March U, 191 -J. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



23 



era all the time in her rooms. What 

 then would become of us growers? 

 We would starve. If gladioli would 

 last like carnations they would last 

 long enough, which would be three to 

 four days, but the average gladiolus 

 lasts one week. 



I also wish to say that my fancy 

 does not harmonize with Mr. White's 

 as to the graceful appearance of such 

 a type as Princeps. Just imagine be- 

 fore you a spike three feet long, and 

 in the center of the spike are two 

 open blooms, and above them is one 

 and one-half feet of stalk without any- 

 thing on it, not even any foliage! How 

 does it look? Now place a dozen of 

 them in a vase; they don't look any 

 better. If you were to put greens in 

 with them to hide the long spikes, you 

 would hide the flowers and spoil their 

 effect; so you must leave them as they 

 are and be contented with their ap- 

 pearance. These look to me decidedly 

 like the tall bunch of vegetable aspara- 

 gus to which Mr. White has referred. 



If gladioli in a florist's window are 

 wadded together in a bunch, Mr. White 

 doesn't know who is to blame for it. 

 I say it is the florist's blame; he ought 

 to know how to place them in such a 

 vase, how to arrange them so that they 

 will look graceful and loose, and how 

 to place something with them that will 

 improve their appearance. One great 

 mistake is that most of the retail flo- 

 rists do not know how to work up 

 gladioli and it seems to me that they 

 don't try, but simply work them up 

 into anything that comes along. 



I must admit that Princeps is a good 

 seller, but you must remember that 

 it is the color and the wide open flow- 

 ers that take. I notice that when the 

 retail florists in Milwaukee pick out 

 glads, they always choose those with 

 the most and largest flowers on the 

 spikes. I breed only such varieties 

 as have many flowers open at one time, 

 and with straight stems. 



I invite other growers' ideas. 



H. W. Koerner. 



EBLE'S AX7T0. 



The accompanying illustration is re- 



Floramobik of Cbaxles Eble, New Orkaos. 



produced from a snapshot of the auto- 

 mobile now in use by Charles Eble, New 

 Orleans, the picture having been made 

 in front of Mr. Eble's store in the 

 Grunewald hotel. It is said to be the 

 first automobile to be put on the street 

 by a New Orleans florist. The machine 

 originally was a touring car and it has 

 forty horse-power, originally costing 

 $4,500, but Mr. Eble bought it at a 

 bargain and had the body rebuilt. The 

 panel body can be removed so that the 

 car can be used as a platform car for 

 the transportation of tall plants. It 

 also can be used as a touring car by 

 replacing the touring body. Mr. Eble 

 says that it not only proves a great 

 help in handling business, but has been 

 an excellent advertisement. Mr. Eble's 

 son, Bernard, runs the machine, which 

 is known as the floramobile. He ap- 

 pears in the picture. 



SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS. 



Geraniums for Bedding. 



All of the fall propagated cuttings 

 should now be in 3^-inch or 4-inch pots. 

 Growth is now quite rapid, and with 

 houses filled to overflowing with Easter 

 stock it is difficult to give the plants 

 the necessary space for their proper 

 development, but every eight or ten 

 days they should be looked over, de- 

 caying leaves and weeds removed and 

 giveil a fresh stand. If this is not done, 

 mold will spread quickly, and especially 

 Among crowded plants. A warm house 

 is not necessary for geraniums; 45 de- 

 grees at night will suffice. Do not make 

 a habit of playing the hose over the 



stock on bright days; it only makes 

 the plants soft. Also always run the 

 pots a little on the dry rather than the 

 wet side. This will make the growths 

 harder, shorter jointed, and what is im- 

 portant, more floriferous. If any stock 

 looks starved, give a weak dose of some 

 stimulant like nitrate of soda, on two 

 occasions ten days apart, but do not 

 continue its use once they put on new 

 life, as it will only make them soft. 



Winter rooted cuttings should be 

 potted along before they can become 

 potbound. If tho balls get much matted 

 with roots, loosen them a little when 

 repotting, and never pot geraniums, or 

 for that matter any other plants, with 

 dry balls. These later rooted cuttings 

 will do better kept 5 degrees warmer 



than the fall cuttings. Do not use any- 

 thing in the nature of fresh manure in 

 the soil. Let Any manure be so old 

 that it will crumble readily in the 

 hands, and add some fine bone, which 

 builds up a stocky plant and makes for 

 flower rather than soft green wood. 



Winter Geraniums. 



Provided cuttings of winter gera- 

 niums are not yet taken, no time should 

 be lost in getting them in the soil. Sin- 

 gle cuttings in small pots containing 

 sandy loam, placed where they can get 

 a little bottom heat, are preferable to 

 cuttings in the propagating bench. 

 They will root nicely within four weeks 

 and should have a shift into 3-inch pots 

 before they can become in the least 

 starved. Use a little fine bone at this 

 potting and a little well decayed old 

 hotbed or mushroom manure in addition. 



Hotbeds for Geraniums. 



Greenhouse space is always at a 

 premium after the middle of March, and 

 every grower at that time has to tax 

 his brains to accommodate all his 

 plants. Provided that a good supply of 

 cold-frames are at disposal, and surely 

 no commercial establishment is complete 

 without them, it is possible to utilize 

 them to relieve the indoor pressure 

 from this time onward. It would be too 

 severe a check to take geraniums or 

 any other of the hardier bedding plants 

 and simply stand them on a bed of 

 sand or ashes without any artificial 

 heat, but if the frames are of sufficient 

 depth, or can easily be dug out to allow 

 fifteen to eighteen inches of horse 

 manure and leaves to be placed in the 

 same and still allow of sufficient head- 

 room, the geraniums will thrive well in 

 them. The manure should be moist, and 

 if mixed with leaves and turned once 

 or twice before being used, all the bet- 

 ter. It should be tramped in the frames 

 thoroughly, after which a few inches 

 of fine soil or even cinders can be 

 added, and in these the pots can be 

 partly plunged. Splendid plants can 

 be grown in this way, provided, of 

 course, that ventilation, watering and 

 the necessary covering on cold nights 



