■1 



ttir. ■■rry'j.-.'^ ."v '" 



12 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



Febbuabx 16, 1911. 



:<^^*^^ 



>^. •^.»><<^<»^-^^r»>-4^r»>'^.»>'fer»>-^r»>'k»,-fe^-fe*>^ | 



SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



Azaleas. 



If the azalea plants wanted for Eas- 

 ter are in a moderately cool house, they 

 will not require any forcing for Easter. 

 They are much better whea grown in 

 this way, as the flowers possess more 

 substance and the plants do not show 

 the effects produced by vicissitudes of 

 temperature. The stores, in many cases, 

 stand a number of azaleas and other 

 plants outdoors at Easter and when the 

 plants have been hard forced they are 

 easy to pick out by their wilted ap- 

 pearance. 



Hydrangeas. 



Hydrangea plants for Easter should 

 now have the flower heads beginning 

 to peep in the ends of the shoots. Few 

 flowering plants want a greater water 

 supply than hydrangeas and, if the 

 drainage is right, there is little danger 

 of an oversupply. Feeding must also 

 be done to keep the plants toned up. 

 A top-dressing of Clay's fertilizer once 

 a fortnight, with liquid animal manure 

 twice a week in addition, will not be 

 too much. If any plants show pale 

 foliage, give some soot water or a weak 

 dose of nitrate of soda; a teaspoonful 

 to a 12-quart watering pot will suflBcc. 

 A night temperature of 60 degrees 

 should not be exceeded, and it is better 

 to reduce this somewhat as the flowers 

 develop, in order to make the plants 

 harder. 



Bambler Boses. 



If the shoots are now five to six 

 inches long on the Crimson Rambler 

 and pink ramblers, they are all right, 

 and in a temperature of 55 degrees will 

 be in flower by the middle of April, 

 without there being any necessity for 

 forcing. The cooler ramblers are grown 

 after the flowers are opening, the bet- 

 ter color will the flowers have, and 50 

 degrees at night is far better than 60 

 degrees. Avoid cold drafts, which will 

 cause mildew to start and soon render 

 the plants unsalable. Similarly, look out 

 for plants growing near heating pipes, 

 as once red spider gets a foothold, they 

 are speedily ruined. Ramblers want 

 abundant water supplies and liquid ma- 

 nure every fourth day until the flowers 

 begin to expand, when it should be dis- 

 continued. 



Seed Sowing. 



The present is an opportune time to 

 sow many seeds. Among annuals, ten 

 weeks' stocks, which can be profitably 

 utilized in vacant benches early in 

 April; asters, such as Queen of the 

 Market and Early Wonder; petunias, 

 verbenas, lobelias, salpiglossis and 

 white candytuft can all be started, also 

 Draca?na indivisa, pentstemons, Aralia 

 Sie);ol(lii, cannas, dahlias, smilax. As- 

 paragus plumosus and Sprengeri, Am- 

 pelopsis Veitchii and Solanum capsi- 

 castrum. 



Almost any of the perennials can be 

 sown now in flats or pans, including 

 the beautiful aquilegias, delphiniums 



(the variety Chinensis flowers finely 

 the first season). Lobelia cardinalis, 

 Oenotheras in variety, campanulas and 

 many other varieties. 



Many country florists have a good 

 call for vegetable plants in spring. It 

 is time now to sow lettuce, beet, cab- 

 bage, cauliflower and early celery, but 

 a little early for tomatoes. However, 

 many violet growers plant tomatoes to 

 follow their violets for a summer crop. 

 It is not now too late to sow a batch 

 where they are to follow double violets, 

 but the plants for the single houses 

 should be transplanted, or in pots now, 

 as these violets are gone before the end 

 of March, 



Propagation. 



The cutting benches should be kept 

 filled all the time now. In bedding 

 plants, geraniums, coleus, ageratums, 

 heliotropes, petunias, achyranthes, al- 

 ternantheras, santolinas, cupheas and 

 early dahlias; among foliage plants, 

 crotons, dracajnas, fittonias, pandanus, 

 dieffenbachias, ficus and Regonia Rex; 

 among miscellaneous plants, hydran- 

 geas, marguerites, fuchsias, variegated 

 vincas, swainsonas, genistas, rambler 

 roses, ericas, impatiens, abutilons and 

 Begonia Gloire de Lorraine can all be 

 propagated, and while the weather is 



cold and the heating pipes steadily 

 warm, the percentage of loss will be 

 much less than a month later. 



