May 6, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 





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THE IVY CROSS. 



The ivy cross with the garland 



of 



roses is a pleasing arrangement where 

 an elaborate design is required. The 

 stem simplicity of the ivy cross is re- 

 lieved by a graceful garland, preferably 

 of white roses, with the color idea con- 

 tinued by Easter lilies at the base. The 

 lilies are especially adapted for use with 

 growing plants. This is one of the de- 

 signs by Charles Henry Fox, at the Sign 

 of the Eose, Philadelphia, Phil. 



AUTOMOBILES FOR DELIVERY. 



That the automobile will eventually be- 

 come the standard means of delivery 

 for retail florists is the prediction of 

 William J. Smyth. He does « large busi- 

 ness in Chicago, where deliveries are 

 long and widely scattered, and he knows 

 all about the time required and cost en- 

 tailed in delivering. Mr. Smyth's first 

 purchase in automobiles was for pleasure 

 purposes, but he found the maehine cov- 

 ered the ground so much faster than a 

 horse could do it that his second invest- 

 ment in motor vehicles was one which 

 could be used for delivery. "With the 

 machine," said Mr. Smyth the other 

 day, "we can do as much in a forenoon 

 as a team would accomplish in a day and 

 a half. That means that we can get 

 along with just so many less delivery 

 outfits, make quicker trips, and more of 

 them, with better all-around satisfac- 

 tion. With the machine it is only a 

 matter of a few minutes to nm dowH 

 to the wholesale market from Thirty- 

 first street, three miles and back, and 

 get any stock that is needed, and I be- 

 lieve that in a short time the automo- 

 bile will be the standard delivery con- 

 veyance for all up-to-date flower stores." 



CHARGES FOR BOARDERS. 



I wish some one who has had experi- 

 ence would give us information about 

 what to charge for plant storage. I 

 have some large plants, Agave Ameri- 

 cana from four feet to six feet in diam- 

 eter, that I have been storing this win- 

 ter, and we always have more or less 

 smaller plants, especially palms and 

 ferns, that we store for customers. 

 Usually these plants are from well-to- 

 uo customers who are able to pay, but 

 1 would like to know how other florists 

 base their charges. J. K. P. 



I doubt whether the business of board- 

 ing plants has ever been made a paying 

 proposition. AH things considered, it 

 cannot help but be a most unsatisfac- 

 tory undertaking. 



To the novice the one sure way of 

 getting new customers would seem to be 

 by taking care of and rejuvenating other 

 people's plant pets, but my experience 

 has been that the fewer boarders you 

 have about the place, the less chance 

 there is of making bad friends. Still, 

 a retailer having greenhouses cannot well 

 rctuse to care for palms, ferns, bay 



trees, etc., when the request comes from 

 a regular patron. It has been tried 

 time and again, but it is not long before 

 you are obliged to keep one plant, then 

 another, and so on. 



Having finally come to the conclusion 

 that we must accept the care of a lim- 

 ited number of customers' plants, give 

 your patrons to understand that it is 

 just a matter of accommodation and the 

 fee charged is merely to cover expenses. 



Now as to a reasonable fee, $1 per 



stance, a palm in about a 7-inch pot 

 would cost to board 50 cents for the 

 first month and 25 cents per month there- 

 after. 



Boston ferns and like plants are hardly 

 worth keeping. They take up more room 

 than it seems fair to charge for and 

 are usually half dead when you get them. 



If you have a suitable cold house, bay 

 trees and boxwood can be stored for 

 somewhat less than other plants. They 

 require little heat and care. Such plants 

 as Agave Americana are also better kept 

 in a cool house. The leaves should be 

 tied up, but great care must be taken 

 that they are not cut; to avoid this, place 

 a piece of old carpet or some rags be- 

 tween the rope. After the leaves are 

 tied into place, figure out about the num- 

 ber of square feet the plant will need 

 at 75 cents per foot and you have what 

 should be charged for winter storage. 



There also should be a nominal charge 

 for calling for and delivering plants, es- 



The Cross of Ivy Leaves. 



square foot has always been accepted 

 as the value of greenhouse space, but 

 this may be a trifle high when it comes 

 to boarders, especially large plants not 

 requiring much heat or attention. 



Palms, rubbers, etc., are often kept 

 only for a short period, through the 

 summer months. Then a good plan is 

 to charge so much per month; for in- 



pecially where a special trip is made. 

 When it comes to plants like the cen- 

 tury plant, often it takes two or more 

 men to handle them, and this service 

 must also be considered. 



When plants belong to regular cus- 

 tomers you often can afford to stretch 

 a point, but those people not" your cus- 

 tomers should pay you well for your 



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