October C, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists" Review* 



15 



W. C. Scovell and His Hydrangea. 



to I'cpoinil.Mri/.c tliom l)y pljuitiug beds 

 of tluMii (jiiitt' thickly lor mass otfects 

 at various exhibitions. Wliere flowers 

 for ciittinjtf only are wanted, second size 

 bulbs answer jjerfectly well, while the 

 miniature si/.e seems to 1)e growing in 

 favor year by year. As a general rule, 

 named kinds are not used, j)ut where 

 some fine spikes are wanted the follow- 

 ing are strictly firstclass sorts to grow: 

 Oertrude, ]iink; (iaribaldi, carmine; 

 King of the Hhies, dark lilue; (^ueen of 

 the Blues, liglit blue; Czar I'eter, por- 

 celain blue; i^a (Jrandesse, jiure white; 

 l^aroness A'^an Thuyll, white, primrose 

 eye; City of Haarlem, deep yellow. The 

 foregoing are all single varieties. The 

 doubles are of little value for either 

 forcing or bedding. 



For culture in glasses, select the finest 

 bulbs. Use soft water and jilacc a piece 

 of charcoal in it to kee]) it fresh. Do 

 not let the water quite touch the bulb 

 at any time. If at any time the water 

 shows signs of stagnation, change it at 

 once, .\fter the bulbs arc placed in tin- 

 glasses, the latter should be stood in a 

 cool, dark and dry place until the roots 

 iiave pushed to the liottom of the 

 glasses and the tops are grown a couple 

 of inches. Then tliev can gra<lually be 

 inured to liylil . 



Narcissi. 



Hoth narcissi and tulips are ada|)t 

 able to culture both in jians and flats. 

 Nfany country tlorists have a consider- 

 able sale for pans of each, and practi 

 cally all the narcissi do well treated in 

 this way. The big liulbed sorts, like 

 Kmperor, Victoria and Empress, need 

 larger pans than the other sorts. They 

 will do in 8-inch size, but 10-inch will 

 serve them much better. There are a 

 few narcissi which no florist can well 

 get along without. Of these Golden 

 Spur ranks high, it being the finest of 

 the large golden yellow trumpet sorts 

 for forcing. Trumpet Major or single 

 Von Sion comes in somewhat earlier. 

 Emperor, with its heavy foliage and im- 

 mense flowers, fortes well and makes a 



good successional \ariety. A'ictoria, 

 with its clear yellow trumpet and white 

 l)erianth, is the finest of the bicolor sec- 

 tion. This variety does splendidly in 

 jians. and the steins, being extra stilf, 

 do not fall o\ er, as some kinds are lia- 

 ble to do. Knijiress is a mucli better 

 sort than Jlorsfieldii, but not ('(puil t(j 

 A'ictoria. 



In double vjirieties A'on Sion is al- 

 ways in great demand. It is diflicidt to 

 understand why it is so popular, as the 

 ilower is coarse as compared with the 

 singles, but it ships well and withstands 

 rough usage. .\ much finer double nar- 

 cissus and one larely seen in the market 

 is the Sulphur or Silver i'lncnix, with 

 ]iale, cretimy white, fragrant flowers. 



Tliis i-arinot be I'orcecl as early, however, 

 as the old Adii Sion. 



The medium and short trumpet nar- 

 i-issi, although much iiKjre graceful than 

 the large trum|)et section, have not 

 hitherto attained ])opularity commer- 

 rially. Sir Watkin, Barri conspicuus, 

 l.eedsii Afrs. Langtry, liCcdsii ])uchess 

 of Brabant, poeticus and poeticus orna- 

 tiis iire a reliable half (lozeu to grow. 

 'I'lie last named can be hail in Ilower in 

 .l.aiiuary. The old poeticus, if kept 

 liai-k. sells finely at I'ia^ter. .\ll t lu; 

 narcissi succeed Avell in Hats cdntaiiiing 

 four inches of soil. 



Spanish Irises. 



There are no fin(>r tlowers in bate win 

 ter and spring than tlie SpaJiish irises, 

 and they find a r(>a<ly sale in ail th(! 

 large flower inai'kets. In addition to 

 their value for forcing, they should be 

 far more i)lanted outdoors, as their h;ir 

 diness is unquestioned and their low. 

 ])rice ])laces them within everyone's 

 reach. These irises must iu)t be covercij 

 with sfiil or ashes, as with tulips oi- 

 hy;icinths. They want light all the tinu'. 

 aiul to grow them successt'ully a nuixi 

 mum night temperature of ')0 degrees 

 slnuiid not be exceeded. One or two 

 splendid sf>rts are: Chrysolora and Ca 

 J;inus, yellow; liOuise, jiale blue, charm 

 ing; Thunderbolt, dariv bidnze; British 

 (,)ueen, jiure white; l,eoni(|a>, \ iolet 

 blue. 



Gladioli, 



In addition to the large llowered gladi 

 oli, such as Anunica, Alay and .\ugusta. 

 the smaller flowered nanus and (Jolvillei 

 sections contain many beautiful varie 

 ties, which, having small l)ulbs, can ln^ 

 readily grown and forced in flats, like 

 the Spanish irises. The oldest and best 

 known sort well adaptable for early 

 forcing is Colvillei The Bride. Blush- 

 ing Bride, with crimson blotches, has 

 iiuii-li greater vigor than The Bride. 

 I'robably the finest of all the nanus or 

 cardinalis section is I'each Blossom, of 

 a delicate jnnk shade. Other desirable 

 varieties are: Mathilde, white, shaded 

 with l;tV(Mi(ier; (ieiUMal Scott, light rose. 

 re<l blotches; A<'keruuinii. s.'ilmon, flaked 



How Mr. Scovell Prunes Hydrangea Paniculata. 



