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18 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



December 8, 1910. 



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I SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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Dutch Bulbs. 



If the Dutch bulbs are not yet start- 

 ed, it is time to house a batch of such 

 early bulbs as La Reine tulips and 

 Trumpet Major narcissi. The tulips 

 want a brisk top heat, but no bottom 

 heat, and must be grown dark until 

 the stems are well drawn up; then 

 gradually admit light. The narcissi, if 

 well started, will need a short time only 

 in the dark. French Golden Spurs are 

 already sufficiently started to place in 

 heat, and Narcissus poeticus ornatus in 

 a week will also be fit to house. Some 

 other tulips, such as Yellow Prince, 

 Thomas Moore and Cottage Maid, could 

 be placed in heat now, but this early 

 forcing does not pay. It will be much 

 better to leave them a few days longer 

 in the cellar. 



Freesias. 



A batch of freesias at Christmas 

 makes a welcome addition to the cut 

 flowers then in season and the prices 

 realized are always satisfactory. Purity 

 is the variety par excellence, but, as it 

 is unusually scarce this season, more re- 

 fracta alba is being grown. Plants for 

 early flowering succeed best in pans 

 eight to ten inches in diameter, and to 

 get them in season they should now 

 have a night temperature of 52 to 55 

 degrees; they should also be stood on a 

 shelf where they will get every pos- 

 sible ray of sunlight and kept soaked 

 with water. Feed in moderation once 

 in four or five days. Heavy doses would 

 cause the ends of the leaves to turn 

 brown. Avoid the use of tobacco stems 

 in fumigation, which would also injure 

 them. 



Cyclamens. 



Every additional flower carried by 

 the cyclamen plants tends to make 

 them more salable. No matter how fine 

 the plants may be, they will not sell 

 without a flower being open, while ordi- 

 nary ones with a few blooms open will 

 soon be cleaned out. The plants now 

 require no shade. To send them along 

 a little more, heat may be given them 

 temporarily, but do not let it exceed 50 

 degrees at night. Shelves near the glass 

 are ideal locations for the plants. 

 Grown thus, they are stocky and the 

 flowers will not fall over the pots, as 

 they do when grown too far from the 

 light. On benches raise the most for- 

 ward plants on inverted pots and 

 spread the others out. Remove all de- 

 caying foliage and weeds and scratch 

 over any scumminess which may gather 

 on the surface soil of the pots. 



Lilium Candidum. 



If the Lilium candidum plants have 

 been exposed to several good freezings 

 and held away from any artificial heat, 

 which is the proper treatment in the 

 early stages of growth, a batch can 

 now be started in a cool house, averag- 

 ing 45 degrees at night. They can have 

 5 to 7 degrees more when once the 

 spikes are pushing up, but they must 



never be forced in the same way as 

 Harrisii or longiflorum, or the results 

 will be discouraging. It will mean 

 long spikes and flowers of half the size 

 they attain in a cooler house. Can- 

 didums started now, placed in a night 

 temperature of 50 to 52 degrees after 

 the new year and kept there, will flower 

 early in April. For Easter flowers the, 

 plants need not be started for a fort- 

 night yet, but as in many retail places 

 there is a constant call for choice flow- 

 ers for design work, a batch of can- 

 didums will prove invaluable, being far 

 better in many ways than the larger 

 longiflorums. 



' Hydrangeas. 



Hydrangea plants, which have been 

 pot-grown all summer, now have the 

 wood well ripened and have cast a 

 good many leaves. While there is no 

 immediate hurry about starting these 

 for Easter, there is no harm in placing 

 them in a cold house, from which they 

 can be moved after the new year. Be 



careful not to allow frost to^ blacken 

 the foliage. Hydrangeas in the open 

 will withstand a good deal of frost, but 

 it is unwise to expose pot plants to 

 frost which would remove their foliage. 

 Water rather more freely when once 

 the plants are started. Never mind if 

 the plants have not shed their foliage, 

 not even if the latter is dark green in 

 color; it is not necessary for plants to 

 lose their old leaves before being 

 forced. 



San Jose Scale. 



Many country florists grow a variety 

 of trees and shrubs and quite a number 

 of others ^ight well do so. A consider- 

 able number have a variety of fruit 

 trees and it behooves each and all to 

 have a watchful eye for San Jose scale. 

 Lilacs, various species of roses, Cra- 

 taegus, prunus, malus, willows, poplars, 

 cydonias and many other trees and 

 shrubs seem to be suitable targets for 

 myriads of these tiny creatures. Now, 

 when frost has pretty generally made 

 trees nude of foliage, is the time to 

 hunt for the scale, and, when once 

 found, endeavor to exterminate it by 

 spraying with either the lime sulphur 

 solution or one of the soluble oil mix- 

 tures. Use a Vermorel nozzle in spray- 

 ing and be sure that the trees are thor- 

 oughly covered, every twig being wet 

 during the spraying. Even the most 

 careful spraying will spare some lives, 

 but it is always a safe plan to spray 

 again in spring, before outdoor work 

 starts with a rush. 



GOOD LATE PINK AND RED. 



Can you tell me of a good pink vari- 

 ety and also of a red that will come 

 in with Major Bonnaffon and White 

 Bonnaffonf Please state, also, which 

 bud to take on the varieties you recom- 

 mend. A. L. S. 



The best late pink I know of is W. R. 

 Brock. Enguehard is another pink that 

 is grown a great deal for late work, but 

 it has a habit of dropping its petals 

 badly. Brock will never do this, and it 

 can also be gotten in easily for Christ- 

 mas if the market conditions warrant 

 your doing so. The latest bud that 

 shows is the proper one to take. 



The most largely grown red for late 

 work is the old John Shrimpton. I do 

 not know of anything that will beat it 

 at the present time. 



Chas. H. Totty. 



GOOD MUMS FOR A START. 



Please give me a short list of the 

 best kind of chrysanthemums in white, 

 yellow and pink, as we are at a loss to 

 know what stock to start with. We had 

 some, but did not grow them in the 

 greenhouse and we wish to grow some 

 nice, big blooms for next fall in our 

 new houses. J- D. 



It is somewhat difficult to say which 

 are the best kinds, but the following 



selection, in white, yellow and pink, 

 covers the whole season: Pink — W. R. 

 Brock, Gloria, Wm. Duckham, Hankey 

 and Winter Cheer. Yellow — Golden 

 Glow, Bonnaflfon, Cheltoni, Yellow 

 Miller and Yellow Chadwick. White — 

 Polly Rose, B. May, T. Eaton and Chad 

 wick. 



These can be procured cheaply from 

 any wholesale dealer and will give a 

 less proportion of trouble than any 

 other varieties that I am personally ac- 

 quainted with. Chas. H. Totty. 



IS IT A SPORT? 



There is a new mum among my White 

 Bonnaffons. The plant starts like a 

 Bonnaffon and has the same foliage. 

 The blooms are a lovely shade of pink, 

 like that of a Bridesmaid rose. The 

 blooms are a little larger than Bon- 

 naffons, but of the same shape. There 

 are in the same house Major Bonnaffon, 

 White Bonnaffon, Golden Glow, Eaton, 

 Golden Wedding, Dr. Enguehard, 

 Jeanne Nonin and William Duckham. 

 Now, do you think it is likely that I 

 have a sport t J. W. T. 



There is no reason why you could not 

 have a sport among your plants, as well 

 as anyone else, although history shows 

 that most of the alleged sports that ap- 

 pear are due to unintentional mixing 

 of the cuttings, either in the sand bed 



