13 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Max 11, 1911. 



that one of these departments in the 

 growing of plants is of much less con- 

 sequence than the other. 



It must be admitted that much more 

 attention is given today to the proper 

 means and methods of insect control 

 than has ever been the case in the past, 

 and it is also true that the means for 

 their control are more effective than 



they have been heretofore; but by no 

 means has perfection been attained 

 and great opportunity is still at hand 

 for further improvement to those who 

 are giving thought and study to the 

 ravages which result in the loss of mil- 

 lions of dollars yearly in the horticul- 

 tural and agricultural industries of this 

 country. 



PEAS IN THE OPEN. 



Before the early outdoor plants of 

 sweet peas get too far advanced, give 

 them a liberal mulching of grass, old 

 hay, straw or partly spent manure, the 

 last being the best, as it allows of some 

 manurial properties being washed down 

 to the roots. Keep the plants well cul- 

 tivated until they are mulched and 

 choose a day following a considerable 

 rainfall to spread on the mulch. If the 

 seedlings come up too thickly, have 

 courage to thin them and always get 

 the supports in position before the 

 plants start to fall over. Sweet peas 

 out of doors will not produce flowers 

 equal to those raised under glass, ex- 

 cept it may be in- the more northerly 

 states near the seaboard. They are 

 cool and moisture-loving plants, and in 

 an average summer the moisture they 

 need is usually lacking. 



SWEET PEAS NOT FLOWEBINQ. 



Can you tell me why my sweet peas 

 did not have even one bloom last win- 

 ter, though the vines were strong and 

 healthy? I had fine ones in the summer, 

 which were full of bloom. I sowed seed 

 ripened in the greenhouse and planted 

 for Christmas bloom, but I did not get 

 one flower. Now I have sowed aster 

 seed in the same way and I fear that 

 I may have another failure. If it is 

 because of ripening the seed in the 

 house, please let me know. The seed 

 was sound and good. L. P. 



You do not state what varieties of 

 sweet peas you sowed in your houses. 

 It is just possible that you have made 

 the mistake of using sorts which, while 

 excellent outdoors for summer flower- 

 ing, will simply not bloom at all under 

 glass in winter, but, if left in suffi- 

 ciently long, will flower in spring. Such 

 sorts as Dorothy Eckford, Countess of 

 Spencer and all other Spencer varieties, 

 Helen Lewis, Lady Grisel Hamilton and 

 other popular sorts are of no use for 

 winter flowering, but excellent for a 

 crop wanted from the end of April until 

 outdoor flowers are obtainable. If your 

 plants were strong and vigorous, the 

 seed must have been all right. Another 

 season use only the special winter- 

 flowering varieties, such as Christmas 

 Pink, Florence Denzer, Watchung, Mrs. 

 Sim, Wallace and Mrs. W. W. Smalley. 



Aster seeds that have been carefully 

 selected from pollinated flowers should 



be all right, but you would do better 

 with imported German seed, or any 

 good American strain, such as Vick's 

 and other specialists produce. C. W. 



BULBS IN SCHENLEY PABK. 



Each year about 200,000 new bulbs 

 are purchased for Schenley park, in 

 Pittsburg, Pa., and these are planted in 

 solid colors in the beds. On one of the 

 walks a number of beds of Couleur Car- 

 dinal tulips, along one border, gave the 

 appearance of a stretch of 1,000 feet of 

 red bloom that was exceedingly 

 effective. Beds on the lawn, twenty to 

 thirty feet in diameter, of Duchesse de 

 Parma tulips, showed a richness of 

 color that never failed to attract atten- 

 tion. On the circles and other walks 

 were found beds of Pink Beauty, prob- 

 ably the best pink in cultivation for 

 bedding. These, with Cardinal Ram- 

 poUa, Salvator rosea, Keizerskroon, 

 Proserpine, Murillo, Imperator rosek 

 and others, were grand and the flowers 

 were the finest for several years. 



