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The Florists^ Review 



Fkbbuarv 20, 1913. 



had the following experience through 

 which other florists may benefit: Early 

 in December they sent an order to Dob- 

 bie & Co., Edinburgh, Scotland, stating 

 that they wished to have flowers sent 

 to a certain patron in time for Christ- 

 mas. The letter-head of Dobbie & Co. 

 is styled as follows: "The Seedsmen 

 and Florists, ' ' but some time later 

 Rocklin & Lehman received the follow- 

 ing letter: 



Gentlemen — We duly received your letter with 

 Inclosure. We are sorry tUat we do not grow 

 cut flowers for snle, and have none to supply at 

 the present time. We have sent the letter to 

 Mrs. •— and advised her accordingly. Re- 

 gretting we are unable to be of service to you 

 on this occasion, we are, yours faithfully, Dob- 

 bie & Co. 



Investigation by the Florists' Tele- 

 graph Delivery revealed the fact that it 

 is a common thing for foreign firms to 

 style themselves florists, even though 

 they only grow a few garden flowers in 

 season. It is well for American firms 



to be sure that the European concern 

 is prepared to furnish flowers at this 

 season of the year. 



Mr. Bertermann adds: "Chas. H. 

 Dards, of New York, has volunteered to 

 advertise the Florists' Telegraph De- 

 livery in the International Flower Show 

 program. A. Pochelon, secretary, 

 thought highly of the results which 

 might be obtained and is more than 

 pleased with the enterprisiiig spirit 

 shown by Mr. Dards, who is generally 

 found to be a leader in such matters. 



' * The instructive paper recently read 

 by Wallace Pierson is certainly inter- 

 esting reading for members of the Flo- 

 rists' Telegraph Delivery. There is 

 much in it which ought to be profitably 

 adopted by. an organization of retailers 

 for the general furtherance of the 

 flower business. The paper is ahead of 

 the times in thought and gives the 

 many retailers an inspiration for mak- 

 ing greater strides in the future." 



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f SEASONABLE 



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I a« SUGGESTIONS \ 



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Ten Weeks' Stocks. 



The colored stocks do not move par- 

 ticularly well in the markets, except 

 for Memorial day, when there is al- 

 ways a tremendous call for these and 

 all other colored flowers. In order to 

 be sure of having the plants flower on 

 time, the seed should be sown without 

 delay. A good strain of the Giant ten 

 weeks' stocks is hard to beat, but do 

 not sow too much of the white. Of 

 course, the latter color is all fight for 

 funeral work, but as a rule the pink, 

 crimson and scarlet colors are what 

 people want. Sow the seeds in pans 

 or flats of light, sandy soil and merely 

 give the seeds a thin covering of fine 

 sand. Do not make the common mis- 

 take of sowing the seeds too thickly. 

 You want to have a little breathing 

 space between the seedlings, for if they 

 are thin and drawn before being potted 

 off, they will never amount to much. 

 Except until the seedlings are germi- 

 nated, stocks should be grown fairly 

 cool. Any attempt to coddle or force 

 them will only ruin them. 



Lobelias. 



Cuttings of both the double and sia- 

 gle lobelias should now be taken in 

 quantity. These charming blue flowers, 

 unfortunately, do not prove as satisfac- 

 tory bedding plants here as in Europe, 

 exieept at shore and mountain resorts, 

 but we have no other flowers matching 

 them in color and adaptable for carpet 

 bedding, borderings or for vases. In 

 order to secure really compact plants 

 for bedding, the plants should always 

 be raised from cuttings, as seedlings 

 are more sprawly in habit. Seeds of 

 the trailing varieties may also be sown 

 now. These are useful for window 

 boxes and vases and will bloom all sum- 

 mer if not given too hot and exposed a 

 situation and if kept well watered. In 

 propagating the'lobelias, remember that 

 they do not want a high temperature. 

 They will do better with your carnation 

 and mum cuttings than with colcus, 

 alternanthcras and crotons. 



Shamrocks. 



The time will soon be here for the 

 sale of shamrocks. March 17 is the date 

 and not a great deal more growing time 

 is left. If you have not grown them 

 too warm and shaded and have suc- 

 ceeded in keeping them clear of mildew, 

 you can congratulate yourself. Mil- 

 dewy plants are wanted by no one, but 

 there appears to be a larger percentage 

 of such this season than usual. All the 

 clovers should now be in the little pots 

 or pans in which they are to be sold. 

