February 15, 1912. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



9 



house and be of better quality than if 

 subjected to hard forcing. If preferred, 

 you could have delayed until the mid- 

 dle of February, giving them a warm 

 house, with a minimum temperature of 

 (30 degrees. Spray them over freely 

 until the buds show color. Move them 

 into a cooler house as they expand. 

 C. W. 



PLANTS FOE A SUN PABLOB. 



I should like to ask what kind of 

 plants you would advise to put in a box 

 in a solarium, or sun parlor. The boxes 

 are about five feet from the floor and 

 back from the light, against the wall* 

 Is there anything that will live and 

 bloom in such a location? There is 

 Asparagus plumosus and Vinca varie- 

 gata in them now. I shall be thankful 

 for any information. J. W. L. 



Flowering plants would not do well 

 so far from the light. The following 

 foliage plants, in addition to those you 

 have been trying, will thrive satisfac- 

 torily: Ficus elastica; the trailing 

 Ficus repens; dracsenas in variety, par- 

 ticularly D. Australis or indivisa; As- 

 pidistra lurida and its variegated form; 

 Asparagus Sprengeri; Phoenix rupicola, 

 Canariensis and Eoebelenii, and, if 

 suflBciently warm, with a minimum tem- 

 perature of 55 to 58 degrees, any of 

 the crotons should do well. If any 

 flowering plants would succeed in such 

 a location it would be some of the 

 fibrous-rooted begonias, such as Vernon 

 and Erfordii. C. W. 



STOBAOE FOB BULBS. 



Will you kindly give me some in- 

 structions as to the construction of a 

 pit to keep bulbs in until they are 

 ready to be brought up? I intend to 

 build one in the near future, and any 

 information on the matter will be 

 greatly appreciated. J. H. S. 



Many growers place their bulbs in 

 coldframes, covering with ashes or sand 

 and protecting with straw, leaves and 

 other material as cold weather arrives. 

 Others prefer to keep them outdoors all 

 the time, digging out the ground to a 

 depth of twelve to fifteen inches and of 

 any required dimensions, where water 

 will not stand. Place boards around the 

 sides and a generous layer of coal ashes 

 on the bottom, the latter to preserve 

 the drainage by keeping worms out. 

 Then pack between the pots with soil. 

 Leave exposed until frost comes; then 

 cover well with ashes or soil and mulch 

 well with leaves, straw and match- 

 boards. Good flowers can be produced 

 in this way, but unless they are all 

 wanted late it means many a disagree- 

 able job in removing snow, etc., and 

 getting at them during winter, and it 

 is impossible to tell how each kind is 

 sprouting until they are uncovered. 



A pit or cellar in which to store bulbs 

 could be made below any existing build- 

 ings. If an independent one is desired, 

 locate it, if possible, on a hillside where 

 the drainage will be good, and, if pos- 

 sible, have the entrance facing south. 

 It can be built of any desired size of 

 wood, stone or concrete. The concrete* 

 is now mostly used. The outside of 

 the roof can be of tar or tar paper; I 

 prefer tar, as it is quite waterproof and 

 durable. The sides of the cellar can be 

 covered with earth, and the roof itself, 

 which needs only a slight pitch, can 



Basket of Carnations Arranged by J. B. Nugent, Jr. 



be protected by straw when severe 

 weather sets in. It is an advantage to 

 have one or two windows or ventilators. 

 Double doors, of ample size to allow 

 the entrance of a team, should be pro- 

 vided. These can be left open except 

 in severe weather. As to the height, 

 I should prefer to have it not less than 

 ten feet to the ridge. In such a place 

 you could store, in ^addition to, bulbs, 

 vegetables in variety, shrubs and trees 

 of doubtful hardiness, bay trees, hy- 

 drangeas, hybrid tea roses and much 

 other stock, ^r^ulbs in such a place can 

 be examined and taken out at any time. 

 If intended for bulbs only, your cellar 

 can be made of just sufficient height so 

 that a person can walk around with 

 comfort. C. W. 



BBOWN LEAVES ON C7PEBUS. 



How can I prevent the ends of the 

 leaves of my umbrella plants from 

 turning brown? S. E. P. 



The leaves ^f Cyperus alternifolius. 



umbrella plant, naturally turn brown 

 when old and should be cut off. As 

 they are semiaquatic plants, they re- 

 quire a copious water supply, ancl any 

 dryness at the root will cause the ends 

 to turn brown. C. \V. 



COLOBED BOMAN HYACINTHS. 



Kindly inform a southern subscriber 

 whether there is a hyacintii in red or 

 pink which can be had for Christmas, 

 like the white Romans. If any such 

 exist, please let me know what they 

 are. F. J. U. 



There is a pink Roman hyacinth and 

 also a light blue one, but I do not know 

 of any red one. The pink and blue can 

 be had from any of the bulb specialists 

 advertising in The Review. The earli- 

 est red hyacinths you could get would 

 be by purchasing miniature bulbs of- 

 fered for forcing, of such Dutch hy- 

 acinths as Garibaldi. These, however, 

 will not flower until January under 

 the most favorable conditions. 



C. W. 



