onoBEB 14, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



n 



jegrot'S. 



than 



It is a big mistake to grow 

 !!paT unless they can be allowed ample 

 ^ 1 oom. This should never be less 

 ^^^' ■^l\ feet, and if more, all the better. 



Berried Plants. 



Kuth Thanksgiving and Christmas, 



-.ceially at the latter holiday, there 



ood call for berried plants. Of 



!,ie of the best sellers is the easily 



C'hristmas pepper. As an indi- 



•)lant it is not specially attractive, 



loxes or pans, with some low green 



around their base, they make up 



:1 well. They do not sell well un- 



fruits are fairly well ripened and 



age has been retained. A sunny 



in a temperature of 50 to 60 de- 

 V ill suit them. As the fruit ripens, 

 I hem into cooler quarters. A low 

 lature is liable to cause the foliage 

 :i. these being less hardy than the 

 lem cherries (Solanum Capsicas- 



At 

 but ' 



is a 

 tliest 

 grov. 

 vidi ■ 

 but i 

 j)laii' 

 and 

 less ; 



the • 

 bonv' 



ino\<' 

 tenii 

 to f: 

 .Icri- 

 trun. 1. 



'11 solanums should now have some of 

 tiicir herries ripening. Those lifted from 

 the li'en ground will be much more heav- 

 ily 1 dried than the pot-grown ones. They 

 do i!iit require a warm house; in fact, 

 thev must be kept quite cool to hold them 

 ill tjood shape for Christmas. Anything 

 short of freezing will suflBce; even a few 

 (Icgroes of frost will not hurt them. They 

 must have an abundant water supply, as 

 thoy dry out rapidly. 



Ardisia crenulata is an extremely good 

 Ciiristinas plant. It is of slow growth 

 ■And cannot be sold at any such low price 

 as i)eppers or Jerusalem cherries, but 

 many customers prefer the ardisias, 

 owing to their being less common, having 

 evergreen foliage and carrying their fruit 

 for so many months. They are unsalable 

 if the fruit is not well colored. Let the 

 plants have a temperature of 60 degrees 

 and full sun. Spray at least once a day 

 to keep them clean, and usl^ liquid manure 

 occasionally. They will stand more heat 

 than the other berried plants, but can be 

 held quite cool after the fruit is ripe. 



Pointettias. 



Wiiile we have so far had an excep- 

 tionally warm and favorable fall, prac- 

 tically immune from frost, these condi- 

 tions cannot continue much longer. With 

 the arrival of cold, sunless and damp 

 weatlier, any poinsettias still remaining 

 outdoors or in coldframes should be 

 plated where they can get some fire heat. 

 A »i arm house is not necessary ; 50 to 55 



di-r'^es at night will keep the plants 



gi, • . - - — 



u;i 

 hi. 



to; 

 an 

 I).', 



St, 



wng nicely and will not draw them 

 :>s will a temperature 10 degrees 

 ■ r. Careful watering will retain the 

 i.u'e down to the surface of the pots 

 I'ans. Poinsettias with leaves to their 

 ' will sell much better than bare- 

 nied ones with a variety of green 

 ^'ed plants tucked among them to 

 : their nakedness. 



vnts being grown in beds or benches 



•utting are now growing fast. As 



permits, stake up the strongest 



s. It is important that these be 



straight. The bracts will begin to 



in November, after which time and 



' they are developed warmer treat- 



ia desirable. Avoid heavy fumiga- 



'^ where poinsettias are being grown, 



T heavy loss of leaves is likely to occur. 



Dahlia*. 



^^ ' losts have already cut the dahlias 

 ''^^n m many places, and inquiries as to 

 "^] to dig and where to store them reach 

 s ny every mail. There is no immediate 



t'-, 



ti- 

 si. 

 k. 



Ui: 



n' 

 ti, 

 or 



'""■y about cutting the stems down as 



\h'u ^^ *^®^ *^® frozen. It is, in fact, 



**'''f'r to delay so doing for a few days. 



Cattleya Citrini, the Tulip Orchid. 



Killing frosts are usually followed by 

 spells of warm, sunny weather, which wifi 

 dry up the frozen stems, and there will 

 be less bleeding if a few days elapse be- 

 fore cutting the stems down to within 

 six or eight inches of the soil. 



Lifting should be done on a clear, 

 sunny day, so that the tubers can be thor- 

 oughly dried before being placed in the 

 cellar or shed where they are to be win- 

 tered. Be careful not to cut or break the 

 tubers in digging. A careless workman 

 will soon spoil a lot of dahlias. For 

 winter quarters a dry cellar, where there 

 is little or no fire heat and where pota- 

 toes will keep well, should be all right 

 for dahlias. Be sure, after lifting, to 

 tie the labels securely to the stems of the 

 plants. Some growers pack their roots in 

 sawdust or dry sand and they keep well 

 treated thus. 



Erica Melaothera. 



The flower buds are now quite promi- 

 nent on the Erica melanthera. No other 

 variety blooms over so long a period, it 

 being possible to secure blooming plants 

 from Thanksgiving until Easter, or even 

 later. A batch placed in a light house 

 now, and kept at 45 to 50 degrees at 

 night, will come along for either Thanks- 

 giving or Christmas. If the plants are 

 in flower at the earlier date and do not 

 sell, they will easily keep in fine condi- 



tion for Christmas in a cool house. Be 

 always sure that ericas do not suffer 

 from dryness at the root. Hard-wooded 

 plants are seriously injured and often 

 killed by a single severe drying out. 



CATTLEYA CITRINA. 



Cattleya citrina is totally unlike any 

 others of the genus. The pseudo-bulbs 

 are comparatively small, oval in shape 

 and silvery in appearance, usually carry- 

 ing two to four leaves each. The flowers 

 are lemon yellow in color, of a delicious 

 vanilla-like odor and are usually produced 

 one or two on a stem from the new 

 pseudo-bulbs. On rare occasions three 

 flowers are borne. The flowers are quite 

 stout and waxy. 



This cattleya succeeds best on a block 

 of wood on which a little fern fiber and 

 sphagnum are tied, and delights in a 

 cool house where it can get abundant 

 ventilation. The best batch I have seen 

 were grown quite near the roof ventil- 

 ators in an odontoglossum house, but the 

 plant here pictured was grown in a cat- 

 tleya house, suspended from the roof. 

 The flowering season is June to August. 

 Travelers in Mexico frequently purchase 

 baskets of this cattleya, which are sold 

 by the natives cheaply. The plant was 

 first introduced from Mexico in 1838. 



W. N. C. 



