Mabch 25, 1009. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



S3 



sented at the great Shrewsbury show in 

 the last week in August, by a tent filled 

 with great masses of these early-flower- 

 ing varieties. One of the managers at 

 that time told me that they did not 

 encourage the mums, as they had so 

 many other flowers, sweet peas, dahlias, 

 carnations and everything in flower at 

 that season, but he said they could fill a 

 space equivalent to the entire exhibition, 

 if they wished, with early flowering 

 mums, so general has become their culti- 

 vation there. C. H. Totty. 



AN ANNEX FOR VIOLETS. 



I am building a greenhouse, 14x56, 

 running north and south, and at its 

 north end I am building a violet house, 

 8x22. The larger house will contain 

 eight runs of 1^-inch hot water pipes, 

 and I wish to know if this amount of 

 pipe will heat the violet house suffi- 

 ciently by simply opening the door be- 

 tween the two houses, without any pipe 

 in the violet house. The eight runs of 

 pipe will be on both sides of the larger 

 house. J. G. G. 



While such an arrangement as you sug- 

 gest might possibly keep frost from your 

 violet house, it is a poor way to heat it. 

 Violets, to be grown successfully, must 

 have an even winter temperature at 

 night. This is impossible under your 

 present plan. If you want to grow good 

 violets, run at least a flow and return 



Chrysanthemum Dolly Dimple. 



pipe through it. Better put in sufficient 

 piping to maintain a minimum tempera- 

 ture of 40 degrees in the most severe 

 weather. It is useless to attempt violet 

 culture unless you can give them a non- 

 fluctuating temperature. Hold it as near 

 40 degrees at night as possible, and they 

 will do well. Run them a little lower 

 rather than higher. C. W. 



IF 



f 



^<#^.'i<^.<«^.^*^.<»^.'»=ia..i»^.i»^S 



SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



I 



Show Pelargoniums. 



"With the pressure on bench space at 

 present, it will be difficult to give show 

 pelargoniums a proper amount of space. 

 No more pinching should be done, unless 

 it is desired to have the flowers quite 

 late. Already some of the earliest plants 

 are showing flower, but will hardly be in 

 a salable condition for Easter. It is 

 better to have them nicely in flower for 

 Memorial day and the first half of June, 

 when their rich colorings and attractive 

 blooms prove a magnet for many plant 

 connoisseurs. It is of no use bedding 

 these out, for the flowers will not stand 

 any strong sun, but for house decoration 

 and piazza use they are fine. 



As the pots are now getting well root- 

 bound, afford some liquid manure once 

 in four or five days. Although thesG 

 plants do not as a rule require any stak- 

 ing, it is a good plan to use three or four 



short stakes in each pot to hold the lead- 

 ing stems intact. This prevents them 

 from snapping off, as will sometimes 

 occur when in flower. A cool, airy house, 

 full sun and an abundant water supply 

 are requisites for successful culture of 

 these plants. Never allow green aphis to 

 get a foothold, or your stock will be 

 speedily ruined. 



Easter Bulbous Stock. 



So far March has not been specially 

 genial, and the temperature has averaged 

 but little higher than that of February. 

 Bulbous stock, however, is well advanced, 

 and should not require any forcing for 

 Easter. You will secure much stockier 

 plants of tulips, narcissi and hyacinths 

 by keeping them in a coldframe, rather 

 than moving them into a heated green- 

 house. You can realjily tell a Week or 

 so in advance of Easter whether your 

 plants will be ready in season or not, 



and if they seem backward, place them 

 for a day or two on a sunny bench in a 

 greenhouse, but do not try any forcing 

 tactics. This will bring them into bloom, 

 but will give you lank;', spindling plants. 

 Stake the hyacinths neatly. The other 

 bulbous plants are, or should be, self- 

 supporting. Remember that the double 

 tulips, like the Murillo and Couronne 

 d'Or, take a few days longer than the 

 singles to get fully expanded. Keep the 

 tulips all out of the sun once they start 

 to expand, even if you have to lay sheets 

 of paper over them. 



Calceolarias. 



May is the month when calceolarias 

 are at their best. They will well repay 

 any little special attention you can give 

 them now. Put a few neat stakes in 

 each pot as the flower stems start to 

 push. You may have to use some a 

 little longer later, but use the short ones 

 to spread out the plants a little. If you 

 are pushed for greenhouse space, stand 

 your calceolarias on a bed of cinders in 

 a coldframe. Shade the glass and pro- 

 tect with mats on frosty nights. The 

 cooler calceolarias can be grown, short 

 of freezing, the better they appear to do. 

 A light spraying overhead on bright af- 

 ternoons seems to suit them. Do not feed 

 until you are sure the pots are full of 

 roots and, after applying, if the plants 

 show a tendency to wilt, discontinue 

 feeding until they stiffen up again. Cal- 

 ceolarias should be shaded from bright 

 sunshine, and want plenty of pure air 

 at all stages of their growth. 



Stevia. 



Have you remembered to start up a 

 few pots of stevia? If so, they now will 

 be giving you a plentiful crop of cut- 

 tings, which can be gotten into a cool 



rConcluded on page 52.1 



