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July 20, 1911. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



15 



average winter minimum temperature 

 of 48 to 50 degrees; earlier in the sea- 

 son 5 degrees lower will do. The best 

 forcing varieties are: Christmas 

 White or Florence Denzer, each pure 

 white; Christmas Pink, pink and 

 white; Wallacea, lavender; Mrs. W. W. 

 Smalley, satin pipk; Mrs. W. Sim, sal- 



mon pink; Mrs. Alexander Wallace, 

 lavender. Later sowings for early 

 spring flowering can be made in Octo- 

 ber, while for Easter you can sow about 

 the middle of November. There will 

 be frequent cultural notes on winter 

 sweet peas in Ijiter issues of The Re- 

 view, which may interest you. C. W. 





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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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Double Daisies. 



The double pink, red and white dai- 

 sies, Bellis perennis fl. pi., are useful and 

 easily raised spring bedding plants. 

 They also sell well in baskets, put up 

 in the same way as forget-me-nots, 

 pansies and violas. As they germinate 

 quickly and grow rapidly, it is better to 

 sow them a few days later than the 

 pansies, August 1 being a good date for 

 the latitude of New York. They are 

 also useful for groundwork in bulb beds 

 and can be used to good advantage in 

 rockeries. They stand bright sunshine 

 better than pansies or myosotis. As the 

 seed is small, be sure to cover it lightly. 



Hollyhocks. 



Now, while hollyhocks are in bl'iom, 

 is the time to make a sowing of them in 

 order to secure strong flowering plants 

 for next season. They will germinate 

 satisfactorily either in coldframes or in 

 drills in the open, but, as we get long 

 spells of droughty weather in July and 

 August, germination is hastened and is 

 more satisfactory if they can be shaded 

 and watered for at least a few days. 

 The true Chateris strain of hollyhock 

 is still the best. These are practically 

 all double and can be secured either in 

 mixture or separate colors. To those 

 liking single and semi-double flowers the 

 Allegheny strain, which carries large 

 fringed flowers, can be recommended. 

 Wherever hardy perennial borders exist, 

 they lack one of their most telling sub- 

 jects if hollyhocks are absent. 



Rockets. 



The old-fashioned white and purple 

 rockets, Hesperis niatronalis, are fine 

 for cutting and are useful border plants. 

 In many places they flower just right 

 for Memorial day. There is also a 

 dwarf white variety, which is fine for 

 massing effects in perennial borders. 

 Sow the seeds of these early in August. 

 They germinate quickly and should be 

 transplanted to nursery rows a foot 

 apart during moist, cloudy weather. 

 They are hardy in nearly all sections 

 if given a mulch of leaves or straw over 

 winter. Dampness will kill them out 

 more quickly than cold. Planted thickly 

 over winter in a coldframe and given a 

 coating of leaves, they can be carried 

 over easily. 



Coreopsis Orandiflora. 



Coreopsis grandiflora is a fine June 

 flowering plant outdoors and, if the 

 seeds are kept cut oflf, will flower all 

 summer. While classed as a perennial, 

 it is better treated as a biennial. Seed 

 sown now will give flowering plants for 



next June. They should be trans- 

 planted a foot apart, as they grow quite 

 rapidly and vigorously. As they are 

 not reliably hardy in many sections, 

 even when protected, it is better to 

 winter at least a good portion in cold- 

 frames, planting them outdoors early in 

 April. This plant is fine for cutting. 

 It makes a good pot plant. It can also 

 be grown in benches and, treated thus, 

 is specially useful for bouquet work at 

 Memorial day. The variety grandiflora 

 is much better than the old lanceolata. 

 The Californian form, Eldorado, has 

 extra large flowers. 



Honesty. 



Surely all florists should be willing 

 to sow a few seeds of honesty, not be- 

 cause the bulk of them are lacking in 

 this excellent virtue, but because Lu- 

 naria biennis, as honesty is botanically 

 called, is an interesting plant. The 

 purple and white flowers are not the 

 real attraction, but the silvery, round 

 seed vessels are splendid for winter 

 ornamentation. Sow the seeds now. 

 They germinate quickly. The plants 

 are perfectly hardy and no old-fashioned 



garden is complete without a few 

 patches of this interesting old-time 

 favorite. 



Asters. 



Early asters, owing to heat and 

 drought, are hardly up to the average 

 this season, except in special cases, 

 where it has been possible to water 

 them. These early asters really net as 

 good money as the later and larger 

 ones. There is usually a glut in August 

 and September, with the flowers selling 

 at 25 cents to 40 cents per hundred, 

 whereas in July poor flowers easily 

 make $1 and those of better quality 

 double that ])rice, being decidedly 

 preferable to the undersized and spi- 

 dery carnations usually offered at that 

 season. The present summer has been 

 hot and deficient in moisture in many 

 sections. In some cases artificial water- 

 ing in some form can be applied, but in 

 nine cases out of ten the moisture must 

 come from the skies, and this being the 

 case we must assist nature in every 

 possible way if we want fine flowers. 

 Moderately low land, with a good depth 

 of soil, will produce superb asters in a 

 dry season. It is really surprising how 

 much drought the plants will stand if 

 the surface soil is kept constantly 

 stirred with the cultivator. Do not 

 water unless you can do it thoroughly; 

 it is far better to keep the surface 

 tickled. With a nice, loose mulch a 

 severe drought can be overcome satis- 

 factorily. 



Look out for the black aster beetle, 

 which usually makes its initial appear- 

 ance at this season. Hand picking may 

 answer where a few plants only are 

 grown, but is utterly out of the question 

 when thousands are cultivated. Arse- 

 nate of lead will poison them, but it 

 whitens the foliage and renders the 

 flowers less salable. Paris green, used 

 at the rate of one jjound to 200 gallons 

 of water and applied through a fine, 

 misty sprayer, will not hurt the plants 

 and will speedily clean out the beetles. 



ARSENATE OF LEAD. 



■ Can you inform us where we can buy 

 lead of arsenic, or any other chemical 

 that can be used in destroying the 

 "green wigglers" on mums? 



L. C. F. C. 



L. C. F. C. should be able to buy ar- 

 senate of lead at any drug or paint 

 store. Though he speaks of it as lead 

 of arsenic, he undoubtedly means ar- 

 senate of lead. Arsenic is one of the 

 most deadly of poisons to plant life. 

 This is proved in using Paris green 

 that is not strictly pure, as the smallest 

 proportion of it will burn the foliage 

 of potatoes or any other plant that is 

 sprayed with it. Arsenate of lead, how- 

 ever, seems harmless to plant life, if 

 used in any reasonable proportion. It 

 is a valuable insecticide when rightly 

 handled. It discolors the foliage some- 

 what and should not be used too late on 



that account, but may be used with per- 

 fect safety at this time of year. 



Chas. H. Totty. 



FOR CHRISTMAS FLOWERING. 



We have a house that will be empty 

 until about January or February. 

 Would it be too late now to buy plants 

 of chrysanthemums that would come in 

 about Christmas f If not too late, 

 could you advise us as to variety and 

 culture? P. W. C. 



There is still ample time to plant 

 a house with late mums for Thanks- 

 giving to Christmas flowering, though 

 the plants should be procured as soon 

 as possible. The best varieties to plant 

 would be White Chadwick, Yellow 

 Chadwick, Jeanne Nonin, W. R. Brock, 

 Nagoya and Bonnaffon. These will all 

 come in and give good results and may 

 be depended on to give satisfaction. 



Chas. H. Tottv. 



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