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12 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



August 3, 1911. 



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 ^^^^^ SUGGESTIONS 



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Antirrhinums. 

 Where antirrhinums are wanted to 

 follow early mums, which means they 

 will have to be ready about the last of 

 October, the present is a suitable time 

 to sow a batch of seeds. A shaded 

 coldframe is better than a greenhouse 

 for the seeds, but remove, the sashes 

 when the seedlings are up, to prevent 

 them from becoming drawn. The dwarf 

 and intermediate varieties are not so 

 desirable for forcing as the tall sorts. 

 Mixtures are an abomination and the 

 flowers will not sell at any price, but 

 pure white, golden yellow, bright pink 

 and clear scarlet are colors that people 

 want. Keep the plants grown along in 

 pots. If they are in 4-inch pots when 

 planted and have had one pinching 

 back, they should start away well when 

 benched. There is not any great call 

 for snapdragons until after Christmas 

 and plants benched to follow mums 

 will flower early in the new year. 



Hydrangeas. 



Look over the hydrangea plants in 

 the field and cut off any flower heads 

 which may appear. Where water can 

 be applied during droughty periods, the 

 plants will be greatly benefited thereby. 

 Where this can not conveniently be 

 given, keep the cultivator constantly at 

 work. The plants" may wilt severely 

 during hot days, but with cooler even- 

 ings and more moisture from the skies, 

 which we are bound to get sooner or 

 later, the plants will grow surprisingly 

 fast and the growth they make in Sep- 

 tember will equal that of the two pre- 

 ceding months combined, as a rule. 

 Plants being grown along in pots should 

 be plunged and freely syringed, as well 

 as watered. For early forcing these are 

 better than lifted stock, as their wood 

 can be ripened earlier and more easily. 



Callas. 

 Calla plants which have been grown 

 in '^ots and have been lying on their 

 sides since the middle of June should 

 now be shaken out and repotted. Throw 

 away any decaying or diseased tubers. 

 They can now be purchased so inex- 

 pensively that it does not pay to carry 

 over any poor stock. As a general rule, 

 6-inch, 7-inch and 8-inch pots are excel- 

 lent commercial sizes to use. These 

 soon become filled with roots, but by 

 feeding them well with liquid manure 

 and giving them top-dressings of bone 

 or sheep manure every ten days they 

 can be kept in a vigorous growing con- 

 dition. Do not overlook the Godfrey 

 calla. This is the grandest acquisition 

 this family has had in many years. Do 

 not confound it with the now almost 

 forgotten Little Gem. It, is superior 

 in every way, producing thrice the 

 number of flowers, and the flowers are 

 as large as the ordinary calla and purer 

 in color. Callas like a generous com- 

 post; one containing two-.third8 fibrous 

 loam, one-third dried cow manure and 

 a good dash each of bone and sharp 

 sand suits them. Keep outdoors for 



some time aftef repotting, and if you 

 prefer to grow them planted out in 

 benches and the benches are not yet 

 ready, the plants are all right where 

 they are until wanted. 



Lilitun Harrlsii. 



This is the season when the new 

 crop of Lilium Harrisii arives. This 

 lily has not proven entirely satis- 

 factory for some years, but the Ber- 

 muda growers are now exercising 

 greater care with -their stock and the 

 bulbs offered are believed this season 

 to contain a much reduced proportion 

 of diseased ones. Single bulbs in 5- 

 inch pots are the best when growing 

 the ordinary forcing sizes of Harrisii. 

 Any of extra size can go into 6-inch 

 pots, but we find 5-inch pots answer 

 well for the majority. Keep in a well- 

 shaded place, such as a cellar floor, 

 after potting. Soak well with water 

 and then let the soil dry out well be- 

 fore applying any more. Some of these 

 lilies will probably flower by Thanks- 

 giving, but the majority can be safely, 

 timed for Christmas if they are given 

 an average night temperature of 65 

 degrees when nicely started. 



