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The Florists' Review 



T 1^1' .'•^T^"^yVT'j»."T»y ,*v «"'7r " 



October 15, 1914. 



BEBAdOTINO LIME FROM GLASS. 



In putting the shading on our car- 

 natioim houses, we were unable on one 

 occasi ion to obtain slaked lime and bad 

 to 8lj.ake it ourselves. Part of this 

 shadi _ng was applied when a little too 

 warmn and we are experiencing a good 

 deal of trouble in getting it off. I 

 read an inquiry of the same nature 

 as th _is several years ago, but the reply, 

 I beLlieve, was to the effect that there 

 was mo acid that would act on the lime 

 with«out also acting on the putty and 

 paintJfc. Is Inhere not something that 

 woul- d aid somewliat in loosening the 

 lime and would not seriously injure the 

 putt;rvT I believe I will run a little 

 Mastftica do-wn each side of the bar 

 anyv— vay, as the putty is not in good 

 cond-tition; so I think the acid could 

 not do much harm. Please state, also, 

 just what strength of solution would 

 be asafe. iMost of the lime was re- 

 move ed a long time ago, but we want to 

 mak e a good, clean job of it. 



J. F. D. 



It - would not be advisable to use a 

 min«eral acid to loosen the lime, as it 

 not only -would ruin the paint and 

 puttz;y, but would also cause any iron 

 or s iteel used in the construction of the 

 rooS to corrode. If an acid of any 

 kln<3 is to be applied, it would be well 

 to ~ use acetic acid, and there is no 

 bettfter form of this than in strong 

 vineegar. Apply it with a brush, going 

 oveirr the glass two or three times if 

 necwessary, a,nd the lime will be softened 

 so •Ihat it can be readily scrubbed off. 

 AncDther method -would be to use a solu- 

 tioim of caixstic soda, one pound to two 

 galEons of water, applying it in the 

 sanme way. T. 



CUIL.TUEE or NERINES. 

 V^ill you kindly tell me how to handle 

 ner -ines as cut flowers ? What varieties 

 are = best for cutting for commercial pur- 

 posses and what are the proper tempera- 

 tur -es for day and night? Do you con- 

 sid- er this a profitable undertaking if 

 hamdled properly T W. M. 



ENerines, or Guernsey lilies, would 

 seesm to have some commercial possi- 

 bil -ities in America, although the price 

 of the bulbs and the fact that they 

 do not increase rapidly militate against 

 theeir use to any considerable extent. 

 Onae or two well known trade growers, 

 par rticularly Thomas Roland, of Nahant, 

 Msass,, cultivate them quite successfully. 

 Omi the estate of Prof. C. S. Sargent, at 

 Bi— ookline, Mass., the head gardener, 

 Chnarles Sander, has a large collection 

 of named varieties and thousands of 

 se*edlings, the latter including some 

 be«autiful colors. 



Nerines are now in bloom. Their 

 floowering period is from mid-Septem- 

 besr until mid-November, and occasion- 

 alZly later. Growth commences after 

 th-ae flower spikes finish and is made 

 dxzjring the winter months. The plants 

 resquire cool greenhouse treatment and 

 flcTJwer pa.rticularly well in small pots. 

 Siingle bulbs of the stronger varieties 

 dcx» well in 3-inch and 4-inch pots, and 

 thnree bulbs of the larger and six of 

 tfcne smaller bulbed varieties are suffi- 

 eiient for a 5-inch pot. I have grown 



fiMants of Fothergilli major with ten to 

 vawelve spikes per pot in as large as 8- 

 icnch pots, but smaller pots usually are 

 mBore satisfactory. Fibrous loam, one- 

 foDurth well decayed cow manure, with 

 soome sharp sand and powdered char- 



coal added, make a good potting ma- 

 terial. A point to remember is that 

 nerines never bloom well until thor- 

 oughly potbound and for this reason can 

 go several years without repotting if 

 top-dressings and liquid manure are 

 supplied. 



If a heated greenhouse cannot be 

 spared for the plants in winter, they 

 can be carried over in a frost-proof 

 frame or pit. As soon as the leaves be- 

 gin to turn yellow, usually early in 

 May, gradually dry the plants off, and 

 when all have died away lay the pots 

 on their sides on a hot, sunny bank and 

 leave there until the flower spikes ap- 

 pear in the fall. They need a thorough 

 baking, or the bulbs will not bloom as 

 they should. I have had the best suc- 

 cess when I left the pots on a shelf 

 in a greenhouse all summer or stood 

 them under a double thickness of cold- 

 frame sashes. The better they are 

 baked the better they will bloom. 



As \o varieties, far the best commer- 

 cial variety is Fothergilli major, with 

 vivid scarlet flowers. This possesses 

 greater vigor than any other variety. 

 N. Sarniensis, the true Guernsey lily, 

 blooms somewhat later. It has brilliant 

 crimson-scarlet flowers. N. corusca is a 

 form of N. Sarniensis, of a bright scar- 

 let color. N. flexuosa is pale pink; N. 

 elegans, pink; N. Manselli, deep pink, 

 and N. Novelty, pink. The pink va- 

 rieties mostly bloom later than the scar- 

 let ones and make smaller bulbs, but 

 flower freely. I have had ten spikes on 

 a 4-inch pot of N. Novelty. Only one 

 or two nerines are offered in America. 

