212 FRITZ BAHR'S COMMERCIAL FLORICULTURE 



I 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

 DON'T know of anything that, from the standpoint of florists— 

 especially the retail growers throughout the country— deserves 

 more attention than the growing on and handling of so-called hardy 

 flowering plants. Never before has there been a greater demand for 

 this class of stock nor higher prices paid for it. And when you con- 

 sider that most of the best known varieties and the showiest and 

 finest of cut flower sorts are easily grown on or propagated either 

 by division, cuttings or seed; that with the help of a greenhouse the 

 work is made stfll easier; and that the great majority of the plants 

 wiU thrive in ordinary soil and overwinter in the open even in severe 

 sections, it seems that there cannot possibly be a crop which will 

 bring greater returns for the space it occupies or for the outlay 

 required in caring for it. 



It is a fact that today there are not hundreds, but thousands 

 of localities whence lovers of the hardy border send hundreds of miles 

 each year to obtain their requirements in biennials and perennials 

 for no other reason than that the local florist doesn't carry them. 

 He may, perchance, have a few Peonies (half of which never flower), 

 clumps of long-discarded varieties of Iris, or small-flowering, pinkish- 

 purple Phlox — and none of these taken care of — but there are only 

 very few who go into this branch the way they should. Yet who 

 can do it better and to more advantage, who has a better chance 

 to dispose of plants each Spring and Fall, who can make better use 

 of the cut flowers, than the local florist ? 



Don't Neglect the Perennials 



You will never be able to make money out of perennials by 

 carrying just a few sorts and making people hunt you up in order 

 to get them. You can never make them pay by having only a few 

 rows, and those not taken care of, or of poor varieties. They should 

 mean to you more than a side line. If you do business where people 

 have gardens, the growing of hardy stock should be pushed to 

 the limit. It should be developed into one of the main branches, 

 for the demand is there and will keep on growing from year to year. 

 What has been accomplished so far in creating this demand has been 

 done by just a few large firms. The florist himself has done but 

 very, very little. It may be that he has been kept too busy with 

 other things, but that won't always be so. Your greenhouse stock 

 will not suffer for want of buyers if you push perennials; nor will 

 the large firms, which at present ship into your town, sell any less. 

 But you will sell more, do more business, and make more money. 



You are not through with a customer when he or she has 

 bought of you $10 or $20 worth of choice Peonies or some of the 



