

AtjQCST 24. 1011. 



The Weekly Florists' Review! 



23 



.';^r''-*#iS,-''f,'. :- . ..:-H,j^«i*V>,£..;<ii <m-/-;., 



A "Wind Storm's Work on Range of A. Rasmussen, New Albany, Ind. 



more persistently. (Jrange King, deep 

 orange, and Lemon Queen, clear lemon 

 yellow, are the two best varieties. Sown 

 in a bench now, they will be in flower 

 for Christmas. Give the plants suffi- 

 cient space, as they spread consider- 

 ably. If the flowers are kept closely 

 cut, the plants will flower the ^v^lole 

 winter. The stems will not be long, 

 but bunches have sold well during the 

 last two winters and springs. One of 

 the best benches of calendulas seen was 

 lit the cool end of a carnation house, 

 in a temperature averaging 50 degrees 

 nt night, but they can be successfully 

 yrown a few ilcgrees cooler. 



Dimorphotheca. 



The dimorphotheca, when introduced 

 some two or three years ago, created 

 quite a sensation. It is a native of 

 Xamaqualand, South Africa, and has a 

 neat branching habit. The rich orange 

 flowers and darker disks of D. auran- 

 tiaca, which is the best known variety, 

 are marguerite-like and are conspicu- 

 ous. Few annuals will flower more 

 quickly from seed. In spring six weeks 

 is sufficient to bloom it. The flowers 

 last well when cut; the only objection 

 to them is that they close on dull days 

 and at night. When cut a couple of- 

 days, however, the flowers remain ex- 

 t>anded and for so fragile looking a 

 flower they last surprisingly. A nar- 

 row bench suits dimorphothecas. If 

 a carnation bench is unavailable, try 

 them for a catch crop. Keep the flow- 

 ers closely picked and they will bloom 

 a long time. 



Larkspurs. 



The annual larkspurs are not so well 

 known, and hence are not so largely 

 j;rown as their qualities would seem to 

 warrant. Not even as an outdoor an- 

 nual are the.v properly appreciated, 

 while under glass they are still, with 

 nineteen out of twenty, an unknown 

 •fjuantity. Their culture does not great- 

 ly diflfer from that of antirrhinums, 

 ^ow in flats, pot off singly and plant in 

 beds or benches nine to twelve inches 

 apart each way. Pinch out the first 

 ■spike as it appears. This will give bet- 

 ter branching plants. Under glass these 

 annuals grow four to five feet high, 

 or even higher, and give a wonderful 



amount of cutting. They are best in 

 quality when flowered from February 

 to the end of May. Sow now for a 

 February crop. For Memorial day the 

 seed can go in about February 20. Ex- 

 cellent colors to grow are pink, rosy 

 scarlet, pure white and lavender. These 

 annuals can be cut with long stems, 

 last well in water and are decorative. 

 They make an excellent crop for Me- 

 morial day. 



Salpiglossis. 



Salpiglossis is only seen on the mar- 

 kets to a limited extent during the 

 spring season. It is more tender than 

 other varieties already referred to and 

 can be grown 5 degrees warmer, a night 

 temperature of 52 to 56 degrees seem- 

 ing to suit it. It is best to sow it 

 in a temperature of 60 degrees and to 

 prick off in flats or pot singly, rather 

 than sow directly in the benches. The 

 plants can be grown quite close to- 

 gether, as they are not of a branching 

 or dense habit. The salpiglossis is a 

 rather easily damaged flower and is not 

 suitable for anything but short ship- 

 dents. It is attractive in a cut state 

 and a vase containing a mixture of 

 colors rivets attention at once. Most 

 flowers look best in separate shades of 

 eolor, but salpiglossis in mixture is 

 quite pleasing, the colors not aj^earing 

 to clash. 



Nasturtiums. 



Nasturtiums are everybody's flower 

 outdoors, their ease of culture and 

 floriferousness being great points in 

 their favor. They are not much grown 

 under glass, but they are easily grown 

 and for a late winter and spring crop 

 are quite acceptable. To flower eatly, 

 the roots must be restricted. If planted 

 in a bed or bench, they will not flower 

 at all. If in pots and allowed to root 

 through the bottom, they will bloonj. 

 abundantly. They are better if propa- 

 gated from cuttings, which can bo 

 taken now from the outdoor plants. 

 Seedlings seem to run too much to 

 growth. The brilliant scarlet variety 

 is the best, but, of course, any other 

 shade can be grown. Posts in the car- 

 nation or other houses, or strings run 

 along the rafters, are suitable to tie 

 them to. Of course, tall varieties only 

 are worthy of culture. A tempeiatire 



of 4.3 to 55 degrees at night is suitable, 

 the latter for early flowering. 



Centaureas. 



The well known blue cornflower or 

 bachelor's button, Centaurea Cyanus, 

 is quite a familiar object in the flower 

 markets, both in spring and summer. 

 It is, in fact, to be seen nearly all win- 

 ter in one or two cities, the demand 

 for it being quite constant, aLd it is 

 rated as a profitable crop. Both the 

 single and double blue form of Emperor 

 William are in favor; the double is 

 considerably in evidence this season. 

 This centaurea likes a light, airy and 

 fairly cool house, 45 to 48 degrees fit 

 night suiting it better than the fifties. 

 Sown thinly in benches, it does well. 

 In winter it requires careful watering 

 and should not be hosed overhead. 

 Keep the soil sweet and often stirred, 

 to prevent damping off. C. moschata, 

 the sweet sultan, has been tried to some 

 extent under glass during the last two 

 or three years. It does well grown a 

 little warmer than C. Cyanus. Under 

 glass it is not stung by the tarnished 

 plant bug, and while it will not bloom 

 like the old cornflower, its flowers 

 bring a more fancy price. Seed must 

 be sown much more thinly than in the 

 ease of C. Cyanus. There are yellow, 

 white and lilac colors, all of which sell 

 well. 



THE NEEDED NUMBER OF MEN. 



Can you inform me how many men 

 woiUd be needed to run 75,000 square 

 feet of glass, where a general line of 

 plants is grown for commercial use? 

 Of course, the number would be a little 

 different at different times of the yg»r. 



j-Tr; 



The number of men required for a 

 place of 75,000 square 'feet of glass 

 would vary considerably in accordance 

 with the kind of stock grown and the 

 nature of the trade — whether wholesale 

 or a combination of wholesale and re- 

 tail. If specialties are grown for the 

 wholesale trade, eight to ten men 

 could handle it readily, but if the 

 trade is mostly retail several more 

 hands could be used during the busy 

 season. W. H. T. 



kV/Z-.-A. ^.P^-^ 



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