38 CIRCULAR 2 7 8, 17. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



culata) are not -usuallv satisfactory for storage but may be held for 

 3 or 4 days at 40° F. 



Cut poinsettias (Poinsett ia pulcherrima) sold during the Christmas 

 season usually need not be stored for the few days between their 

 arrival at the wholesale house and the day of sale. If holding is 

 necessary, storage at about 50° F. is recommended. Any change of 

 environment, such as improper storage, will increase the apparently 

 inherent tendency of poinsettias to shed their foliage. They should 

 be cut when showing sufficient color to be salable. Searing the*cut 

 ends with boiling water is a practice usually followed to prevent undue 

 loss of sap previous to or during storage. 



Cut lilies-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis) are kept satisfactorily 

 at 40° F. and may be held for 1 week at this temperature; if they are 

 kept longer the lower bells often become watery in appearance {53). 

 The proper cutting stage is just after the terminal bell has lost its 

 deep-green color. It should be of a yellow-green appearance, the 

 lower 3 or 4 bells at this time being well opened. They are usually 

 tied with foliage in bunches of 25 and are better wrapped loosely 

 in heavy waxed paper, leaving the tops and bottoms of the bunches 

 open. 



Hyacinths, tulips, narcissus, freesias, squills, snowdrops, and cro- 

 cuses can usually be held satisfactorily for 2 weeks at 32° to 36° F. 



Spikes, such as snapdragon, should be cut just after the lower 5 or 

 6 flowers have fully opened; umbels, such as blue laceflower, should be 

 cut just after they develop to a salable condition; flowers formed in 

 heads usually should be cut after the outermost petals are fully 

 developed and just before stamens appear in the center of typically 

 single heads or after the center has become closed with petals in 

 double sorts; corymbs, such as candytuft, are usually best when cut 

 after three-fourths of the lower flowers are opened; those described 

 as thyrses or corymbose cymes, such as the lilac, should be cut when 

 about two-thirds of the determinate branches are developed; cymose 

 clusters, such as babysbreath, should be cut after a few of the terminal 

 flowers have developed. 



FLORISTS' GREENS 



Fern asparagus (Asparagus plumosus) and smilax asparagus (A. 

 asparagoides) are usually shipped in crates. The turn-over of these 

 greens is rapid and shipments are arranged so that storage for longer 

 than 3 or 4 days is usuallv unnecessary, but they may be kept in the 

 case for 7 to 10 days at 40° to 45° F. The sprays of A. plumosus 

 are tied in bunches of various sizes. Smilax is packed in the crates 

 in various lengths or "strings." The commercial popularity of A. 

 sprengeri has declined to a point where it is produced and used chiefly 

 by small retail growers. 



Drooping leucothoe (Leucothoe catesbaei) and mountain-laurel 

 (Kalmia latifolia) sprays may be held in good condition at 32° to 40° 

 F. for 3 to 6 weeks. They are usually tied in bunches and kept 

 standing in containers of water. 



Galax (Galax aphylla), groundpine (Lyco podium sp.), huckleberry, 

 dagger ferns, common woodferns, and various species including Dry- 

 opteris intermedia, packed in crates, may be held at 32° to 45° F., 

 depending on the length of time it is desired to keep them. At 32° 

 they may be expected to keep 1 to 3 months, whereas at 45° they may 

 be kept for but 2 to 3 weeks in good condition. They are not put in 



