14 



The Florists^ Review 



AUGUST 8, 1912. 



FOE FALL AND WINTER. 



An Important Crop. 



While we are still picking, and hope 

 to continue to pick for some weeks 

 longer, good sweet peas outdoors, it is 

 time to start some seeds under glass for 

 a fall and winter crop. Sweet peas are 

 coming every day more and more to the 

 front as a florists' flower, particularly 

 for greenhouse culture. The work done 

 by A. C. Zvolanek in raising and im- 

 proving the early-flowering section can- 

 not be too highly commended, and Presi- 

 dent Sim's suggestion in his address at 

 the recent American Sweet Pea So- 

 ciety's show in Boston, that the society 

 confer on him a gold medal, will, it is 

 hoped, be carried out. Engelmann, in 

 England, is doing good work with this 

 same class, while Burpee, it is under- 

 stood, has some fifty varieties of new 

 early-flowering sweet peas, which in 

 some cases show remarkable advances 

 on existing types. 



It is but a few years since sweet pea 

 culture in winter was deemed out of the 

 question. It required Sim, of Clifton- 

 dale, Mass., and one or two other spe- 

 cialists to show people what could be 

 done in this way, with big, light, well 

 ventilated houses, the quality of flowers 

 from which surpasses anything that can 

 be grown outdoors. While fairly good 

 peas may be grown in small houses and 

 on raised benches in midwinter, it is in 

 solid beds that really high grade peaa 

 are grown, where the plants can have 

 abundant head room. From being a 

 purely summer flower a few years ago, 

 sweet peas can now be purchased in the 

 big flower markets every day in the 

 year, and they have not by any means 

 reached the zenith of their popularity. 



Seed Sowing and Planting. 



Assuming that flowers are wanted to 

 follow the outdoor crop, and to con- 

 tinue through the dark winter months, 

 seed should be sown now. Some grow- 

 ers prefer to sow thinly in the rows 

 where the plants are to grow, but a 

 better plan is to start in flats of clean 

 sand and later transplant them care- 

 fully, allowing from four to six inches 

 between the plants in the rows. There 

 is no advantage in thicker planting, as 

 it will only mean poorer haulm and 

 weaker flower spikes. Before planting 

 can be done, a thorough preparation of 

 the soil is necessary. The old idea of 

 soil becoming sweet pea sick is to a con- 

 siderable degree a myth, particularly 

 under glass. If the peas are followed 

 by cucumbers or tomatoes and, after 

 these are cleaned, the soil is given a 

 heavy coating of cow manure and deeply 

 spaded over, no apprehension need be 

 felt about the soil being sweet pea sick. 



Do not run the rows too close to- 

 gether. They should be fully four feet 



apart, while five or six feet is better. 

 Some temporary crop, such as lettuce, 

 radishes or violets, can be grown be- 

 tween the rows until the sweet peas 

 overshadow them. Do hot allow less 

 than six feet of head room. One or two 

 varieties may not exceed this in height, 

 while others will grow eight to ten feet 

 high with ease. 



A high temperature is not required 

 for sweet pea culture. In the earlier 

 stages 45 degrees will suffice in winter, 

 but when flowering 50 degrees at night 

 should be maintained as nearly as possi- 

 ble. Of course good sweet peas may 

 be grown in carnation and other houses, 

 kept cooler or warmer than this latter 

 flgure, but to keep the plants flowering 

 in the best possible condition over a 

 long period it is better not to exceed 50 

 degrees. 



The Best Varieties. 



As to varieties, there are quite a 

 number now obtainable. It is only 

 within the last two or three years that 

 any other forcing colors but white and 

 pink and white were to be had. Now 

 almost every shade is obtainable, but 

 pure white, pink and white and lavender 

 are the popular market colors. In 

 whites, Mont Blanc and Snowbird are 

 varieties which will flower when 

 eighteen to twenty-four inches high. 

 Christmas White and Florence Denzer, 

 which are nearly identical, are fine 

 whites also, as are Burpee's Earliest 

 White and Watchung. In the pink 

 class Burpee's reselected Earliest of All 



and Boddington's Christmas Pink are 

 great favorites. 



In other colors Wallacea is a fine 

 lavender; Mrs. W. W. Smalley, satiny 

 pink; Mrs. F. J. Dolansky^ daybreak 

 pink, and Mrs. William Sim, salmon 

 pink. Other shades are procurable, but 

 the call for violet, purple, dark blue, 

 primrose and scarlet is limited, and it is 

 wise not to grow more than three or 

 four shades which are sure to sell. 



Slweet pea seed crops are a decided 

 failure this season, and seed, both for 

 forcing and outdoor culture, promises 

 to be not so cheap as usual. The stock 

 of popular sorts is likely to run low 

 earlier than usual, and growers would 

 do well to purchase seed early from a 

 reliable dealer who specializes in the 

 winter-blooming varieties. 



SHIPPING SWEET PEAS. 



Please tell me how to pack sweet peas 

 for shipment. I desire to ship a dis- 

 tance of from 200 to 500 miles in lots 

 of 5,000 to 15,000 stems. We pick and 

 tie them in bunches of twenty-five. 

 Please advise me as to the most conve- 

 nient size of package and the material 

 it should be composed of, also how the 

 flowers should be taken care of from 

 the time they are picked until shipped, 

 that they may arrive at the destination 

 in good order. G. L. 



Pick the peas in the early morning, 

 if possible, so that they will be in as 

 fresh a condition as may be; put in 

 water immediately after picking if they 

 are at all soft and let them stand to 

 freshen up. Bunch in twenty-fives and 

 pack in flat cases, putting them not 

 more than two layers deep. The size 

 of the box is immaterial and it may be 

 either wood or the now commonly used 

 fiber-board, lined with fresh, clean pa- 

 pers. Pack dry; keep all water and ice 

 away. If sweet peas are wet in the 

 box they will rot. Newspaper may be 

 used between the layers, but wax paper 

 is better. If so packed and not roughly 

 handled while en route sweet peas may 

 be shipped as satisfactorily as any other 

 flowers. A. C Kohlbrand. 



SPRAYING CARNATIONS. 



The Florists' Manual says: "After 

 carnations have been benched the first 

 week and the plants have taken hold, 

 we ventilate all we possibly can, day 

 and night, and entirely discontinue 

 syringing." Here, in Oklahoma, the 

 outside temperature hovers around 100 

 degrees and some days gets above that 

 in the shade. How can the house be 

 kept cool enough if all syringing be 

 discontinued! If a fine spray is thrown 

 overhead and allowed to fall on the 

 plants, will it be detrimental? If so, 

 how and why? J. R. D. 



Mr. Scott's advice in the Manual cer- 

 tainly holds good in this latitude, and 

 I am inclined to the opinion that, with 



perhaps slight modification, it will 

 hold good in your territory as well. Of 

 course, when you read an article on 

 culture, you must always bear in mind 

 the locality of the writer. Especially 

 is this true when it comes to the ques- 

 tion of dates for certain operations, etc. 



The carnation is a fresh-air-loving 

 plant. While it prefers a cool tem- 

 perature, it will endure a good deal of 

 heat under certain conditions and one 

 of these conditions is that there be not 

 too much humidity in the atmosphere. 

 If there is plenty of moisture at the 

 root, the top will usually take care of 

 itself, as long as you keep off spider. 



The finest crop of fairy ring I have 

 ever seen was brought on in just the 

 same manner as you propose for treat- 

 ing your plants. These plants were 

 benched from pots. The summer was 