Formosa Lilies. 



More of the Formosa lilies are be- 

 ing grown each year. For Easter they 

 are not so desirable as giganteums or 

 multiflorums. The majority grow too 

 long, and while the flowers are of good 

 size, they are often carried only one. 



two or three on a stem. For cut- 

 ting, however, they are really splendid 

 and it will pay country florists to try 

 a case or two of them. The trouble 

 with these, as with many more lilies, 

 is that growers are digging too early 

 in order to get them on the market 

 ahead of the previous year's date and 

 the result is plainly evidenced in the 

 sickly, abortive growths of many of 

 the bulbs. It would be better by far 

 if these Formosas did not arrive until 

 September and we would then hear 

 and see less of disease. The Formosas 

 include a wide variety of seedlings. 

 Some grow eighteen inches, others six 

 feet high. Some flowers resemble L. 

 Brownii; others are like ordinary longi- 

 florums. They do not all flower together 

 and anyone with . a case of bulbs will 

 cut flowers over h, period of probably 

 three months. Nevertheless, when we 

 can get fine Formosas in flower at 

 Christmas and for two months later, it 

 will be found a useful lily to grow. 



Polnsettlas. 



The old poinsettia stock plants will 

 still be furnishing an abundance of 

 cuttings. These can be profitably put 

 in until the middle of August. The 

 latest propagations make up nicely in 

 6-inch or 7-inch pans, being dwarf and 

 stocky. Keep the cuttings potted off 

 as soon as they root. It cripples them 

 severely to have roots broken and it is 

 best to lift them as soon after roots 

 are formed as possible. Plants propa- 

 gated early will be rather tall for mak- 

 ing up into pans, but will pay well 

 if potted on and flowered in 6-inch 

 pots; or, if bench space permits, they 

 can be planted out, but be sure it is 

 in a house where a minimum tem- 

 perature of 60 degrees is at command, 

 or the bracts will not develop in sea- 

 son for the holidays. Old stock plants 

 benched in June are now growing vig- 

 orously. Each of these makes several 

 strong shoots and these will need stakes 

 before long to keep them straight. 



GUBANIUM STEMS EATEN. 



This spring I planted out, for stock, 

 a bed of Alphonse Bicard geraniums. 

 During the last few days I have noticed 

 some of them wilting. Upon removing 

 some of them to ascertain the cause, I 

 found the stems eaten completely hol- 

 low and, scores of little, white, ant-like 

 insects in them. Not having had any 

 trouble heretofore with this pest, I am 

 anxious to find out whence they came 

 and how I can get rid of them. One 

 after another, the geraniums seem to 

 be going the same way. A. P. 



I have never had geraniums attacked 

 in the way described, and as the cor- 

 respondent has not forwarded any speci- 

 mens for examination, I am unable to 

 state whether I am acquainted with the 

 pest or not. As to whence they came, 

 that is a hard query to answer. It 

 might be asked of scores of other pests 

 which we are constantly fighting. It is 



more than likely that the insects or 

 small maggots enter from the soil 

 through the roots, tunneling their way 

 up to the shoots. 



Eemedial measures are not easy, but 

 you can kill anything in the soil itself 

 by boring holes with a pointed stick, 

 eighteen inches apart each way, and 

 pouring a teaspoonful of carbon bisul- 

 phide in each hole. This carbon costs 

 about 25 cents per pound can, at retail. 

 Fill the holes with soil immediately 

 after you have poured in the liquid. 

 You might also try spraying the plants 

 well with a nicotine solution. Water- 

 ing the ground with tobacco water has 

 been found helpful for root maggots and 

 might help in this case, as also would 

 dusting the ground rather heavily with 

 tobacco dust and scratching it into th& 

 soil. None of these remedies will hurt 

 the plants and some one of them, or a 

 combination, may help to clear out your 

 pests. C. W. 



