22 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Adqust 24, 1911. 



A WIND STOBM IN INDIANA. 



Anders Basmussen, of New Albany, 

 Ind., reports that on Saturday, August 

 12, a cyclone struck his place and 

 wrecked a greenhouse 42x300, built 

 this summer. The two accompanying 

 illustrations, reproduced from photo- 

 graphs submitted by Mr. Basmussen, 

 show the efiEect of the storm. The 

 glass, however, had been removed be- 

 fore the photographs were taken. 



"We saved," Mr. Basmussen says, 

 "about 125 boxes of the glass and 

 about seventy-five per cent of the wood 

 and iron work. This house was built 

 with concrete walls, with lVl>-inch pipe 

 posts imbedded in the concrete, and 

 also with three rows of l^^-inch posts 

 supporting the roof, and truss work 

 supporting the purlins. The IV^-incE 

 posts were also braced both ways with 

 5-16-inch iron rods. You will notice, 

 from the pictures, how the posts and 

 everything else were bent and twisted. 

 The storm took in only a narrow area, 

 but uprooted large trees in its path. 

 We are thankful that it struck only a 

 corner of our place. We will rebuild 

 at once and replace the one house de- 

 stroyed with two houses, 35x300 and 31 

 x300. We figure our loss in building 

 and stock at from $2,500 to $3,000, 

 with no insurance. We have repeatedly 

 tried to get cyclone insurance, but can 

 get no company to take the risk on 

 the fflass. ' ' 



HARDY ANNUALS. 



For Winter Flowering. 



European visitors who were here at 

 the time of the Boston S. A, F. Na- 

 tional Show commented on the im- 

 mense ranges of glass they had seen 



flowers, as compared with the European 

 markets. We are yearly growing a 

 wider variety of flowers in winter, how- 

 ever, and the growers in many cases 

 would be willing to try batches of what 

 are still practically novelties if the re- 

 tailers could be depended upon to 

 purchase them, push their sale and 

 give them proper encouragement. There 

 are certain progressive retail florists 

 who are constantly on the lookout for 

 something out of the beaten track, but 

 still many seem unable to see beauty 

 or profit in any flowers beyond roses, 

 carnations, mums, violets and bulbous 

 stock. 



Tender annuals fill an important 

 place, especially as pot plants, but for 

 bench culture the so-called hardy an- 

 nuals, varieties such as are commonly 

 cultivated in summer outdoors, give us 

 quite a wide range of selection. Of 

 these, sweet peas, mignonette, ten 

 weeks' stocks and one or two others 

 hardly need mention, as they are al- 

 ready sufficiently known. In sweet peas 

 alone what an advance has been made! 

 A decade ago they were practically un- 

 known as a winter flower in the big 

 markets, while now they are purchas- 

 able every day in the year, and during 

 at least half that period are more popu- 

 lar than even carnations themselves, 

 and their culture is increasing with 

 leaps and bounds. 



A few of the annuals which are be- 

 ing grown to some extent for winter 

 and spring flowering are: Antirrhin- 

 ums, larkspurs, lupines, schizanthus, 

 cornflowers or centaureas, calendulas, 

 candytuft, leptosyne, salpiglossis, sweet 

 alyssum, dimorphotheca and nasturti- 

 ums. To these might be added zinnias, 

 chrysanthemums, godetias, clarkias and 

 Drummond phlox, which are grown, but 







A Wind Storm'i Work on Range of A. Rasmuswn, N<w Albany, lod. 



that were devoted exclusively to the 

 culture of roses and carnations, and 

 while speaking in terms of the highest 

 praise of their splendid culture they 

 spoke at the same time of the over- 

 whelming proponderance of those two 

 flowers and the lack of varietv in cut 



only to a minor extent and chiefly for 

 Memorial day trade, A number of these 

 annuals are now seen in the big mar- 

 kets and are eagerly purchased, but 

 there is room for many more, espe- 

 cially in the early spring, when critical 

 buyers demand a change from the om- 



nipresent roses and carnations. For 

 the benefit of growers who are looking 

 for some desirable catch crop or_ for 

 something new to try, I shall briefly 

 refer to some of the more important 

 of these hardy annuals. 



Antirrhinums. 



., Comparatively few antirrhinums 

 were grown under glass a dozen years 

 ago. Now they are one of the staple 

 winter and spring flowers, 'and the pres- 

 ent season, judging from the numerous 

 inquiries received, will see more of 

 them grown under glass than ever be- 

 fore. Their culture has been often 

 described in these columns, so it will 

 suffice to say that they may be flowered 

 inside from November until June, that 

 they may be propagated from either 

 seeds or cuttings, that they grow well 

 in a night temperature of 45 to 50 

 degrees and need just such a soil as 

 roses and carnations thrive in. Seed 

 may be sown now. The plants will 

 not give much bloom before February. 

 For an earlier crop the plants should 

 be bought. For a Memorial day crop 

 sow seeds early in February and bench 

 about the end of March. The tall va- 

 rieties are the best for indoor culture. 

 The popular colors are pink, white, 

 yellow and scarlet. 



Schizanthus. 



Schizanthus has become quite popu- 

 lar of late years, especially for pot 

 culture, for which it is well adapted. 

 As a bench plant it cannot be recom- 

 mended, as it seems to grow stockier * 

 and flower more freely with the roots 

 confined. S. Wisetonensis is the popu- 

 lar pot variety. It is much dwarfer 

 than grandiflorus oculatus and retusu-' 

 albus. Sow in pans or flats. Pot off 

 singly and keep pinched for some time, 

 to get nice, bushy, stocky plants. Grow 

 in a light and cool house. Schizanthus 

 cannot be forced hard. They may be 

 flowered from Christmas until June, 

 and are especially useful in March and 

 April. The flowers last splendidly 

 when cut and are excellent for use in 

 vases or for table centerpieces. A tem- 

 perature of 45 degrees at night is bet- 

 ter for these than 50 degrees. 



Lupines. 



Sown now in four to five inches of 

 soil in a light, airy house, the annual 

 pink lupine will flower for Christmas. 

 A successional batch, put in near the 

 end of October, will prove useful in 

 February and March. This is a charm- 

 ing annual and its color makes it sell 

 on sight. L. Hartwegii, white and blue, 

 will not flower satisfactorily at Christ- 

 mas. They need a longer season than 

 the pink variety already named, and 

 as they are of more robust growth 

 should be sown more thinly. In mid- 

 winter, care in watering is necessary, 

 as an oversupply will cause damping 

 off, while mildew is sometimes caused 

 by careless ventilation or spraying 

 overhead. A temperature of 45 de- 

 grees at night and a rather dry atmos- 

 phere suit lupines. Their spikes may 

 he arranged beautifully in vases. The 

 Hartwegii section, after the first spikes 

 are cut, will branch out from, the bot- 

 tom and throw a fine second crop. 



Calendulas. 



The pot marigold. Calendula offici- 

 nalis, is a common and easily culti- 

 vated annual. There are few varieties 

 which grow and flower more easily or 



