Sbptbmbkb 8, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



and all that. There are but few schemes 

 to equal this in fine effect, and all for 

 a moderate outlay of time and money. 

 Electric lights and flowers may be 

 added to any extent desired. A whole 

 room could be canopied in the same 

 manner. 



Chiffon and veiling should never be 

 self-tied. Catch in loops and ends to- 

 gether in the fingers, tie with baby rib- 

 bon and attach with the same ribbon 

 ends. Gertrude Blair. 



NEW AZAIiEAS. 



Some of the American florists who 

 visited Belgium this summer admired 

 d new pink azalea grown by the 

 Haerens Co., of Somergem, which was 

 exhibited in bloom. This variety is 

 similar to Mme. Vander Cruyssen in 

 color, but can be forced much earlier. 

 There are other new varieties of azaleas 

 grown by this firm, including a double 

 early white and semidouble red, all of 

 which attracted much attention last 

 February when exhibited in bloom be- 

 fore the Boston Gardeners' and Flo- 

 rists' Club, 



CBOTONS FOB POT CULTURE. 



Kindly give a list of the best crotons 

 for pot culture, particularly in the red 

 varieties. S. F. C. 



The list of varieties is being con- 

 stantly added to by such well-known 

 specialists as the Robert Craig Co., of 

 Philadelphia, who exhibited over eighty 

 varieties at the late S. A. F. convention 

 in Bochester, N. Y. The following are 

 excellent, reliable sorts: 



Queen Victoria, yellow, blotched, ribs 

 magenta; Sunbeam, rich Ijlood-red when 

 matured; Triumphans, green and crim- 

 son, changing to bronze green and 

 crimson; Majesticum, long, narrow 

 leaves, green and yellow, shaded with 

 crimson; Baron Rothschild, green and 

 yellow, crimson when old; Hawkeri, 

 broad leaves, light yellow, green edge; 

 Andreanum, broad foliage, dark green, 

 with crimson and yellow veins; Chal- 

 lenger, long leaves, midribs deep car- 

 mine when mature; Disraeli, dark 

 green, yellow veins, turning to crimson 

 later; Musaicum, creamy when young, 

 crimson when matured; Beauty, green, 

 variegated golden yellow, changing to 

 bronze and rosy crimson; Nestor, green, 

 variegated yellow and white, midrib 

 crimson. C. W. 



THE ASTEB DISEASE. 



I read J. L. Johnson's article on aster 

 disease, on page 9 of The Review of 

 September 1, with a great deal of in- 

 terest. I have worked on this trouble 

 for years and have long felt convinced 

 that it was not a disease. If a disease, 

 it must have either got better or worse 

 as the years passed. It was ftlways 

 worse in wet seasons, and sour soil is 

 always more acid in wet seasons. 



I have used lime and recommended it 

 to my seed customers for the last three 

 years, and while it doesn't effect a rad- 

 ical cure, it certainly helps. One block 

 near my home, containing about 5,000 

 plants, is on soil that has carried asters 

 for the last five years, and I have less 

 yellows this season than ever before, 

 possibly three per cent in all. I applied 

 lime at the rat^ of three tons per acre 

 five years ago and one ton each year 

 since. This coming spring I shall leave 



The Ribbon "Was the Needed Touch on This Basket. 



it off, as the soil shows signs of getting 

 pasty. The ideal treatment would be a 

 good dose of tile along with the lime. 



Experimenting in 1908 in connection 

 with George D'. Williams, the Nitrate 

 Agencies' expert for this section, I 

 found that yellows seldom appeared in 

 soil that was not sour. Mr. Williams 

 is a great believer in lime, not only 

 for asters but for most grain and root 

 crops. From the results he obtains, 

 going so far as to apply ten tons per 

 acre for potatoes, I think we'll have 

 to agree with him. 



The Technical World Magazine for 

 December, 1909, contained an article on 

 toxic poisons from roots of plants, deal- 

 ing with acids left in the soil by certain 

 crops. It is well worth reading by 

 those who are interested along these 

 lines. R. E. Huntington. 



PLANTS FOE OFFICE WINDOWS. 



I have a customer who wishes me 

 to supply him with varieties of plants 

 that will do well in the window of a 

 factory office during the winter months. 

 The plants will have plenty of light, 

 but not much sunshine. What would 

 you recommend? L. F. M. 



Foliage plants generally do much 

 more satisfactorily in windows than 

 flowering subjects, especially where the 

 plants get considerable shade. All the 

 nephrolepis are suitable. Nothing does 

 much better than the old Boston, but 

 Whitmani, elegantissima and others are 

 also good. Cyrtoniium falcatum and 

 Pteris Cretica cristata are other relia- 



ble ferns. In the way of palms you 

 could use Kentia Belmoreana, Phoenix 

 rupicola or Canariensis and Latania 

 Borbonica. Aspidistra lurida is prob- 

 ably the best and most, enduring of all 

 foliage plants for house or factory. 

 There is also a variegated form that is 

 equally hardy. Ficus elastica, the com 

 mon rubber plant, succeeds with almost 

 everyone. Rex begonias and quite a 

 number of the fibrous-rooted flowering 

 varieties of robust habit will do well. 



If the minimum temperature does not 

 fall below 50 degrees, Pandanus Veit- 

 chii and utilis will thrive well. Some 

 other easily grown and reliable plants 

 are: Asparagus Sprengeri and plumo- 

 sus nanus, variegated vinca, Curculigo 

 recurvata and DTacsena indivisa. In 

 addition to fibrous rooted begonias, you 

 could use such varieties as rubra, nitida 

 alba, Haageana, ScharflSana and Er- 

 fordii. The zonal geraniums will flower 

 well where the night temperature does 

 not exceed 50 degrees; also petunias 

 and impatiens. As a general rule, how- 

 ever, foliage plants prove the most sat- 

 isfactory. C. W. 



WHITE INSECTS ON COLEUS. 



What will keep white spider from 

 coleus and other plants? What will 

 exterminate them without iniuring the 

 foliage? 'S. F. C. 



I do not recognize an insect called 

 "white spider," but possibly it may be 

 mealy bug on the coleus, and in "that 

 case you might try one of the nicotine 

 liquids advertised ill The Review, used 

 according to directions. W. H. T. 



