u 



The Wcddy Florists' Review. 



Mauch 4, 1909. > 



Easter it will certainly find ready sale 

 everywhere. I should say it would be 

 very effective to plant nice, bushy plants 

 of li^fte. Norbert Levavasseur and of 

 the new variety, Apple Blossom, together 

 in good sized hampers. 



Apple Blossom wg,s raised by a firm of 

 rose growers in the southwest of Ger- 

 many. This new variety will be welcome 

 to a good many and will undoubtedly 

 find as great xavor- as did Mrs. Cutbush, 

 light red, and Anny MuUer, deep pink, 

 two other seedlings from Mme. Norbert 

 Levava,S8eur. Anny Muller, especially, 

 has won thousands of friends in the 

 United States. W. H. 



OUTSIDE ROSES FOR CUTTING. 



What are the three best roses, in white, 

 pink and red, to grow outside for sum- 

 mer cutting, here in Indiana? Should 

 young or old stock be used? I should 

 like to have some directions as to the 

 culture of these varieties. H. S. W. 



It is a hard problem to select the best 

 varieties in these colors for outside work, 

 since so many of them possess special 

 merit in the different localities and also 

 in different grades of soil. 



In teas and hybrid teas, Richmond is 

 a fine red, as also is Liberty and Gruss 

 [Continued on pas:e 34.1 



I 



i SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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Lemon Verbenas. 



If you have not yet put in a batch 

 of cuttings of lemon verbenas, place 

 the old plants, lifted in the fall, in a 

 warm house. Do not water at the root 

 too freely, as dormant plants are often 

 killed by an excess of moisture in the 

 soil. Syringe freely and when the lit- 

 tle shoots are about two inches long, 

 rub them off with a heel and place in a 

 cutting bench with a good bottom heat. 

 In this way they will root in about three 

 weeks and, if potted off and kept grow- 

 ing, will make nice little stock to sell 

 in May. The cuttings will need one 

 pinching to make them bushy. 



While referring to lemon verbenas, 

 it is not too late to root a quantity of 

 scented-leaved geraniums. These are al- 

 ways in demand and never seem to lose 

 any popularity. 



Lantanas. 



Lantanas are perhaps less in evidence 

 than a decade ago. They are, however, 

 still largely planted and their persistent 

 flowering qualities render them extremely 

 serviceable and useful. There is still 

 nice time in which to root a good quan- 

 tity of cuttings, which will produce 

 salable little plants before Jack Frost 

 makes his final adieu for the season. 

 In rooting lantanas, a strong bottom heat 

 is not required, while a top heat of 55 

 degrees is ample. 



Petunias. 



Petunia seed is extremely small and 

 no matter how carefully you sowed it, the 

 seedlings will probably come up thickly 

 in parts of the pans. These must be 

 transplanted just as soon as they can be 

 handled; first, rather closely in flats of 

 light soil and later into 3-inch pots. Pe- 

 tunias, while they may grow a little slow- 

 ly now, make rapid headway in April and 

 May, and even if you have not sown any 

 seed yet, you can do so and have big 

 salable plants in May. 



Double varieties cannot, of course, be 

 reproduced from seed. A small percent- 

 age only of doubles will come in packets 

 of so-called double seed. Probably you 

 have carried over some plants of extra 

 good doubles and singles in pots and 

 these will now give you a good crop of 

 cuttings, which root readily in an ordinary 



cutting bench where carnations are propa- 

 gated. Petunias are the most satisfac- 

 tory of all annuals. As bedders they 

 flower from early summer until destroyed 

 by frost. For piazza and window-boxes, 

 vases, hanging-baskets and as pot plants, 

 they are also excellent. 



Sweet Alysstun, 



Perhaps you have a sufficient number 

 of seedlings of that useful, sweet-scent- 

 ed plant, sweet alyssum. If not, you 

 can now take cuttings from any plants 

 you may have in pots or growing around 

 the sides of the benches. They will 

 do all right in the same bench with 

 petunias and carnations. Alyssum may 



irnVERY now and then a well 

 ■3 pleased reader speaks the word 

 which is the means of bringing a new 

 advertiser to 



m 



Such friendly assistance is thoroughly 

 appreciated. 



