowers; 

 tlli)S, boxes or small prepared beds are 

 the best. I'or compo'^t. tiiit'y loam, bone 

 meal, sharp sand and dry cow manure, 

 making the whole rather coarse to in 

 sure tree passage of water, is ide.al. 



(lood top di'essings early each sj)ring 

 will carry the ]ilants safely for a year. 



In Murope specimens on balloonshaped 

 trellises are features iit exhibitions. Tlies(> 

 are invariably run up wires oi- strings on 

 the roofs ;ind later tie(| around the 

 frames. Ther(^ iire back walls and ends 

 of houses, often not utilized, whicli would 

 grow steplninotis well. 



Scale and mealy bug are especially 

 fond of this jdaiit. (iood |iressure of cold 

 water from tin- hose will easily control 

 them. 



J'ropagation t'roni the )ire\ious se;i 

 son's wood in winter in a brisk bottom 

 heat is easy ami the cuttings grow sar 

 prisingly fast if kept jiotteil on. 



Eucharis Amazonica. 



Kncharis Amazonica is an extremely 

 iiset'ul florists' plant. When jiro|ierly 

 handli'd, two and occasionally three crojis 

 of flowers ai'e |)ro(luced each year. As 

 a rule, two crops can be d(>peiided upon, 

 one in December and the other in June. 

 The |dants succeed well either in benches 

 or fairly large jiots. tin' latter being the 

 better mode of culture, as the ])laiits can 

 b(> placed (uitdoors or in frames in suiii- 

 iner, and can i)e jdaced in cooler <|uar- 

 ters for a rest between crops. I'ots feu 

 to twelve inches in diameti'r are sufli- 

 <iently large. ,\ compost of rinigli, 

 fibiiMis loam, broken sandstiuu' or brick, 

 broken charcoal and cow manure v\ill 

 grow emdiaris to perfection. They iiiiist 

 have a porous rooting medium, or the 

 soil will sjieedily get into a sour comli- 

 tioii. 



At this season, when the |daiits ha\e 

 just finished Iheir second cro|) of bloom, 

 they should be abundantly watered, fed 

 with liijuid manure cmce in four or ti\e 



dtiys. syringed ficiiuently to keep that 

 arch enein\'. mealy bug, in check and 

 kept growing until the em! of Se|)teniber. 

 after which time a gradual rest is neces 

 sary to s^'cure a good Christnias crop of 

 flowers. 



F.ither a bench in a light house, or .n 

 coldfranie will grow eucharis finely during 

 summer. The glass must be shadeil and, 

 if shut up with abundant moistiirt! at 4 

 to o o'clock each afti'inoon, the plants 

 will make splendid growth. With newly 

 ]>otted stock, water rather s|)aringly until 

 the pots are well filled \\itli roots. The 

 main essentials of success in eucharis 

 cultivation are: Tsing a coarse, porous 

 compost; getting the pots well filled with 

 roots bi^fore resting at all; ripening thor- 

 oughly in a cooler structure, and a lirisk, 

 moist heat while growing. Of course, 

 to these must be added free<loin fi'om 

 mealy bug. which a Judicious use of the 

 hose will control. 



Poinscttias. 



The earliest |)oinsetfia cuttings are 

 now well rooted in small pots and ready 

 to be transferred to a bench, in which 

 they are given six inches of compost, 

 such as is used for (dirysanthemuins. In 

 this they grow s[)lendidly and will pro- 

 duce large bracts for ('hristmas. There 

 is still ample time to get in sexeral tuldi- 

 tional batches of cuttings during such 

 torrid weiitlu'r as a large section of the 

 country has been sweltering uiiiler of 

 late. Care in vvatei'ing ;ind shading iire 

 iiec(>ss;iry, or a batch will speedily be 

 ruined. ('lieese<-lot h hung o\er the cut- 

 tings is better than whiti'wash. Ivxclude 

 air from them as much as |)ossible and 

 they will root much better. 



Stock plants, fr(un which cuttings are 

 being taken, can bi' jilaiiteil out moder- 

 ately (lose in ii frame. .\o sash cov- 

 ering is needed. The cuttings will he 

 shorter jointed and stockier than if 

 grown under glass. If ])ossible. use cut- 

 tings rubbed off with a heel. I)i|> in dry 

 sand to sto|i bleeding and always trim 

 off the leaves ])retty (dosely before jilac- 

 ing ill the ]iropagatiiig bench. 



Winter Geraniums. 



In hot weather winter geraniums are 

 benefited by a light shade. The Uruant 



House of Geranium Mrs Lawrence. 



