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16 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



October 26, 1911. 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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Bay Trees. 



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The time to house bay trees depends 

 on the weather. "While they will stand 

 considerable frost in the fall, they are 

 easily injured in spring. It is gener- 

 ally safer to house them after Novem- 

 ber 1, and in some places even earlier, 

 for it is unwise to subject them to a 

 lower temperature t\)an 20 to 22 de- 

 grees above zero. The cellar in which 

 they are stored should have light from 

 above and the doors should be kept 

 wide open on every favorable day. 

 While the plants will not need nearly 

 so much water in winter as at other 

 seasons, they should be looked over oc- 

 casionally and never be allowed to be- 

 come really dry, or they will suffer. 



Planting Out Bulbs. 



The planting out of bulbs should be 

 completed as soon as possible, for the 

 longer the bulbs are out of the soil, 

 the poorer will they flower. Of course, 

 it is -possible to delay this planting, 

 even until December, but the results 

 are never so satisfactory. 



Lilixuns, except candidum, which will 

 already have been planted, do not 

 usually arrive until November or De- 

 cember. It is well to prepare the 

 ground for them and mulch with straw 

 or leaves, planting them as soon as they 

 arrive. Such varieties as auratum, 

 Henryi, speciosum, Brownii, Hansoni 

 and tigrinum should be planted ten to 

 twelve inches deep. Use no fresh 

 manure in the soil. Lay some sand 

 below them and scatter some more over 

 them, sufficient to cover the bulbs. It 

 is particularly important to plant 

 liliums as quickly as possible after be- 

 ing received, to secure the best results. 



Dahlias. 



The present autumn has been a par- 

 ticularly open one and in many places 

 dahlias are still blooming with great 

 freedom. It is, of course, unwise to 

 cut them down while the flowers last, 

 but after they are frozen, they should 

 be cut down to within six or eight 

 inches of the ground, lifted on a sunny 

 day and allowed to dry well before 

 storing them, and be careful not to 

 place them in too warm and drying a 

 place. They are best kept in a cellar 

 which is frostproof without the use of 

 fire heat, laid on racks or shelves to 

 keep them away from moisture. A 

 cellar which will keep potatoes well 

 should be all right for dahlias. If 

 there are only a few roots, put them 

 in boxes and then cover with dry sand. 

 Stored thus, they will come out all 

 right in spring, and when thus covered 

 a little frost in the cellar will not reach 

 the roots. 



Shamrocks. 



Late in October or early in Novem- 

 ber is a suitable time to sow seeds of 

 shamrock intended for St. Patrick's 

 day, March 17. A variety of shamrocks 

 are offered and no one knows what the 



true shamrock is, while many deny that 

 St. Patrick used the shamrock at all. 

 In England and Ireland most of the 

 shamrock sold March 17 each year is 

 Oxalis Acetosella, the wood sorrel, the 

 balance being chiefly Trifolium repens, 

 the white clover. The former is always 

 fresher and. greener in March than 

 the clover. In America, most of the 

 shamrocks are the trifolium, but spe- 

 cial shamrock seed is purchasable at a 

 higher rate. Sown at the time stated, 

 any of the varieties used as shamrocks 

 will be of a salable size. They want a 

 cool house all the time. 



WaUflowers. 



Every retail florist with any claims 

 of being up-to-date likes to get hold 

 of a few bunches of wallflower daily. 

 It is, unfortunately, not a hardy plant 

 over most of the United States and 

 must, therefore, be lifted and potted 

 or benched in the fall. Both the yel- 



low and blood red varieties sell well, 

 as everyone seems to enjoy the spring- 

 like suggestion in the odor of the flow- 

 ers. Wallflowers want a cool house at 

 all times and will not stand any fore 

 ing. Early in the new year small bunches 

 are much in demand and it pays every 

 florist with a general retail trade to 

 grow a few pots if he has the spaee. 



■ , ,. Schizanthus. 



The earliest sown batch of schizan 

 thus seedlings should now be well es- 

 tablished in 5-inch pots and, if they 

 have been given one or two pinchings. 

 they should be shapely and will not 

 need any supports until near flowering 

 time. "While schizanthus is especially 

 valuable as a pot plant in early spring, 

 it may be had in bloom for Christmas. 

 If wanted at that date, discontinue 

 pinching. Give the plants a shift into 

 7 -inch pots. If they are in 4-inch pots 

 move first into 6-inch pots, using rich 

 soil. Place where they are close to 

 the glass, in , a house which is freely 

 aired and not kept over 50 degrees at 

 night. Schizanthus, to be stocky, must 

 be grown cool and, unless wanted early, 

 they will be better kept at 45 degrees 

 at night or even lower. If a further 

 batch of seed is sown early in Novem- 

 ber, nice flowering plants can be had 

 in March. The best pot variety, on ac- 

 count of its dwarf habit, is S. 

 "Wisetonensis, but there are some large - 

 flowered hybrids which are fine. 



TO BENEW EXHAUSTED SOIL. 



What fertilizers, and what quantities 

 I)er acre, should we use to restore ex- 

 hausted land, which has been planted 

 to carnations for two successive sea- 

 sons? Cow manure is not procurable. 

 We want lasting fertilizers, which will 

 promote a rank growth of carnations. 

 The land is a fine, sandy loam and in 

 spots is almost pure sand, where, of 

 course, the growth is most unsatisfac- 

 tory and the plants are not of healthy 

 color. We are located in central Cali- 

 fornia. C. L. W. 



Unless a soil has at least a fairly 

 good base of loam to build up from, it 

 is difficult to improve it in a permanent 

 way. Such soil as you describe will 

 not retain fertility for any length of 

 time, and it does not contain the neces- 

 sary elements to make what plant foods 

 you add assimilable. Hence, no matter 

 what you may add, the plants will not 

 thrive for any length of time. Cow 

 manure, being the most complete plant 

 food of all the natural manures, would 

 be the best thing to put on your soil, 

 and if you cannot secure it your 

 chances for success are not bright. 

 Rotted stable manure will, of course, 

 help your soil to some extent, but not 

 as much as the cow manure would, as it 

 has a tendency to lighten the soil, and 

 your soil is already too light for best 

 results. 



It would be better to select those 



spots which are heavier and plant youi' 

 carnations on those. A. F. J. B. 



OREEN APHIS. 



I am enclosing a leaf of a Boston fern 

 and also of a carnation, which are both 

 infested with bugs. As this is my 

 first experience with them, I wish you 

 would kindly suggest a remedy and also 

 state the cause. The green bugs I first 

 noticed when I had a shipment of cin- 

 erarias. I tried tobacco fumes, but 

 had poor results. As I am a beginner,. 

 I shall greatly esteem your advice. 



E. M. L. 



The specimens forwarded seemed free 

 from insects on arrival here. The green 

 bugs which you mention in connection 

 with the cinerarias are most likely the 

 common green aphis. These are easily 

 destroyed with tobacco fumes or by 

 spraying with the nicotine extracts. 

 "We prefer the latter, as being more 

 effective and cleanly. Full directions 

 are given with each can, so it is un- 

 necessary to give directions here. 



Keep your carnations free from this 

 pest, or you will have trouble in tho 

 future "with stigmonose, which will de- 

 stroy the vigor of your stock. In grow- 

 ing carnations, as well as all other 

 plants, you should use these insectieide& 

 mildly right along as a preventive, 

 rather than wait until the plants be- 

 come infested and then use them in dou- 

 ble doses to rid the plants of the pests. 



A. P. J. B. 



