12 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Ski'tk.mbkk ir», 1010. 



• 'Ill Micliifjan. They iirc about twelve 

 to fifteen iiiehes liipli, luit do not bloom. 

 Will thoy bloom this fall if lifted and 

 ]»nt in coldframeH? C. K. 



Stocks are ditticult plants to move, 

 as it is imjtossible to secure any ball 

 with them. Their roots are not fibrous, 

 like those of asters, which arc easily 

 and safely nntved. It would certainly 

 not pay to transplant them. However, 

 as stocks withstand (|uite a little frost, 

 there may still be a chance of your se- 

 t'uriiiii some flowers from them. If 

 tliey are <;rowiiig fairly close toj<;ether, 

 it woulfl not lie difficult to run some 

 cheesecloth ovi-r them, or t>ven to pro- 

 tect them by standing up any sashes 

 that arc not in use. C. W. 



PRIMULA FOLIAGE DIES. 



1 enclose a leaf of my jtrimulas. I 

 do not know what is the matter with 

 it, whether it is caused by some insect 

 or from sprinklinff the foliage. It seems 

 to me every time the foliage gets wet 

 it has streaks and then dies off. My 

 Hex begonias and some other plants do 

 the same. If 1 cannot syringe the 



foliage, how am J to dean them of 

 dust, which we iiave so jnuch of here? 

 1 live in Te.vas. C. L. S. 



The foliage showed no signs of being 

 attacked by any insects. The leaves of 

 the Chinese primulas are singularly free 

 from insects' attacks. The trouble 

 looks like scalding. Primulas, in com 

 men with Kex begonias, gloxinias, tu- 

 berous-rooted begonias, gesneras, aehim 

 enes and tyda-as, will scald badly if 

 wetted over under glass and then ex- 

 ]tosed to the sun's rays. All the plants 

 named must have shade during hot. 

 bright Aveather; more particularly will 

 this be necessary in your warm state. 

 At this season they will do specially 

 well in coldframes if you keep the 

 sashes tilted up both top and bottom, 

 to allow of a free circulation of air, and, 

 instead of shading the glass, use blinds 

 made of thin laths, rolling these over 

 the glass during bright sunshine. These 

 keep the plants cooler than if white- 

 wash is placed on the glass. Sashes 

 and shades can be removed altogether 

 at night and on didl days. A spray- 

 ing over twice or thrice on hot days 

 is beneficial. C. W. 



^ 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



I 



Frcesias. 



It is time now t(» make a successional 

 planting of freesias. The bulbs will 

 start into growtii (piickly after Scf)- 

 teinber and should have full light as 

 soon as the slioots ap|)ear above the 

 soil. I'\irity is proving scai<-e this sea- 

 son and many growers are obliged to 

 fall back on refracta alba. There is 

 one form of this with flowers as pure 

 as tho.se of f'urity .and, when well 

 grown, etinally large, but the general 

 run of those sold have considerable yel- 

 low in the centers. 



In )>lanting freesias we (ind that the 

 long, thin bullts give far better results 

 than the large, thick, heavy ones usu- 

 ally sold. These long bulbs are easily 

 raised b\ sowing tlie small bulblets 

 moderately thickly in flats, not cutting 

 any flowers they carry at all and letting 

 them ripen ofl" gradually on a sunny 

 shelf. Far too many growers, just as 

 .soon as the flowers are cut, stand the 

 pots, pans or flats under the benches, 

 where they will get plenty of drip from 

 the benches and be constantly in a 

 soggy condition. If anyone wants to 

 raise his own bull»s. he must give the 

 plants a chance to properly mature 

 their growth. 



Lilium Harrisii. 



Jjilium Harrisii arc now well started 

 and the pots nicely filled with roots. 

 A house where they can have 60 to 65 

 degrees at night is what fhey need to 

 get .them in flower for (/hristmas. Be 

 careral not to give much water at the 

 root; it is easy to spoil the plants at 

 this early stage of their growth by too 

 much moisture in the soil. Remember 



that, to be sure of the lilies being on 

 time, the buds should be so that they 

 can be counted by November 10. While 

 the weather is still warm, the solar 

 heat is on the steady decline — quite the 

 opposite from conditions prior to Easter 

 and Memorial day. 



Fansies. 



