10 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



July 21, 1910. 



Easter lilies were available all the year 

 aroujid, but callas still sell steadily if 

 not Isriskly; it largely depends on the 

 size of the market and how well it is 

 supplied •with similar stock at the, time 

 one's crop is ready. 



SEASONABLE SEED SOWING. 



Pansies. 



From July 20 to August 15 pansy 

 seed should be sown, the earlier date 

 being for the more northerly states and 

 the Tater period for the south. As a 

 general rule, the first week in August 

 is selected by a majority of the large 

 growers as a suitable date. There are 

 a number of American specialists who 

 handle excellent, large-flowered strains 

 of pansy seed. The bulk of this, how- 

 ever, comes from Europe. Trimardeau 

 Giant, either mixed or in separate 

 shades, is an excellent pansy, possessing 

 a robust constitution. Fine named va- 

 rieties of this pansy are: Queen of the 

 Blues, lavender blue; Snow Queen, pure 

 white; Emperor William, fine dark blue; 

 Golden Gem, clear yellow, and King of 

 Blacks, coal black. Gassier 's Giant is 

 a grand strain, the big flowers being 

 beautifully blotched. Where rich red 

 and wine shades are wanted, nothing 

 can beat Mme. Ferret. The seedlings, 

 however, do not grow so lustily as the 

 Trimardeau varieties. 



Seed sowing is usually done in the 

 open by the large specialists, the beds 



Be sure to keep the ground moist, but 

 let in a good current of air, top and 

 bottom, as a close, stuflfy atmosphere 

 will cause the little seedlings to damp 

 off. 



Bedding Violas. 



Bedding violas have smaller flowers 

 than pansies and are minus the blotches 

 peculiar to the latter. They are, how- 

 ever, much freer blooming and for dot- 

 ting among such bulbs as hyacinths and 

 tulips, or making separate beds in par- 

 tial shade, they are well worthy of 

 more attention. Their treatment is pre- 

 cisely the same as recommended for 

 pansies. Sow the seed broadcast, and 

 when of suflScient size transplant three 

 inches apart each way in coldframes 

 or outdoors in beds on well drained 

 ground, where water cannot lie. Such 

 sorts as Admiration, dark blue; Mauve 

 Queen, light blue; White Perfection, 

 pure white; Blue Perfection, mauve, 

 and grandiflora lutea, golden yellow, are 

 all strictly first-class. 



Myosotis. 



Myosotis always meets with a big 

 sale in the spring months. Like the 

 violas, it is splendid for filling in be- 

 tween bulbs, and there is also a strong 

 call for it for cemetery planting. The 

 first week in August is sufficiently early 

 to sow myosotis, as the seedlings grow 

 rapidly. For spring bedding the variety 

 sylvatica, of spreading and robust 

 habit, is the best. For. pot culture or 

 planting along the edges- of benches, M. 



Freesia Ptmty. 



being covered by a light mulch until 

 germination takes place. Where at most 

 a few thousand plants only are needed, 

 a better and surer plan is tcf sow in 

 coldframes in a compost of leaf-mold 

 and loam. Some old, well decayed hot- 

 bed manure can also be added with 

 benefit. After sowing, soak the soil 

 well and cover with board shutters, 

 mats or heavy cloth until the seedlings 

 germinate. Then let light in gradually. 



dissitiflora is excellent, as is the va- 

 riety Royal Blue, which latter carries 

 extra strong stems. Where compact 

 plants are wanted for setting in bas- 

 kets, nothing can be better than the 

 variety Alpestris Victoria, procurable 

 in separate shades of blue, pink and 

 pure white. ■ The greatest seller is, of 

 course, blue, but there are some cus- 

 tomers who are quite carried away with 

 the pink variety. These myosotis are 



excellent for planting in the rock gar- 

 den or for natural planting in any place 

 where they can have a little shade. 



Double Daisies. 



Double daisies need not be sown be 

 fore the beginning or middle of August 

 as they grow quickly. They are satis- 

 factory as a groundwork in bulb beds 

 and, given some shade and water, will 

 bloom all summer. They sell well put 

 up in small baskets in spring and, while 

 they will never be disposed of in any 

 such quantities as pansies, it will pay 

 any country florist to grow a few hun- 

 dreds or thousands for spring trade. 

 Seed is procurable in either mixtures or 

 separate shades of pink and white. The 

 flowers come quite double from seed. 

 Treated the same as pansies, they will 

 succeed nicely. 



FBEESIAS. 



The bulbs of freesias will be procur- 

 able within a few days and, where a 

 batch is wanted for Christmas or New 

 Year's, the bulbs should be placed in 

 flats or large pans at once. For com- 

 post, two-thirds well decayed fibrous 

 loam, one-third cow manure, well dried 

 and passed through a %-inch screen, 

 and to which is added some flaky leaf- 

 mold and a good dash of sharp sand, 

 will be found all right. Freesias do well 

 in flats containing four inches of soil, 

 or in pans ten to twelve inches in diam- 

 eter, which can be set on shelves. The 

 latter method of culture gives better 

 spikes than the flats. The finest of all 

 freesias is Fischer's Purity, but a good 

 strain of refracta alba, when well 

 grown, is not to be despised. 



In planting just cover the bulbs. Set 

 the pans or flats on a cool cellar floor, or 

 in coldframes. The former is best. Give 

 a good watering and keep shaded until 

 growth has started, when light must be 

 given. Frame culture until the end of 

 September is the best. 



FLOWEE SHOWS IN LONDON. 



Boyai Horticultural Society. 



Two great shows have just been heM 

 in London — the summer show of th^ 

 Royal Horticultural Society, at Holland 

 Park, and the summer show of the Na 

 tional Rose Society, at the Royal Bo- 

 tanic Gardens. 



The dominant feature of the Horti 

 cultural Society's show was hardy flow 

 ers, set up in great profusion by thr 

 principal growers. In all the colleo- 

 tions delphiniums were the leading flow 

 ers. Rock garden and Japanese garden 

 exhibits were popular and there werr, 

 in addition, grand banks of orchids 

 and carnations and fine groups of roso^ 

 and sweet peas. 



Amos Perry, Enfield, outdistanced a;i 

 exhibitors with delphiniums, putting u < 

 huge groups of stately spikes in grenf- 

 variety and obtaining awards of merit 

 for Lamartini and Belladonna senii 

 plena. The new and popular delphin- 

 ium, Rev. E. Lascelles, was put up ii^ 

 excellent form by the raisers, A. A- 

 Walters & Son, Bath. Frank Lilley. 

 Guernsey, specialized in early flowerin;? 

 gladioli, showing eight or ten splendid 

 varieties and obtaining an award ot 

 merit for King Edward VII. 



In roses the sensation of the day was 

 Juliet, from William Paul & Sons, Wal- 

 tham Cross; this received a first-clafs 

 certificate. It is difficult to describe 

 the colors — pink and rose, shot with 



