APRIL 25. 1912. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



15 



Antirrbinums Grown id Solid Beds by James Wbeeler, Natick, Mass. 



there are possibly two dozen different 

 ♦ olors and shades of winter flowering 

 sweet peas, although there is some con- 

 fusion through duplication of names, 

 which in my opinion should be looked 

 into by the National Sweet Pea So- 

 ciety. For instance, a grower might 

 decide that he would try several va- 

 rieties of white, and buy from the 

 different sources the following: 

 Watchung, Earliest White and Snow- 

 bird or Snowdrift, and find at blooming 

 time that he had four rows of the same 

 variety. Also the only difference be- 

 tween Christmas Pink and Earliest of 

 All is the price of the seed. Mont 

 Blanc, Christmas White and Florence 

 Denzer, too, are identical. 



I want to say in connection with 

 this that no man in this country, or in 

 the world for that matter, has done 

 more toward the advancement of win- 

 ter flowering sweet peas than Anton 

 Zvolanek, of Bound Brook, N. J. He 

 has to the present time succeeded in 

 producing practically all of the colors 

 that we have among the summer bloom- 

 ing varieties in the winter blooming 

 section, and I am informed that he is 

 now at work on the Spencer varieties 

 and, in fact, has partly subdued them 

 to the winter blooming habit. 



Many of the colors that Zvolanek has 

 succeeded in fixing to type have as yet 

 to prove salable, but as the field broad- 

 ons we can expect a wider range of 

 colors to become popular. 



Good Commercial Varieties. 



At the present time the old pink and 

 white variety, Earliest of All or Christ- 

 mas Pink, is the best seller, followed 

 by white of the different varieties, and 

 these followed by lavender, of which 

 T will mention the following: Mrs. 

 Alexander Wallace, and Wallacea, dark 

 lavender, and I believe these are not 

 so likely to drop their buds as Mrs. 

 Charles H. Totty, although this is the 

 most desirable shade of the three. In 

 the light pink class we have Mrs. Do- 

 lansky, Mrs. Wm. Sim and one or two 

 others that are not so desirable. The 

 variety Mrs. Sim will produce longer 



stems than any other variety in culti- 

 vation under like conditions; the color 

 is pretty when first picked out, but, 

 when slightly faded, soon shows too 

 much salmon, while Mrs. Dolansky, al- 

 though not quite so bright when first 

 opening, holds a uniform coloring 

 throughout. Governor Fort is a fine 

 color and should become popular, as 

 should Pink Beauty, although this has 

 to be proven in most markets. Of the 

 striped purple and violet shades little 

 can be said in a commercial way at 

 present. 



The Seed. 



I have read opinions of different 

 growers relative to seed from different 

 localities producing better results, some 

 holding that California seed produces 

 weaker growth, that is responsible for 

 different diseases, in comparison with 

 home-grown seed. With these opinions 

 I do not agree, as for hardness of shell 

 and good germination California seed 

 can not be surpassed. 



I have grown some seed of a few 

 special varieties and find it an expen- 

 sive undertaking, as, in addition to 

 having to carefully support the vines, 

 I find it necessary at intervals to 

 shake the vines to secure thorough 

 pollination; also when the pods begin 

 to dry they must be picked off every 

 few days, owing to a tendency to burst 

 open and scatter the seed. This trou- 

 ble, of course, is seldom met with in 

 California, as the climate there is more 

 dry and not so changeable at seeding 

 time. 



Usually the first sowing is made about 

 the middle of August with us. Some 

 growers sow earlier, I understand. Au- 

 gust is a troublesome time to sow peas, 

 as the intense heat we often experience 

 at this time is entirely adverse to the 

 conditions this plant will thrive in. 



Diseases and Other Troubles. 



We often have trouble with the ten- 

 der vines damping off at the ground — 

 in fact, on more than one occasion to 

 the extent of fifty or 100 feet of row. 

 I have tried different methods to pre- 



vent this trouble. I have used lime in 

 the soil at planting time, sterilized with 

 formaldehyde and tried keeping the 

 soil both wet and dry, and have come 

 to the conclusion that a practical pre- 

 ventive is a well dampened soil at 

 sowing time and care to keep condi- 

 tions as uniform as possible. 



We have with us a disease called 

 black rot, which seems to be the most 

 troublesome during extremely hot 

 weather. I have on several occasions 

 sown an entire house which became af- 

 fected with this disease. It is notice- 

 able soon after the vines appear above 

 the surface of the ground by their 

 stunted, yellowish appearance. The 

 roots, on examination, are black for 

 several inches of their length below 

 the surface of the soil; also many of 

 the rootlets are entirely rotted off. If 

 one has patience, with the coming of 

 cooler weather many of the vines will 

 send out new roots and make a fair 

 growth of vine, but never as good as 

 those not affected. My method usually 

 is to make a furrow beside the diseased 

 rows and sow a fresh supply of seed, 

 usually with good results, as the second 

 sowing, while in the same soil, was 

 naturally made considerably later in 

 the season. 



Dodging Disease. 



This present season, owing to a fear 

 of again having this disease to conte' 

 with, I planted another crop in i 

 house in summer and delayed sowii 

 peas until the beginning of October, 

 [Concluded on pa^e Kn;.] 



WHEELER'S SNAPDBAOON. 



The illustration shows one of James 

 Wheeler's fine beds of pink snapdrag? 

 ons at Natick, Mass. Mr. Wheeler 

 picked sixty-five dozen spikes from this 

 particular bed for Easter and as many 

 more the week following, all of the 

 finest quality. While Mr. Wheeler spe- 

 cializes in carnations, he finds good sale 

 for snapdragons and the call for cut- 

 tings comes from nearly all parts of the 

 country. W. X. C. 



