26 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



May 19. I'.'lti. 



and slllMll(l tllCII l'('Ct'i\(' a '^umi cnMlill^ 



of lidt liiiir. Tliis, wliilc ariiii;^' as^ a 

 I)i-es('i\at i\(' til till' woikI, !•- a ;^i('at liclii 

 in lii'si rovini;' insect -;. 



Planting and Future Care. 



W'licn iillin;; tlic Itendios. tlio soil 

 should 1)1^ spread excnly and each hmij) 

 of any size sliould \)0 In'oken up, m) that 

 it may settle eveidy \\ith the future 

 ■vvatwin^. 



Particular care is necessary lo pi'e- 

 vent takinir wet soil into the house, as 

 soil that is handled in that eondition is 

 bound to pack, which yicatly impairs its 

 usefulness. 



At tiK! time iif jilantiufj in tlu^ lienehes, 

 it i.s wtdl to yive the soil a siiriuklin<r of 

 bono ineal. This is done liy simply 

 sproadiny the meal on the surface, -with- 

 out stirring it in, as all the hone the 



yimnj;- ])l;in1s need at that time will fall 

 around them at the tinu' of ))lantini;. 



When planting young stock they should 

 ho handled -with tho same care and inter- 

 est that they hav(,' received since propa- 

 gating time. This should bo watched 

 closely, for the success of a house de- 

 jiends a groat deal on this one point. 



Tho plants .should .a! disturbed as lit- 

 tle as ]>ossible when turning them out of 

 tho ]K)ts. and should be jilantod lirnily, 

 Just deep enough to cover tho balls and 

 leaving a snuill dopros.'^ion around the 

 ]ilants to receive water. 



The ])lants should bo ilistuvbod as lit- 

 as to prevent tho formation of mud. JOach 

 jdant should bo watered separately for 

 a. \vook or so, until the roots begin to 

 spread. It is Avell to syringe trequontly 

 during favorable weather, Jo encourag(^ 

 loaf develo])ment. 



\V. J. Vkskv. .Ir. 



r 



SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



"•^ 



Gardenias. 



Wq like to planT nur new stuck of gar- 

 denias in the benches early in .Inne. Tlioy 

 are now nicely rooted in ."i-incdi pots and 

 it may bo necessary t(p giv(> them a shift 

 into 4-inch p(ds, rather than allow them 

 to become jiotbountl. Homo growers think 

 it pays to carry o\er old jilawts. Some- 

 times these can lie jiruned back and 

 break nicely. The trc>ubl(>, however, is 

 that collar lot is liabl(> to attack them. 

 No matter how carefully ih(>y are looked 

 after, once this ajipears the ]>lants are 

 uselo.»-s. Kather than run any risk of this 

 kind, it is better to plaid afresh each 

 summei'. .Much id' the success of gar- 

 denia culture lies in haxing the compost 

 sufliidently porous so that water passes 

 readily tlirough it. In fine soil which 

 holds moisture long, the plants will inevi- 

 ta]>ly fall a ]»rey to tho yellows. 



Good fibrous hiam two-thirds, and tin; 

 other third diied. rather lumpy cow ma- 

 nure, broken idiaicnal and cuaise sand 

 makes an excelleid compnst. .V few- 

 shovels of soot, mi.xed through the idie 

 before Imusing it. \\\\\ assist inattrially in 

 keeping the foliage a dark, lustrous gi'een 

 color. J)o not use o\er five inches of 

 soil; four inches is better than six. Allow 

 tho i>l;ints eighteen to twenty imdii^s bo 

 tween the rows ;ind set tlieni lifteen to 

 eighteen inche.s ajiart. l)o not soak the 

 whole bed when wjitering them; merely 

 water around <-aili plaid and never satur- 

 rato tho beds, e\en in the hottest, most 

 drying wciitlier. I'.eiiclies wilh some lieiit- 

 ing fiipos iielow them are best when flow 

 ors in winter are winitod. and the house 

 tliey ai-(! grown in should b(> jiipod to 

 niaintain a minimum of ds to "M degrees 

 in the most severe weather. 



Bedding Out. 



The weather has boon so unseasonably 

 cool during May that it lia.s militated 

 against tho sale of tender bedding plants. 

 It is always a great advantage to the 

 average country florist if orders come 

 along in good season and climatic coiidi 

 tions permit of at least a fair projmr- 



tion of the bedding-out being done before 

 .Monioi-ial day. The cut liower business 

 in itself taxes one's en(>rgies at that 

 .^-t'ason. A great many customers want 

 their flower bods filled at home and vases 

 or small grave lots filled in the cemetery 

 and t'vory efl'ort should lie made to get 

 this w-ork done. It will |ii-olialily mean 

 long hours for .all hands, hut then ^le 

 morial day comes hut once a year ;iiid we 

 c;iii stand it. 



(ieraninms rem.ain the most popular of 

 all liedding plants, and it' well liardonei 

 will not sufl'er ;iny harm from e\eu a 

 light frost. <)n(> variety to a bed is the 

 most effoctiv(> way to use them. \ hand 

 (d' Mine. Sfdieroi ai'ound .(oan A'iaud or 

 .Taccjuori*^ does not add to its beauty .•ind 

 it is the same in vases. One filled, say. 

 with S. .\. Xutt wants no \ariegatod 

 \inca to ''set it off."' tfi use a hackneyed 

 phrase. If a drooping plant is used, let 

 it tie one with green foliage. 



