MARCH 24, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists' Review, 



13 



Gold Medal Group of Orchids Grown by W. N. Craig and Exhibited at the Boston Midwinter Show. 



SanderiB, mignonette, Calceolaria Golden 

 Bedder, lantanas and ageratum. Flower- 

 11 g geraniums do not succeed well in 

 shade, but Mme. Salleroi and Bijou can 

 be grown for foliage. Many grasses, 

 such as Pennisetum Eupelianum, and 

 some perennials, like Funkia subcordata 

 variegata, can also be grown. 



C. W. 



NAME OF PLANTS. 



Please find enclosed slip of foliage 

 from Florida, for which we would like to 

 have the name. A lady gave it to us 

 from Florida and she says they have it 

 down there as a border plant. It resem- 

 bles the clover leaf. I am also sending 

 you a fern leaf. Will you kindly give 

 me the name of it? J. K. C. 



The first described plant is a pteris, or 

 Pellsea adiantifolia, and the second is 

 an adiantum, but I cannot be certain of 

 its identity. C. W. 



OUTDOOR ASTERS. 



Will you kindly give me information 

 as to how I should manage a piece of 

 land, something less than an acre, which 

 I wish to put into asters? I have no 

 glass this year. Can I, by starting the 

 seeds as early as possible outdoors, se- 

 cure plants that will give me a good 

 Commercial crop in Connecticut? The 

 last frost in spring comes about May 12, 

 and the first in the fall of last year was 

 about the middle of October, 



What varieties would you suggest? 

 V> hat do such flowers command at whole- 

 s>le? I am a dahlia grower and have 

 'i id considerable experience under glass, 

 'it no experience with asters outdoors, 

 ^'ith a good grade of seed, about how 

 n iny plants could one depend upon 

 1 om an ounce of seed ? H, B. G. 



If the piece of land is in grass, it 

 ^^')uld have been better plowed and al- 

 '> wed to remain rough over winter. 



Failing this, break it up as soon as 

 the ground is in a fit condition in spring. 

 Give it a good coating of barnyard ma- 

 nure — well rotted cow manure if the 

 land is light, or horse manure if heavy. 

 Harrow this into the ground thoroughly. 

 Later use a smoothing harrow. Some 

 complete fertilizer may also be used in 

 addition to the manure. We would, how- 

 ever, put this on when the plants are 

 well established and growing, running 

 the cultivator through the rows after- 

 ward; 300 to 400 pounds per acre 

 should suffice, or 100 pounds of guano 

 will also answer well. 



If you have a coldframe, you can start 

 seeds early in April, transplanting them 

 from the middle to the end of May, If, 

 however, you want to sow altogether out- 

 doors, you can do so and secure excellent 

 results. For the earliest varieties, such 

 as Queen of the Market, sow about April 

 20. Use some cheesecloth for protection 

 in case of late frosts. The midseason 

 and late branching sorts can be sown 

 from the beginning to the middle of 

 May and transplanted on moist, cloudy 

 days when of sufficient size. 



The early sorts can go somewhat 

 closer than the late ones. Let the rows 

 of the early ones be twenty-four to 

 thirty inches apart and allow nine inches 

 between the plants. The late sorts 

 should have thirty-six inches between the 

 rows, to permit of easy cultivation, and 

 the plants can be set twelve to fifteen 

 inches apart. 



There is more money in early and late 

 asters than in midseason ones. Seeing 

 that you cannot produce early ones, as 

 those can who have greenhouses or 

 frames to start their seed in, it will be 

 better to depend on the late varieties. 

 Of these, Vick's Branching, Semple's, 

 Pink Beauty and Crego's Giant Comet 

 are first-class sorts, the first two being 

 deservedly popular commercially. 



Prices vary according to supply and 

 demand. Last year the earliest flowers 

 would bring $2 per hundred, with a 

 gradual drop to $1, 75 cents, 50 cents 



and even lower; probably 35 cents per 

 hundred would be a fair average price 

 for your crop, taking it right through. 

 If they grow and flower satisfactorily, 

 they will pay well at this low figure. 

 First-class fiowers of the late varieties 

 often bring $2 to $3 per hundred, but 

 the general average is much lower. 



Use a horse or hand cultivator freely 

 all summer, Tliis is far better than any 

 attempt at watering. With good soil 

 and keeping the surface constantly 

 tickled, asters will stand a surprising 

 amount of dry weather. Last summer 

 was an exceptionally dry one, but asters 

 were more numerous and of better qual- 

 ity than ever before. 



Asters are fairly hardy and will with- 

 stand several degrees of frost without 

 injury. In purchasing seed, secure the 

 best quality only. Perhaps some other 

 large aster growers can give an idea how 

 many aster plants an ounce of good 

 seed should produce. W. C. 



OUTDOOR LILY OF THE VALLEY 



I have a fine lot of lily of the valley 

 in the open ground and I want to propa- 

 gate. When is the best time to trans- 

 plant and how should they be treated? 

 I want them altogether for outdoor grow- 

 ing. I live in Indiana. E. T. B. 



Fall is the best time to transplant lily 

 of the valley, October being an excellent 

 month. Next to that period, transplant- 

 ing is most successful if done as soon as 

 possible after frost leaves the ground, 

 which with you should be in the early 

 part of April. The ground should be 

 plowed or spaded deeply and liberally 

 manured for the best results. If set out 

 in rows across the field, allow twenty- 

 four inches between the rows and set the 

 pips five to six inches apart. If in beds 

 you can plant rows twelve inches apart, 

 allowing a 24-inch patch between every 

 fifth row. Give the plants a liberal mulch 

 of well-decayed manure each fall. 0. 



