10 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Skitkmbku 1, 1910. 



IF 





SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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Lilium Candidum. 



Tlif bulbs of I. ilium L-aiididuin usually 

 arrive about the last ])art of August 

 and should bo potted as soou as ])OSsibIe 

 after beiny icceived, as both leaf 

 <;ro\vth and root f,no\vth have already 

 iiet^uii in many cases while the l)ulits 

 are in transit. There are two types 

 of candidums on the market. The best 

 are froju the north of France. The bulbs 

 of these are round, tlu' scales tiiick, 

 tlie folia},fe broad, and the llowors Ijroad- 

 ])etaled and carried eight to fourteen on 

 a stem. The otiier tyjie, wiiicii is most- 

 ly in evidence, has broad l)ulbs, rather 

 liollo\ve<l at the center; the scales art; 

 much tiiinner, the foliage narrow, the 

 tlower stalks lliin, and tlie blooms are 

 half the size of tliose of the good type. 

 As a rule, three to eiglit llowers are ]iro- 

 cluci'd to the stalk. This tyjie is not 

 \v(jrth growing and has discouraged 

 many from growing candidums. 



Candidums can be )iotted singly in 

 (i-inch pots, but do miudi better if tiirei' 

 to five bulbs are use(l in S in<di and ]n- 

 incli pots. They also succeed well in 

 boxes six iM(dies deep. The l)idbs should 

 be covered two inches. (iive a good 

 watering, then keej) tolerably dry until 

 foliage has ajipeau'd. 'I'oo much water 

 at lirst will rot the bulbs. Str.nd the 

 pots or boxes outdoors on a ]>ed of 

 ashes, and leave then\ there until frosts 

 come of snlHciciit severity to linn the 

 soil in the pots, tliiMi stand in a cold- 

 frame. For Ivister tlowering. house 

 early in .lanuary and give a tempera- 

 ture" of ."jt degrees at night. Candidums 

 .-ire niiiie<l by forcing; the llowers are 

 ,,iilv one h:ilf tiic size i,[' those grown 

 I cci'ei-. 



Berried Solauums. 



l-iarU' in Se|itemlii'r is a good time to 

 lift and pot ln'rried scdanums from the 

 lield. These are now bushy and finely 

 lierried. The larger plants will require 

 <i inch jiots, the smaller ones 5 inch. Pot 

 tirinly, soak well with water, shade for 

 a few days, then give full sun and lots 

 of water. Freipicnt sjirayings over- 

 head after pcdting will prevent wilting. 

 It is astonishing how quickly the l)ots 

 are filled with roots when they are kept 

 fre(dv svringed. These outdoor plants 

 are bigger and better in every way 

 tlian any whieli liave grown during the 

 summer in pots. 



Vallota Puirpurea. 



At present the brilliant Scarborough 

 lily is in full bloom. ]t is often seen 

 beautifully flowered outside humble 

 cottages, far better than with gardeners 

 ;in.| florists. This vallota dislikes fre- 

 (|uent ])ottings and, like nerines and 

 Amarvllis Bcdladonna, flowers best 

 when well matted with roots. Any com- 

 mercial grower who can get up a stock 

 (d" this lily will have no trouble in dis- 

 posing of it. Five-inch ])ots carrying 

 three spikes and 6-inch pots carrying 

 five to six spikes are pretty, but it is 



when in large ]iots that it is the most 

 telling. A compost of loam, broken 

 sandstone and dry cow manure suits 

 vallotas. In winter, any temperature 

 just clear of freezing will carry them 

 o\er nicely. 



Euphorbia Jacquiniseflora. 



Not so much grown as its value mer- 

 its, Euphorbia Jacquiniu,'flora, the bril- 

 liant Christmas jilant, makes new 

 friends each year. \Yhethcr for selling 

 in pots or pans, or scdling in sprays, 

 this is one of the best colored flowers 

 we have for the holidays. To get extra 

 fine sprays, which will bring good 

 money, plant out one or two in boxes 

 and let them run up the roof; or, if 

 you have a bed where they can be al- 

 lowed to go undisturbed for a couple 

 of years, they will give some grand 

 sprays. Jn pots or pans six inches in 

 diameter, several j)]ants together, they 

 look well and it is now time to give 

 them their final shift. If desired, put 



a few small pteris in with them to 

 cover the soil from view. Like the 

 poinsettias, thev like a warm house to 

 develop in, but 'for the next few weeks 

 thev will do well outdoors or with the 

 protection of a coldframe. With the 

 arrival of cold nights, place them in 

 warmer quarters, or you may lose a 

 lot of foliage. 



