24 



The Weekly Florists* Review* 



May 19, 1910. 



BUTTERFLY SWEET PEAS. 



I should like to grow a couple of 

 houses of the Butterfly (Spencer) sweet 

 peas next year and should like to get the 

 names and colors that sell best, also the 

 time to plant so they will come in the 

 latter part of April. I intend to plant 

 these two houses so they will come in the 

 middle of October, and two more to come 

 in in January. By replanting the two 

 again, I should be able to ship continu- 

 ously from October to June. J. F. N. 



The Spencer varieties of sweet peas 

 require a rather longer season under 

 glass to flower than the older type. Sow 

 the seeds early in January and they will 

 not be any too early. Some sown last 

 Christmas started flowering here April 

 10, being grown in an average night tem- 

 perature of 48 degrees. Sow the seeds 

 in flats and transplant, allowing foUr to 

 flve inches between each plant. This will 

 give much stronger haulm and stems than 

 those allowed to grow more thickly. 



Some of the most popular colors of 

 Spencer sweet peas are: White Spencer; 

 Countess of Spencer, clear pink; Mrs. 

 Eoutzahn Spencer, delicate pink on apri- 

 cot ground, very charming, a large flow- 

 er; Asta Ohn Spencer, lavender, suffused 

 mauve, a beautiful shade; Primrose Spen- 

 cer, pale primrose. These Spencer sweet 

 peas do well under glass until July 1, if 

 they have a large, airy house. C. W. 



WINTER FLOWERING PEAS. 



Let me know as to what kind of soil 

 I must use for the growing of winter- 

 flowering sweet peas. The land I am 

 going to put the houses on has well rotted 

 manure in it, also some nitrate of soda. 

 What is the best food for the peas 

 and what are the best varieties? Also 

 tell me where I can purchase a book 

 on sweet pea cultivation. F. B. 



If you have good, deep soil which is 

 liberally manured, sweet peas should do 

 well in it. The drainage, of course, 

 should be good. If inclined to hold 

 water on any part, it will require drain- 

 ing, either by tiles, to carry the water 

 outside, or by a good bed of stones or 

 coarse cinders. There is no need for 

 bed or benches. Sweet peas do best 

 grown right in the ground. The rows 

 should be five to six feet apart for best 

 results. They are sometimes seen much 

 closer, but that is a mistake. I would never 

 plant even the shortest growers closer 

 than four or four and one-half feet apart. 

 The houses cannot be too light. Ample 

 height must be provided. The rows are 

 best lengthways of the houses. 



Well rotted cow or horse manure should 

 be used freely in preparing the soil. 

 Spread it three to four inches thick and 

 get it down to the bottom of. the trenches 



when spading the ground over. Sheep 

 manure and fine bone are useful as sur- 

 face dressings during the flowering sea- 

 son. Fork the ground after applying. 

 Nitrate of soda I do not approve of,v 

 except for hurrying or toning up a crop. 



Good winter varieties are now quite 

 numerous. A few popular ones are : Mont 

 Blanc, Watchung, Florence Denzer and 

 Snowbird, white; Mrs. Alexander Wal- 

 lace, lavender; Mrs. William Sim, sal- 

 mon; Christmas Pink or Earliest of All, 

 pink and white. 



I do not know of any book treating on 

 sweet pea culture under glass. C. W. 



SWEET PEAS FOR OUTDOORS. 



I want to plant sweet peas in the open 

 ground for summer and fall blooming. 

 Will you kindly tell me which will he 

 the best pink, white and lavender, I 

 could use? Should the soil be heavily 

 manured? H. M. 



Soil for sweet peas must be heavily 

 manured and deeply plowed or spaded, 

 to secure best results. The following va- 



rieties can be highly recommended for 

 outdoor culture: White, Dorothy Eck- 

 ford; orange-pink, Helen Lewis; blush 

 pink, Mrs. Eoutzahn Spencer; clear pink, 

 Countess of Spencer; lavender, Lady 

 Grisel Hamilton or Frank Dolby. 



Sweet peas should be sown as soon as 

 possible after frost has left the ground. 

 If sown while the ground is cool and 

 moist, they will make strong roots before 

 the tops appear. If sown when the 

 ground has become warm and dry, they 

 germinate quickly, but the stems are 

 always weak, the plants having few roots 

 to support them. Mulching is of great 

 benefit, as it keeps the roots cooler and 

 more motst. C. W. 



SWEET PEA PRIZES. 



The following additional prizes have 

 been offered for the annual exhibition of 

 the National Sweet Pea Society of Amer- 

 ica, to be held in July : F. K. Pierson Co., 

 prize for the best twelve vases of sweet 

 peas; first prize $10, second prize $5; 

 Aphine Mfg. Co., prize for the best col- 

 lection of sweet peas, open to the florists 

 only; first prize $15, second prize $10; 

 Anton Zvolanek, prize for the best ten 

 vases of Spencer and Unwin types, $10; 

 John Young, prize for the best vase of 

 sweet peas never before exhibited, $5. 



We are expecting additional prizes and 

 the regular schedule is now in course of 

 preparation. The preliminary schedule 

 will be mailed upon application to any- 

 one requiring it. 



If any concern or individual wishes to 

 offer a prize for the coming exhibition, 

 kindly notify the secretary. The pros- 

 pects are that we shall have not less 

 than 3,000 vases exhibited this summer. 

 Details and particulars will be furnished 

 later. Harry A. Bunyard, Sec'y. 



CARRIED-OVER CARNATIONS. 



I have some small White Enchantress 

 carnation plants which I housed late last 

 fall and they bloomed during the winter. 

 Could these be cut back, planted out and 

 housed again this fall? If so, how should 

 they be treated? G. C. H. 



As a general proposition we do not 

 favor running carnation plants over for 

 a second season, but, as there are excep- 

 tions to all rules, we would not hesitate 

 to do so under certain conditions. 



When the plants are handled properly, 

 it can be done with success. We have 

 this season a bed of Beacon which was 

 worked for cuttings. After the propa- 

 gating season ended we cut them back 

 quite hard, so that when the new breaks 

 came the plants would be low and bushy. 

 At the present time the prospects for a 

 fine bed of Beacon are good. 



I would advise you to lose no time in 

 cutting back your plants, so that they 

 will be making new growth before the 

 weather gets too hot. Do not be afraid 

 to cut them back hard. I would say, 

 leave the main branches about four indies 



long. Clean off all the dead leaves and 

 do not be alarmed if you have only bare 

 stems left when you are through cleaning. 

 Eun the roots a little on the dry side, 

 but not extremely so, until the breaks 

 appear. A light spraying once or twice 

 on bright days will help the eyes to 

 break. When growth is resumed, water 

 more liberally and give a good, heavy 

 mulch of rotted stable manure. Guard 

 against red spider by syringing hard 

 every few days during the summer 

 months. More mulching and feeding will 

 be required than with young stock, plant- 

 ed in new soil, to keep the plants growing 

 and producing good blooms. 



There is less danger in this method of 

 treatment than there is in transplanting 

 the plants either to the field or to another 

 bench. The critical point is from the 

 time of cutting back to the resumption of 

 new growth. Be careful with the water- 

 ing; if this is overdone the breaks wiU 

 come weak, and if the water is withheld 

 the breaks will be few and the plants 

 straggly. j 



As I said in the beginning, we do not 

 approve or practice this idea except under 

 stress of circumstances. If we happen 

 to be short of a desirable variety, it is 

 permissible. Plants so treated are apt 