After blooming, all the bulbs are dug 

 and matured in a shed. The next fall 

 these are planted under the shrubbery 

 and in long stretches of lawn, right in 

 the grass, in some places covering an 

 acre, and one can find carriages stand- 

 ing along these roads any time, while 

 people admire the effects. Parrots, Dar- 

 wins and Gesnerianas are mixed with 

 those planted in the shrubbery, to 

 bloom after the early varieties are gone. 



While there is no doubt about the 

 beauty of the new bulbs planted in 

 beds, the most artistic effects are those 

 produced by the old bulbs in the grass 

 and in by-places, even though the indi- 

 vidual flowers may not be so fine. 



Hoo-Hoo. 



UBFT-OVEB AZAI.EAS. 



I have a few azaleas that were left 

 over from Easter and I should like to 

 know how to keep them over for next 

 Easter, as I have never yet saved any 

 from one season to another. Please 

 tell me, also, when to bring them in so 

 that they will bloom. I am located In 

 eastern Pennsylvania. J. D. P. 



Unless your other duties are too nu- 

 merous and exacting, it will pay you 

 well to save the azaleas, as they will 

 probably bloom more readily and freely 

 than newly imported stock. All flowers 



and flower seeds should be removed 

 from the plants which you intend to 

 carry over. After the middle of May, 

 in your latitude, they may be either 

 planted out in any good garden soil 

 where they can be reached with the 

 hose and kept well syringed, or they 

 may be plunged outdoors in the sun. 

 The pots should be plunged in some 

 material to the rim, but in a place 

 where water will not remain standing 

 in wet weather. Over the surface of 

 the pots about an inch of- rotted stable 

 manure should be spread. In hot, dry 

 weather the plants will need a daily 

 syringing and they must never be 

 allowed to become "killing dry." 



Leave the plants outdoors till about 

 the end of September, or till there is 

 danger of frost. A light freeze will 

 not injure the flower buds, but it is 

 better not to run any risks. In repot- 

 ting from the open ground, reduce the 

 balls with a sharp-pointed hardwood 

 stick, so that they will go into as small 

 pots as possible. A compost of three 

 parts loam, one part leaf-mold and a 

 good dash of sharp sand will suit the 

 plants. Any manure used must be old 

 and thoroughly decayed. The old idea 

 about peat being a necessity for suc- 

 cessful azalea culture has been long ago 

 exploded. Be sure to work the soil 

 well around the sides of the pots and 

 ram it flrmly, so as to leave no open 

 spaces. Soak well with water and leave 

 them outdoors in the full sun until 

 threatened frost compels their removal 

 indoors. The best place in which to 

 store them is a pit, where they can get 

 sufficient light and where frost can be 

 excluded without any resort to flre heat, 

 unless it be in zero weather. Spray 

 the plants freely for a week or two. 



FIELD PLANTING. 



Whether the violet plants raised 

 were from cuttings or by root divisions, 

 it is now time to set them out in the 

 field. Probably nine-tenths of the 

 singles are propagated from divisions 

 of the old plants, which, if left with 

 some roots on and with the leaves 

 pretty well cleaned off, can be planted 

 right outdoors in cool, moist weather, 

 and thus treated will make just as fine 

 plants as when more fussed over. Vio- 

 lets, both single and double, want plant- 

 ing out before really hot and dry 

 weather starts in, so that they can get 

 established before real summer weather 

 arrives. The ground should be well 

 enriched and space left between the 

 rows to allow of hand cultivators being 

 used, if sufficient space cannot be given 

 for horse cultivators. The number of 

 varieties of violets -does not increase 

 as do those of carnations, roses or 

 mums and two varieties of doubles, 

 Campoell and Marie Louise, and one 

 variety of single. Princess of Wales, 

 are the standbys of an overwhelming 

 majority of the growers, as they have 

 been for some years now. 



