14 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



(»ch.i(i:k M. I'.Ul. 



"CANNA LILIES." 



It \\;is (olunilpus (lay. one nl those 

 pfil't'ct ;itt(>rii(i(iiis in Oi-t()l)i'r Avhcu the 

 li;ize of Jiidiaii siiiiniu>r iiitoiisifies the 

 lohir of flower mikI folia^ie to a dejiree 

 that arouses acliiiiratioii in all. The 

 • liester valley, he.aiit if ill at all times, 

 was iloiibly so that afteiiiooii. The 

 L:reens ami liiowiis that |H'e(|oiiiiiiate<l 

 as you clinihed the hill heyoml West 

 (ii'o\e _L;;ne way to a mass of rich color- 

 iui:, selilom, if v\t-v. seen before, liroad 



sou<;ht in this work. Success comes 

 ;:ra(lually. hut when tine •glances back 

 • i\-er the sexcnteen years of Mr. Wiiit- 

 /.er's work with the canna his success 

 seems little sh(ut of marvelous. As J 

 remeniher it then a canna was a canna; 

 Indian shot, the j:ardeiu'rs called them, 

 prohalily on account of the hard seed, 

 that re(|uiies twenty four hours in hot 

 water to secui'e jirojiipt ,i;ei'miuation. 

 Thi>y were usually i-ed and were <irown 

 for the foliayc moic than for the llower. 



Cannas in the Nursery of Conard & Jones Co., West Grove, Pa. 



t\|iaMses of ^leeii and liroli/,e toli.aye, 

 (•o\erini; acres of yrouud, were lit \>y 

 maj^niticcnt (lusters of hnjic. liri^ht 

 hue(| flowers in more colors and shades 

 of color th.-in I ha\'e e\er seen else- 

 where. The (dfect A\as heij;htened hy 

 the ((dors licini: planted tojicther, a 

 iiundx'! ill .1 li|o(k. while the blocks 

 ,iic distributed in \;irious jiarts of the 

 uKiinnl. allouinii the fither ci'ops, most- 

 ly L'reeii, ^\[rh as .lapanese barlieriy. to 

 i lit ei\ file. I \\ ish I could convey to 

 you an iilca ot' the beauty of the scene; 

 it w;is like a table di'corat ion. exiitiisite 

 as to color and arran;:i'nient ; or. if \ on 

 .lie a laioNcape .-irtist. fancy an etl'ect 

 that \(iii ha\c dl(';inie(l of but coubl 

 not .-Kdiicvc for l;i(d\ <d' siiitabb- mate 

 ii;il or t'or \\,-iiit '<t' 1 ilicr:i lity in your 

 r list oilier. 



\ llcarcl \ lew lil(i|lL;ht (lilt the e\ 

 i|iiisite coloi- dl' the \;irieties more 

 1 learly, the sot'tiiesv ,ii|(l ri(diness of 

 I he ]iillks reselllbli ii;^ tile idse or th<' 

 iii( hid. The ]iuiit\- ot' the whites is a 

 distinct a( liie\ eiiieiit t'ldin the )iybri(1- 

 i /er 's ,-i It . 



\ t 1 lie loot 111 t lie ^|(i|ie U here t he 

 ■aiiii.i- were l:1(i\\iiil: Aiitidiie Wiiit/er 

 \\as bii>il\ eiiL;aL:ed in liftiiiii certain 

 |iets. lliostiv" seedl I li;js. I'nl' liy br i ( 1 i /i ii;;. 

 \(<\\ klidW lie [Kits them and takes them 

 iihloors. Iliiis iiisiiiiiiL: a winter cro]) 

 of tlowcr^. With the .aid ot' the (•;iniers- 

 hair blush another set id' see(lliii;:s is 

 secured by ^|iii iii^t i liie alid a season 

 vaiiie(| in the niai(h ot' |iroi:ress. The 

 true hybridizer has ;i (|( linite .-liiii with 

 e\eiy cross attempted. \'ii:or, shade 

 of ((dor. size (d' bloom. (Uie or more of 

 .1 do/eu different (pialities that combine 

 to make u|i th(^ moilern canna, are 



('ompare this with the canna id' today: 

 pinks and white, (piit<» ;is common as 

 the red; yellows stretching through a 

 l()n>i line of y(dlow min^^le(l more or 

 less with reil; carmine, crimson, scarlet, 

 to say nothin;; of the orchid or ;;la 

 dioliis type of tlowers, or tludr immensity 

 of si/e. < an anyone s,i y that the proof- 



less made in cannas is not wonderful.' 

 There were many special features of 

 interest. Mere was ^linnehaha iu per 

 feet form, the indescribably soft shade 

 of blush jduk of the larj;e tlowers con 

 trastint: charmingly with broad bron/.e 

 folia(4(>. There was Mrs. Alfred F. 

 Conard. recognized as the best pink 

 caiina today; c(dor, siz(^ and freedom of 

 bloom are uiisurpass»>il. lieyond, Olyin 

 pic, a wonderful canna of carmine oi 

 orient re(l coloring that makes it 

 unitpie. 1 mi>;lit ^t> on and on witii de 

 scrijitions (d' \arii'ti(>s of strikinij' bean 

 ty, but one niort> will do. It is an in 

 terestiny comparisou ludween Butter 

 cup, still the standard yellow canna, 

 and Brilliant, a i laiinant for that honor, 

 of ;4reat \ iyor and remarkable freedom 

 of bUxmi. Then' are new cannas com 

 iiiy;, c.annas of promise. Some day they 

 will make their mark. It is my wish 

 to make known the cannas of today. 

 \Vht>rever |daiits are yrown outdoors, 

 for beauty and elfect. these cannas 

 slimild liaxc their place. I'hil. 



WINTERING GERBERAS. 



Will you kiioUy inform me whether 

 yerbeias are hardy.' Is it safe to leiixe 

 tlieiii out for the winter.' Sometimes, 

 ill this New .Mexico (limate, the tem- 

 perature eoes 1 to -"i decrees below 

 zero for a few niylits and then it may 

 ( haii^'e and not even freezi> for a while. 

 The sun is (piite hot and we rarely 

 lia\(' (doudy weather. 1 bought some 

 hybrid yerberas in the spring' and some 

 pl.aiits are beyinniny to bloom for the 

 lirst time. Will it be best to take tht>m 

 up and plant them in benches or ]>ots 

 in the carnation house's.' K'. \'. H. 



These ( liarniin<i annuals, commonly 

 known as the IJarberton daisies, are 

 natiNcs of South .\frica. The best 

 known \:iriety, (i. damesoni, named in 

 honor of l>r. .Jameson, leader some years 

 ajio in the historical raid with whi(li 

 his iianu' is identified, is a native^ of 

 the Transxaal. While the summers 

 there are hot. as with you, the teni 

 perature nexcr lalls to near zero, as in 

 vour state, and while I lia\e known 



Canna Minnehaha at Entrance to Grounds of Conard & Jones Co. 



