14 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



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October o. 1911. 



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I SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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LUies. 



The bulbs of the Formosa type of 

 lougiflorums ~are now at hand and 

 should be potted without delay, using a 

 5-inch or 6-inch pot for each bulb, ac- 

 cording to its size. These lilies have 

 steadily grown in popularity. They 

 have generally proved almost immune 

 from disease, which is a great point in 

 their favor. They are hybrids, and a 

 single case will contain quite a variety 

 of types.. Some will grow eighteen 

 inches high; others will not bloom until 

 five or six feet high. Occasionally they 

 disappoint our expectations by send- 

 ing up one or two flowers to the spike, 

 but they average much better than 

 this. As pot plants for Easter they are 

 not so good as Longiflorum giganteum 

 or niultiflorum, but for cutting they 

 are superior to either of these vari- 

 eties. We have had them in flower at 

 Christmas, and some from the same 

 batch bloomed for Easter. However, any 

 retail grower who wants cut lilies 

 which are clean should give this a 

 trial. All who Jiave - once grown it 

 want it again. 



The bulbs of Harrisii, potted about 

 August 1, should now be -well rooted 

 and have growths several inches long. 

 These are useful at both Thanksgiving 

 and Christmas. "When once the pott 

 are full of roots, give them a house 

 with a night temperature of 65 degrees. 

 Avoid overwatering until the plants 

 are in actual growth, but spray over 

 freely and keep tobacco dust scattered 

 over the tops to keep green aphis in 

 check. 



Cold storage lougiflorums, once they 

 are well rooted, want much the same 

 treatment as Harrisii. Give them a 

 brisk, moist heat, to keep them moving 

 right along. A quantity of these will 

 flower ahead of the Harrisii, and this is 

 well, as th^re is always a good call for 

 cut lilie» i* the fall and winter. 



Liliiuu ^peciosiun. 



Lilium speciosum from cold storage 

 bulbs should have the flower buds now 

 showing plainly. Do not subject this 

 lily to the same warm treatment as 

 the Harrisii and lougiflorums. It likes 

 cooler and more airy treatment, in 

 order to produce the best class of flow- 

 ers. Feed the plants well with liquid 

 manure, as they will now be well pot- 

 bound. 



Lilium Candidum. 



Lilium candidum should all be potted 

 before this time. If not yet potted, 

 lose no time in getting them into the 

 soil, as they will only be dissipating 

 their strength making roots and leaves 

 in a dry shed. Those potted a few 

 weeks ago will now have made con- 

 siderable leaf growth. Keep them in a 

 coldframe, and only place sashes over 

 them to throw off heavy rains, which 

 in the early stages of growth some- 

 times cause the bulbs and roots to de- 



cay, particularly if the weather is quite 

 warm and humid. Expose the plants 

 to all the early frosts. This is neces- 

 sary to prepare them properly for 

 forcing. 



Paper Wliite Narcissi. 



Paper White narcissi of the earliest 

 planting have already made some 

 growth, and can be placed under the 

 bench in a house kept anywhere from 

 55 to 60 degrees at night. Treated 

 thus, they can be had in flower early 

 in November. Later batches should 

 be kept under the bench of a colder 

 house or in a cellar. It is better to 

 pot up or place in flats any bulbs still 

 out of the soil, or they will fritter 

 away much of their strength. The 

 Eoman hyacinths are slower in start- 

 jng than the Paper Whites and should 

 be covered with ashes until they make 

 growths a couple of inches long, when 

 they can be placed in a warm house 

 and forced into bloom. 



Pot'grown Bamblers. 



Pot-grown ramblers should now have 

 their growths well made up. In order 

 to ripen their wood better, they should 

 be run drier at the roots, not to the 

 extent of actual wilting or shriveling, 

 but just enough to cheek further 

 growth. In a couple of weeks these 

 plants can be laid on their sides and 

 further rested, in order to prepare 



them properly for early forcing. Thi» 

 work may seem needless, but try a few 

 plants thus ripened up and an equal 

 number which have been watered 

 freely right along, and you will note 

 quite a difference when they are 

 forced. Of course, it is much too early 

 to think of any forcing. The plants 

 need several good freezings before that 

 is done. 



Mignonette. 



We have just given supports to the 

 early mignonette, sown early in July. 

 Wires stretched lengthways of the 

 house, with cross strings such as are 

 used for carnations, answer well. 

 The wire carnation supports may be 

 used, but the other supports give the 

 plants more play and will be found the 

 more satisfactory. Look out sharply for 

 the green worms, which will play havoc 

 with the foliage. Fumigating must be 

 done carefully, as mignonette is easily 

 injured. A little air-slaked lime, blown 

 through a powder bellows, will kill 

 them, and hand-picking should be re- 

 sorted to also. Keep the surface soil 

 clear of weeds and well stirred. As the 

 plants are now in active growth, a 

 good water supply will be needed. Keep 

 a low night temperature and do not use 

 any fire heat except to keep the min- 

 imum at 40 degrees. 



Cannas. 



Cannas need not' be dug until some 

 days after frost has cut them down. 

 Dig up the roots on a warm, sunny day. 

 Do not shake off the soil too much, 

 however. A shed or dry cellar contain- 

 ing shelves, where a night temperature 

 anywhere from 40 to 50 degrees can be 

 maintained, will suit them. Keep them 

 away from the heaters. A cellar which 

 will winter potatoes will usually 

 answer equally well for cannas and 

 gladioli. 



CUBLED LEAVES ON AFTEBG^LOW. 



I am sending you, under separate 

 cover, some samples of my Afterglow 

 carnations. I purchased most of my 

 plants this year and all were in excel- 

 lent condition except Afterglow. I 

 thought at the time the trouble was 

 due to the extremely hot weather, but 

 I find they do not improve much with 

 the growth they have made inside. Can 

 you tell me the trouble and the rem- 

 edy for it? W. L. 



The curly leaves on the young growth 

 on your Afterglow do not signify any- 

 thing really serious. In fact, you will 

 find these on this variety every year, 

 to a greater or less extent^ after you 

 bench the plants. The check resulting 

 from the transplanting, which unbal- 

 anced for a time the regular flow of 

 sap, is what caused it, and as soon as 

 the plants resume their natural growth 

 this trouble will disappear. There is 

 no disease about it. Some years ago, 

 when we grew Mrs. Joost, we found the 



same condition every fall, but the 

 variety was an easy grower and grew 

 out of it quickly, leaving no trace of 

 the trouble. Afterglow is not so easy 

 to handle, and is apt to look rather 

 discouraging for some time after being 

 benched. After root action is resumed, 

 however, it grows rapidly and by early 

 winter it catches up with other va- 

 rieties and surpasses most of them in 

 quality. Afterglow is likely, also, to 

 lose considerable of the lower foliage 

 when lifted from the field. 



By far the finest Afterglows we have 

 ever seen were grown on the bench 

 from the start. If you can afford the 

 space, it will pay you well to grow it 

 that way. Then there will be no trou- 

 ble in losing foliage, or with curled 

 foliage or spot diseases, while you are 

 trying to get them restarted on the 

 benches. A. F. J. B. 



Savanna, lU. — Joe Dunn has bought 

 out his partner, John Lambert, who ex- 

 pects to go on the road for a Holland 

 bulb house.' 



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