 Elwes in England, C. G. van Tubergen, 

 Jr., Haarlem, Holland; Hubert & Co., 

 Lilley and others in Guernsey have spe- 

 cialized on these beautiful, fall-flower- 

 ing plants, all the species of which come 

 from South Africa. C. W. 



PEOPAQATINQ MOONVINES. 



When should moonvine cuttings be 

 started, and howt Or, is it better to 

 start the plants from seedt I have 

 taken both rough and smooth cuttings, 

 at the joints and between the joints, 

 and put them in sand, but they nearly 

 all rot off. Would they root better 

 in loamf J. V. A. 



These can be propagated by grafting, 

 cuttings or seeds! The last named 

 method is the simplest. To insure good 

 germination, soak the seeds a couple 

 of hours in warni water before sowing, 

 and also cut the ends from each seed. 

 It is well to state, however, that seed- 

 lings are variable in type. This is 

 the reason that many prefer to propa- 

 gate from cuttings. C. W. 



TIME TO PLANT ANEMONES. 



Please tell me when to plant anemone 

 bulbs in this Minnesota climate, and 

 something about the culture of the plant. 

 C. P. N. 



This is a rather large order, for the 

 genus contains more than eighty 

 species, all hardy perennials, and the 

 question gives little that will permit 

 of other than a general answer. The 

 anemones are chiefly native of the north 

 temperate and mountainous regions. 

 The plants thrive best in fresh, rather 

 rich, sandy loam, well drained; but 

 most of the species will do well in 

 any good garden soil. The tuberous 

 species are suitable for hardy borders, 

 while most of the others prefer a place 



in a rockery and some are parti ii to 

 shady places. Anemone hortensls, ^ 

 coronaria, A. fulgens and others repay 

 the little greenhouse care they ri (juif^ 

 to produce winter blooms. Thoy re- 

 quire essentially the same handling jg 

 tulips and hyacinths and usually are 

 classed with bulbous plants. Thi sea. 

 son for both outdoor and indoor ],lant- 

 ing will directly influence the flow i^ring 

 season. Good seasons for outdoor liant- 

 ing are the months from Septemlier to 

 December, and February and ^larch, 

 Tubers placed in pots in October oring 

 a fine show of bloom in Februa y or 

 March. 



- MEALY BUO ON OOLEUS. 



. What will kill mealy bug on coleus 

 in a greenhouse without injury to the 

 plants? The house contains a general 

 stock iOf plants. 8. E. C. 



Use a good pressure of watgr from a 

 nozzle on the hose to blow the bugs off. 

 Throw away old plants and propagate 

 young stock frequently. The older the 

 plants, the worse is the bug likely to be. 

 Gas will also kill mealy bug. Bead the 

 answers to other correspondents in The 

 Review on how to use it. C. W. 



WINTEEINQ CANTEEBURY BELLS. 



What is the proper treatment for 

 campanulas? They are now indoors in 

 4-inch pots. We do not have hard 

 frosts until after the first of the year 

 in this Kansas climate. F. P. F. C. 



Your Canterbury bells would be 

 much better outdoors for a month or 

 two longer in your climate. Then, be 

 fore sharp frost comes, stand the pots 

 in a coldframe and give a coating of 

 perfectly dry leaves, later placing the 

 sashes over them and ventilating at al 

 favorable opportunities. It is better 

 not to start any of the plants in heat 

 before January. If for outdoor use, 

 leave them in the frames right along. 

 C. W. 



LANCASTEE, PA. 



The early mums are making their a 

 pearance. The stores are showing fine 

 Golden Glow, Smith's Advance and Mc 

 Niece. Chrysolora will be ready bj 

 the end of the week. Some carnation? 

 of good quality also are to be seen. 



At the store of Budolph Nagel, mums 

 are in fine shape. Unaka, with whicl 

 he was so successful last season, i' 

 again a favorite with him. Many "' 

 the new varieties are well advancec 

 Alice Salomon and Salomon's Gold 

 promise to be fine. 



At the store of H. D. Eohrer Heston' 

 White, an English variety, is she wing 

 some fine blooms and is considered 

 excellent early white mum. 



George G. Goldbach is cutting fiie 

 MeNiece mumsi 



Lancaster county held its agricuitura 

 fair "last week. B. F. Barr & Co ^" 

 a display that attracted much ; tten 

 tion. Mrs. Charles F. Edgar w s i" 

 charge. G. W. Park, of La Par! , e^ 

 hibited ferns, palms, etc. The am iteu^ 

 exhibition of dahlias, cosmos and g*"' 

 eral garden flowers was quite gooi • ^' 

 trees and shrubbery J. G. Harri; on * 

 Sons, of Berlin, Md., and B. F. Barr * 

 Co., had exhibits. 



Charles M. Weaver, of Eonks, la-i 

 the owner of a fine new Studebake' <^' 



H. A. Schroyer has been shcwiW 

 dahlias of exceptional merit. J*' 



