8 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



AuooST 4, 1910. 



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SEASONABLE 



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SUGGESTIONS 



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Marguerites. 



Look over the stock plants of mar- 

 guerites in the field. Most of these, if 

 cut back hard, will have broken away 

 and be flowering, but if you look over 

 the plants carefully, especially the 

 white flowering ones, you will now be 

 able to secure some nice, succulent cut- 

 tings without flower buds on them. 

 These are easily rooted in an ordinary 

 propagating bench. Pinch out the flow- 

 er buds, if any appear, and keep them 

 potted along. These will make you nice 

 plants in February and March. Cut- 

 tings taken in spring, before the plants 

 flowered, and still growing in pots will 

 show a strong persistency in throwing 

 flowers. Keep these pinched off as they 

 appear. D'o not become discouraged 

 at the appearance of the plants. As 

 the nights become cooler they will 

 make more growth and at Christmas 

 they will be in good bloom and prove 

 useful. , 



Paper Wliites and Bomans. 



The French grown bulbs are due to 

 arrive within a few days, some being 

 already en route. Get a number of 

 flats of each in as soon as possible. 

 Four inches of soil is sufficient. A cel- 

 lar floor is the best place to stand 

 them. The Bomans should be kept 

 dark. If light, cover them with a layer 

 of ashes. The narcissi will need no 

 such covering. A suitable place, if a 

 cellar floor is not at command, is a cold- 

 frame, where some board shutters can 

 be used to exclude the sun and prevent 

 the soil drying out. Any bulbs which 

 are not planted in the soil should be 

 placed in a cool, dry shed or cellar 

 until wanted. The narcissi can be had 

 in flower early in November and Bo- 

 mans for Thanksgiving, although they 

 do not sell so well while the mum tide 

 is at its height as a little later in the 

 season. 



Trumpet Majors and Golden Spurs. 



French grown bulbs of Trumpet Ma- 

 jor and Golden Spur, as well as some 

 of Dutch growth, are to hand unusually 

 early this season, some large growers 

 receiving their Golden Spurs the last 

 week in July. By starting these now 

 it will be quite possible to have them 

 in flower for Christmas, at which time 

 they are a welcome novelty and will 

 make good prices. 



Calceolarias. 



It hardly pays to sow the herbaceous 

 calceolarias during intensely hot weath- 

 er. The seeds germinate poorly and 

 are liable to damp off. Sow in a light 

 compost, consisting largely of leaf-mold 

 and fine sand. Make the surface 

 smooth. Soak with water before sow- 

 ing the seed. After sowing, cover with 

 a sheet of glass and lay paper over 

 this. Place in a coldframe facing 

 north, or in a lean-to house facing 



north. Examine them every day and 

 water through a fine rose on any signs 

 of dryness. Eemove the covering as 

 soon as the seedlings appear and keep 

 them close to the light. The glass 

 where they are growing must, of course, 

 be shaded. 



To secure strong plants of the rugosa 

 section for flowering about the end of 

 March, take cuttings now. selecting the 



A Loochoo Longiflorum. 



softest shoots. These root easily. 

 Grow them cool and airy all the time. 

 They will be as well outdoors until 

 October. The variety Golden Gem is 

 the most useful of this section. There 

 is also a yellow hybrid between this 

 and a yellow herbaceous form, named 

 Stuarti, with flowers double the size of 

 Golden Gem, which makes an excellent 

 pot plant. Its culture is simple, being 

 practically identical with that of Gold- 

 en Gem. 



None of the calceolarias enjoy hot 

 weather and their rate of growth be- 

 comes much accelerated after the -jxi 

 of Augfust. 



Asparagus Sprengeri. 



If there are any vacant bencaes 

 which are intended for that ever i,se 

 ful plant. Asparagus Sprengeri, they 

 should be planted with as little de'ay 

 as possible, in order that there may be 

 a good crop of shoots sufiiciently well 

 ripened before winter. A. Spreng ri 

 is common, but it is a sure crop a ad 

 quite a profitable one. It is indispen- 

 sable for any country florist, for every- 

 one who buys flowers wants some suit- 

 able green, and nothing is more useful 

 than A. Sprengeri. 



It is a good plan to grow a few larjfe 

 baskets of this plant and allow them 

 to produce and ripen seeds, which can 

 be sown as soon as ripe. Ofttimes 

 where bench space is at a premium a 

 dozen or two wire baskets of Sprengeri 

 suspended from the roof will give a 

 valuable lot of green to cut, and shoots 

 thus grown are really harder and better 

 than such as are bench grown. 



Sprengeri likes a rich soil; one which 

 will suit roses or mums will be found 

 all right for it. A point worthy of re- 

 membrance is never to cut a plant off 

 too closely at any one time. If all the 

 shoots are removed, the plant will be 

 seriously crippled. Always, therefore, 

 continue to leave one or two matured 

 shoots to each plant. 



Look over old benches which are be 

 ing carried over. A mulch of rotted 

 manure will prove beneficial. Bemove 

 any old shoots which show signs of 

 yellowing foliage. Also, do not keep 

 the house close and moist, or many of 

 the shoots, while thick, are liable to be- 

 come moldy and damp. Just now, and 

 for some weeks to come, fine strings 

 are to be had outdoors, where a batch 

 of plants was set out at the end of 

 May. If you are short of stock these 

 plants can be carefully lifted and 

 benched before frost arrives. 



Bouvardias. 



Look over the bouvardia plants in 

 the field and pinch back the runaway 

 shoots. Any which are showing a ten 

 dency to lean over should have a stake. 

 This is especially necessary with that 

 fine, sweet-scented variety, Humboldtii 

 corymbiflora, the shoots of which are 

 more brittle than the smaller and later 

 flowering sorts. The last named bou- 

 vardia can be had in flower over a 

 long period and its large, pure white, 

 deliciously scented flowers are welcome 

 both now and later in the season for 

 bouquet and design work. 



THE LOOCHOO LONGIFLOBUM. 



From an uninhabited island in the 

 Loochoo group, south of Japan, came 

 the bulb from which was grown the 

 longiflorum lily shown in the ac 

 companying illustration. The pho- 

 tograph was supplied by Balph M. 

 Ward & Co., who say it represents a 

 promising lily. Seitaro Arai, of Yoko- 

 hama, writes of it as follows: "The 

 appearance of these plants, leaves, etc., 

 is quite similar to giganteum, although 

 there are about half of green stemmed 

 giganteum and a few much more black 

 stemmed up to the top of the plant. The 

 6-inch bulbs planted there produce from 

 fifteen to twenty or more good flowers. 



