16 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Ai'itii, 25, 1912. 



MY MARYLAND. 



Growing It Without a Rest. 



In this article I should like to give 

 the readers the benefit of our experi- 

 ments with a house of My Maryland. 

 The figures I intend to use to bear out 

 my statements are as accurate as we 

 can get them, and I hope they will be 

 appreciated as trustworthy. 



We experimented with a small three- 

 quarter-span house. The benches were 

 made of cement, with a tile bottom, 

 and held only 1,146 plants. Our ex- 

 periments date from August 1, 1909. 

 In that year the plants were planted 

 in the bench out of 4-inch pots. From 

 August 1, 1909, to July 31, 1910, the 

 figures on our books show that we cut 

 36,872 blooms. 



These plants were not rested during 

 the season of 1910 and 1911, but were 

 kept growing continuously. We re- 

 moved some of the dead wood, but not 

 enough to check the growth of the 

 plants. From August 1, 1910, to July 

 31, 1911, the books show a cut of 

 45,962 blooms, which means a frac- 

 tion over forty blooms per plant. 



Last fall the plants were not dis- 

 turbed, except to remove the dead 

 wood. This house remained in bloom 

 until January 17, 1912, at which time 

 the temperature was lowered to 45 de- 

 grees at night. This temperature was 

 maintained until February 17, when 

 it was raised to 64 degrees at night. 

 The crop came in splendidly for Easter. 

 During Easter week w^e cut 3,126 blooms 

 oflP these 1,146 plants. 



From August 1, 1911, to April 8, 

 1912, we cut 28,624 blooms. The total 

 cut from this house for a little over 

 two and one-half years was 111,458. 

 And remember that the plants have pro- 

 duced this amount without a rest, or at 

 least as nearly so as possible. 



Advantages of the Method. 



Why did we make this experiment? 

 It is an accepted principle among most 

 growers that roses need a certain 

 amount of rest or drying oflF each year 

 in order to produce prolific growth and 

 the requisite quality of blooms. We 

 thought it was not necessary and 

 wanted to prove it to our own satis- 

 faction. And I have just given you 

 the results. 



We have not only experimented with 

 My Maryland, but with the Killarneys 

 also, with about equally favorable re- 

 sults. 



What is the advantage of growing 

 roses without a rest .' Whv, it moans 



that you are cutting roses in the sum- 

 mer, while otherwise you would lose 

 nearly two months of time and blooms, 

 to say nothing of the expense. It also 

 does away with this new idea of sum- 

 mer rose houses. Keep them growing 

 the year around and, when they are 

 grown out, start again. 



Probably some of the readers will 

 wonder by what secret process we kept 

 them blooming steadily and for such 

 a length of time. There is no secret 

 about it; it is just good old manure and 

 plenty of it. 



My Maryland at our plant is carried 

 at a temperature of 64 degrees at night. 

 We probably give it more water than 

 any other rose, as the soft, succulent 

 growth seems to require great quanti- 



ties of it. As to mulching, I need only 

 say that we believe in putting it on by 

 the ton. W, J. Vesey, Jr. 



BEST ROSES FOR DAKOTAS. 



Please name about twenty-nine of tie 

 hardiest roses for North Dakota, where 

 the soil and water contain a large 

 amount of alkali. Kindly state, also, 

 how to control the red spider outdoor-,. 



P. J. K. 



It is not probable that any two men 

 would name the same twenty-five varie- 

 ties of roses as being the best for 

 any one locality. Believing, however, 

 that the soil and the climatic conditions 

 of Devils Lake, N. D., are nearly tht 

 same as in my locality, Minneapolis. 

 Minn., I would personally try the fol 

 lowing varieties in my own garden: 



For white — Frau Karl Druschki, Mar 

 garet Dickson, Kaiserin Augusta Vic- 

 toria, Maman Cochet, Mabel Morrison, 

 Augustine Guinoisseau. For red and its 

 shades — Gruss an Teplitz, Eichmoud, 

 Papa Gontier, Ferdinand Jamain, Oscar 

 Cordel, Jules Margottin, Eobert Dun- 

 can, Dean Hole, Marie Baumann. For 

 rose or pink — Anne de Diesbach, Clio, 

 Mme. Gabriel Luizet, Caroline Testout, 

 Killarney, La France, Mme. Abel Chate- 

 nay, Victor Verdier, Heinrich Schul- 

 theis, Mrs. John Laing, Captain Christy. 



Theodore Wirth. 



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f SEASONABLE ^ 

 I ^^ SUGGESTIONS I 



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Hardy Annuals. 



If a sowing of the hardier annuals 

 has not yet been made outdoors, now is 

 a good time to get them in the ground. 

 It is not good policy to wait until the 

 ground is warm and dry, as is too often 

 done, for the hardier annuals succeed 

 far better if they are sown while the 

 ground is cool and comparatively moist. 

 These annuals are frequently ignored as 

 being of little or no account; in fact, 

 there are many florists who think that 

 asters and sweet peas are the only 

 hardy annuals worth growing for cut- 

 ting. These two latter are undoubtedly 

 the two most valuable annuals, but 

 there are a number of others which 

 every country florist should give room 

 for a row or two. Among these are 

 mignonette, sweet alyssum, candytuft, 

 gypsophila, larksjmrs, pink, white and 

 lavender; lupines, schizanthus, Shirley 

 poppy, gaillardia, Centaurea Cyanus, 

 ('entaurea moschata, Arctotis grandis, 

 Dimorphotheca aurantiaca and coreop- 

 sis. It will be necessary to make a 

 successional sowing a month later of 

 some of these annuals and in the case 

 of Shirley poppy several sowings. Be 

 sure the ground is thofoughly pulver- 

 ized where the seeds are sown and work 

 the cultivator among them just as soon 

 as they appear above the ground. Also, 

 do not neglect hand weeding. 



Cosmos. 



Cosmos is a useful fall annual. There 

 are early types which flower more or 



less through the summer, but these are 

 less valuable than that fine variety 

 Lady Lenox. South of New Jersey 

 this last variety can be depended upon 

 to flower well outdoors, but it is other- 

 wise farther north. Some years a late 

 frost will allow of their flowering free- 

 ly, but this is the exception rather than 

 the rule, and to secure really good flow- 

 ers and be certain of getting them, 

 greenhouse culture is necessary. It is 

 a common mistake to sow cosmos too 

 early. Start the seed now and they 

 will be of ample size. They can be 

 planted outdoors, given one or two 

 pinches and lifted carefully before 

 frost; or, better still, they can be grown 

 in good sized pots, which can be 

 plunged and securely staked, moving 

 them indoors toward the end of Sep- 

 tember, or earlier if frost threatens. 

 These cosmos are invaluable for cut- 

 ting and, grown cool, can easily be kept 

 flowering until Christmas. 



Montbretias. 



Next to gladioli the montbretias are 

 one of the most useful of bulbs to plant 

 for producing flowers for cutting. They 

 are not nearly so much seen in the mar- 

 kets in summer as their merits warrant. 

 They grow and flower with a minimum 

 of care, ship well, keep well in water 

 and, if not all planted at once, a long 

 succession of flowers may be had. The 

 best way to secure a continuous crop ia 

 to plant some in the fall, taking up 

 the too thick rows and severely thin- 

 ning them. Mulch these well and they 



