10 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



JULY 14, 1910, 



BEGONIA CORAULINA LUCERNE. 



That Begonia Corallina Lucerne is a 

 plant of exceptional value to the trade 

 is the opinion formed by William Bier- 

 stadt & Son, Springfield, 111., as the re- 

 sult of a rather extended experience 

 with the variety. So well do they think 

 of it that they have worked up what 

 they believe to be the largest stock of 

 this variety anywhere in the world, 

 feeling sure that as soon as it becomes 

 well known it will have a large and 

 constant sale. 



The character of Begonia Corallina 

 Lucerne is well shown in the accom- 



panying illustration, which is from a 

 plant grown by Bierstadt & Son. The 

 specimen is in a 12-inch pot and stands 

 five feet high from the top of the pot, 

 the diameter of the plant being some 

 four feet. This specimen has ten clus- 

 ters of fully developed flowers, with 

 numerous other clusters in different 

 stages of development. Each cluster is 

 composed of from fifty to seventy in- 

 dividual flowers, coral red in color. The 

 leaves are olive green spotted with 

 silver, and bright red beneath. It 

 blooms continuously and freely from 

 April to November, even small plants 

 producing large clusters of bloom. 



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I SEASONABLE 



I -^^^ SUGGESTIONS | 



I 



Seasonable Bepairs. 



Carnations and roses are now being 

 thrown out and replanting is already 

 well under way. Even at the hottest 

 time of the year, the florist always 

 finds plenty to do. There will be lots 

 of bench building or repairing. With 

 the increased use of cement, this latter 

 will be less and less a factor each year. 

 Indoor painting may be a necessity. It 

 is hot work these torrid days, but 

 cloths can be laid over the roof to make 

 it more tolerable for the workmen. In 

 winter, when some inside painting might 

 be done, crops are in the way and the 

 woodwork is moist from frost or con- 

 densation half the time. Summer, there- 

 fore, is the only time we can really do 

 it satisfactorily. Repairing ventilators 

 may be necessary. Do it now and, by 

 the way, be sure that they are kept 

 well oiled and greased, so that they will 

 run easily. This is particularly neces- 

 sary in houses where the ventilators 

 are not self-oiling and up-to-date. It 

 makes hard work for the employees 

 when they are allowed to become dry. 



If you have not before found time to 

 do it, clean up around the houses well. 

 Do not leave any empty pots or flats 

 lying around. Get rid of any scattering 

 bedding plants, which no one will want 

 now. Get rid of the weeds. Keep the 

 lawns mowed and the grass edges 

 trimmed. All this may not bring you 

 in any money right away, but it will 

 tell later. The majority of customers 

 love neatness and prefer to patronize a 

 well-kept establishment to one where 

 they are perpetually dodging weeds, 

 stones, loam heaps and sundry recep- 

 tacles. Yes. it pays to be neat both 

 in the greenhouses and outside, and 

 the most prosperous florists, you will 

 note, are always those who follow these 

 principles. 



Outdoor Work. 



While houses are being emptied and 

 refilled, it may be well during the hot- 

 test hours of the day to call a brief 

 halt on this work and give needed at- 

 tention to outdoor operations. No mat- 

 ter how hot and dry the weather, weeds 

 will grow apace. Hand or horse culti- 

 vation will take care of many of these, 

 but not all. The hand hoe and weeder 



must be used among the plants not less 

 than once in two weeks to keep them 

 clean. The big weeds will need pulling 

 by hand; smaller ones the hoe will ac- 

 count for. It is not possible to culti- 

 vate the ground too much these hot 

 days. The more the soil is stirred, the 

 better will the plants thrive, and espe- 

 cially necessary is it to get over the 

 soil after heavy rains, which bake the 

 surface. 



Water the sweet peas if you would 



prolong their season in dry weather, 

 and if you have them well mulched, as 

 previously advised, they will stand a 

 severe drought remarkably well. Be 

 sure, however, to keep all seed pods 

 removed. 



You may want to sow some seeds 

 from your best delphiniums, foxgloves, 

 lupines or other hardy plants. Sow the 

 seeds at once and you will get nice 

 plants before fall. Any seed pods not 

 needed should be removed. In the case 

 of delphiniums, this will insure a good 

 second crop late in August. 



Unless your Japanese irises are in 

 moist ground, water them well to im- 

 prove the flowers and prolong the 

 blooming season. 



Early asters are starting to flower. 

 The black beetle attacks are generally 

 worst in August. The best remedy is 

 to spray with Paris green, an ounce to 

 twelve gallons of water. This will not 

 hurt the plants or discolor the flowers, 

 but it will settle the beetles. 



Rose beetles are troublesome at this 

 season. To protect roses, especially the 

 white ones, a good plan is to use a few 

 of the early flowering Hydrangea ar- 

 borescens. The beetles will attack 

 these and spare the roses. 



Hydrangea Arborescens. 



Every florist should plant some of 

 the hardy early and perpetual blooming 

 Hydrangea arborescens grandiflora. 

 There have been several more Latin 

 names tacked on by botanical experts, 

 but the foregoing is sufficiently long 

 for any ordinary grower. This hydran- 

 gea does not winter-kill. It flowers from 

 June until frost. The flowers are pure 



Begonia Corallina Lucerne. 



