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14 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



Januauv 4, l'J12. 



PROPAGATION OF MUMS. 



I find it necessary to ask you again 

 about chrysanthemums. Last year I 

 had a little trouble in rooting the cut- 

 tings. Now I am about to put away 

 my stock plants and I will ask you to 

 give me a little idea about how to put 

 them away. Should they be planted 

 deep or shallow? Do they need plenty 

 of water or do they want to be kept 

 on the dry side? In your last reply you 

 mentioned that I kept them too warm 

 and that this might be the cause of 

 their not rooting. I notice on my stock 

 quite a number of sprouts that came 

 out of the ground and these are well 

 rooted. Would it be advisable either 

 to pot these or plant them in beds? I 

 should like to get enough so that I 

 can offer some for sale. Will you also 

 give me the names of some late sorts, 

 either white, pink or yellow, that will 

 come in with the Nonin mums, or even 

 later? J. G. K. 



In putting away stock chrysanthe- 

 mum plants, they should be planted a 

 little deeper than when in th^ beds, 

 and so long as they are to be kept in 

 a semi-dormant condition they should 

 be kept cool and given but little water. 



When the cuttings are to be rooted, 

 use clean, sharp sand and avoid a high 

 temperature and overwatering. A tem- 

 perature of 60 degre-es, with about 10 

 degrees of additional bottom heat, will 

 generally give a perfect stand. 



If there are varieties which you wish 

 to multiply extensively, the rooted suck- 

 ers can be taken off and placed either 

 in beds or boxes of soil. They will 

 give a good many cuttings during the 

 season. Another way would be to di- 

 vide each of the stock plants into four 

 or more portions, according to its size, 

 and place them in beds or 1 oxes a 

 little deeper than they have been 

 planted. By dividing them in this way 

 it is possible to increase the number of 

 cuttings. 



As late white sorts, Chas. Eazer, Tim- 

 othy Eaton and White Chadwick will 

 be satisfactory. Bonnaflfon, Golden 

 Chadwick and Golden Eagle are among 

 the best of the yellow sorts. As pink 

 varieties, Maud Dean, A. J. Balfour and 

 W^ ells' Late Pink might be used. 



MUM MRS. DRABBLE. 



In a recent issue The Review illus- 

 trated Chrvsanthemum Mrs. Gilbert 

 Drabble, with a note by C. H. Totty to 

 the effect that it was the most conspicu- 

 ous novelty at the eastern shows this 

 year and sure to be widely grown as 

 soon as it becomes known. In this con- 

 nection a note in an English trade 

 paper will be of interest. It is by C. 

 Harmon Payne, who has an interna- 

 tional reputation as a chrysanthemum 

 expert. He says: 



"No praise can be too extravagant 



for that wonderful variety, Mrs. Gilbert 

 Drabble, which I regard as the finest 

 of all the Japanese types. Its recent 

 honors are a prize for being the best 

 flower in the show at Paris, as well as 

 being chosen premier at Bradford, the 

 latter place, in the opinion of the grow- 

 ers present, having at its show the finest 

 lot of Japanese blooms that have been 

 seen at any exhibition this autumn. 

 Apart from its size, there is a remark- 

 able richness in the marble white florets, 

 which is usually described as ' quality. ' 

 I have seen it growing in several in- 

 stances, and it seems to matter little 

 whether the plants are strongly grown 

 in a large pot, or somewhat weakly in a 





small one — the blooms stand out larger 

 and more massive loojung than any 

 other near them. This easy culture will 

 commend itself to the amateur culti- 

 vator; and it is not a tall grower. If 

 the variety has a fault it is that the 

 large blossoms take a long time to de- 

 Aelop, making it difficult to get them 

 open by, say, November 1; and it would 

 therefore be advisable to make an early 

 start by putting the cuttings in as soon 

 as possible. I may state that one of 

 the blooms which gained the above 

 named distinctions was quite ten inches 

 in depth as it ^as growing on the plant 

 and it was not fully out when ex- 

 hibited." 



SEED SOWING. 



The present is a suitable time to sow 

 a good-sized batch of sweet peas for 

 spring flowering. The increase in the 

 indoor culture of sweet peas is indeed 

 astounding. A few years ago they 

 were unprocurable or not even thought 

 of at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now 

 they are purchasable in tens of thou- 

 sands for these two holidays. In 

 fact, there is no holiday in the year 

 when they are not to be had, from 

 either outdoors or under glass, and 

 while we can not approach in quality 

 the superb sweet peas grown, for in- 

 stance, outside in Great Britain, we can 

 grow extraordinarly fine flowers under 

 glass. 



The formation of a National Sweet 

 Pea Society is doing a great deal 

 toward still further popularizing this 

 finest of all annuals for cutting. In 

 Boston next July this society is offering 

 nearly $2,500 in prizes for sweet peas, 

 more than the rose and carnation soci- 

 eties have ever been able to offer, and 

 the end is not yet. I note that even in 

 mid-July prizes are offered for sweet 

 peas to be produced under glass. Here 

 is one way to overcome our hot, 

 droughty summers, which have rendered 

 outdoor sweet pea culture difficult and 

 unprofitable. With big, roomy, well 

 ventilated houses it should be possible 

 to grow them well and profitably in our 

 hottest weather. 



For sowing now it is better not to 

 use so many of the so called forcing 



varieties, but rather select such sorts 

 as are used outdoors. Of these the 

 following are recommended: Countess 

 Spencer, a splendid seller in the mar- 

 kets; Dorothy Eckford, John Ingman, 

 Lady Grisel Hamilton, White Spencer, 

 Helen Lewis and Miss Willmott. These* 

 are all good, reliable sorts. As a gen- 

 eral rule, deep pink, white, orange pink 

 and lavender are the hWft selling colors. 

 The call for scarlet, crimson, maroon, 

 blue and variegated forms is but slight ; 

 the pink and white of the Blanche 

 Ferry type, however, are an exception. 

 Seed may be sown either in small 

 pots, or in rows in the beds where they 

 are to flower. Avoid thick sowing; it will 

 only mean crowded, weakened haulm 

 and poorer spikes than if the plants 

 had more room. The plants should be 

 three or four inches apart, and the 

 spikes are always stronger when even 

 this distance is exceeded. Last summer 

 was hot and dry, which caused the seeds 

 to become well ripened. This makes 

 their outer covering hard, and moisture 

 has so little impression on it that ger- 

 mination will be slower. With new, 

 choice kinds a common plan to assist 

 germination is to cut off a little of 

 the outside shell. It is also a good plan 

 to soak the seed twenty-four hours in 

 warm water before sowing. This will 

 insure quicker germination. 



KankalEee, 111.— A. H. Burt, the south 

 side florist, has completed a new green- 

 house, 24x8.0. 



