The WccHy Florists' Review^ 



Makch 28, 1912. 



Hyacinths, Candytuft and Ferns in Tbis Basket. 



Danger of Overpotting. 



Another thing to guard against is 

 overpotting in these earlier stages. If 

 given too large pots, the little plants 

 simply cannot obtain a mastery over 

 the compost, but remain stationary or 

 go back all summer long, with the re- 

 sult that it is the middle of August or 

 early September before they make any 

 show of growing. In the meantime the 

 soil, not being occupied by roots, has 

 become sour and is not in a condition 

 to sustain the young roots when they 

 form. Plants in small pots, on the other 

 hand, will have the soil all filled with 

 healtny young roots; they can be repot- 

 ted then into larger sizes and the roots 

 will have new, sweet soil to run in, in- 

 stead of a sour, close ball. 



As to other cultural requirements, all 

 they need is a genial, moist atmosphere, 

 a temperature of about 60 degrees at 

 night and plenty of air at all times. 

 Keep the plants well apart, shade only 

 enough to prevent injury to the foliage 

 and a fine batch of plants will be the 

 inevitable result. 



ANTIBBHINUMS FOE FOECINO. 



Do the florists use field-grown antir- 

 rhinums for forcing or do they prefer 

 2-inch plants in the fall? At what 

 time are they generally planted in the 

 benches? Do they come true to color 

 from seed, and is there any special 

 variety that is best for forcing? Please 

 name a few other field-grown plants 

 that can be disposed of in the fall. 

 Please name, also, a few perennials 

 most in demand for planting out by 

 florists. Any information you can give 

 me will be gratefully received. 



V. K. F. 



While field-grown antirrhinums are 

 occasionally used for forcing, they are 

 not nearly so satisfactory as plants 

 from pots. Snapdragons do not lift 

 with good fibrous roots, as do carna- 

 tions, violets, Jerusalem cherries or 

 hydrangeas. In fact, they do about as 

 poorly as getaniUms when dug up. If 

 field-grown stock is used, it should first 



be established in pots and benched 

 later. The giant forms of, tall grow- 

 ing snapdragons are the most useful 

 for forcing. If you buy seed from a 

 first-class dealer you can rely on the 

 seed coming pretty true to name. In 

 colors, bright pink, pure white, yellow 

 and scarlet are the most popular, in the 

 order named. If you get a really good 

 strain it is, of course, best perpetuated 

 from cuttings, which are abundantly 

 produced on the flowering stems. 



Among field-grown plants which are 

 in particular demand and can be dis- 

 posed of in fall or spring, are holly- 

 hocks, delphiniums, perennial phloxes, 

 peonies, sweet-williams, pansies, forget- 

 me-nots, foxgloves, double daisies, 

 Shasta daisies, aquilegias, Canterbury 

 bells, single pyrethrums (P. roseum), 

 German iris and Japanese iris. 



In the way of more tender plants. 



the call is always good each fall for 

 field-grown Vinca variegata, carna- 

 tions, violets. Asparagus Sprengeri and 

 hydrangeas. C. W. 



DISEASED LILIES. 



I am sending you under separate 

 cover one Lilium giganteum. Any in- 

 formation as to what is wrong with it 

 will be greatly appreciated. It is the 

 worst in 200, but the roots all are rot- 

 ten the same as sample. They were 

 started under a bench in a house at 

 60 degrees. When the pots were fairly 

 well filled with roots and the breaks 

 began to show thex were placed upon 

 the bench in the ssaae house. As they 

 advanced they were fed liquid manure 

 and given a top-dressing of well rotted 

 cow manure. Shortly after the second 

 liquid was applied we noticed a check 

 in the growth, which led to a dis- 

 covery of hundreds of small white 

 worms around the base of the bulbs, 

 like maggots or small grub worms. 

 Lime water was then administered, 

 which killed most of the worms, but not 

 until the last ten days did the plants 

 show signs of going backward. 



S. C. 



The sample lily was certainly in a 

 bad condition, most of the foliage being 

 brown. Probably the variety was 

 giganteum, as it is dwarf and resem- 

 bles that type. The giganteums, after 

 potting, "like to be started in a tempera- 

 ture of 55 to 60 degrees, and, like all 

 lilies forced for Easter, are better kept 

 on the dry side until the pots are nicely 

 filled with roots and the tops have 

 made some growth. A top-dressing of 

 cow manure would be of no special 

 advantage to the plants and is no doubt 

 responsible for the white maggots. Too 

 strong a dose of either liquid cow ma- 

 nure or lime water, or a combination 

 of the two, has probably given the 

 plants a serious check by destroying 

 many of the roots. Throw away the 

 worst diseased plants. Give the bal- 

 ance a warm, moist house, where a night 

 temperature of 60 to 65 degrees is main- 

 tained. If the roots of the average 

 bulbs are as badly destroyed as the 

 specimen sent it will do more harm 



-a"! 



r 



The Boroma at the Left, the Erica at the Right. 



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