Miscellaneous. 



The time is rapidly approaching when 

 we will wish we had an additional pair 

 of arms to accomplish pressing duties. 

 Before that time arrives and while out- 

 door work is out of the question, it is 

 well, when there is a little spare time, 

 to overhaul, assort and clean empty 

 flower pots and pans, make new flats 

 and repair any which can be made to 

 carry another season, clean pots and 

 sponge foliage plants, paint any hotbed 

 or coldframe sashes not in use, and even 

 do a little indoor painting where the 

 crops are not too much in the way and 

 will not be injured by such work. Of 

 course, the woodwork is not so dry as 

 in summer, but there are usually a few 

 hours daily when it is dry and the work 

 can be more comfortably and econom- 

 ically done now than in August. 



Lily of the Valley. 



Pots and pans of lily of the valley 

 are always in good demand at Easter. 

 No special soil is needed; in fact, sand 

 or moss will answer fully as well as 

 loam for pips. Six-inch pots and 6-inch 

 and 8-inch pans are the best sizes. 

 Pack in as many pips as you can com- 

 fortably get in each receptacle. Place 

 the pots or pans in a cool house, for if 

 started now there is no need for dark- 

 ening and drawing them up in heat. 

 Six weeks' time in a house kept at 50 

 to 55 degrees will bring them into full 

 flower for Easter, and grown in light 

 all the time they will have excellent 

 dark foliage, which the hard forced 

 article usually lacks. If they flower a 

 little earlier than wanted, it is easy to 

 retard them in a cool, shaded house. 



DUNSTABLE CABNATIONS. 



The accompanying illustration shows 

 the exhibit which won the Covent Gar- 

 den bowl at the exhibition of th0 Na- 

 tional Carnation Society in London, 

 P'ngland, December 1.3. The varieties 

 are Pink Delight on the left and "White 

 Perfection on the riglit, and the illus- 

 tration will give an idea of how these 

 sorts, grown in England, compare with 

 the same varieties in this country. These 

 were grown and exhibited by W. E. Wal- 

 lace, of Eaton Bray, Dunstable, Beds., 

 England, and E. 0. Hill has told many 

 of his friends that nowhere in this coun- 

 try are carnations better done than at 

 Dunstable. Mr. Wallace modestly puts 

 it: "At any rate, they don't disgrace 

 their originator, the late Frederick Dor- 

 ner, whom all carnation lovers must 

 deeply mourn as a benefactor, even if 

 personally unknown. Though I never 

 had the ])rivilege of meeting him, I feel 

 that I have lost a friend, one whom I 

 have often wished to know, for I feel 

 he was one of nature's noblemen; I 

 should think a fine character in every 

 way, modest, unassuming, honest and 



clever. All carnation growers have lost 

 a real help." 



Special interest attaches to Mr. Wal- 

 lace's exhibit from the fact that Mr. 

 Wallace and his wife are now at Rich- 

 mond, Ind., for a visit at the home of 

 Mr. Hill. It is their intention to spend 

 four or five weeks in this country, and 

 during that time Mr. Wallace will visit 

 a number of the leading growers, espe- 

 cially those who feature the carnation. 

 A visit to Chicago under Mr. Hill's 

 guidance is scheduled for the end of the 

 present week. 



FIGUBINO THE VALUE. 



What Are Plants Worth? 



If you were trying to find out what 

 your assets were and you had 5,000 En-- 

 chantress carnation plants growing in 

 the bench, what would you call them 

 worth? We have in the past been satis- 

 fied with a very general idea of the profits 

 wo are making from our business, but it 

 has seemed to us worth while to get a 

 little more exact information on the sub- 

 ject. 



We took an inventory January 1, 1911, 

 and intend doing so each January 1 in 