Annual Larkspurs. 



lu winter and early spring there is 

 always too little variety in our cut 

 flowers and anything out of the beaten 

 track is welcome. It is true that it is 

 hard to get some dealers even to try 

 new things, but the progressive men are 

 glad to get anything in the way of a 

 novelty. Annual larkspurs are easy 

 to grow and succeed even better under 

 glass than outdoors. They are grace 

 fill, make charming centerpieces, and 

 a large vase arranged with them at- 

 tr.acts attention at once. There are 

 some beautiful colors, including pale 

 l)luc. light pink, deep pink, pure white 

 and dark blue. As a general rule, the 

 white, light pink and lavender shades 

 sell th(! best. This makes a good crop 

 to follow mums with. Sow the seed 

 now. in a coldframe or in flats. Pot 

 (dV singly and grow in a frame or cool 

 greenhouse until the benches for them 

 are ready. Place the plants a foot 

 apart in the rows each way. They 

 should not go any closer, as they branch 

 considerably. Pinch out the central 

 spike; then all the side shoots will come 

 strong and uniform. 



GERANIUM CUTTINGS. 



l']arly ]iropagation of zonal geraniums 

 often entails a heavy loss in dam|ied- 

 oti cuttings. Shoidd extreincdy lud, 

 weather come after the cuttings are 

 ])l:iced in the sand, many will j)robal)ly 

 nd. particularly if tiiev were soft cut- 

 tings from outdoor ]dants. It is well to 

 delay jiropagation as long as possible. 

 as experience sh.ows that with "cuttings 

 ))ut in the san<l early in October tlie loss 

 is not one-tenth that of those inserted 

 four to six weeks earlier. If the sto<'k 

 plants liave been grown under glass. 

 th(! wood will be harder and the li.abil- 

 ity of damping off greatly decreased. 

 With outdoor <uttings, 1 like to leave 

 them on a bench twelve to twenty-four 

 hours after making, to dry somewhat, 

 but not in the sun. Such cuttings show 

 a smaller percentage of loss than those 

 inserted as soon as made. 



There are various methods of propa- 

 gation in general use — placing in sami 

 ])enc)ies. in flats of sand, and singly in 

 small pots. Of tliese I prefer the flat 

 system. Those started in flats, if well 

 drained and stood on a shelf where they 

 "can get the full sun, should show fewer 

 damped oft" cuttings than under any 

 other plan. There should be one thor- 

 ough soaking, then comparative dry- 

 n^' until rooted, and after tliat merely 

 sufficient moisture to prevent shrivel- 

 ing. These cuttings, shaken out early 



i'l the new year, will have a veritable 

 mat of fine roots and will grow fast 

 wlicii p(dted in light, rich soil. 



If placed on regular cutting benches, 

 extniue care in watering is necessary. 

 The s;!nd should be fresh and the drain 

 age abundant. This plan will answer 

 well if the sand is not iweiled for other 

 cuttings until the mum season closes. In 

 small pots the cuttings usually root well. 

 Space, however, is usually valuable at 

 the time they are ])ut in and pots need 

 a iot more space than flats. Much mor:- 

 time is also consumecj in jmtting them 

 in pots. 



Some growers, b(dh in the north and 

 south, ])ut i)articularly in the south, 

 find that cuttings root much better out 

 doors than under glass. The trouble with 

 this jilan is that drencliiug rains some 

 times saturate the flats and cause a 

 wh(desale damping ofl". Each grower 

 must adoi)t the plan best adapted for 

 liis ])articular section. All cuttings 

 sliould be trimmed ofl: closely; no leaves 

 except extremely small ones should be 

 b'ft on. They will root whether cut be 

 low ;i joint or not, l)ut I find the proper 

 tioii of rotted cuttings is considerably 

 lessened when they are cut directly be 

 low a joint. 



GERANIUM CUTTINGS IN BENCH. 



Would geraniums do satisfactorily if 

 rooted cuttings were planted in the 



