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Mabch 24, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



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SUGGESTIONS 



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Hydrangeas. 



With the passing of Easter, bare 

 1)1 aches should be in evidence. For some 

 Aveoks it has been a difficult matter to 

 ^ i.e plants needful space to insure their 

 jiioper development, and it is something 

 ().' a relief to find an opportunity to give 

 growing crops more elbow room. Hy- 

 drangeas are a necessity with every coun- 

 tiy florist at Memorial day and sell well 

 throughout the month of June. Those 

 ^vliich have been stored in cellars, sheds 

 (1- greenhouses, kept barely clear of 

 freezing, must be housed right away. If 

 pot-grown through the summer, give them 

 a liberal top-dressing. If, as is more 

 probable, they were field-grown and 

 potted in the fall, their compost will be 

 all right. Spray freely until they are 

 well started into growth, and never al- 

 low them to suffer for lack of water. A 

 temperature of 45 to 50 degrees at night 

 is all right. Full sun, free ventilation 

 and a spraying of nicotine once a week 

 will keep them clean and growing nicely. 



Gardenias, 



The gardenia plants will now be pro- 

 ducing their heavy spring crop. As soon 

 as this is cut, it is a good plan to insert 

 a batch of the strongest cuttings. Kub 

 these off with a heel and they will root 

 more quickly. Heat, moisture and a 

 close atmosphere are requisites for suc- 

 cess in rooting gardenias. It is of no 

 avail to merely sprinkle the cuttings once 

 a day. Keep them saturated and few 

 will fail to root. Throw away old 

 plants; it never pays to carry them over. 

 They will only take canker at their col- 

 lars and eventually die. Young stock 

 every year is a necessity in gardenia cul- . 

 ture. Keep early rooted cuttings potted 

 along, giving small shifts. If in 4-inch 

 pots for planting in June, they will give 

 bushy stock before winter. Never allow 

 mealy bug to get any foothold. A pres- 

 sure of cold water, carefully directed, is 

 tlie cheapest and surest remedy. 



Antirrhinums. 



Antirrhinums are now producing some 

 i^plendid stalks. They are really most 

 satisfactory flowers to buy, as they have 

 excellent lasting qualities. When the first 

 'lop of spikes are cut, they can be car- 

 1 ied along, as they break freely from the 

 I'ottoms, and the next crop will come in 

 light for Memorial day. It is a good 

 I 'Ian to mark a few extra good varieties 

 'ind take cuttings from these, which can 

 ''c planted in the field in May. If these 

 "re kept headed down, they will give a 

 nice crop of cuttings in July and August, 

 '|r can themselves be lifted and potted 

 ^or an early crop. Pot off or transplant 

 into flats any spring-sown seedlings be- 

 fore they become crowded. These are 

 useful for bedding and do not mind a 

 'ittle shade. Snapdragons are one of the 

 I'lants which will not stand fumigation 

 *yith hydrocyanic acid gas. Even a weak 

 ■iftse will cause many of the tops to bend 



over and shrivel. Nicotine extract, 

 sprayed, is a safe remedy for aphis. 



Canterbury Bells. 



The early date of Easter has made it 

 difficult to flower many Canterbury bells, 

 but they are a satisfactory flower during 

 the spring months, being particularly use- 

 ful for Memorial day trade. They should 

 not be subjected to a warm and moist 

 heat, or many of the tops will rot and 

 much of the foliage turn brown. A cool, 

 airy and sunny house is to their liking, 

 with plenty of water at the roots and as 

 little as possible overhead. Well flowered 

 pots of single or cup and saucer (caly- 



gether too late to get strong, flowering 

 sized plants. 



Tuberous Rooted Begonias. 



For growing in partial shade or com- 

 plete shade, no flowering plants can sur- 

 pass the tuberous begonias. Bulbs of 

 distinct colors are now procurable at a 

 low rate. These should be started now, 

 in flats of sand and leaf-mold. Water 

 sparingly until growth is well started. 

 Pot off singly before they have made too 

 much root run, using a light, sandy, but 

 moderately rich compost. In addition to 

 their value as bedding plants, tuberous 

 begonias are splendid for piazza and win- 

 dow boxes where fairly well shaded. 

 They are also one of the best summer 

 flowering pot plants. January sown 

 seedlings are now nicely established in 

 shallow flats and will go into 3-inch pots 

 within two weeks. These will make nice 

 stock for bedding toward the end of May 

 and can also be potted along for flower- 

 ing in late summer under glass. 



Fibrous Rooted Begonias. 



No matter whether bedded out in full 

 sun, heavy shade or moderate shade, the 



Designs at a Recent Funeral at Hopkinsville, Ky. 



canthema) Canterbury bells always sell 

 well. It is a fact that they can be grown 

 much better in pots than outdoors, and, 

 kept in a cool, shaded house, they last 

 remarkably well. The present, by the 

 way, is a good time to sow Canterbury 

 bells in order to secure strong flowering 

 pdants by fall. Too often their sowing 

 is neglected until .Tuly. This is alto- 



various bedding varieties of fibrous 

 rooted begonias are extremely satisfac- 

 tory and flower persistently until de- 

 stroyed by frost. Such varieties as 

 Vesuvius (also named La Vesuve), 

 gracilis rosea, Veruon and Erfordii, either 

 for bordering or for filling solid beds, 

 are among the finest of all bedding 

 plants. They are inexpensively raised, 



