40, 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Mabch 28, 1912. 



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NOTES ON 

 ^ GLADIOLI 



WILTING BEFORE PACKING. 



Since the publication of my paper on 

 "Gladioli as a Special Crop," in The 

 Review of March 7, I have received 

 several inquiries from The Review's 

 readers regarding the proper or best 

 method of handling cut gladioli for 

 shipment, such inquiries being prompted 

 by that portion of my paper which 

 refers to wilting the flowers before 

 packing. May I encroach upon your 

 columns to explain and further substan- 

 tiate my contention f 



It is a fact which is easily demon- 

 strated, that if gladiolus spikes are 

 cut, placed in water long enough for 

 them to revive and stiffen the , petals 

 of the flowers, then it is next to impos- 

 sible to pack any number of such 

 spikes without creasing or cracking 

 some of the petals, and if this is once 

 done the flower is worthless. After 

 being wilted, the flowers are limp or 

 passive and offer little resistance in 

 packing; hence they are not damaged 

 to the extent the stiff flowers would 

 be. Of course, one could go to an ex- 

 treme in wilting and injure the spike; 

 good judgment should be exercised in 

 this matter. I stated that we allowed 

 the flowers to wither "lying upon the 

 ground for an hour or two," but modi- 

 fied this by saying "according to the 

 temperature." In some sections and 

 under extreme temperatures, fifteen 

 minutes might be long enough. The 

 point is to have the petals in such con- 

 dition that they will not bruise, and I 

 stated the method used at my place. 



I claim, also, that there is a great 

 advantage in having the spikes stand- 

 ing in the packages. It is not neces- 

 sary for a skeptical grower to actuaUy 

 make a shipment to demonstrate these 

 facts. Pack four shipments of, say, 

 100 or 200 spikes each, standing and 

 lying down, and treat two shipments 

 with water and wilt two, and hold them 

 in what would be considered the tem- 

 perature of an express car, say for 

 twelve or twenty-four hours, but in 

 the meantime don't forget to bang the 

 shipments about a few times to make 

 them think they are in the hands of 

 the express company. Then open them, 

 cut off the ends of the spikes, place 

 in water and judge for yourself which 

 is the best way to handle them. 



Arthur Cowee. 



IDEALS IN GLADIOLUS QBOWING. 



May I be permitted to say a few 

 words in reference to C. Betscher's 

 article on "Hybridization of Gladioli," 

 on page 22 of The Review of March 

 14 f I suppose he has his own par- 

 ticular reasons for selecting as an ideal 

 a gladiolus seven feet tall. Ye gods 

 and little fishes! Why not have them 

 eight feet or, better, ten feet tallf 

 Evidently the wind is not boisterous 

 in his part of Ohio, or perhaps he 

 would provide a root system to match, 



which would insure a safe anchorage. 

 In case one should happen to become 

 lost in a field of such gladioli, no doubt 

 a plant could be found strong enough 

 to be climbed, in order to take an 

 observation to determine one's bear- 

 ings. 



It seems to me that there are nearly 

 as many different ideals as there are 

 growers, and that they are prone to 

 run to extremes. At present many of 

 our most noted specialists are fever- 

 ishly striving to produce the clearest 

 white, without any mark or touch of 

 color whatever. Such a result, in my 

 opinion, would partake more of the 

 outre than the artistic, besides being 

 unnatural, which is proved by the lack 

 of constitution in most of the super- 

 white sorts. Another notion is that we 

 must have larger and still larger flow- 

 ers, seven, eight inches or more in 

 diameter — the bigger the better. 



To my mind, it is far better to work 

 for a combination of well balanced vir- 



tues, rather than seek to develop 

 abnormally any one particular char 

 acteristic, which, though it may be 

 spectacular and may attract the atten- 

 tion for a time, does not possess the 

 charm and holding power of some more 

 conservative sort. 



In closing I should like to inquire 

 whether Mr. Betscher has succeeded in 

 eliminating the hooded form of the 

 flowers of Primulinus hybrids, which 

 hitherto has been considered one of 

 their chief defects. H. E. Meader. 



BOSTON IVY. 



We have tried several times to grow 

 Boston ivy from seed, and although we 

 get the seed from a reliable firm, few 

 ever come up. In what temperature do 

 they succeed the best and what other 

 treatment would you recommend? 



W. M. B. 



Boston ivy, Amelopsis Veitchii, is of 

 easy germination, provided you secure 

 fresh seed. Sow in a compost of leaf - 

 mold and sand and give an average 

 night temperature of 60 degrees until 

 it germinates. It is better grown 10 

 degrees cooler when well started and 

 the seedings should be potted off 

 singly before they become too crowded. 

 Get some more seed from a first-class 

 firm, sow at once and you still have 

 time to grow nice plants !for next 

 year's sales. This is one of the plants 

 that is gaining steadily in the favor of 

 the public. C. W. 



MUMS IN NEW ORLEANS. 



I am about to make my first trial of 

 new mums for the New Orleans market 

 and would like to receive a little ad- 

 vice from you. The following are the 

 varieties: MUe. Margaret Desjouis, 

 Smith's Advance, White Cloud, Unaka, 

 Donatello. When will be the proper 

 time to plant, the time to stop, and to 

 take the bud? What bud should be 

 taken on each of themt How long 

 will it take for them to mature? These 

 plants are to be grown in New Orleans 

 in the open field, to be covered with 

 cotton. Can any of those named be in 

 full flower by October 25 1 If not, can 

 you tell me what variety has the same 

 qualities as the G. S. Kalb, only larger 

 and whiter? It is right up to time; 

 never fails when the Mrs. Robinson is 

 far behind. A. W. 



I am not familiar with conditions 

 that obtain in the mum belt of New 

 Orleans and this grower had better con- 

 sult some of her florist neighbors. The 

 variety most largely grown is, of 

 course, Mrs. Robinson. I have been in- 

 formed by florists in that vicinity that 

 varieties such as Smith's Advance, 

 White Cloud and Donatello, or early va- 

 rieties like those mentioned, do not 

 come good in that section. It would 

 seem to me that Desjouis would possi- 

 bly do well there. Any of the varieties 

 above named can be in full flower eas- 

 ily in the north, but I am not fa- 

 miliar with conditions in the south, or 



whether any florist has tested Smith's 

 Advance there, in quantity, I cannot 

 state. It is a great advance on G. S. 

 Kalb, which the correspondent men- 

 tions as being good. As to buds, the 

 last days in August and early in Sep- 

 tember seem to be accepted as about 

 the proper time in Louisiana for best 

 results. C. H. T. 



THRIPS ON CUTTINGS. 



We are sending under separate cover 

 a few Bonnaffon cuttings which you 

 will see are peculiarly affected. We 

 have not been able to tell whether it 

 was the work of an insect or fungus. 

 We have used Aphine at the strength 

 for red spider, also Fungine. We do not 

 believe either one is helping the trou- 

 ble. C. L. H. 



The cuttings of Bonnaffon forwarded 

 to us were badly infested with thrips. 

 If C. L. H. will use a microscope he 

 wiU see thousands of them on the foli- 

 age. I noticed he has used Aphine at 

 the strength for red spider. The only 

 trouble with any spraying solution on 

 thrips lies in the fact that it is almost 

 impossible to hit the insects with an 

 insecticide. One application will not 

 do it; neither will two; but persistent 

 use of Aphine will clean out thrips. 

 Perhaps the quickest way would be to 

 fumigate heavily and persistently with 

 tobacco dust, followed by spraying on 

 bright days. C. H. T. 



