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12 



The Weekly Florists' Review. mabch as, looo. 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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Lorraine Begonias. 



Lorraine begonias, wliich were kept 

 on the dry side for some weeks and cut 

 back, are now throwing up a nice crop 

 of cuttings from the bottoms. These 

 will root without much trouble in a bot- 

 tom heat of 75 to 80 degrees. The top 

 heat need not be over 58 to 60 degrees. 

 If the drainage is good and watering 

 carefully attended to, few should damp 

 off. 



Leaf cuttings inserted early in the year 

 will now be potted off and little shoots 

 should be pushing. from the base. Keep 

 these in a house 60 to 65 degrees at 

 night. If on a bench over heating pipes, 

 they will do so much the better. Remove 

 portions of the old leaves as they decay. 

 Scratch over the surface soil occasion- 

 ally, remove weeds and the little plants 

 will appreciate such attentions. 



From now onward cutiings are prefer- 

 able to leaves for propagating purposes. 

 The former root quicker and develop into 

 plants which are, as a rule, dwarfer and 

 more densely flowered than those pro- 

 duced from leaves. The main objection 

 to Lorraine begonias is that they carry 

 too much flower, as compared with their 

 foliage. For this reason the looser and 

 rather more thinly flowered stock pro- 

 duced from leaves is preferred by many. 



Cyclamens. 



The largest of the cyclamen plants in 

 214-inch pots should now be ready for a 

 shift into 4-inch. It is better not to use 

 any manure in the compost, unless it be 

 a little old, well pulverized cow or horse 

 manure. Use a good proportion of sharp 

 sand and some finely broken charcoal. 

 Stand the plants on a light bench in a 

 sunny house, where the temperature aver- 

 ages 50 to 52 degrees at night. No shad- 

 ing whatever is necessary for some time 

 yet. Look over the stock once a week 

 and remove any scumminess from the 

 surface of the pots. Be sure thrij)s is 

 not allowed to get any footjiold. Next 

 to the dreaded mite, it is the worst foe 

 of cyclamens at all stages of growth. 



Probably you have a number of old 

 plants left over which you may be medi- 

 tating on carrying over for another year. 



It will not pay you to botlior with these. 



Throw them away and give your atten- 

 tion to the young stock, which will make 

 much more serviceable plants. 



Gardenias. 



Now that the days are longer and tem- 

 perature higher, gardenias, both in pots 

 and on benches, are producing a good 

 number of flowers, which we wish had 

 opened two months ago. Prices in the 

 markets are now on the decline, but even 

 at existing rates they should pay well. 

 The plants will now take more liberal 

 water supplies and, if the benches are 

 well filled with roots, a surfacing of 

 well decayed manure will be found bene- 

 ficial. A scattering of soot will also 

 help to keep away the yellows, which are, 

 however, usually caused by a sour rondi- 



tion of the roots or excessive waterings. 

 Mealy bug breeds faster now, but a 

 spraying once a wek through a fine nozzle 

 will keep it in check. 



Cuttings put in a month ago are now 

 potted off and being grown in a small, 

 close house, where the night temperature 

 is 70 to 75 degrees. If you have not put 

 in any cuttings yet, there is ample time 

 to do so. There is no difficulty in rooting 

 them if you have a brisk bottom heat 

 and keep them constantly moist. Use a 

 glass case if your house is not kept over 

 60 degrees at night. Keep a chink of air 

 on all the time and do not allow any sun 

 to strike the cuttings. If you have am- 

 ple bottom heat, your cuttings should be 

 fit to pot off inside of thirty days. 

 Later in the season they will root in even 

 less time. 



Azaleas. 



How are your azaleas coming along for 

 Easier? All should have been started 

 before now and if the buds are swelling 

 and just showing color, they will be all 

 right without subjecting them to any 

 hard forcing. Use the hose freely on 

 them until the flowers start to exi)and. 



If possible, remove to a somewhat lower 

 temperature at this stage. Many grow- 

 ers have a special house for standing 

 their Easter plants in as they come into 

 bloom. Such a house is always attract- 

 ive to visitors and, if neatly arranged, 

 will go a long way towards selling your 

 stock. The glass should be shaded in 

 this house, to keep a lower and more uni- 

 form temperature. 



Seed Sowing. 



It is time to sow a good many an- 

 nuals now, especially those which make 

 such rapid growth that it is inadvisable 

 to start them earlier. 



Salvia splendens and its varieties, com- 

 pacta, Zurich, Bonfire, etc., will make 

 just as big plants as you w^ant if started 

 now. Many continue to rely on cuttings 

 of salvias. These flower a, little earlier, 

 but do not possess the strength and vigor 

 of seedlings. 



Successional sowings of asters and 

 stocks are now timely. Verbenas, if not 

 yet started, should be sown at once, also 

 Drummond 's phlox, cosmos, Zinnia ele- 

 gans, French and African marigolds and 

 ricinus or castor oil plant. Give the 

 seeds of the last named a brisk bottom 

 heat. Soaking them in warm water 

 twenty-four hours before sowing will 

 insure quicker germination. 



In the way of climbers, Cobaea scan- 

 dens, Maurandia Barelaiana and Ipomoea 

 grandiflora alba (nloonflo^ver), which are 

 all more or less in demand as rapid 

 growers, can be sown no-w. 



Take advantage of every spare mo- 

 ment to pot off or place in fiats seed- 

 lings of the earlier sown bedding plants 

 of a size suitable for Handling. It is 



Smith's New Foldios Plant Stand. 



