290 FRITZ BAHR'S COMMERCIAL FLORICULTURE 



keep the temperature just above freezing and see to it that the 

 soil around the roots is always kept moist. Nothing will finish 

 them quicker than a hot, dry place and dry soil about their roots. 

 In March or early April the plants should either have a shift 

 or get a good top dressing of rotted manure. If, for want of 

 a better place, you have them in a cool greenhouse, they may 

 start to grow about that time. If kept in a crowded condition 

 they wiU suffer, whereas stock you received from your customer 

 the previous Fall, perhaps not in the very best shape, if given 

 sufficient space when the new growth starts, will be much improved 

 in appearance by the time you return the plants. 



Cut Boxwood 



From November on to early Spring the florist uses cut branches 

 of Boxwood as green and there is nothing better for wreaths and 

 other design work. The dark green, glossy leaves and excellent 

 keeping qualities make it so. Every florist with proper facihties 

 should put in a good supply in early Winter and always have some on 

 hand. There is no better place to store it than in a deep coldframe 

 where you can heel the stems into the soil to a depth of from 4 to 6 in. 



Fig. 116.— Calceolama. The man who can grow a good Calceolaria has always 



been considered a good gardener, for while its culture is no secret, it requires 



patience, careful handling and constant attention— which three qualities, for 



that matter, go far toward attaining success with any plant 



