12 



The Florists^ Review 



JANDABT 2, 1918. 



WOI.FE OF WACO. 



The firm, Wolfe the Florist, Waco, 

 Texas, consists of T. J. Wolfe, Mrs. 

 M. V. Wolfe and E. A. Wolfe. The 

 accompanying illustration shows a por- 

 tion of their greenhouse establishment, 

 which is one of the largest in Texas. 

 Although located in the heart of Texas, 

 this is a Chicago establishment. The 

 material for the greenhouses was turned 

 out in two Chicago material mills, and 

 there are two Kroeschell boilers in 

 operation. 



The illustration shows only half the 

 establishment. It was begun in a mod- 

 est way, the first house being only 

 10x12. Later two houses 20x60 were 

 added, which sufficed for twelve years, 



until the death of the founder, James 

 Wolfe. When T. J. Wolfe, his oldest 

 son, took charge he rebuilt the green- 

 houses, two structures each 20x80. The 

 following year he added two more, each 

 20x120. The next year he built" six 

 houses, each 21x125. These were fol- 

 lowed by the last addition shown in the 

 illustration, five houses 35x135 and one 

 house 20x135. Since the picture was 

 made another house 50x135 has been 

 put up for Asparagus plumosus. 



A general line of stock is grown, 

 mostly for the retail trade, principally 

 chrysanthemums, roses, carnations and 

 bedding plants. Mr. Wolfe 's sister and 

 partner runs the store, and her abili- 

 ties as a maker of designs and bouquets 

 are known all over Texas. 



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SEASONABLE j^ 1| 

 ^ ^ SUGGESTIONS $ 



Marguerites. 



Up to the present time the flowers 

 produced on marguerites grown for 

 producing cut flowers have been some- 

 what small and short-stemmed, but that 

 they are popular in the markets is 

 evidenced by the fact that even these 

 sell quickly at satisfactory prices. 

 From January onward the flowers will 

 increase in size and will come with 

 better stems. Where stock is planted 

 out in beds or benches, few flowers will 

 be produced in midwinter as compared 

 with those which are in pots or boxes. 

 I find it a good plan to grow the plants 

 in fairly large pots and allow them to 

 root through the bottoms into the 

 benches. This gives them some addi- 

 tional root run and materially improves 

 the quality of the flowers. Do not 

 grow the marguerites too warm; a tem- 

 perature of 50 degrees at night is 

 suitable. 



Plants wanted for Easter should not 

 be pinched after the early part of 

 January, and any potting needed should 

 be done then. Give them a rich soil. 

 Ram the soil firmly and be sure to 

 leave a liberal space for water, as mar- 

 guerites are notoriously thirsty subjects 

 and it is hardly possible to overwater 

 them. The present is a good time to 

 root a good batch of cuttings to pro- 

 duce plants which will sell well in April 

 and May. Marguerites are rapid grow- 

 ing plants and it will probably be 



found necessary to give plants for 

 Easter and later sales a fresh stand 

 once a fortnight. Do not overlook 

 Queen Alexandra and Mrs. Sander 

 among whites. Both are good. Keep a 

 close watch for leaf -miners ,on the 

 foliage. If any appear, remove and 

 burn the affected foliage and spray the 

 plants twice a week with nicotine, tak- 

 ing care to damp every part of the 

 foliage. In the case of badly affected 

 stock it will be advisable to destroy it. 

 If you do not want to do this, dip the 

 heads in a tub containing some one of 

 the tobacco extracts. Keep the plants 

 immersed a full minute. I find this 

 kills a large part of the leaf-miners, 

 which often so seriously disfigure the 

 foliage. • 



Lilium Speciosum. 



Where any planting of Lilium 

 speciosum has been planned outdoors 

 and the ground has been mulched to 

 exclude frost, the present month is the 

 best in the whole year to get the bulbs 

 in. Be sure not to use any fresh 

 manure about them. Plant nine or ten 

 inches deep and cover the bulbs with 

 sand. After planting, mulch with 

 straw or leaves. I like to loosen the 

 ground to a depth of two feet where 

 these lilies are to go. Then there is a 

 certainty of good results. The large 

 and showy L. auratum should also be 

 planted now. If the ground is frozene 

 tightly and it is not possible to plant 



out any of the lilies, the best plan is to 

 set them singly in 5-inch or 6-inch pots, 

 according to size of bulbs, and carry 

 them over winter in a coldframe or 

 cellar, planting them out when frost 

 has left the ground and taking care to 

 cover them several inches deeper when 

 doing so. 



To precede these outdoor lilies, pot 

 up a good batch, using 8-inch or 10-ineh 

 pots, or boxes six inches deep, in pref- 

 erence to small pots. L. speciosum 

 album is the most valuable variety for 

 the flotist The pure white flowers of 

 this variety are grand for all kinds of 

 dfcsign work, and through the summer 

 months, when choice white flowers are 

 not at all plentiful, they will come in 

 particularly useful. Do not leave any 

 of these lily bulbs lying around a day 

 longer than is necessary. When the 

 scales begin to shrivel, the bulbs rap- 

 idly deteriorate in quality. 



Genistas. 



There is ample time in which to 

 flower genistas for Easter, but it is 

 well to have a few coming along all the 

 time, as they are readily salable as pot 

 plants. Do not give them a warm 

 house, or you will spoil them; 45 to 48 

 degrees at night will give you flowers 

 of good substance which will not fall 

 to pieces forty-eight hours after reach- 

 ing the store, as so many warmer 

 grown ones do. Keep the Easter stock 

 in a temperature of 38 to 40 degrees 

 at night, giving it 5 degrees more heat 

 early in January. At this season cut- 

 tings root readily in any cool propagat- 

 ing house, such as is used for chrysan- 

 themums or carnations. Started now, 

 they will make nice plants in 6^nch 

 pots for Easter, 1914. 



Propagation. 



Cuttings of a number of bedding 

 plants, in addition to bedding gera- 

 niums, should now help to keep the 

 cutting benches well filled. Given por- 

 ous sand with ample drainage, careful 

 shading and necessary watering, few 

 of these should fail to root. Now is 

 the time to increase your stock of heli- 

 otropes, fuchsias, ageratums, coleus, 

 alternantheras, salvias, variegated and 

 green vincas and other plants. Use the 

 bottom shoots of the vincas, a few 

 inches long, and few should fail to 

 root. Stock plants of any of these will 

 soon produce quantities more of good 

 cuttings, if kept in a fairly warm 

 greenhouse. 



Calceolarias. 



The months with the lowest temper- 

 atures suit calceolarias to a nicety. 

 They dislike hot weather and always 



One of the Ranges of Wolfe the Floritt, at Waco, Texas. 