Give us the name of anyone from 

 whom you are buying, not an adver- 

 tiser. We especially wish to interest 

 those selling articles of florists' use 

 not at present advertised* 



FLORISTS' PUBLISHING CO. 

 530-60 Caxton Bldg. Chicago 



be old-fashioned, but it is just this class 

 of flower which is never likely to die out 

 in popularity. 



Cannas. 



The advent of March reminds us that 

 it is time to overhaul and start the can- 

 nas. We hope the roots have been kept 

 where they were not exposed to drip 

 from benches to start them into prema- 



ture growth and cause decay. Shake all 

 soil away from the clumps. Use a strong, 

 sharp knife and cut up the > plants so 

 that a single eye is left to each portion. 



An excellent way to start cannas is to 

 scatter a layer of sphagnum moss over 

 a bench, under which hot water or steam 

 pipes run. Lay the divided roots in this 

 moss and scatter a thin layer over them. 

 Dampen the moss a little each day, but 

 do not attempt any soaking waterings. ♦ 

 which are liable to cause the roots to rot. 

 In a house kept at 60 to 65 degrees at 

 night, with a nice, steady bottom heat, 

 it will not be many days before both 

 roots and shoots appear. Pot up the 

 little plants before the roots are more 

 than three inches long, using 4-inch pots. 

 Stand on a bench where they can get 

 some bottom heat and they will speedily 

 root around the sides of the pots. 



When dividing the canna roots, be sure 

 to discard any showing signs of canker 

 or decay. Even if the eye looks sound, 

 such portions will never make plants, 

 usually rotting when moisture strikes 

 them. 



Mignonette. 



The changeable winter we have had has 

 not suited mignonette so well as a stead- 

 ily cold one would have done. 



Mignonette succeeds best in a house 

 where the night temperature in winter 

 holds about 40 degrees. Now that we 

 are approaching spring, with a higher 

 temperature, the , spikes will not attain 

 the size of the ijriidwinter ones, but-it Js 

 possible to get a nice crop for some 

 weeks yet. Careful disbudding, removal 

 of any decaying shoots, scratching over 

 of the surface soil, a top-dressing of 

 bone and soot, with waterings with liquid 

 manure every ten days, will help to keep 

 the plants toned up. Air abundantly 

 and when watering keep the hose off the 

 foliage as much as possible. 



Marguerites. 



Rapid is the growth now being made 

 by the marguerite plants, and they will 

 require frequent spacing apart. If al- 

 lowed to stand crowded, a lot of foliage 

 will decay and the plants will lose that 

 beautiful appearance so characteristic 

 of well grown specimens. Neither mar- 

 guerites nor any other plants look well 

 with half the foliage gone. So, in addi- 

 tion to keeping the pots well apart, never 

 neglect the watering, and use liquid ma- 

 nure twice a week. If the plants are 

 likely to be a little early, move them into 

 a cooler and more shaded house, but 

 do not try forcing tactics on backward 

 ones, or you will only spoil them ; 50 

 degrees at night is as warm as mar- 

 guerites like to be. 



Gladioli. 



Batches of the early-flowering gladioli • 

 of the Colvillei and cardinalis types 

 should be brought into heat every ten 

 days. They do not like much forcing 

 and nothing higher than a carnation 

 temperature should be given them. 



The later-flowering gladioli of the 

 Gandavensis and Childsii types in benches 

 are now making good growth. Those 

 planted at Christmas are already in some 

 cases pushing flower spikes. If these 

 show any signs of falling over, use a sup- 

 port for them, as bent spikes are not 

 salable. If you have any bench vacant 

 which you are not likely to need before 

 July, you can plant in a batch of bulbs, 

 which will give you a nice lot of spikes 

 for June; some may get in for Memorial 

 day. 



(Continued on page SO.) 