 Keep them close to the glass, in a night 

 temperature of 45 degrees, and air 

 freely, but avoid cold draughts. 



Hardy Perennial Seeds. 



While much time is gained by mak- 

 ing generous sowings of hardy herba- 

 ceous perennials in late summer, there 

 are probably many who did not sow at 

 that time and who would now like to 

 raise some young stock. Such varieties 

 as delphiniums, aquilegias, campanulas 

 and many others can be sown in a warm 

 greenhouse, using shallow flats, prefer- 

 ably. Transplant into flats when large 

 enough to handle. Gradually harden off 

 and plant out in beds or nursery rows 

 any time after the middle of April. 

 Make good sowings of the hardy del- 

 phiniums. They are among the hardi- 

 est, most showy and popular of border 

 plants, and by starting seeds this early 

 a great many of the plants will bloom 

 late in the summer and make salable 

 stock for fall trade. 



Marguerites. 



Marguerites which are planted out 

 in boxes or shallow benches will from 

 this time on give an increasing number 

 of flowers, and the length of stems 

 and quality of flowers will steadily 

 improve with the lengthening days. 

 Plants with too much root run will be 

 late in flowering. The roots must be 

 well under control and somewhat 

 cramped before we can get many flow- 

 ers from marguerites in winter. The 



most successful growers use either 

 boxes or large pots. These are usually 

 stood on beds so that they can root 

 through. Where this is done, it is not 

 so necessary to feed liberally as when 

 they are stood on a hard bottom. Mar- 

 guerites can scarcely be overwatered 

 and few plants will take more stimu- 

 lants. 



Th^re is still time, before »11 the 

 growths run to flower, to take a lib- 

 eral batch of cuttings of both the yel- 

 low and white varieties and place them 

 in sand. These will make nice, salable 

 stock for late spring, and any left-overs, 

 if planted outside, lifted before frost 

 comes, potted and placed in a cool 

 house, will give a good lot of flowers in 

 midwinter. Do not leave cuttings too 

 long in the propagating bench. See that 

 any batches which have been potted 

 off are not allowed to become potbound. 

 Marguerites make useful Easter plants 

 — I refer, of course, to the white ones, 

 as the yellows do not make as shapely 

 plants — and such as are now starting 

 to open a few flowers will be right for 

 Easter if Kept in a sunny house held at 

 45 to 50 degrees at night. 



Gladioli. 



For Memorial day flowering, gladioli 

 should now be planted in benches. Of 

 course, so much depends on climatic 

 conditions that it is not easy to hit the 

 date just right with this crop. Again, 

 the bulbs do not all flower at one time, 

 which is, generally speaking, an advan- 

 tage. The market for gladiolus spikes 

 is usually good in April and May, and 

 fairly good in June, and there is not 

 much likelihood of spikes being wasted 

 even though a good many of them 

 flower before and after Memorial day. 

 Brenchleyensis is a cheap gladiolus 

 which pays well If it can be timed for 

 Memorial day, but at other times it is 

 slow to move. America always sells 

 well, as does Augusta. Other sorts, 

 such as May, Mrs. Francis King and 

 Shakespeare, are popular, but America 

 and Augusta are still the two com- 

 mercial leaders. 



Candytuft. 



Candytuft is a profitable Memorial 

 day crop when well grown. The seed 

 should be sown now in fla'/i. Cover the 

 seed lightly and place in a temperature 

 of 50 to 52 degrees at night. Keep the 

 little plants, when they appear, close 

 to the glass to keep them sturdy. If 

 bench space is vacant, the seed can 

 be sown in rows a foot apart and 

 thinned before they become at all 

 crowded. Candytuft requires a light 

 but rich soil and wants a cool house,. 

 45 degrees at night being sufficient. 

 Purchase the best giant white, pyra- 

 midal strain. It will not pay to use 

 any of the more common types. 



Asters. 



Though it is yet somewhat early to 

 sow aster seed to produce plants to go 

 outdoors, you may wish to try a bench 

 of them in a cool greenhouse, and it 

 is certainly true that, when rightly han- 

 dled, these prove profitable to the 

 country florist who needs flowers at all 

 times for design work, and when car- 

 nations are running out it is quite a re- 

 lief to have a bench of asters to take 

 their place. The earliest variety is 

 Early Wonder, which comes in a few 

 days ahead of Queen of the Market. 

 The latter, however, give* far more 

 flowers, of better size and on longer 



