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^«V«MUB 2, 1911, 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



11 



SEASONABUS NOTES. 



Winter Floweri&g Types. 



While mums are in season gerauium 

 plants are not wanted. After Thanks- 

 giving, however, comes a scarcity of 

 lowers, when pots of geraniums are 

 bright and decidedly welcome. Dis- 

 continue pinching off the flower trusses. 

 If they show signs of starvation, feed 

 with moderate freedom, but avoid 

 using' too much liquid manure or chem- 

 icals high in nitrogen, as they promote 

 a rank,^ healthy looking, but soft 

 growth, ' which flowers poorly. Top 

 dressings once a fortnight of fine bone 

 or Clay's fertilizer tend to build up 

 plants with a hard, stocky growth, 

 which flowers with great freedom. If 

 the plants have been properly pinched, 

 they should not require any staking. 

 In case they do, use sticks which are 

 painted green and make them as short 

 and inconspicuous as possible. Spread 

 out the plants every few days, as their 

 growth is now rapid and, if allowed 

 to crowd, it will only mean a larger 

 proportion of yellow foliage. 



.PijCfe. pff all decayed leaves at least 

 once a week. Let them have all the 

 sun possible and air freely except on 

 told nights. They should have some 

 ventilation all the time.' As the flowers 

 rommence to open, keep the atmosphere 

 drier and, in watering, keep moisture 

 oflf tHe flowers and foliage as much as 

 possible. The sunlight is now steadily 

 on the decline and, while we may hope 

 for many_ clear and fairly warm days, 

 there will be spells of dark, damp, sun- 

 less weather, when care is necessary 

 if nice plants are desired. 



Bedding Geraniums. 

 Answering several inquiries, it is not 

 too late to put in geranium cuttings. 

 In fact, the late cuttings are firmer 

 and rtot better than the earlier ones, 

 and in the warmer states the last of 

 October, and even November, is found 

 the best time to-put them" in. "No mat- 

 ter whether in small pots or flats of 

 sand, they should be carefully watered 

 now. Give just sufiScient moisture at 

 the roots to prevent shriveling. If 

 watered day after day, they will grow 

 rank and need potting on long before 

 we have vacant spaces for them. If 

 held tolerably dry, they will be found 

 to have made a mass of fibrous roots 

 even if the tops are small, and they will 

 respontl quickly to good after treat- 

 ment. 



Standard Geraniums. 

 Standard or tree-shaped geraniums 

 are something of a novelty, but are 

 fine in the center of a bed; also for 

 porch and piazza decorations. Their 

 culture is not difficult, but salable 

 plants can not be had as quickly as 

 the ordinary bedding plants commonly 

 seen. In Europe, standard geraniums, 

 pelargoniums, fuchsias, marguerites, 

 heliotropea, lantanas and some other 

 Pj.^'ite are popular and made much use 

 of, especially in flower beds. Here 



they are but little se^fi, probably> be- 

 cause it takes longei' to grow them and 

 commercial growers can not afford to 

 wait so long for retiutoe^. .'^ . ' '-C' 



Select for standai'ds, geraniums wbich 

 are naturally short-jointed and stocky. 

 Sank growing kiu4^.:,are not ^ any 

 use. Instead of pfndiiBg the c\ittings 

 as for ordinary bedding plants, keep 

 them growing. Tie up to a stake and 

 rub off all side shoots. When tl^e stem 

 is of sufficient lengthy twenty-fotlr to 

 thirty inches, pinch oijt the top and 

 let the head develop and become 

 shapely by repeated pinchings. Always 

 keep the plants secdreiy staked until 

 ready for use. They are better grown 



under glass all the time. It takes fif- 

 teen to eighteen months to grow stamd- 

 ard geraniums with good sized heads, 

 and they need fair sized pots. Of 

 course, a good price must be had for 

 such plants to make them profitable, 

 but there would seem to be a field here 

 for some enterprising growers who 

 want to have something out of the 

 beaten track with which to attract 

 people. 



■ Pelargoniums. 



The show, or large-flowered, pelar- 

 goniums are now starting to grow 

 freely and will require potting over in 

 many cases. They like a soil composed 

 of fibrous loam, cow manure and sand, 

 with some fine bone or Clay's fertilizer 

 added, and should be potted quite 

 firmly. Keep the strong shoots pinched 

 to make the plants shapely, and grow 

 them cool; 40 to 45 degrees at night is 

 warm enough. If kept in a higher tem- 

 perature, green aphis will attack them 

 more. Spraying with a nicotine or 

 soapy solution once a week, or fumiga- 

 tion, will keep them clean, but this 

 must not be neglected. 





Ptize Wreath of C L. Brunson, Paducah, Ky. 



..K\x 



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