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September 9. 1909. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



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Store of Joseph Haube* Charleroi, Pa. 



As soon as the plants become well es- 

 tablished, be sure to give all the air and 

 light possible, for plants that are al- 

 lowed to make a soft, tender growth at 

 this season of the year will have no op- 

 portunity to "make good" later, when 

 conditions are naturally against plant 

 growth. 



Now, as soon as you have the house 

 filled, you should lift and pot up a good 

 supply of extra plants, to be held in re- 

 serve and put in the place of a plant here 

 and there that does not take hold well 

 and an occasional one that may possibly 

 die. This will enable you to have your 

 beds or benches look more uniform and 

 even than if you rely on lifting from out- 

 side, even allowing that the weather holds 

 on to permit this. Then, also, if you 

 have a holiday plant trade — which, if you 

 have not, you should work up — you want 

 to pot up a supply for this, as a well 

 grown pot of violets in full bloom is a 

 very satisfactory gift, liked and appre- 

 ciated by nearly everybody. In our 

 own experience we have never found any 

 variety to excel the Lady Hume Camp- 

 bell for this purpose, and, if well grown, 

 the flowers will be large, of good color, 

 and profusely borne on long, strong 

 stems. They also last longer and will 

 stand the high temperature that they en- 

 counter in most living rooms. Thus the 

 well grown plants are the most satis- 

 factory in the long run, both to custom- 

 ers and to yourself. What is best for 

 one's customers is what one should be 

 always looking out for, since a satisfied 

 customer is the one that brings the profit 

 to the grower. In these days of keen 

 rivalry and price cutting, the grower has 

 to look well to his ways to keep his 

 profits up to the proper mark, and it is 

 and always will be the grower that puts 

 the best on the market that will receive 



the rewards he is looking for, both in 

 money and in satisfaction. 



E. E. Shuphelt, 



NOTES ON BEDDING PLANTS. 



[A paper read by J. T. D. Fulmer, gardener 

 In City Parks, Des Moines, Iowa, before the 

 Society o? Iowa Florists, In session September 

 li 1909.] 



This topic is one that is many-sided 

 and the writer realizes fully the impor- 

 tance and necessity of keeping within a 

 reasonable scope. 



Bedding plants in parks are largely 

 composed of two groups. The first con- 

 tains the old-time favorites, such as cannas, 

 geraniums, coleus, santolina, alternan- 



theras, echeverias, Stevia variegata, petu- 

 nias, dahlias, roses, alyssum, artemisia, 

 achyranthes,'nelio trope, salvia, begonias, 

 celosia, pennisetums, verbenas, phloxes 

 and pansies. The second group contains 

 some of the newer ones, as araucarias, 

 crotons, pandanus, palms, dracsenas, aca- 

 lyphas, agaves and cactus. 



To the first group we look for our 

 main supply, for the reason that in this 

 climate they do better than many in the 

 latter group. 



Selection of Combinations. 



We prefer to use but one color of canna 

 or geranium in a bed, and above all, to 

 avoid using a border which does not har- 

 monize with that color. Thus a bronze- 

 foliaged canna should be bordered with 

 artemisia rather, than with Coleus Ver- 

 schaflfeltii, and a green-foliaged canna 

 should be bordered with a dark coleus 

 rather than with Coleus John Good. We 

 know of no border so effective for a 

 large bed of cannas as Pennisetum Eup- 

 pelianum. In good soil it should be set 

 about twelve inches apart to secure best 

 results. 



For dark geraniums, as S. A. Nutt, we 

 use Mme. Salleroi for border. We prefer 

 to have our geraniums in 4-inch pots, 

 good strong plants, well watered just 

 before planting out. Cannas also should 

 be strong 4-inch stuff at planting time, 

 which in this vicinity is from May 15 

 to June 1. 



We are fully aware that there is a 

 strong feeling against the so-called car- 

 pet-bedding, but we are willing to go on 

 record as saying that seven-tenths of 

 those who deride it are unable to prop- 

 erly do such work themselves and thus 

 we find it merely a case of "sour 

 grapes." If one cares to see which kind 

 of bedding is admired by the flower-lov- 

 ing public, just watch them as they pass 

 by a fine bed of geraniums or cannas, and 

 stop to admire an artistic bed of this 

 much derided carpet work. 



Again, I do not think a bed of coleus, 

 however well .firranged in its planting, 

 looks well unless it is pinched regularly 

 and evenly. We all know that alternan- 

 theras, santolina and achyranthes must 

 be kept topped to appear at their best. 



Crotons, strong, well-colored plants, are 

 good bedding plants either massed alone, 

 or with araucarias and draca>nas. The 

 crotons may be taken out of the pots, or 



The Railroad Gardeners at Dreer'i, August 25. 



