10 



; '-Mm . .. .; . 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



Mabch 11, 1909. 



rT^T^^^c^srsc^c^rss: 



I 



^. . •fer»>-fef»)--yr»)'^r»>''yf»>'-yr»i'fe»)'^f»>'fef»!)''yf»> 



SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



.'^^■'^^ 'fer»>'-yr»>''yr»i'fef»)''yr»)''yr»i''yr»)'fer»i''yr»!>''yr», 



Easter Lilies. 



Unless you can see the buds on your 

 lilies quite prominently now, they are 

 going to be too late. Eather than en- 

 deavor vainly to get plants in bloom on 

 which no buds are yet showing, it will 

 be much better to place these in a cooler 

 house and try to hold them back for 

 Memorial day, when everything in the 

 way of flowers sells on sight. 



Lilies will need a good deal of fussing 

 over during the next few weeks. Early 

 ones must be placed in cooler quarters 

 and backward plants kept in a warm, 

 inoist heat. They will stand 70 to 75 

 degrees at night, but, if possible, a little 

 lower temperature should be given when 

 the flowers start to expand. Use the 

 syringe freely on lilies, especially those 

 which are late. Plenty of water and reg- 

 ular fumigations will keep the plants 

 clean and thrifty. 



Plants coming along for Memorial day 

 should all be above ground, and if they 

 are four to six inches high, will flower by 

 the end of May without any forcing. 

 Every country florist can use some lily 

 flowers practically every week in the 

 year, especially where funeral work is a 

 specialty. It is. therefore, always well 

 to have a few plants coming along, inde- 

 pendent of such special occasions as 

 Christmas, Easter and Memorial day. 



Pansies. 



Pansies being grown under glass are 

 now giving a wealth of flowers. Try to 

 hold the night temperature for these as 

 near 40 degrees as possible. Treatment 

 such as suits violets will answer well for 

 pansies. As the benches are now well 

 filled with roots, furnish the plants with 

 some manure water once a week. This 

 will much improve the quality of the 

 flowers. 



Plants carried over winter in cold- 

 frames can now have the dry coverings 

 removed. Keep sashes over them, how- 

 ever, for a short time yet, but air abun- 

 dantly to prevent the plants becoming 

 drawn. After April 1, of course, sashes 

 can be dispensed with, but in case of 

 severe rain or snow storms it is better 

 to leave them on. 



The winter has been mild, but rather 

 severe on pansies outdoors. The con- 

 tinued freezings and thawings have 

 heaved many of the plants considerably, 

 especially where the winter mulch has 

 blown ofl". We get many warm days in 

 early March which tempt us sorely to re- 

 move all mulchings. It is too early, how- 

 ever, to do so yet. Take away any which 

 may be rather heavy, but wait until 

 early April before dispensing with it en- 

 tirely. It will then be necessary to go 

 over and firm many of the plants. 



Sweet Peas. 



During March and April sweet peas 

 under glass produce the finest flowers of 

 the year. They have stems and flowers 

 far superior to anything grown outdoors 

 apd always prove one of the best selling 

 flowers on t)"' market. To keep the 



plants in the best possible growing con- 

 dition, they will now require quite a little 

 attention. As they grow rapidly, sup- 

 ports must be given before any of the 

 shoots can become twisted. Water sup- 

 plies must also be abundantly given and, 

 if some stimulant has not yet been ap- 

 plied, this is a suitable time to scatter a 

 dressing of fine bone or sheep manure 

 over the soil, pointing it in lightly with 

 a fork before watering. Be sure to re- 

 move seed pods when any appear and let 

 air be given abundantly. A night tem- 

 perature of 45 to 50 degrees should not 

 be exceeded. 



The time for making sowings outdoors 

 varies in the northern states consider- 

 ably, in an exceptional year early in 

 March, occasionally a month later. The 

 earlier they can be gotten in when frost 

 has left the ground and the soil is work- 

 able, the better. If your land was not 

 prepared in the late fall, get it ready 

 just as soon as you possibly can. There 

 is nothing better than a good dressing 

 of Vi'ell rotted cow manure as a fertilizer. 



Some growers prefer to prepare trenches 

 and lay all the manure in the bottom of 

 these. We have seen much better re- 

 sults, however, where the manure has 

 been broadcasted and plowed or spaded 

 in. Run the rows north and south. Sow 

 thinly and cover two and one-half to 

 three inches deep. A common practice, 

 but one doing more harm than good, is 

 to cover seed lightly at first, earthing the 

 vines up as they grow. Many good peas are 

 ruined each year by this filling-in process, 

 and it is a pity that so many seed cata- 

 logues continue to recommend it. 



The number of varieties of sweet peas 

 are legion. A few useful ones commer- 

 cially are: White, Dorothy Eckford and 

 White Spencer; primrose shaded blush, 

 Sybil Eckford ; primrose, Hon. Mrs. Ken- 

 yon; light pink. Countess of Lathom; 

 bright pink, Countess Spencer, Gladys 

 Unwin; orange pink, Bolton's Pink, 

 Helen Lewis; rose. Prince of Wales; lav- 

 ender, Frank Dolby; blue. Navy Blue; 

 blue and white, Helen Pierce; rosy car- 

 mine, John Ingman; scarlet, king Ed- 

 \\ard VII. The maroon, purple, striped 

 and odd shades do not sell well in the 

 markets. Tlie best selling shades are 

 white, lavender, soft pink and orange 

 pink. 



Hydrangeas. 



When these notes appear in print it 

 will be just a month to Easter. That re- 

 minds us that the hydrangeas intended 

 for that festival should now have flower 

 lieads three or four inches across. If 

 they are of this size, there will be no 



Chrysanthemum Bronze Marie Masse. 



