August 8, 1912. 



The Florists' Review 



18 



And where it will not jump above 45 de- 

 grees. Sow the seed in little patches, 

 with eighteen inches between the rows 

 and twelve to fourteen inches between 

 the patches. Sow sufficient seed so that 

 A stand of three plants can be left in 

 'each. As soon as the seed germinates, 

 keep the soil scratched over to keep 

 weeds down and look out for the green 

 <!aterpillarB, which have a special liking 

 for the foliage and will soon make short 

 work of the plants if not destroyed. 



Coleus and Altemantheras. 



There is no rush about putting in 

 cuttings of coleus and alternantheras, 

 unless it be in the colder states, where, 

 €ven in August, low temperatures will 

 cause the leaves to drop. To be on the 

 safe side, take oflf a flat or two of 

 cuttings, stand them in a shaded cold- 

 frame, keep them well watered and few 

 will fail to root. Expose to full sun 

 when rooted and give glass protection 

 before the nights get too cool. These 

 cuttings are preferable to old plants, as 

 the latter, particularly the coleus, seem 

 to be headquarters for mealy bug if 

 this pest is to be found on the place. 

 And how many places are there, com- 

 mercial or private, where mealy bug is 

 unknown? 



Gardenias. 



Gardenia plants recently benched 

 must be watered with great care. It 

 is not wise to soak the whole bench; if 

 this once gets in a soggy condition it 

 will mean yellow, sickly appearing 

 plants. Water around each plant; let 

 the soaking of the bench wait a while. 

 Spray freely, particularly on hot, clear 

 days, for only thus can clean plants be 

 assured. If your gardenia compost is 

 as it should be — that is, quite porous, so 

 that water will pass quickly through it 

 —there is less danger of yellows than 

 where a good deal of fine, loose soil has 

 been used to plant them in. There is 

 still good time to root a batch of cut- 

 tings. Use a close frame for them 

 and keep constantly moist. With this 

 treatment few should fail to root. 



Calceolarias. 



Seed of the large flowered herbaceous 

 calceolarias will germinate better now 

 than would have been the case a month 

 ago, and the chances that the seedlings 

 will live rather than damp off are vast- 

 ly increased. Use pans of leaf -mold and 

 sand to sow the seeds in; water before 

 scattering these on the surface, and 

 do not cover at all with soil. A cold- 

 frame or greenhouse facing north is the 

 best place to germinate calceolarias in, 

 keeping the pans well protected by 

 paper from the sun's rays. 



A BABE FOLIAGE PLANT. 



William Hertrieh, superintendent of 

 the H. E. Huntington estate, at San 

 Marino, Cal., has sent to The Eeview a 

 photograph of a large specimen of 

 Tupidanthus calyptratus, which he re- 

 fers to as a "beautiful foliage plant 

 from the Himalayas." In the photo- 

 graph, which is here reproduced, Mr. 

 Hertrieh himself is seen standing at 

 the side of the plant— or shall we say 

 at the side of the tree? 



Perhaps the most peculiar and inter- 

 esting characteristic of the plant is, 

 that it is at first a small, erect tree 

 and afterward a lofty climber. As Mr. 

 Hertrieh states, "in its native home, 

 after attaining the size of a small tree, 

 it climbs large tree trunks like a gi- 



A Rare Specimen of Tupidanthus Calyptralui. 



gantic ivy." The leaves are what the 

 botanists call digitate, being subdi- 

 vided into finger-like leaflets, which 

 number from seven to eleven. These 

 leaflets, Mr. Hertrieh says, are five 

 inches wide and from fifteen to twenty 

 inches long. The plants are propagated 

 from either seeds or cuttings. 



CULTUBE OF CANNAS. 



I should like to get some information 

 in regard to the growing of cannas, 

 with advice as to the best methods of 

 storing in the winter and packing the 

 bulbs for shipment. If you can refer 

 me to an issue of The Review, or to 

 some book on the subject, it would be 

 appreciated. C. H. W. 



Do not plant out cannas until settled 

 warm weather has arrived. There is no 

 particular difficulty in growing them 

 successfully. They thrive best in a 

 well drained, rich and moist soil. Well 

 decayed manure should be freely used 

 when preparing the soil. If this is hard 

 to procure, use bone and a good general 

 commercial fertilizer, harrowing it in 

 before planting. An occasional top- 

 dressing of nitrate of soda or bone will 

 encourage growth if the ground is not 

 rich. If you are growing for stools only 

 and not for any floral effect, place the 

 plants twenty-four inches apart in the 

 rows, with a distance of three and one- 

 half feet between the rows, to permit 

 horse cultivation. They can be closer 

 together if you cultivate by hand. Pick 

 off all flowers as they fade; the forma- 

 tion of seed pods weakens the plants. 



Keep the plants freely cultivated all 

 summer. After the first frost, cut them 

 down to within a few inches of the 

 ground. Do not lift at once, but leave 

 for a few days. Lift on a warm, sunny 

 day and let the soil remain on the roots. 

 Store in a frost-proof cellar or shed 

 where there is not much fire heat. Any 

 place which will keep dahlias, gladioli 

 or potatoes will do well for cannas. 

 Look over the stools occasionally 

 through the winter and remove any 

 parts showing signs of decay. Avoid a 

 storehouse which gets too dry or too 

 moist. An average winter temperature 

 of 40 to 45 degrees will keep the roots 

 nicely. 



When dividing the stools, cut them up 

 so as to leave one good single eye to 

 each part, with some roots attached. 

 Tie these in bundles and, when ship- 

 ping, use dry moss to pack them in. 

 Scott 's Manual, for sale by The Review, 

 covers the culture of cannas and many 

 other plants and would be of great value 

 to you. C. W. 



MYOSOTIS FOR WINTEB. 



What is the best variety of forget- 

 me-not for cutting through the winter? 

 One with a good stem is wanted. 

 Also, when should seed be sown for a 

 winter crop? C. L. J. & S. 



Sow the seeds about the end of July. 

 You will find Myosotis dissitiflora the 

 best winter blooming variety. One or 

 two other varieties carry somewhat 

 larger stems, such as sylvatica, but do 

 not flower until spring. 



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