14 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



May 2, 1912. 



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F SEASONABLE s^ 1| 

 \ 9^ SUGGESTIONS j 



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>\i. Gloxinias. 



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The earliest batch of gloxinia plants 

 should now be coming into flower. Give 

 them a warm house and a moderate 

 amount of shade. If too much shade 

 is used the-foliage will be of a fine dark 

 green color, but the flower stems will 

 be weak and floppy. Avoid spraying 

 the foliage or you will soon disfigure 

 it. Just as soon as the sun strikes any 

 damp leaves, they will be badly burned 

 and, if the foliage is once scorched, 

 the plants are practically unsalable. 

 Where a batch of these showy plants 

 is wanted for flowering in August, the 

 dormant tubers should be started now. 

 These will do well from this time on 

 in an ordinary greenhouse, always tak- 

 ing care that the sun is not allowed 

 to scorch the leaves. Seedlings started 

 last February are now in 3-inch pots 

 and almost ready for a shift. These, 

 if kept growing on, will make useful 

 stock for flowering in July and August. 

 Gloxinias should not be too firmly 

 potted and the compost at the final 

 shift should be light but rich, with a 

 good proportion of sand added. 



Fancy Caladiums. 



Those attractive plants, the fancy- 

 leaved caladiums, are particularly valu- 

 able for bedding in the warmer states, 

 but, while they will make a fair amount 

 of growth as far north as Boston and 

 Chicago, they cannot be depended upon 

 as bedding plants. For pot culture 

 they are, however, extremely useful. "* 

 They are at their best at the hottest 

 part of the year, at which time really 

 good flowering plants are not plentiful, 

 and for room decoration, also on 

 piazzas which are not too exposed, the 

 fancy-leaved caladiums come in use- 

 fully. They enjoy a warm, moist house 

 to make their growth in and, while they 

 like a little shade under glass, it should 

 be light or the naturally rich colors of 

 the leaves will be dulled. For com- 

 post, they grow well in fibrous loam, 

 decayed cow manure, leaf-mold and 

 sand. They also grow finely if some 

 ferflx^ber is mixed in the soil; it helps 

 to keep it porous at the same, time. 

 Liquid manure once a week can be 

 given as soon as the plants are well 

 rooted around the pots. 



There are many beautiful varieties 

 of fancy-leaved caladiums and as they 

 are of easy culture, no florist need be 

 afraid to try them. Many fail to carry 

 the roots over winter successfully. To 

 keep them properly, they need a tem- 

 perature of not less than 60 degrees. 



Bay Trees. 



After the first week in May it is al- 

 ways safe to stand bay trees outside. 

 They may get an occasional light frost 

 after that date, but it will not hurt 

 them. Exposure to strong light will 

 probably turn the leaves brown on 

 some plants and, to prevent this, they 

 should be freely hosed overhead and 

 sufficient moisture must be applied at 

 the root. Plants badly pot or tub 



bound should have a shift, but in most 

 cases if a good top-dressing is given it 

 will suffice, supplementing this with 

 liquid manure from time to time 

 throughout the growing season. Plants 

 which have become quite brown should 

 be carefully sheared back; they will 

 soon make new growths and make pre- 

 sentable heads. In addition to bay 

 trees, such evergreens as aucubas, cu- 

 pressus, box trees, Araucaria imbricata, 

 English and Irish yews and others 

 which do not winter in the colder 

 states, should be placed outdoors at 

 once. Give them an abundant water 

 supply and hose overhead freely and 

 they will soon start away into active 

 growth. 



Amaryllises. 



The flowering season for amaryllises 

 will now be over, but if a fine crop of 

 spikes is desired next winter and spring 

 they must have the best of attention 

 through the summer. If space permits 

 they will do well in a greenhouse, espe- 

 cially if they can be plunged. On the 

 whole, however, the best plan is to 

 plunge them in coldframes and leave 

 sash protection over them all summer, 

 shading a little from direct sunlight. 

 Leave the sashes tilted up, both top and 

 bottom, all the time and give the plants 

 a hosing over every afternoon, or if, 

 perchance, the day is unusually hot. 



two or three sprayings will be apprg. 

 ciated. When plunged to the brimg 

 in old manure or leaves, the plants will 

 not require frequent waterings, even 

 in the hottest weather, and then 

 plunged plants always produce much 

 bigger bulbs than the unplunged ones. 

 Keep seedling plants potted on as they 

 need it. They will make quite large 

 bulbs in one season if carefully looked 

 after, and a large proportion will flower 

 th» second year. 



* "i *" Asters. '' •* ■ 



Early asters, such as Early Wonder 

 and Queen of the Market, shoul(t now 

 be gradually hardened off, and planting 

 out can be done from the early part to 

 the end of May, according to the lati- 

 tude. A light freeze will not harm 

 them. Of course ground well enriched 

 is necessary for a fine crop of flowers. 

 It is a pure waste of time to plant in 

 poorly prepared ground. Nine to twelve 

 inches apart in the rows, with the rows 

 twenty-four inches apart, will suffice 

 for these early varieties. The late 

 batches are better allowed thirty to 

 thirty-six inches between the rows. 

 Now is a suitable time to make a good 

 sowing of such varieties as Crego, 

 Vick's Branching, the Ostrich Plume 

 varieties and Semple's for late flower- 

 ing. A coldframe answers well for sow- 

 ing now and is preferable to sowing 

 outdoors, as watering can be attended 

 to regularly and a larger percentage of 

 germination ensured. Keep the sashes 

 on until the seedlings are above ground; 

 then remove them entirely unless per- 

 chance a cold snap should make it nec- 

 essary to cover them. These seedlings 

 raised in the open are not subject to the 

 various stem diseases which attack 

 those started in heat. 



OUTDOOR PEAS. 



The early outdoor sowings of sweet 

 peas are now above ground and the soil 

 should be kept well stirred about them. 

 Get supports in position as soon as 

 possible, whether it be brush or wire 

 netting. Stand some short, bushy twigs 

 among the little seedlings for them to 

 cling to. No doubt many of them have 

 come up too thickly and should be 

 thinned, leaving the plants three or 

 four inches apart each way. A thick 

 row of sweet peas makes a brave show 

 of green, but it will never give nearly 

 as fine flower spikes as those well 

 thinned out and, furthermore, there is 

 always likely to be a large number 

 dying off during the season, something 

 less seldom seen where plants are judi- 

 ciously thinned. If any more sweet 

 peas are to be sown, get them in at 

 once. If delayed any more, the flowers 

 will be of poor quality, as the growth 

 will be forced with few roots to support 



them. The plants started in pots should 

 go out at once. If they get the least 

 potbound it is better to loosen the 

 balls somewhat when planting them out. 



TEMPERATUEE FOR SWEET PEAS. 



In my paper on sweet peas, entitled 

 "A Grower's Notes," which was pub 

 lished in The Review of April 25, pag'? 

 14, I notice a mistake, by correcting 

 which you will greatly oblige me. Thi< 

 mistake was probably made in copying 

 my manuscript on the typewriter, b( 

 fore sending the copy to The Review, 

 and is in regard to temperature. 



During midwinter we run a night 

 temperature of 50 degrees, with a ten: 

 perature of 55 degrees on cloudy day-> 

 and 60 to 65 degrees during bright, 

 clear weather. Toward spring we drop 

 to 45 or 47 degrees at night, with the 

 same day temperature as during mid 

 winter. I shall be grateful to you if 

 you will make this correction. 



Charles M. Weaver. 



