May 18, lOll. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



27 



Richardson s seedlings do not rocover 

 after division for three or four vears. 

 A few of these can be counted on, 

 such as Harry Woodward— or grandi- 

 flora, as I think it was originally 

 named— Eubra superba and Milton Hill. 

 The others seem to be weak. 



All my Englisli imperial peonies 

 went to pieces after division, and many 

 of the English varieties of the regulaV 

 peonies. 



There are many positions in which 

 peonies can be jilantod to be effective. 

 Their blooms are large and their colors 

 carry well long distances. In hedges, 

 I would use solid colors. For borders 

 and beds, use niixod colors. Borders 

 and beds are best used whore one wants 

 to cut flowers for tlie indoor rooms. 

 The sun fades the flowers out quickly. 

 The most chaste and delicate colors 

 will change in a forenoon in the sun. 

 To get these fresli and delicate colors 

 for your vases indoors, I advise cutting 

 when the buds are only half open and 

 l)utting them down-cellar; then, when 

 they are brought uj), they will quicklv 

 open, retaining all tlieir "beautiful col- 

 ors and fragranee. 



Growing Them From Seed. 



To grow jjconies from seed is inter- 

 esting. Gather llie seed as the pods 

 ojieu in August and September, and 

 sow at onee. I sow in drills about as 

 you would ]ieas. Some come up the 

 first year, some in two years, and 

 souH' not until three vi-ars after 

 lilaiiting. 



After tlu'v liax'e grown a vear in 

 these rows, I trnnsplant them, giving 

 them room eiumgli so 1 ciui leave them 

 in one jdace until they bloom, so as to 

 see which ones to try out. These are 

 taken out and jiui into the trial 

 grounds, where they will not have to 

 be moved for three or four years. No 

 one can tell what a jieony will amount 

 to until it has been set about three 

 ^•ears and has become established. 



Seedlings will not gi\e characteristic 

 tlowiM's in less than two or three years. 

 They are like divisions of old roots. 

 I have had di\isions produce single 

 blooms the first year, ami after two or 

 three years the full doubles cauu". Souu' 

 think they "wabble."" imt it is not 

 so. I never knew the color to change. 

 The form .alters; tiiat is all. Do not 

 name a seedling until you have flow- 

 «'red it three or four ye;irs in a perma- 

 nent place. Vou can not grow jieonies 

 from seed with any satisf.-udory success 

 unless you possess lots of patience. 



Some Reliable Varieties. 



Xow a word to the florists. 'I'here 

 are about a half-do/en white or nearly 

 whit(> varieties on which you can 

 count for money making blooms. Th<\v 

 will not disappoint you when any one 

 has blooms. They will always be 

 choice and bring the top figures. These 

 are Festiva maxima, Alme. de Verne- 

 ville, Haroness Schroeiler. Marie Le- 

 moine, Eugenie ^'erdier, oft'Mi sold as 

 i'ottsi alba, and Harry Woodward. Two 

 of th(>se are early, (uu^ is midseason, 

 two iire me<lium lat(\ ami (>ne is the 

 latest bloomer of all. 



There are lots of )iinks ;iud flesh 

 colors. The first ]iinks for me came 

 from Umbellata rosea — or Sarah Hern- 

 hardf, as it was first called — Edith 

 Lyttleton and Polyphemus. These were 

 all two (lays or more ahead of Edulis 

 snjterba. In fact, they were the first 

 blooms for weddings or recejifions that 

 I had. The list of pinks is a long om<. 



Lilium Hartisii at Columbia Farm, Smith's Island, Bermuda. 



(J-'ioiii ;i plidtdL'iapli aiMilc April S, lull, h.v Aitliur I'. Iloililiiiirtdii. i 



with all shades from those that start 

 with a blush to the deeper ones. 



In reds or crimsons there are oul}' a 



few, 



Disbudding and Cutting. 



To grow large blooms, vou must dis- 

 bud. The blooms wanted to sell by 

 the dozen can all be disbudded. The 

 blooms wanted for decorative purposes, 

 where the varieties bloom in clusters, 

 should be left with all the buds on. 

 There are a number of varieties that 



The Editor is pleased 

 when a Reader 

 presents his ideas 

 on any subject treated in 



fS 





As experience is the best 

 teacher, so do wre 

 learn fastest by an 

 exchange of experiences. 

 Many valuable points 

 are broueht out 

 by discussion. 



Good ponDiaiisliip, spelling and 

 grammar, thouKh desirable, are not 

 necessary. Write as you would talk 

 when doiuK your host. 



WE SHALL, BE GLAD 

 TO HEAR FROM YOU 



oi)en both the terminal bud and the 

 laterals at the sanu' time; these make 

 a large show, giving a stalk with three 

 or four blooms. 



In cutting peonies it is best not to 

 cut more than one half of the foliage 

 away. It' a <-lump has twenty stalks, 

 T would mit cut more than ten stalks! 

 Leave ;it least one leaf stem on eacli 

 stalk; it is really b(>tter to leave two 

 when you can. Sonu> have ruined their 



roots by cutting all the stalks and also 

 cutting closely. That is the way to 

 kill anything — cutting it down when 

 in full leaf. It is more profitable to 

 keep your roots vigorous and growing 

 than to sell everything out one year 

 and ruin your roots. If your customers 

 insist on long stems or nothing, then 

 sell them the clumps, charging what 

 they are worth added to the cost of 

 the flowers. 



I have not told you anything of the 

 new and superb varieties that are to 

 be had in peonies.- Each year brings 

 out new ones. Some of them are, with- 

 out doubt, acquisitions to the existing 

 varieties. Their story is one by itself, 

 which I will leave "^for another day. 

 Treatment of Old Clumps. 



After your clumps become old and 

 the blooms are smaller, it is best to 

 feed them liberally e;ich spring by 

 digging in bone meal about the roots. 

 A good potato fertilizer, which runs 

 ^—^ — 1", is also good. If they then do 

 not grow good blooms, divide them 

 and set in new ground. This is advis- 

 able, anyway, once in eight or ten 

 years. 



You will all find that in growing 

 anything well, it will take your best 

 care and thought. It is not easy, and 

 you must not think of it except in this 

 light, that to do anything that is a 

 credit to you takes great pains. 



About all I have said to you has 

 been gained from practice, not from 

 observation. I tell it to you to help 

 you, to spur you on to do your best 

 with these noble flowers. To grow fine' 

 flowers is grand work, but to tell others 

 how to do it is grander and not nearlv 

 so hard. 



ROSES FOR THE CORONATION. 



Thomas Eochford ^: Sons, the large 

 British growers, are going strong on 

 rambli>r roses for the coronation. 

 Months ago th(\v ma<le their prepara- 

 tions to train plants as crowns, fans, 

 and even guns on wheels, and uuuu^rous 

 other designs, with Dorothy Perkins. 

 Hiawatha, etc., also luigh jiyramids. 

 and (piite a novelty for the coronation 

 decorations, Mrs. Flight. American Pil- 

 lar, etc.. grown in baskets for suspend- 

 ing from biilconies and other positions. 



