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The Florists' Review 



February 6. 1913. 



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^ SEASONABLE ^ i 

 i ^ SUGGESTIONS \ 



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Verbeiias. 



Those beautiful bedding annuals, the 

 verbenas, are less in evidence than 

 twenty years ago. They are one of the 

 most satisfactory of annuals, as they 

 are persistent flowering to a degree be- 

 yond nearly all others of like nature. 

 Not for a number of years have we 

 seen any disease on them and there is 

 every reason why they should be more 

 grown commercially. Plants are some- 

 times carried over to perpetuate good 

 sorts, like Miss Wilmott, and where 

 this has been done, plenty of cuttings 

 should now be available. Boot these in 

 a cool house. In a strong heat they 

 will become weak and drawn and soon 

 fall a prey to mildew. For the average 

 grower, seed sowing is the most satis- 

 factory means of propagation. Germi- 

 nate in a warm, moist house but gradu- 

 ally inure them to cooler quarters; 50 

 degrees at night should be their maxi- 

 mum. Verbenas in pots carrying one 

 or two trusses of flower are always one 

 of the most salable of bedding plants. 



Bulbous Plants. 



The present season has been one of 

 remarkable mildness, in marked con- 

 trast to a year ago, when many growers 

 had their stock hard frozen in spite of 

 heavy protection in the way of boards 

 and straw. This applies, of course, to 

 bulbs stored outdoors. It is a trouble 

 never experienced by those who adopt 

 the better plan of storing their stock 

 in cool cellars, where they can be read- 

 ily reached regardless of climatic con- 

 ditions. With such a high January 

 temperature, all varieties are much far- 

 ther ahead than usual, and but for 

 Easter coming early, it would be diffi- 

 cult to retard plants sufficiently. It is 

 much too early to house any of these 

 for Easter. As a rule, three to four 

 weeks suffices for hyacinths, tulips and 

 narcissi. 



Look over the stock carefully and be 

 sure they have sufficient water at the 

 root. The upper surface may seem 

 moist and the soil below be quite dry. 

 With good drainage you can hardly 

 make any mistake in soaking the pans 

 and flats well, especially the former, 

 which dry out much the fastest. Far 

 more bulbous plants are spoiled by an 

 insufficient water supply than by all 

 other causes combined. 



After the present date there is no 

 further need of placing tulips or hya- 

 cinths in the dark to draw them up. 

 With the lengthening days, and the 

 fact that bulbs are all now well 

 sprouted, they can go on a light bench 

 at once. Use care in watering the 

 Dutch hyacinths not to pour it on the 

 flower spikes, as they are liable to 

 decay. 



Pentstemons. 



These beautiful plants, pentstemons, 

 are not yet -sufficiently known and ap- 

 preciated. They are grand either in 

 solid beds or planted in a mixed border 

 among herbaceous perennials and an- 

 nuals. They contain many attractive 



colors and once known and planted 

 will be used again. Secure seed of a 

 reliable strain, sow in flats, prick off 

 into other flats and later pot off singly. 

 A house with a night temperature of 

 50 degrees is sufficiently warm for 

 pentstemons. When planting them out, 

 remember that they thrive best in deep 

 and well enriched ground. They can be 

 planted out with safety by May 1. A 

 few degrees of frost will not harm 

 them. 



Dracaena Australia. 



There is always a big demand for 

 this ever useful dracsena, both for beds 

 of a sub-tropical nature and for vases, 

 window and piazza boxes, etc. In order 

 to work up an ample stock of service- 

 able plants, some seed should be sown 

 in a brisk heat in midwinter each year. 

 Of course, these plants are not salable 

 the first year and may have to be grown 

 an additional year or two to give the 

 sizes needed, but D. Australis is a tough, 

 easily cared for and accommodating 

 plant which can be easily wintered 

 where the temperature even falls a little 

 below freezing. 



Stevia. 



The early part of February sees the 

 last of the stevia in the market. Put 

 in a good batch of cuttings now and 

 you can then discard all the old stock 

 plants. This is a cheap, but ever useful 

 flower. In making up bouquets and 

 boxes of flowers in midwinter we would 

 miss it exceedingly if it were taken 

 away. Anyone with a cold house, such 

 as will grow single violets successfully, 

 can easily have this little flower for 

 three months by placing batches in a 

 warmer house as needed. 



Spiraeas. 



Spiraeas for Easter flowering should 

 be starting into growth now. Give them 

 a temperature of 60 degrees at night, an 

 ample water supply and be careful not 

 to use any tobacco stems, gas or other 

 strong fumigants where they are, as 

 the leaves are delicate and easily 

 scorched. 



