174 
November, 1920 
X5[)<i Slower (Brower 
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WAYSIDE RAMBLINGS 
E [Written expressly for The Flower Grower . ] E 
ASTERS AND GLADIOLI 
ON A CITY LOT. 
As I have been a reader of The Flower 
Grower for the past year, and have read 
what others have done and what beautiful 
gardens they have had, I want to tell the 
readers what I have done this summer: 
I have been an Aster grower for several 
years, and this summer I made a specialty of 
Heart of France, Silver Rose and Enchantress. 
They are the largest and most perfect Asters 
I have ever seen grown anywhere. I sold 
them by the hundreds, and the pleasure of 
cutting them and seeing them in bunches 
is enough reward for all labor that I put on 
them. Each time I cut them I would say, 
“ How beautiful you are ! ” 
This year is the first time I have tried to 
grow the Gladiolus. Last winter I became 
interested in the culture of this flower and 
read all that I could secure about its habits 
of growth. I then purchased one thousand 
bulbs. They gave us wonderful bloom, some 
standing five feet high with flowers four and 
one-half inches in diameter. I could not 
describe the pleasure we took with them 
every day, watching them put forth their 
beautiful bloom. We sold them all for one 
dollar per dozen, so the bulbs cleared them- 
selves the first year. 
People came to visit our flower garden 
and the praise they gave the flowers gives us 
more courage to plant more next year. Now 
we are planning for our early spring bloom, 
planning for the different designs. We are 
going to have Crocus, Hyacinths and Tu- 
lips, which we grow by the hundred, and it 
is a delight to see them in early spring. 
I only wish that this little description of 
what I have done on one lot would help 
create a desire for growing of flowers for the 
beautifying of their homes among the read- 
ers of The Flower Grower. 
Mrs. F. Meier. 
THE LAST OF OUR HARDY 
ASTERS OR MICHAELMAS DAISIES. 
The first flowers of Aster grandiflora 
opened this morning (Oct. 9.) I wonder if 
the readers of The Flower Grower have 
seen this most beautiful of all the Michael- 
mas Daisies. Very soon there will be plenty 
of flowers and swarms of bees to collect the 
honey. This old but rare variety is entirely 
distinct from any other kind, and has the 
largest individual flower, of a deep bluish 
violet with a pretty yellow center. 
This variety is perfectly hardy. During 
the last exceptionally severe winter I lost 
out of 2000 plants, in the open field without 
protection, not more than fifty. Light frost 
does not hurt the flowers. They will con- 
tinue to bloom during October and Novem- 
ber. 
For the Northern States I would advise to 
dig the plants with ball of earth and pot 
them (Sept.) ; they look very pretty in con- 
nection with Chrysanthemums in a green- 
house or conservatory. 
Frank Koehler. 
I HAVE BEEN “ FROM 
MISSOURI ” ABOUT IRISES. 
A flower lover out on the Pacific coast 
writes me that he has read so much about 
the beauties of the modern Iris that he 
wants to see for himself just what kind of a 
flower the best Irises are. A dollar is en- 
closed for me to make a selection of varie- 
ties that will convince him that the flower 
is worth growing. My correspondent states 
also that he is from Missouri. I have been 
in the “show me state” and believe that I can 
take my frierd into camp. I wanted to be 
sure of my game ; so the ex-Missourian 
has been given generous measure ; if I re- 
member aright the following varieties were 
selected as some of the finest at a moderate 
price : Madame Chereau, Palida Dalmatica, 
Rhein Nixe and King of Iris, varieties that all 
judges of quality would agree are among the 
finest. I will wager that my friend will 
surrender to the charms of the Iris, just as 
Mr. Reading has done and Mr. Auten will 
eventually do and people in my own com- 
munity also are doing. It was because of 
the loss of time incurred by some people in 
not knowing whether they liked the Iris or 
not, that I have wandered out of the beaten 
path and have attempted to add something 
new to the Iris situation by urging in my 
catalogue to love the Iris. I believe that 
most of its readers will think that my so- 
journ in Missouri did me good. 
H. W. Groschner. 
PHLOX BLIGHT. 
In the Sept, issue of The Flower 
Grower, I noted “ Mrs. D. L. B’s” ap- 
peal for help for her perennial Phlox. 
Mine was so badly blighted this sum- 
mer that I finally sent specimen stalks 
to the Connecticut Agricultural Ex- 
periment Station at New Haven, and 
received the following reply : 
“The Phlox has been attacked by one of 
the mites belonging to the red spider family, 
having the scientific name Tetranychus bi- 
maculatus Harvey. 