Take advantage of cool, moist 

 weather to transplant the seedling 

 jtansies. Where a few hundreds only 

 are grown, they can be pricked directly 

 into coldframes, but where many thou- 

 sands are to be set out, beds three to 

 four feet wide are better used, placing 

 the jilants four inches apart each way. 

 Where land is plentiful, they can be 

 transplanted in nursery rows suflici- 

 enth' far apart to allow of cultivation. 

 Ground that is on a dead level should 

 never be chosen, as water is liable to 

 cover the plants in winter. Given a 

 gentle slope to throw off water, they 

 will usually winter well. 



Poinsettias. 



Continue to fill pans with i»oinsettias 

 before the plants become too much 

 rooted in the pots. The 6-inch, 8-inch 

 and 10-iuch pans are all used, though 

 the S inch is the most generally useful 

 size. In making up the pans it im- 

 proves their appearance to use some 

 small ferns, asparagus or cyperus 

 among the jwinsettias. Grow the plants 

 cool. There is as yet no necessity to 

 run them warm. They need no shade, 

 as this only draws them up and makes 

 them lanky. Careful watering, both 

 now and later in the season, is what 

 these plants require if they are to 

 carry healthy foliage. Keep late 



rooted cuttings potted off. It is now 

 getting too late to do any further proj) 

 agating. IMants growing in benches are 

 making considerable growth and some 

 stalf^ing will be needed to prevent the 

 grojj^ths becoming bent or twisted. 



-t'*:^' 



Stevias. 



Sfievias ■ JgCraSSld be lifted and potted 

 at once if the stock is in the field. Sum 

 mer culture in pots is preferred, as 

 there is then none of the breakage of 

 shoots that occurs in lifting from the 

 ground. Keep the plants outdoors as 

 late as possible. The least breath of 

 frost will finish them, but anything 

 above freezing is all right. When the 

 Jilants are housed, they should be in 

 the coolest house on the place. Stevia 

 blooms are not wanted while the mum 

 season is on. It is well to figure on 

 getting a good liatch for Christmas. 

 Plants kept cool will flower naturally 

 at that season. 



Peonies. 



Scjitcmber is the month jiar excel- 

 lence for j)lanting jteonies. Many parts 

 of the country have suffered from se 

 vere droughts, now luqipily mitigated 

 by fall rains, which put the soil in a 

 much better condition for planting 

 perennial stock t>f all kinds. Peonies, 

 above all other perennials, love a 

 deeply dug and generous soil. Place 

 them three feet apart in the rows, if 

 they are to remain there three or four 

 years; if longer, allow four feet. 



In dividing the clumps do not cut 

 away all the foliage. It is still green 

 and is better left on until it decays, 

 it is a common error to cut away peony 

 foliage too soon. It is a harmful prac 

 tice. Another injurious habit is to cut 

 the flower stalks down close to the 

 ground in order to get long stems at 

 the blooming period. Have you ever 

 noticed the crippled appearance such 

 plants present the following year? if 

 you have not, mark a few plants, cut 

 some low down and allow the balance 

 to carry about two pairs of leaves 

 each. The contrast between the two 

 lots at blooming time the following 

 year will be so marked that you will 

 never want to sacrifice any more plants 

 for the sake of cutting a few extra 

 long flower stems. 



Irises. 



The Germanica, Siberica and Kwmp 

 feri irises are much better when planted 

 in the fall. It is a mistake to leave 

 this work until spring, as when plant 

 ing is ilelayed until then the flower.s 

 are of poor quality the first season. 

 German irises should be replanted once 

 in two or three years, to keep them 

 healthy and blooming vigorously. Uf 

 course they will grow and flower if un 

 divided for a generation, but in new 

 soil they succeed vastly better. 



The Japanese iris, I. Ka»mpferi, are 

 customarily looked upon as semi- 

 aquatics. It is true they will thrive 

 better if kept flooded while growing 

 and until the blooming season has 

 passed, but after that date, and espe- 

 cially in winter, they must have dry 

 feet or they will rot. The various 

 forms of Iris Siberica do well in either 

 wet or dry ground. I. Siberica Snow 

 Queen naturalizes beautifully on the 

 margins of streams and ponds and is 

 one of the finest of hardy flowers for 

 cutting. All the irises like ground 

 which has been well enriched, and the 

 earlier they are planted the better they 

 will flower next summer. 