Deciduous Shrubs for Easter. 



The majority of deciduous shrubs can 

 be forced into flower within four or 

 five weeks in strong heat, but if you 

 want some of them and cannot give 

 them 65 or 70 degrees at night, place 

 now in a temperature of 50 degrees at 

 night, and such varieties as lilacs, Aza- 

 lea mollis, pyrus, prunus, deutzias and 

 others will be on time. You can easily 

 move them to a cooler house if they 

 seem a little too early. Plants grown 

 thus cool will have better foliage and 

 more substance in their flowers than 

 such as have been subjected to hard 

 forcing. 



Bhododendrons. 



We are now within six weeks of 

 Easter and that reminds us that rhodo- 

 dendrons and kalmias wanted in flower 

 at that time must now go into a warm, 

 moist house, be kept freely syringed 



and moved into cooler quarters as the 

 flowers expand. The demand for white 

 flowering .plants for Easter at the ex- 

 pense of colored ones is now a thing 

 of the past, and apart from Easter lilies, 

 the call is now much more robust for 

 colored than white plants. Undoubt- 

 edly, the finest of all rhododendrons for 

 Easter is Pink Pearl. This is not yet 

 by any means a cheap variety and the 

 more inexpensive hybrids are more in 

 evidence, although the size and beauty 

 of flower of Pink Pearl justifies every- 

 one trying a few. 



BOCK PLANTS. 



Kindly let me kno"^ through The 

 Review what are the best plants to 

 use in making a rock garden forty 

 feet long and twenty feet wide. The 

 climate is that of western Massachu- 

 setts. Also let me know the best time 

 to prune apple trees, M. H. 



Some desirable rock plants for the 

 section in which you are located are: 

 Campanula Carpatica, Viola cornuta 

 alba and purpurea, Aubrietia deltoidea^ 

 Alyssum saxatile compactum, Conval- 

 laria majalis, Gentiana prostrata, G. 

 Parryi, G. simplex, etc.; Dryas octo- 

 petala, Achillea tomentosa. Phlox sub- 

 ulata, Arabis albida. Primula Parryi, 

 P. veris, P. Japonica and P. Sieboldi; 

 Helleborus niger. Lychnis Viscaria, 

 Veronica Teucrium, single violets in 

 variety. Anemone Pennsylvanica and 

 A. thalictroides, Cornus Canadensis, 

 thymus in variety, Helianthemum vul- 

 gare, Linaria Cymbalaria, Papaver nu- 

 dicaule, hepaticas. Iris cristata and I. 

 pumila, saxifragas in many varieties, 

 Aquilegia Canadensis, Geranium Rob- 

 ertianum, Asperula odorata, Iberis 

 semperflorena, armerias, bellis, single 

 and double; snowdrops, scillas, chiono- 

 doxas, winter aconites, Cypripedium 

 acaule and C. pubescens-, Lotus corni- 

 culatus. Daphne Cneorum, Campanula 

 fragilis, Dicentra eximia. Primula fari- 

 nosa, Ajuga reptans and Saponaria 

 ocymoides. These plants are in some 

 cases rather robust growers. The beau- 

 tiful varieties thriving so well in Great 

 Britain will not stand our long, hot, 

 dry summers. In making your rockery, 

 or rock garden, remember that we get 

 a rather scant rainfall, that the sum- 

 mer sun is intensely hot, and plan, 

 therefore, to give the rockery shade 

 from nearby trees or buildings during 

 the hottest part of the day. Also plan 

 to have an adequate water supply con- 

 venient. 



The list given is a partial one and 

 there are hundreds of other varieties 

 which can be added. Those named 

 are, however, of comparatively easy cul- 

 ture. Some are, in fact, sorts which 

 may need keeping within bounds. 



Prune apple trees any time after 

 leaves have fallen until the end of 

 March. Select a time when the wood 

 is not frozen. C. W. 



Dansvllle, N. Y.— F. M. Smith has 

 recently installed a No. 100 Giblin hot 

 water boiler. 



Zanesville, O. — J. D. Imlay was one 

 of the committee in charge of the re- 

 cent state apple show held here, and he 

 made an excellent display of potted 

 plants and cut flowers. M. M. Meisse, 

 of Lancaster, and A. E. Powell, of New- 

 ark, showed greenhouse vegetables. 

 There were a number of displays of 

 nursery stock, and some 1,500 bushels of 

 apples were staged. 



