8 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



August 4, 1910. 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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. Do 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 Whites and Romans. 



The French grown bulbs are due to 

 arrive within a few daj'S; 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 Romans should be kept 

 (lark. If light, cover them with a layer 

 of ashos. 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 l)ulbs which 

 are not planted in the soil should be 

 jilaced in a cool, dry shed or cellar 

 until wanted. The narcissi can be had 

 in flower earh- in November and Eo- 

 mans for Tlianks^nving, 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 buUts of Trumpet Ma- 

 jor and Golden ISpur, as well as some 

 of Dutch growth, are to hand unusually 

 early tiiis season, some large growers 

 receiving their Golden Spurs the last 

 week in .lul}-. 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 hard)}' 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. Remove 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 iiot 

 weather and their rate of growth be- 

 comes much accelerated after the nd 

 of August. 



Asparagus Sprengeri. 



If there are any vacant ben. les 

 which are intended for that ever se. 

 ful plant, Asparagus Sprengeri, lioy 

 should be planted with as little d( :iv 

 as possible, in order that there may he 

 a good crop of shoots sufl[lciently \\>i\\ 

 ripened before winter. A. Spreng ri 

 is common, but it is a sure crop ji id 

 quite a profitable one. It is indisp. ri- 

 sable for any country florist, for eveiv- 

 one who buys flowers wants some sur 

 able green, and nothing is more useiul 

 than A. Sprengeri, 



It is a good plan to grow a few lar^e 

 baskets of this plant and allow th( m 

 to produce and ripen seeds, which c;iii 

 be sown as soon as ripe. Ofttimcs 

 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 whii-h 

 will suit roses or mums will be found 

 all right for it. A point worthy of re 

 membrance is never to cut a plant otr 

 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 eacii plant. 



Look over old benches which are be 

 ing carried over. A mulch of rotted 

 manure will prove beneficial. Remove 

 any old shoots which show signs ol 

 yellowing foliage. Also, do not kee]i 

 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 arc 

 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 LONGIFLORUM. 



From an uninhabited island in thi 

 Loochoo group, south of Japan, came 

 the bulb from which was grown the 

 longiflorum lily shown in the ac 

 companying illustration. The plio 

 tograph was supplied by Ralph M. 

 Ward & Co., who say it represents a 

 promising lily. Seitaro Aral, 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, 



