Mat 26, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



13 



I^MM^i 



OEBANIUMS FOB STOCK. 



If not already done, you should spare 

 help to plant out your own geranium 

 stock for future propagation. There are 

 many things of which a few small plants 

 will suffice, even if not put out until the 

 Fourth of July, but with the most im- 

 portant of all summer bedding plants, 

 the geranium, this will not do. If you 

 expect a big lot of healthy cuttings in 

 September or October you must plant 

 out healthy, vigorous plants now and 

 give them plenty of room. Geraniums 

 are usually planted about one foot 

 apart. At this distance they make a 

 mass of leaf and bloom, but the growth 

 is too much drawn up to be strong, and 

 on your own place for stock they are 

 better at least eighteen inches apart, 

 and get them growing well. 



More than once we have seen some 

 excellent variety sell entirely out. This 

 is bad management. If they had been 

 in the ground, with flowers and buds 

 picked off, you would have been all 

 right for the future. 



PLANTINO LAWN BEDS. 



Just a word about the operation of 

 planting our flower beds. If it is a bed 

 of geraniums or cannas with some edging 

 and it amounts to enough to be worth 

 while, we would rather one of our expe- 

 rienced men should do it for our cus- 

 tomers, as results will be better, both 

 for immediate appearance and future 

 welfare. 



We sometimea find that the planting is 

 not the only thing to do, for the bed is 

 still as it was left last fall. The dig- 

 ging should never be done without charge. 



With small plants like echeverias, san- 

 tolinas and alternantheras it is a simple 

 thing to squeeze the plants into the soft 

 ground. A good sprinkling with the hose 

 will start them going and a slight stir- 

 ring of the soil before it is quite dry 

 'vill prevent the soil from baking. This 

 method, however, is not always satisfac- 

 tory with larger plants, such as fine flow- 

 ering geraniums. It is time and labor 

 "■ell spent to make a hole of ample size, 

 put in the plant and enough soil to sur- 

 round the ball and give it a good firm- 

 '?g, but do not fill up the little excava- 

 tion. Water each plant thoroughly. You 

 Know then that the ball of roots and the 

 ground immediately around the ball are 

 well saturated. In a few minutes the 

 water has soaked away and then fill in 

 with the dry earth you took out with the 

 trowel. That will act as a mulch and be 

 worth five waterings on the surface. 

 Many flower beds are foolishly rounded 

 up and in that case it is difllcult to water 

 on the surface and get it to penetrate. 

 A soaking would wash the loose soil onto 

 the grass and not thoroughly wet all the 

 roots. This plan may and does take a 

 'ittle longer, but it is work well done. 



The RiviEW can supply any horticul- 

 tural books at publishers' prices. 



THE COMPOST HEAP. 



The last half of May is a strenuous 

 one for all florists, and it is difficult 

 to adequately keep abreast of all work 

 demanding attention. It is a far too 

 common practice to see compost heaps 

 prepared in late fall or early spring 

 hidden from view by masses of rank 

 weeds, and many a time have we seen 

 a scythe used to mow them down so 

 that an opening could be made in the 

 pile. Common sense must tell us that 

 when we allow weeds to thus overgrow 

 valuable bench compost much of its 

 value must be exhausted. There are no 

 doubt many other duties pressing, but 

 a boy will clean off a big compost pile 

 in a few hours, and it will be labor well 

 expended. See that it is not neglected. 



We will soon be filling the benches 

 for chrysanthemums, for roses and for 

 carnations, where they are grown under 

 glass in summer, and the compost, in 

 addition to being freed from weeds, 

 should be chopped down and turned 

 over. Presuming that a goodly propor- 

 tion of cow or horse manure was added 

 to the sod in the late fall, it will need 

 no addition now, unless it be some fine 

 bone. This is excellent for chrysanthe- 

 mums, but some growers of roses and 



carnations are not so sure of its bene- 

 fits in the soil; in fact, some well- 

 known carnationists are doubting if 

 bone pays for itself. Our own opinion 

 is that if added some time before using 

 the compost it is helpful. We disap- 

 prove, however, of mixing it in at 

 planting time. 



BEPAIBING BENCHES. 



The passing of Memorial day and the 

 steadily decreasing numbers of bedding 

 plants now gives us considerable bench 

 room. Unless we are fortunate enough 

 to have cement benches, now being rec- 

 ognized as the bench of the future, and 

 costing no more than wood, especially 

 when their imperishable character is con- 

 sidered, there will always be some re- 

 pairing to be done when the benches 

 have been emptied. Use the old car- 

 nation or rose soil for top-dressing the 

 grass land, or spread it where it can 

 be plowed under. After doing all need- 

 ful repairing and thoroughly cleaning 

 out the benches as well as all collected 

 dirt below them, give them a good 

 whitewashing, using hot, freshly slaked 

 lime. On new benches a coating of 

 crude oil will act as a preservative and 

 is not injurious to plant growth in any 

 way, but avoid using any of the -tar 

 mixtures. None of them is fit to use 

 on the inside of the benches. While 

 cleaning the benches, do not forget the 

 roofs of the houses. If you have no 

 time to paint them, use the hose on 

 them freely and let them have a good 

 scrubbing. This will insure a lot more 

 light. Speaking of benches and bench 

 material, if you have not tried pecky 

 cypress yet, do so. Its appearance may 

 not enthuse you, but of its lasting quah- 

 ties many a big grower will testify. 





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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



I 



Hardy Boses. 



Remove all sucker growths of Man- 

 etti or briars from hybrid perpetuals 

 or hybrid teas, or they will speedily 

 weaken and eventually kill out the 

 roses themselves. As buds are now ap- 

 pearing, the rose slug or leaf -roller will 

 be getting in its work, and it is sur- 

 prising how much damage it can do in 

 a day or two. Hellebore dusted on the 

 foliage while damp will clean out the 

 leaf-roller. If rain washes it off, a sec- 

 ond application may be needed. For 

 aphis nothing is better than kerosene 

 emulsion. Where the hose can be used 

 with plenty of pressure, this in itself 

 will keep the plants clean. To secure 

 good flowers, commence disbudding as 

 soon as the buds are of sufficient size 

 to handle. Hardy roses can hardly be 

 overwatered and in dry weather an 

 occasional soaking will wonderfully im- 

 prove them. 



Peonies. 



While peonies bloom at Memorial day 

 in some sections, they are a June flower 

 in many states, and without them we 



would lose one of our most valuable 

 June decorative flowers. Like roses^ 

 they enjoy lots of moisture and, now 

 that the buds on the herbaceous sorta 

 are showing, a scattering of some quick 

 working chemical like nitrate of soda 

 among them will be of benefit. Attend 

 to disbudding before the flower buds 

 get too large. If you are anxious for 

 some late flowers on any particular va- 

 rieties, pinch out the central and leave 

 one of the side buds. The latter will 

 bloom some days later. 



Oatdoor Flower Crops. 



While May has been a little more 

 generous than the two preceding months 

 with its rainfall, in important parts of 

 the country it is not equal to normal, 

 and it behooves us to assist in every 

 possible way in conserving such moist- 

 ure as falls from the heavens. After 

 each rain, before the ground gets a 

 chance to dry out too much, far less 

 bake, get out the cultivator and stir the 

 soil about all growing crops. You cannot 

 overdo the tickling of the surface soil. 

 If at any time out of a job, go to cal- 



