12 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Dkcumbbb 2, 1900. 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



Gardenias. 



Gardenia flowers in winter bring excel- 

 lent prices and there is a growing de- 

 mand for them in the big markets. Often 

 those who are planning on a fine winter 

 crop and have had their hopes raised by 

 a splendid crop of buds are woefully dis- 

 appointed when the buds begin to fall in 

 showers just before they are ready to 

 open. The best cultivators have trouble 

 of this kind. It is due to an excess of 

 moisture in the benches, rather than dry 

 conditions. Our experieace has been that 

 if the soil approaches saturation or sog- 

 giness, a heavy loss of buds is sure to 

 follow. A great mistake is usually made 

 in not having sufficient porosity in the 

 .soil; anything approaching pastiness is 

 fatal to successful gardenia culture. 



A night temperature of 70 degrees 

 should be maintained. When admitting 

 air, avoid anything in the nature of 

 draughts. Let the benches dry out well 

 before watering; then soak them thor- 

 oughly. If the soil is porous, it will pass 

 through quickly. If a hot water or 

 steam pipe runs below the benches to 

 warm the soil a little, all the better. To 

 keep the foliage dark green, use soot 

 water once a fortnight. Mealy bug can 

 be kept in check by using a fine spray 

 nozzle on the hose and syringing well 

 twice a week, always choosing sunny days 

 for the operation, to allow of the foliage 

 drying before nightfall. The tempera- 

 ture in the daytime can run up to 80 or 

 85 degrees with sun heat, and the ven- 

 tilators should be closed sufficiently early 

 to bottle up a good heat. 



Azakaf. 



Let the Christmas azaleas have a brisk 

 heat and spray them daily, unless the 

 weather is dark and cold. Many of the 

 plants will show a tendency to grow. 

 Rub out any of these shoots. As the 

 :*lowers commence to expand, discontinue 

 damping them overhead, and a slightly 

 lower temperature will suit them better. 

 Deutsche Pevle needs little forcing for 

 Christmas, and Hexe comes in readily. 

 Other varieties will, however, require a 

 good heat to get them in season. 



Lily of the Valley. 



The new season's pips are now arriv- 

 ing. After unpacking, soak them well in 

 a tub of water. Do not merely dip them, 

 but let them remain in some time. Any 

 showing the least signs of shriveling, a 

 condition possible where cases have been 

 standing too near the boilers of the 

 steamers, had better be soaked for twen- 

 ty-four hours to plump them up. Heel 

 outdoors, or in a cold frame, just covering 

 the tips. Let them have one or two good 

 freezings before trying to force them. 



The new valley is not, as a rule, a suc- 

 cess for Christmas or early forcing. Cold 

 storage pips are better. A brisk, moist 

 bottom heat is essential, with a top heat 

 of 70 to 75 degrees; the bottom heat can 

 be 10 degrees higher than this. In plant- 

 ing the pips any soil will answer ; in fact, 



sand of a rather coarse nature is to be 

 preferred. The pips make no roots while 

 being forced, having sufficient energy 

 stored up to flower satisfactorily. They 

 must be kept dark until the spikes are 

 well drawn up, after which time light can 

 be gradually admitted to allow of some 

 foliage being made. As the flowers open, 

 a rather lower temperature will give them 

 substance. 



Antirrhinums. 



The bulk of the chrysanthemums are 

 gone at last, and somehow it is a relief 

 to see the stragglers cut and out of the 

 way. It is now possible to give a little 

 more time to antirrhinums, and other 

 crops which are to follow the mums. The 



Geranium Eltacin. 



earliest lot of snapdragons are now com- 

 ing into flower. These were benched 

 early in September, and have had a tem- 

 perature of 46 to 50 degrees at night. 

 They require looking over at least once 

 a week. The flower stalks should be sup- 

 ported and the side shoots rubbed off. 

 If strong flower stems are desired, it 

 will not pay to leave every shoot on the 

 plants. Reduce them to from four to 

 six and allow no more to grow. Re- 

 stricted in this way, fancy spikes can be 

 had. Where a medium spike is preferred, 

 of course, a larger number can be left; 

 as a rule, the smaller spikes bring but 

 little money. 



In fumigating antirrhinums, use any- 

 thing but hydrocyanic acid gas. They are 

 among the few plants which simply will 

 not stand even a light dose of this fumi- 

 gant. The leaves are not scorched, but 



the tops of the shoots hang down limp. 

 These plants are somewhat delicate, and 

 any fumigation must be light. Where 

 they are becoming well established in the 

 benches, a light mulch of well decayed 

 manure will help them wonderfully. 



Dutch Butbous Stock. 



Look over the bulb stock and give all 

 the flats and pots a thorough watering. 

 Never mind if the soil seems moist on top. 

 It is probably much drier below, and re- 

 member that more Dutch bulb failures 

 are due to too dry root conditions than 

 any other cause. If your flats are well 

 drained, the water will pass away readily. 



A few of the most forward La Reine 

 tulips, if they are well started, may now 

 go into a darkened case. It is folly to 

 place them in the light, unless you want 

 flowers which just rise above the soil. 

 Trumpet Major narcissi, particularly the 

 French stock, can be had for Christmas. 

 Do not give either these or the tulips bot- 

 tom heat, like the valley, as they do not 

 like it and will resent it, but draw each 

 of them well up in the dark to give some 

 length to the flower stems. It is too 

 early to start forcing^ Golden Spur or 

 other narcissi. Leave them where they 

 are until better sprouted. Paper Whites 

 and Roman hyacinths for Christmas 

 should be given three weeks in a night 

 temperature of 60 degrees. The former 

 will come in a little more quickly than 

 the latter, but it is an easy matter to 

 hold them in a cold house for a week or 

 ten days. 



Hardy Lilies, 



The bulbs of Lilium speciosum, aura- 

 tum, tigrinum, Batmannise and other use- 

 ful florists' lilies do not arrive until De- 

 cember. Any wanted for pot culture 

 should be got into the soil right away. 

 For outdoor planting be sure to give the 

 bulbs ample depth; eight to nine inches 

 is none too much, and, if you have deep 

 soil, twelve inches will be found better. 

 Let no fresh manure come in contact 

 with them. Place some sharp sand below 

 and above them. Mulch with leaves or 

 strawy manure for the winter. 



Always keep lilies of any kind as short 

 a time as possible out of the soil. Once 

 the scales start to shrivel, much of the 

 bulbs' vitality is gone. Probably the 

 most useful of all hardy lilies to the 

 average florist is L. speciosum album; 

 the varieties Melpomene and rubrum are 

 also useful. L. auratum's strong odor is 

 objected to by many for funeral or other 

 work. 



Camellias. 



There is a pleasing coming again of 

 the once popular camellias, and during 

 the last two or three winters a good num- 

 ber have been sold. It is necessary to 

 use judgment in trying to get these open 

 for Christmas. Anything like hard forc- 

 ing will assuredly result in a loss of buds. 

 The one time when camellias love heat 

 and moisture is while making their 

 growth. At present a temperature of 50 

 to 55 degrees at night should not be ex- 

 ceeded. 



Genistas. 



While it is possible to force genistas 

 into flower for Christmas, tbey sell much 

 better for Easter. Like camellias, they 

 resent hard forcing, and to have them in 

 the best condition cool culture all the 

 time is best. A batch may be started 

 now in a temperature of 45 to 50 degrees 

 at night and these will come in useful in 

 midwinter. Easter stock should have had 

 its last shearing by this time, and should 

 be held just clear of freezing. 



