10 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



June 30, 1910. 



THE PEOPLE'S FLOWER. 



Its Popularity Increases. 



Peonies continue to grow in favor 

 each year and there are many reasons 

 why this is so. They are among the 

 hardiest of all herbaceous perennials; 

 once planted, they are good for a num- 

 ber of years, improve in value yearly 

 and rarely fail to give an abundance 

 of flowers; they are comparatively free 

 from the insects and blights that affect 

 nearly every plant grown, whether 

 hardy . or tender, and all these quali- 

 ties make them easily cared for. Given 

 generous ground and a liberal top-dress- 

 ing each fall, they will yield an abun- 

 dance of high-grade flowers. Over a 

 large section of the country the peony 

 crop was this year unusually good, 

 thanks to generous rainfalls. Here and 

 there some damage was done to flower 

 buds by late, severe spring frosts. The 

 loss, however, from this cause has not 

 been serious. 



Every florist who grows for his own 

 retail trade should grow some peonies; 

 not only the flowers, but the roots can 

 be disposed of. Even today stock of 

 really first-class commercial varieties is 

 none too abundant. No effort should 

 be made to grow a lot of varieties; one 

 or two of each color is far better. 

 The cheapest are in many cases the 

 poorest, and in buying peonies it is 

 far better to pay 50 cents per root 

 for really good sorts, in colors which 

 will sell on sight, rather than roots at 

 a fourth this price, of varieties which 

 may grow luxuriantly, but which no 

 one will want to buy. 



Some Good Whites. 



Pure white and pink are the two 

 popular selling colors. Rose sells fairly 

 well, and for dark red there is a 

 moderate call only. The purplish shades 

 no one wants at any price. No white 

 variety as yet rivals Festiva maxima 

 in popularity; it has a larger sale than 

 any other peony. The variety Festiva, 

 of dwarfer habit and with smaller flow- 

 ers, should not be overlooked. Cou- 

 ronne d'Or, with pure white globular 

 flowers and yellow stamens, is a charm- 

 ing variety. The inner petals are not 

 infrequently tipped with crimson. The 

 flowers have a fine odor. Calot's va- 

 riety of Duchesse de Nemours is one of 

 the finest sulphury whites for commer- 

 cial use. The flowers are sweet scented. 

 Marie Lemoine, once tried, will always 

 be grown. Its big, pure white flowers 

 are of perfect form. A fine variety is 

 Mme. de Vemeville, with the inner 

 petals sometimes flaked with carmine. 



Eugene Verdier is one of the grand- 

 est of whites of globular form, which 

 no one will make any mistake in buy- 



ing. Queen Victoria is an inexpensive 

 and deservedly popular sort. The broad 

 guard petals open blush, but change to 

 pure white. This peony ships well 

 and is an excellent commercial variety. 

 Mme. Calot is another lovely pure 

 white, with large guard petals. Mme. 

 Crousse is a good white; the central 

 petals are edged with bright carmine. 

 Mme. de Vatry, pure white, with beau- 

 tiful blush guard petals; Duke of Wel- 

 lington, sulphur white, sweet scented, 

 and La Tulipe, snow white, slightly 

 laced with crimson and rose-scented, are 

 all excellent in their color. 



Some Fine Pinks. 



In soft pinks, which in hot weather 

 will turn almost white if left too long 

 on the plant. Marguerite Gerard has a 

 large, handsome flower, carried on ex- 

 tra strong stems, of a beautiful soft 

 pink shade; Jeanne d'Arc is not a clear 

 pink, being shaded with sulphur yellow 

 and prettily marked with carmine, an 



excellent and robust growing variety; 

 Mme. Breon is of an exquisite peach 

 blossom color and blooms freely; Mme. 

 Ducel, a beautiful, full flesh flower, with 

 silvery shading, is one of the finest 

 globular pinks in commerce; Albert 

 Crousse, soft, clear blush pink, is extra 

 fine; the old Pottsii alba is really more 

 of a pink than a white, the guard pet- 

 als being pink and the center blush. 



Among the deeper pinks and roses, 

 Bastien Lepage, bright pink, tipped sil- 

 ver, is among the best; Due de Gazes, 

 blooming in clusters, is of a deep pink 

 shade, the center being salmon; Mme. 

 Lebon has a full, double flower of a 

 clear rose color; the old Humei is a 

 useful late sort, of a brilliant rose 

 color; Duchesse d e Nemours (Gue- 

 rin's variety) is a large petaled 

 deep rose variety, while in Mme. Fur- 

 tado the deep rose guard petals make 

 a pleasing contrast to the salmon-col- 

 ored center. 



Red peonies do not meet with a heavy 

 sale and should not be grown to any 

 considerable extent. Francois Ortegat, 

 purplish crimson; Marechal Vaillant, 

 deep crimson, and Louis van Houtte, 

 rich purple crimson, are good and in- 

 expensive varieties. 



This list does not include some of 

 the newer and higher priced sorts, but 

 all are good, useful market varieties. 

 It is a good plan, while peonies are in 

 bloom, to mark undesirable ones and 

 make a note of good kinds which ought 

 to be bought. Planting is much better 

 done in late summer or early fall than 

 in spring; August 1 to October 1 is 

 a suitable time. Where it is intended 

 to leave the plants growing for a few 

 years, the rows should not be nearer 

 than four feet apart. 



HABDY BOADSIDE FEBNS. 



We have inquiries from time to time 

 for ferns to plant outside that are 

 hardy, such as are found in the roads 

 in this part of Indiana. Can these be 

 obtained from the growers of ferns 

 or can the plants be obtained at allt 

 If so, by what name are they known, 

 as we should be pleased to have some- 

 thing along this line? 



M. S. W. C. 



Some of the large dealers in ferns 

 also carry various hardy species in 

 stock, and it is highly probable that 

 such stock may be located by writing 

 to some of the growers who advertise 

 in The Review. 



Among the many fine, hardy ferns, 

 the following species are particularly 

 attractive: Adiantum pedatum; As- 

 pidium Felix Mas, A, acrostichoides and 

 A. aculeatum; Osmunda regalis and O. 

 Claytoniana; Dicksonia punctilobula, 

 Onoclea sensibilis, some of the asple- 

 niums, and Camptosorus rhizophyllus. 

 The last mentioned is the plant the 

 Indians named the Walking Leaf, from 



its habit of forming young plants at 

 the tip of its fronds. W. H. T. 



ONE-YEAS-OLD TABLE FEBNS. 



What is the best use to make of 

 one-year-old table ferns during sum- 

 mer! If they are planted in a frame 

 under lath shade and the fronds are 

 cut for design work, could the plants 

 be divided in fall and used to fill fern 

 dishes during the winter? 



H. L. V. T. 



If the ferns are planted out in a 

 frame for the summer and the fronds 

 are cut for design work, as suggested 

 in this query, the plants will be of 

 no value for filling ferneries the fol- 

 lowing winter, for divided stock of 

 such species does not make the same 

 compact and shapely growth that is 

 found on seedling plants. 



It would probably pay better to pot 

 on the ferns into 4-inch pots and keep 

 them in the frame for the summer, cov- 

 ered with a lath shade, as such stock 

 is found useful by many florists during 