“This mite may be controlled by spraying 
with a contact insecticide, such as Black 
Leaf 40 at the rate of two teaspoons to a 
gallon of water, to which a small quantity 
of soap has been added to aid the mixture 
in spreading on the foliage. 
“ In some recent experiments against 
mites, common laundry soap and water at 
the rate of one pound dissolved in eight gal- 
lons of water appears to be as effective as 
anything we have tried. It would be well 
to repeat the treatment in about ten days, as 
these sprays do not kill the eggs that may 
be present.” 
I have wondered if it would be pos- 
sible some time in your columns to 
give the pronunciation of many of the 
Iris names, also Phlox. I hear them 
pronounced in so many ways, and often 
wonder which is right. 
Frances R. Ives. 
IRIS— CATERINA. 
I cannot agree with our capable Secretary 
in thinking that the Iris Caterina should be 
“ coddled.” It needs coddling sadly to be 
sure, but it does not deserve it. I have tried 
out a quantity of this variety on different 
soils and have decided that Caterina is an 
Iris that should be gotten rid of for various 
reasons. It appears that because this variety 
is so susceptible to root rot, there is not 
much healthy stock of it in existence. Once 
affected it never becomes free from the dis- 
ease. This may account to some extent for 
the fact that Caterina is such a slow grower ; 
it evidently cannot outgrow this disease as 
some varieties would. My own observations 
are confirmed by other growers. One promi- 
nent and large grower in Pennsylvania has 
told me that he could not grow Caterina-, 
another grower in Ohio writes me that Cate- 
rina is “no good.” I have been informed by 
others that Caterina does not thrive for 
them. It is also too tender for the colder 
sections of the country, and for general culti- 
vation over the most of the country it is a 
waste of time trying to grow Caterina. As 
to coddling it, I should say, “Fiddlesticks.” 
H. W. Groschner. 
ORIGINATORS OF GLADI- 
OLUS VARIETIES WANTED. 
Can any readers of The Flower Grower 
give me the names of originators of the fol- 
lowing list of Gladioli? 
Czar Peter 
Glory of Holland 
Hohenstaufen 
Master Wietse 
Peacock 
Conspicuous (Blue) 
Catherina 
Intensity 
L’ Immaculee 
Liebesfeuer 
Mauve Queen 
Pride of Hillegom 
Prince of Wales. 
Thomas M. Proctor. 
We believe that Intensity was originated by H. H. 
Groff, Simcoe, Ont., and introduced by Arthur Cowee. 
Berlin, N. Y. — (Editor.) 
Florists in France Net Big Profits. 
Violet culture in this country has received 
serious setbacks in the past few years by 
reason of the coal shortage, combined with 
unusually severe winters, but French florists 
seem to have discovered the secret of raising 
these blue eyed harbingers of spring despite 
these same handicaps. 
Even when facing a fuel shortage almost 
chronic, and handicapped always by the 
paralysis of the glass industries throughout 
France which must continue until the dis- 
mantled factories are rebuilt, the florists 
have undauntedly pursued their vocations. 
This year the Paris boulevards have blos- 
somed with a wealth of color and fragrance 
reminiscent of the gay ante-bellum days. 
The flower car, trundled through the fash- 
ionable and most frequented streets, is the 
preferred method of putting the florist’s mer- 
chandise on sale in French cities and towns. 
Carnations, Roses, Lilacs, Violets and Gar- 
denias are the favorites overseas, as in 
America, and now that France is finding her- 
self again, the little shop girls are once more 
among the florists’ patrons, for the Gallic 
love of beauty is not confined to any class, 
and the French woman, no matter how hum- 
ble her station, regards the posy as a neces- 
sary adjunct to her new toilette, even though 
every stitch of it has been set by her own 
hands in material made over half a dozen 
times. Everyone patronizes the florist in La 
Belle France. 
Scarcely any other country under the sun, 
therefore, derives so large a profit from hor- 
ticulture. Whole districts are given over to 
the cultivation of a particular flower, notably 
in the case of Perigny, sixteen miles south of 
Paris, on the Yerres River, where, within 
sight of historic Fontainebleu Forest and the 
old palace built by Francis I, a whole village 
is entirely given to Rose culture. 
The American Red Cross has found a way 
to combine economy with health conserva- 
tion by establishing there a colony of orphans 
from the invaded districts. As these emaci- 
ated little waifs renew health and strength 
in the sweet country air of the beautiful val- 
ley, they lend their services to the gardeners 
in the healthful occupation of tending the 
flowers. Even the war failed to destroy the 
Rose industry of Perigny, the women and the 
old men carrying on the work when the 
young men took up arms for their country, 
and to-day the Roses of Perigny are fast re- 
gaining their pristine glories, as queens of the 
Paris flower markets. — Park's Floral Maga- 
zine. 
