10 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



June 30, 1910. 



THE PEOPLE S FLOWER. 



Its Popularity Increases. 



rcuiiies c'oiitiiiuo to yrow in I'avor 

 each year and tin re ;ue many reasons 

 why this is so. Th^y are anionj,' tlio 

 liai'ilicj-1 (it all licrli.-H-eons ]ieren)iials ; 

 (incc ]ilant('il, they are ;j;t)0(l for a iinni- 

 her oi N-ears. improxe in valiH' y(>arly 

 and rarely fail to give an al)nndance 

 (it lldwers; they are coniparatiNely free 

 tidiii tlic insects and Idights that affect 

 nearly e\ciy phint grown, whether 

 liardy (ir tcndci-. ainl ail these quali- 

 ties nialve them easily cared for. (Jiven 

 generous ground and a lilieral to|>-dress- 

 ing eacli fall, they uill yield an abun- 

 dance of high-grade llowers. Over a 

 large section of the country tlie peony 

 crop ^vas this year unusually good, 

 thanks to generous lainfalls. Jler(; and 

 there some damage was done to llower 

 buds by late, severe^ spring frosts. The 

 loss, liowe\er. from tliis cause lias not 

 been serious. 



Every llorist who grows for his own 

 retail trade sliould grow some jieonies; 

 not oidy the llowers, Imt the roots can 

 be disposed of. ICven today stock of 

 really first-c];iss commercial varieties is 

 none too almndant. No effort slioidd 

 be made to grow a lot of varieties; one 

 or two of eacii color is far betti^r. 

 The cheapest nre in many cases the 

 poorest, and in buying peonies it is 

 far better to p:iy oO cents per root 

 for really good sorts, in colors whicli 

 will s(dl on siglit. rather tlnin roots at 

 a fourth this jirice, of varieties which 

 may grow luxiiriantly, Vjut which no 

 one will want to buy. 



Some Good Whites. 



Pure white and pink are the two 

 popular selling colors. Kose sells fairly 

 well, and for dark red there is a 

 moderate call only. The purplish shades 

 no one wants at any j)rice. No white 

 variety as yet rivals Fcstiva maxima 

 in popularity; it has a larger sale than 

 any other jicony. The variety Festiva, 

 of dwarfer habit and with smaller flow- 

 ers, sliould not be overlooked. Cou- 

 ronne d 'Or, with pnre white globular 

 flowers and yellow stamens, is a charm- 

 ing variety. The inner jictals are not 

 infreriuentl}- tipped with crimson. The 

 flowers have a fine odor. Calot's va- 

 riety of Duchesse de Nemours is one of 

 the finest sulpluiry whites for commer- 

 cial use. Tlie flowers are sweet scented. 

 Mario Lemoine, once tried, will always 

 bo grown. Its big, pure white flowers 

 are of ])erfect form. A fine variety is 

 Mmc. de Verneville, 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 inex[>ensive 

 .mhI deservedly popular sort. The broad 

 yiiMrd ]ietals open blush, but cluingc to 

 pure white. This jieony shi]is well 

 and is an excellent commercial variety. 

 Mnie. Calot is another lo\ely r>ure 

 white, with large guard i>etals. Mine. 

 ('iMusse is a good white; the central 

 petals are edged with bright cirmine. 

 Mine, de Vatry, ]iure white, with beau- 

 liiid blush guard ]ietals; Duke of Wel- 

 iiugton, sulphur Avhite, sweet scented, 

 ;ind La. Tulijie, snow white, slightly 

 !;iced with crimson and rose scented, arc 

 :ill excellent in their color. 



Some Fine Pinks. 



in soft pinks, which in liot weather 

 will turn almost white if left too long 

 <in the plant, Marguerite Gerard has a 

 1,1 ige, handsome flower, carried on ex- 

 t r;i strong stems, of a beautiful soft 

 pink shaile; .Teanne d'.'\rc is not a clear 

 jiink, being shaded with sulphur yellow 

 ;ind prettily marked with carmine, an 



excellent and robust growing variety; 

 Mine. Breon is of an exquisite peach 

 blossom color and blooms freely; Mme. 

 Diicel, 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 

 tine; 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. 

 Bastion Lejiage, 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. 

 liobou h;is a full, double flower of a 

 clear rose color; the old Humei is a 

 useful late sort, of a brilliant rose 

 color; Duchesse de 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-C(d- 

 ored center. 



iicd 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, arc good and in 

 expensive varieties. 



This list does not include some of 

 the newer and higher ])riced 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 

 ;i suitable time. Where it is intended 

 to leave the plants growing for a few 

 years, f'e rows should not be nearer 

 1 lifin four feet apart. 



HARDY ROADSIDE FERNS. 



We have inquiries from time to time 

 tor ferns 1m iilant outside that are 

 ii;iid\'. Slid: .as are fiuind in the ro.ads 

 in this jiart of Imli.'uia. Can thes(> be 

 (dit;iine(l from the grow<M's of ferns 

 or can the plants be obtained at all? 

 If so, liy 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 sjiecies 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 

 .\. aculeatum; Osmunda regalis and O. 

 Claytoniana; Dicksonia punctilobula, 

 Qnoclea 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-YEAR OLD TABLE FERNS. 



What is the best use to make of 

 one-ycarold table ferns during sum 

 mer? If they are planted in a frame 

 under lath shade and the fronds art 

 cut for design work, could the plant- 

 be divided in fall and used to fill fern 

 dishes during the winter? 



H. L. V. T. 



If the ferns are planted out in '< 

 frame for the summer and the frond- 

 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 oi 

 such species does not make the same 

 compact and shapely growth that i? 

 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 



