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10 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



July 13, 1911. 



SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS. 



Advantages of Indoor Culture. 



The recent hot weather could not by 

 any stretch of imagination be classed 

 as chrysanthemum weather, since the 

 mfim, as everyone knows, is a cold- 

 blooded plant. Our indoor system of 

 culture for mums never fails to elicit 

 surprise, if not sarcasm, from the vis- 

 itors from other countries, who, living 

 under different climatic conditions, can- 

 not conceive why we grow mums in- 

 doors when the temperature rises so 

 high in the summer time. This method 

 of culture has, of course, been evolved 

 by the conditions under which the mum 

 grower has been obliged to produce his 

 stock. 



It has been found that plants in the 

 restricted space under glass can be kept 

 sprayed and handled much better than 

 they can outdoors. The insect pests 

 also can be much more readily and 

 cheaply controlled in the greenhouse, 

 and this, I learn, is a serious item 

 where the chinch bug is a bad pest. 

 Perhaps the chief reasons why the 

 plants are grown entirely under glass 

 is because they make so much better 

 growth and are not subject to the rust 

 which almost invariably attacks them, 

 at least in the eastern states, when 

 kept outdoors. 



It is true that many amateurs still 

 grow their plants outdoors in different 

 states, but the majority of the commer- 

 cial growers have found that for eco- 

 nomical handling the plants must be 

 in the comparatively narrow space of 

 the greenhouse and handy to the water 

 supply. 



Treatment in Hot Weather. 



Such weather as we have lately been 

 "enjoying" should find the mum 

 houses as widely open as possible, both 

 night and day, and the operator should 

 spray the plants, paths, roofs and every 

 part of the house copiously several 

 times a day. This will reduce the tem- 

 perature many degrees every time it is 

 done, and the plants will show their 

 appreciation of such treatment by put- 

 ting out fine, healthy foliage. 



A careful grower will soon learn to 

 spray his plants and house frequently 

 without getting the soil in the benches 

 too wet. A nice degree of moisture, of 

 course, should be had at all times in 

 the soil, but do not try to turn the mum 

 into an aquatic, or the foliage will soon 

 begin to turn yellow and run small. Ex- 

 perts all agree that mums, like human 

 beings, keep in better condition when 

 they have to hunt a little for their food 

 and drink. 



The growers who still have cuttings 

 in the sand, trying to root them for late 

 planting, have their own troubles at 

 this season of the year. The cuttings 

 must be kept from wilting, and yet if 

 watier is used too freely they will rot 

 off; hence, between the two horns of the 

 dilemma, comparatively few growers 

 make a success of late rooted cuttings. 



The Early Varieties. 



The early varieties should now be 

 making good growth, and if flowers are 

 desired early in September the ques- 

 tion of buds will soon begin to be of 

 importance. The varieties that will 

 flower from July buds are, of course, 

 comparatively limited in number, 

 though some few, such as Golden Glow 

 and the new Smith's Advance, will 

 flower at any season. It was my pleas- 

 ure more than three weeks ago to see 

 a splendid lot of Golden Glow in full 

 bloom with Dailledouze Bros., of Flat- 

 bush, L. I. The stems of these, for Gol- 

 den Glow, were fine, running from four 

 to four and one-half feet high; the 

 flowers also were fine. As a novelty 

 such a sight M^as appealing, but as a 

 commercial proposition in any great 

 quantity it would not pay, as there is 

 a proper time for everything and June 

 does not seem to be the time for large 

 flowered mums. 



Many florists will recall the excellent 

 flowers of Smith 's Advance staged at 

 the convention in Eochester last 

 August. They were excellent, but even 

 at that time there is really not much 

 call for them, with the quantity of 

 white asters flooding the market. 



My ideal of the early variety is the 

 flower that is ready for market just 

 about the time the first frost hits the 

 pumpkin. Then the market is ready 

 and waiting for a change; business is 

 moving; the heated spell is over and 

 everyone is beginning to take a deeper 

 and more serious interest in life. 



Flowers From July Buds. 



One can figure from eight to ten 

 weeks for the development of the flow- 

 er; therefore a bud taken about the 

 middle of July will, all things being 

 agreeable, be ready for market from"^ 

 September 15 to 22, and this, gentle 

 reader, under ordinary conditions, is 

 early enough. 



The varieties that will develop per- 

 fectly from a bud taken from July 14 

 onward, so far as my experience goes, 

 are about as follows: In yellow, Golden 

 Glow, Yellow October Frost, Monrovia; 

 pink. Marquis de Montmort, followed 

 shortly afterward by Gloria; white. 

 White October Frost and White Cloud. 

 This list will probably be added to by 

 some growers, but the foregoing may 

 be considered the best in their respec- 

 tive classes for the earliest flowers. 



The early varieties should now be 

 tied up, to have the stems perfectly 

 straight, and a sharp lookout should be 

 kept for insects, so that when the flow- 

 ering period arrives there will be no 

 difficulty. This applies particularly to 

 red spider, which has a habit of weav- 

 ing a web underneath the foliage and 

 frequently destroying the flowers if it 

 has not been cleaned out before the 

 bud begins to show color. 



Chas. H. Totty. 



HABDY BOSES. 



The flowering period for the hybrid 

 perpetual section of roses is over now, 

 except in the most northerly latitudes. 

 There are some varieties, including Mrs. 

 John Laing, Mme. Gabriel Luizet, Frau 

 Karl Druschki, Mrs. Sharman Crawford 

 and the old Jacqueminot, which flower 

 more or less all summer, not to the ex- 

 tent of the hybrid teas, but still afford- 

 ing quite a number of nice flowers, es- 

 pecially in August and September. The 

 plants will be improved now if they are 

 looked over, so as to remove any faded 

 'flowers and fruits, as well as any Man- 

 etti or seedling briar stocks. Eub these 

 latter out clean, so that they will not 

 trouble again. It is indeed surprising 

 how many florists and gardeners do not 

 know these stocks from the roses, and 

 many a vigorous looking rose which 



never blooms is Manetti stock pure and 

 simple. Own-root stock has the ad- 

 vantage of not being troubled with 

 these weakening shoots, but they lack 

 the vigor of budded plants and are 

 much shorter lived, especially in the 

 colder states. 



The hybrid teas have been in fine 

 bloom and they are really the coming 

 roses. There is such an infinite variety of 

 them, in such beautiful colors, and they 

 bloom so persistently that we forget 

 that they are a little less hardy than the 

 hybrid perpetuals, and we are prepared 

 to give them the additional winter pro- 

 tection needed. Fine in June were such 

 varieties as Caroline Testout, Gruss an 

 Teplitz, always loaded with its bril- 

 liant scarlet crimson flowers; Bessie 

 Brown; Betty, of a beautiful ruddy gold 

 color; Mrs. Aaron Ward, a fine outdoor 

 variety; Wellesley, fine; Richmond, 

 Edith Gifford, Killarney, White Killar 

 ney, the old La France, Mme. A. Chat- 

 cnay. Viscountess Folkestone, Dorothy 



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