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Mabch 14, 1012. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



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SEASONABLE 



SUGGESTIONS 



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Azaleas. 



But three weeks more and Easter will 

 be here. Azaleas are always one of 

 the most important of flowering plants 

 at this great floral festival. Provided 

 the plants are now opening their flow- 

 ers they will be all right if carried 

 along in a cool house. If, however, 

 no color is yet showing in the buds, 

 they must be hurried. Give them a 

 warm, moist house and spray them 

 freely. Discontinue syringing after the 

 flowers are expanding and as soon as 

 you are reasonably certain you have 

 them suflSciently advanced move them 

 to cooler quarters. 



Lilacs. 



The Easter lilacs should never be 

 grown in the dark. Half their beauty 

 is lost if they are lacking in foliage. 

 Give them the fullest light and, as 

 they open, gradually move them to a 

 lower temperature. This change must 

 not be too sudden, as lilacs are more 

 susceptible to chills than many other 

 plants. If taken from a warm house 

 directly to one 20 degrees lower, the 

 flowers are pretty sure to wilt, but a 

 little experience will teach even a be- 

 ginner that this sharp temperature 

 slump is too much for them. Well 

 flowered lilacs, particularly white and 

 pink shades, will sell well at Easter. 

 The call for blues is never so good at 

 that season, but many customers rather 

 like made up plants containing white 

 and pink or white and lavender, which 

 are easily possible by using good sized 

 pots and using three plants in each, or, 

 as is often done, the plants are placed 

 in tins which fit into wicker baskets. 



Cannas. 



The time js at hand when those popu- 

 lar bedding plants, the cannas, should 

 be started. Cut them up carefully, 

 leaving a single sound eye to each 

 plant. Do not pot at once, but lay 

 on a bed of moss on a bench where 

 there is a nice, steady bottom heat. 

 Spray them over occasionally, but do 

 not keep them wet at all, or many 

 are likely to decay. Many small grow- 

 ers prefer to purchase fresh roots each 

 spring and there should now be no de 

 lay in securing these, as the run on 

 the really first-class bedders is always 

 strong. 



Fansies. 



The covering should by this time be 

 ' removed from pansy plants which have 

 been wintered in coldframes, but on 

 outdoor stock the mulch must remain 

 for some time yet. There is always an 

 excellent call for pansies in small 

 baskets containing a dozen plants of 

 assorted colors and it is each year 

 uoted that those which come into the 

 market early are always quickly sold. 

 Many defer purchasing pansies until 

 Memorial day, but it is a common error 

 to delay planting even the hardier 

 plants until summer is almost here. 



They are cool, moisture loving subjects, 

 and are always seen at their best dur- 

 ing May rather than the summer 

 months. In order to get some plants 

 along early a number of plants should 

 now be lifted and planted in a violet 

 house. It is possible to get a better price 

 for these early flowered pansies than 

 when the full outdoor crop has ar- 

 rived. Plants in frames, after being 

 cleaned off, should have a soaking wa- 

 tering, and if sashes are kept over them 

 they will make quite a rapid growth. 

 Double daisies and myosotis, which are 

 two other popular spring flowers, can 

 be treated similarly to the pansies. 



Lilium Speciosum. 



The fall potted bulbs of Lilium 

 Speciosum will now be making some 

 growth. They are better grown quite 

 cool. In fact, unless they are wanted 

 particularly early, they will be just 

 as well in a coldfranie and bed of ashes 

 rather than in the greenhouse. The 

 same applies to Lilium auratum. Even 

 when grown cold, aphis will attack 



Tlie Editor Is pleased 

 \<rben a Reader 

 presentB liia Ideas 

 on any subject treated In 



As experience is the best 

 teacber, so do vre 

 learn fastest by an 

 excbanere of experiences. 

 Many valuable points 

 are brousbt out 

 by discussion. 



Good penmanship, spelling and 

 grammar, though desirable, are not 

 nfcessary. Write as you would talk 

 when doing your best. 



WE SHALX. BE GLAD 

 TO HEAR FROM TOU 



liliums and a spraying or fumigation 

 should be .given once a week. After 

 Easter, when bench space is a little 

 less at a premium, the. lilies can be 

 moved into one of the houses, but do 

 not stand them below the benches, as 

 is too often done. It will only draw 

 up the stems and make them more 

 weakly. 



Hydrangeas. 



The Easter hydrangeas should now 

 be showing color in their flower heads. 

 These arc notoriously thirsty plants and 



require an abundant water supply. 

 Feeding can be discontinued when the 

 flower heads are fairly well developed. 

 The blue hydrangeas do not sell well 

 at Easter, and it is a mistake to force 

 them for Easter. There are, however, 

 some new forms of Hortensis which 

 make admirable Easter plants. The 

 Otaksas, however, of late years, even 

 when well flowered, have not sold well. 



The plants for Memorial day will be 

 clamoring for more space, which it 

 will be diflicult to give them until 

 some of the Easter stock has been 

 moved. 



If a sufficient batch of cuttings has 

 not been inserted there is still time to 

 root these and get nice plants before 

 fall. An abundance of cuttings may be 

 found on flowering shoots now, and 

 probably occasional plants will be found 

 which for some reason have failed to 

 flower and these will yield plenty of 

 wood for propagating purposes. 



Ten Weeks' Stocks. 



Stocks form a valuable Memorial day 

 crop. Plants for flowering at this im- 

 portant floral festival should now be 

 potted off. Be sure not to allow them 

 to become potbound before planting 

 them out or they will do disappoint- 

 ingly. Give them good compost to 

 grow in, such as you would use for 

 mums or carnations, and not too warm 

 a house; 50 degrees should be the ab- 

 solute night maximum and 5 degrees 

 lower is better. As soon as singles 

 show themselves pull them out. They 

 are of no value in the market, and 

 they should not be left to crowd out 

 the good doubles, which are what peo- 

 ple want. The grower who can time 

 his crop for Memorial day will make 

 money. Some changes in temperature 

 may be needed to do this, but it should 

 be remembered that after that date 

 stocks are hard to move at any price. 

 Therefore, no efforts should be spared 

 to flower them by the end of May. 



QBEENHOUSE WALLS OF TILE. 



Can you give me any information 

 about fireproofing brick or hollow tile 

 for greenhouse walls? Will they stand 

 heat and moisture if cemented outside 

 to keep moisture from going in? Which 

 is better — tile treated in that way, or 

 concrete? M. B. 



Ordinary building tile answers well 

 for the walls of greenhouses, but care 

 should be taken to use a footing course 

 of grout high enough above ground to 

 keep the wall fairly dry; otherwise the 

 plastering at the lower part of the wall 

 may be injured by wet and frost, and, 

 after the cement has scaled off, the tile 

 will be likely to crumble. 



GOVEBNOB HEBBICK. 



I saw some violets this winter, grow- 

 ing at a place where I had no chance 

 to ask questions, that looked like Prin- 

 cess of Wales in color, but in shape the 

 flowers were more like California. It 

 seemed to be remarkably free blooming. 

 What is Governor Herrick like? I 

 thought it might be that variety. 



M. B. 



The variety undoubtedly was Gov- 

 ernor Herrick, which, while hy no means 

 as commonly grown as Princess of 

 Wales^ is to be seen in a good many 

 establishments, especially those that 

 grow to supply a local retail trade. 



