The Florists^ Review 



Januabx 80, 1918. 



on such nights and the heat shut off. 

 A rise of 10 degrees in the daytime is 

 all right, but on dull, cold days if you 

 can hold it around 45 degrees it will 

 be better. 



Be sure your plants are moist at the 

 roots. It is a common error to under- 

 water in midwinter. The surface soil 

 may appear moist though it is quite dry 

 below. Soak your plants well. If the 

 soil seems lacking in plant food, add 

 some weak liquid stimulant. Air freely 

 and keep your night temperature down 

 to 40 degrees and the flowers should 

 open satisfactorily. C. W. 



FINCHINa BEGONIAS. 



Would it be proper to pinch back be- 

 gonias when young, to make them 

 short, bushy plants? E. S. 



Tuberous-rooted begonias should not 

 be pinched, but fibrous-rooted varieties, 

 such as Lorraine, Glory of Cincinnati, 

 Vernon, Erfordii, Scharffiana, Weltoni- 

 ensis, gigantea rosea and many others, 

 require a moderate amount of pinching. 

 C. W. 



New Britain, Conn. — The business of 

 Arthur G. Volz has been incorporated, 

 under the name of the Volz Floral Co., 

 with an authorized capital of $20,000. 

 The incorporators are Arthur G. Volz, 

 Eose Volz and Albert Volz. 



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'\ ^ SUGGESTIONS jl 



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Bouvardias. 



To increase the stock of any of the 

 bouvardias, the present time, when fire 

 heat is being steadily used and there 

 is a good heat in the propagating bench, 

 should be taken advantage of. Boot 

 propagation is much the best except 

 in the case of Humboldtii, which in- 

 creases readily from either roots or 

 soft-wood cuttings. Use the thicker 

 portions of the roots, which need not 

 be over one-fourth to one-half inch 

 long. Merely cover with sand, keep 

 well moistened and, as soon as the 

 young growths are an inch long, pot 

 them off singly. 



Tuberous Begonias. 



If it is desired to have a batch of 

 those showy and persistent blooming 

 plants, the tuberous begonias, in flower 

 around Memorial day, start the tubers 

 now in flats of sand and leaf-mold. 

 Place them in a warm, moist house and. 



Corsage Bouquet of Gtttleyas and Valley. 



after the first watering, damp rather 

 sparingly until growth is well started. 

 Pot off singly before the shoots become 

 too far advanced, using a light but rich 

 compost, containing plenty of sand to 

 make it porous. Tuberous begonias, 

 once they are well started, succeed best 

 in a comparatively cool house; 50 de- 

 grees at night is sufiJciently high. 



Olozlnias. 



Gloxinias can be started in the same 

 way as recommended for tuberous be- 

 gonias. They, however, need a much 

 warmer house to make their growth in. 

 They mast also be protected from the 

 direct rays of the sun or their leaves 

 will soon become disfigured, particu- 

 larly if water happens to be lying on 

 them. Gloxinias can be started at any 

 time between now and the early part 

 of April. Those placed in heat now 

 should fiower in May. 



Seed Purchases. 



A good proportion of the 1913 seed 

 catalogues are now at hand. They 

 are interesting to look over during the 

 long winter evenings, the descriptions 

 of the novelties being particularly in- 

 viting. I always like to try a few of 

 these. I do not expect all to live up 

 to their highly j)ainted descriptions, but 

 one or two may prove to be desirable 

 acquisitions and worth extended cul- 

 ture a year later. It is well to place 

 orders for seeds early; the seedsmen 

 will give your orders much more prompt 

 attention than is possible later in the 

 season. Therefore I advise ordering 

 now, before stocks become depleted 

 and while the dealers are not overbur- 

 dened with orders, rather than putting 

 it off until you actually need the seeds 

 and when vexatious delays are almost 

 unavoidable. 



Jerusalem Cherries. 



Sow the seeds of Jerusalem cherries 

 now if you want strong, bushy, well- 

 fruited plants for next Thanksgiving 

 and Christmas. Pot off singly when 

 large enough to handle. Gradually 

 harden off and plant outdoors early in 

 May in well enriched ground. You can 

 also propagate from cuttings now if de- 

 sired. These root easily and can be 

 treated just the same later as seedlings. 

 They do not make as fine, bushy plants 

 as the seedlings, but ripen berries a 

 little earlier. Personally, I much pre- 

 fer seedlings. 



Gardenias. 



Take a good sized batch of cuttings 

 of gardenias now and place in a case 

 where they can be kept tolerably close. 

 Spray freely; in fact, you can hardly 

 overwater them. Herein lies one of 

 the rocks on which many growers fail; 

 viz., giving the cuttings an inadequate 

 water supply. On bright days, damp 

 them over at least three times a day, 

 and less on dull days. You need not 

 worry about the cuttings damping off. 

 Given a brisk bottom heat and plenty 