Except in the w;irmer states, it is loo 

 early to I'isk alternanthera.s. acalyjilias. 

 crotoiis. colons and similar tender foliage 

 plants outdoors, hut gor.-iniums. xeihen.as, 

 begonias, hdjoli.as, agor.-itiims and other 

 \;nieties can go out with safety. (';innas 

 ;ire rather more delicate. Halilias, or at 

 lea^t lireon ones from cuttings, should he 

 kejit under cover ;i little longer. Helio 

 tropes and scarlet salvias are both tender. 

 ( )n the other hand, su(di aminals as stocks, 

 asters, Diumniond "s jihlox and dianthiis 

 can go out any linie now. l-^xcejiting 

 geraniums, which flower host when tho 

 soil is not too rich, other hedding jilants 

 like )ilenty of well mtteil maiune iiicor 

 j)iirated in the beds. 



Vases and Window Boxes. 



h'icli soil should always he used in 

 \ases and window hoxe^. .\s the |plauts 

 liaxc i)ut a moderate root inn. they .'^(lon 

 i.amify through it and. unless it has been 

 \\cll enriidied, they \vill show- spcnnly 

 signs of starvation. Tli(> use of window 

 boxes shows a surprising increase and 

 many id" the retailers in the cities find 

 this no unimiMirtant part of their busi- 



ness. As an ad\eitisement keep one or 

 two tilled outside the store to show would- 

 h(> customers how- boxes look if properly 

 ]il;inted. .\s a general rule, it is best to 

 fill those boxes at homo, unless they are 

 large and ho.-ivy. There are some custom- 

 ers who want their boxes refilled from 

 time to time. \Vhon this is the case a 

 nnmhor of plants whjch are not perpetual 

 hlooinors are permissible and at this time 

 ••in .arrangomout of marguerites, fuchsias, 

 hydrangeas, show- ])olargoniums ami Cal- 

 ceolaria (iolileu (iein, with suitahh; droop- 

 ing Jilants, like Lobelia gracilis, vinca, ivy 

 g(>ranium or tradoscantia, can lio used. 

 Ivy geraniums make a beaut if nl liox in 

 theinsel\-es and are not nearly I'liough ap- 

 ]ireciated. 



For piazza boxes greater deptii and 

 height is possible than is the case with 

 wimkiw- boxes; six to eight inches deep 

 for the latter is ;diout the limit, hut on 

 ])iazzas this may well bo increased to ten 

 or twelve inches deep and projiortionate 

 width to allow of tho use of some of the 

 hardier palms, crotons, draca'uas, ficus^ 

 etc.. of tolerable size. In sh.-idy spotS' 

 nophrolepis and other ferns do \\ell. Fan- 

 cy caladiums are excellent later in the 

 s(>;ison, if they are not too wimi-swept. 

 -Ml boxes, if at all possible, should be 

 filled now- and koi)t in a groonhouse until 

 wanted. In using palms, Plmnix rupicola 

 or (Jarariensis stands sun and wind well. 

 Kentias are not adapted for a sminy lo- 

 cation, neither are latanias. Draca-na Aus- 

 tralis and D. congesta are good green 

 pl.ants for centerpieces and will -taii<i sun 

 or shade equally well. 



Memorial Day Crops. 



More flowers are sold at .Memorial 

 day than jiny other holiday in the year 

 .•mil the uncertain weather conditions have 

 ko]it growers guessing as to what flowers 

 will he in season. It looks at this time 

 .-IS though indoor flowers wduld he par- 

 ticuharly valuable and every (dfort should 

 ho made to have as Large a cut as possible 

 ready, .\hout e\ciy florist h;is a imst of 

 orders for liouqtiets to fill and ,'t large 

 \ariety of floweis can be u>ed tor this 

 jiurpo^e. ('ro])S of ton weeks' stockSr 

 double feverfews, snapdragons, gl.'idioli, 

 larkspurs, candytuft, Sjiirioa .laponica 

 and lilies want careful watching. If 

 r.ither late, give them more iieat ; if early, 

 retard as much as possible. Gladioli, lilies, 

 callas ;inil a few other flowers will keep 

 some time in the cid fliiw(>r room, f] very- 

 thing with bright flowers is in great re- 

 quest, so that any late tulips which can be 

 cut and kept fresh will net gooii iirices. 

 While w-e disaiqnove of the wholesale 

 pickling of supplies, there are ;t number 

 of flowers which it will pay every tlorist 

 111 cut and hold mi h;iiiil for \h leorial 

 day. '■ 



Cyclamens. 



Ill ilie rush of other diilie'- do ii..i over- 

 look cyclamens. A little scratcliiii;_r over 

 of the surface soil. reiiio\;il ot' wei d^ and 

 occasional s|ireailiiig out will hi all that 

 is necessary until the plants are icady for 

 Larger sized pits, wliicli should ho five 

 inches in diameter. .\ night reading of 

 't'2 to r>'} degrees, shade during tlie warm- 

 est part of tho d;iy. a s|irayiiig with some 

 nicotine extract mice in ten days and 

 carid'nl watering will help t.i ImiM up 

 nice, stocky ])lants. .Vvoid n^iiig any 

 heavv shade, as it only causes a spin- 

 dling growth. When time ]»ermits. pre- 

 jiaro some compost to use when the plants 

 are ready for larger ])ots. Sterilization 

 of the soil will help to ward oft' attacks 

 of mite, and also accounts for all insects 

 and larva' contained therein. 



