26 



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The Florists^ Review 



OCTOBM «. 1921 



Worthy of note, too, are some splendid, 

 largo specimens of Rliapis flabelliform- 

 is, a hardy, though somewhat slow- 

 growing palm of great value, owing to 

 its long-lasting qualities. 8eaforthia 

 elegans is also grown to some extent, 

 but kentias have the call for palms ot 

 this habit. 



Cocos plumosa is represented here by 

 some 10,000 plants, many now being 

 large specimens, fifteen feet and more 

 in height. This palm, after the 2-inch 

 or 3-inch pot size is reached, is grown 

 entirely outdoors in southern California. 

 It is a pity that florists and decorators 

 have not realized the value of this splen- 

 did palm as a decorative subject for in- 

 side use, bnt the fact remains, and it 

 can only be sold in quantity for land- 

 scape work and as a street palm. As 

 the latter it has everything else backed 

 off the boards, for it has a slender 

 trunk that is not in the way, while the 

 heads, composed of drooping, fern-like 

 fronds of large size, are graceful and 

 attractive in all stages. 



Acres of Erica. 



One of the most important crops 

 grown by Mr. Wilcox is Erica melan- 

 thera for cutting. Widely known as 

 Scotch heather, which, of course, it is 

 not, E. melanthera is one of the grand- 

 est subjects that we have, either for 

 cutting or pot use. The earliest flowers 

 are ready for the Christmas market, 

 while it can also be had as late as tlie 

 end of March, when flowers are the 

 scarcest. The lasting qualities are such 

 that the flowers can be shipped to New 

 York or any eastern section and still 

 last for ten or twelve days in perfect 

 condition, after which they are still 

 good for funeral work. Little wonder 

 that the demand for it is big. Several 



acres are devoted to this plant, some 

 25,000 plants of various sizes being 

 grown. From the largest of these it 

 will bo possible this season to cut sprays 

 five feet and more in length and covered 

 with flowers from end to end. 



A good deal of the erica is grown in 

 long lines between the lines of the cocos 

 palms. The palms give some protection 

 from the wind and sun. The picture of 

 the lovely heather blooms, backed up 

 with the soft, feathery cocos fronds, is 

 beautiful in the extreme during the 

 winter months. Last season there was 

 some trouble with yellows, a condition 

 in which the plants lose tone and color 

 in the foliage and grow much more 

 slowly. But this season the trouble 

 seems to have entirely disappeared and 

 a healthier, finer lot of plants would be 

 hard to find. Some other ericas are 

 grown, but the melanthera is the finest 

 and most popular of all. 



Boxwoods in Abundance. 



One of the surprises in store for most 

 visitors at Montebello is the magnificent 

 lot of boxwoods. In all, Wilcox & Co. 

 have some 15,000 specimens, many of 

 them being balls four feet in diameter, 

 pyramids, plain bushes, standards, box- 

 shaped and every other form that the 

 boxwood is grown in. These have been 

 many years growing, have been kept well 

 pinched and trimmed back and are now 

 solid masses of green foliage, most at- 

 tractive and valuable. When it is re- 

 called that this stock can no longer be 

 imported from Europe, the value of such 

 an immense stock of first-class plants 

 becomes apparent. The variety is Buxus 

 japonica, a kind that stands the sun and 

 keeps greener under all circumstances 

 than the European types of Buxus sem- 

 porvirens. 



Outside in the nursery are five blocks 

 of ornamentals, the pittosporums being 

 an especially even and fine lot. Cedrus 

 Deodora is also largely grown, the plants 

 being of good habit and color. A fine 

 sight is about 2,000 trimmed pyramids of 

 Eugenia myrtifolia, a popular and at- 

 tractive plant for interior decoration 

 and for terrace work, Italian gardens 

 and the like. The foliage has a reddish 

 tinge that is most attractive and stands 

 the sun with impunity. 



Also Plant Tubs. 



An important branch of the business 

 of Wilcox & Co. is the manufacture and 

 sale of California plant tabs, a specially 

 made article of California redwood that- 

 lasts almost indefinitely. Being bound 

 by close-fitting, electrically welded wire 

 hoops, there are no unsightly or un- 

 handy projections, but a smooth well 

 finished product that adds materially to 

 the appearance of the plants. When it 

 is said that, until recent years, every 

 good plant tub used in the west had to 

 be shipped from eastern points, the 

 value of these tubs to the coast nursery- 

 men and florists can easily be imagined; 

 a great saving in freight is thus ef- 

 fected. 



As to equipment, it is suflSeicnt to say 

 that anything that will in any way ex- 

 pedite the work of the place or tend to- 

 ward better service to the customers is 

 at once installed. At the highest point 

 of the range there is a large cement 

 reservoir, supplying water by gravity 

 to the whole place and the pressure in 

 the mains is accelerated by pumps wher- 

 ever necessary. Tanks for steam cook- 

 ing of manure are also installed, insur- 

 ing a full supply at all times, and that 

 in sufficient volume. In the lath houses 

 a series of Pacific rotary sprinklers have 



Planting of Bush and Partially Trained Boxwoods in the Nursery, Part of an Immense Stock. 



