File:The American florist - a weekly journal for the trade (1888) (17935036280).jpg

Title: The American florist : a weekly journal for the trade
Identifier: americanfloristw02amer (find matches)
Year: 1885 (1880s)
Authors: American Florists Company
Subjects: Floriculture; Florists
Publisher: Chicago : American Florist Company
Contributing Library: UMass Amherst Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries

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i888. The American Florist. 183 smilax decoration. The supper table also contained floral features ; a wreath of Mermet and Bride roses enclosing a cluster of ribbon of the same shade of each, surmounted, or was laid flat on the bride and groom's cake, while a large plateau of roses occupied the center of the table. The smaller tables were adorned with vases tilled with other varieties of flowers. The wedding pres- ents were numerous and elegant. C. Floral Mat. This is six feet long. Large bunches of Lilium longiflorum, lily of the valley compose the corners, while La France, Brides, Perles, Bennetts, Beauties and carnations are massed in between center panels of .Vmerican Beauty roses. There are violets at each end of the panels. The lettering is done in violets, among white carnations. The mat is fringed with Ad- iantum cuneatum. INIrs. Irwin made this for the Depew reception. New York. F. A. B. Long Island Plant Notes. BY WM. FALCONEK. Cactus Devotion.—Rightly handled there is money in cactuses and satisfac- tion too. I don't mean that people han- ker afier building up collections of them as they do of orchids, but amateurs want them. They want Phyllocactus latifrons, Cereus grandiflorus, Cereus flagelliformis, epiphyllums, Echinocactus multiplex, and some mammillarias and "old man" cactuses as window plants. With the exception of the last two all are free and showy bloomers. And they make the best kind of house plants. They will bear an immense amount of ill treatment with apparent impunity provided 3'ou don't drown them. In mosaic and other artifi- cial flower garden decorations cactuses of all sorts, large and small, are in demand. A marked case of cactus-fancy was told me by a responsible florist the other day : A butcher who knew nothing at all about plants happened to see a few nice cactuses on exhibition. Their "funny" forms arrested his attention, and he bought a few dollars' worth. He became so inter- ested in them that he bought a good many more. These only whetted his appetite. His house fronted to the north, and now he wishes to sell his house that he may buy a house that faces south so as to give him an opportunity to build a south-facinggreenhouse for cactuses. But a south-facing greenhouse is not at all necessary for the good cultivation of cactuses. The variec.athd-leaved Coijsei'm Ivy (Linaria Cymbalaria) is another pret- ty little plant not unlike the ground ivy in general appearance but the variegation is whiter and the foliage smoother. It may also be used in the same way. It is not common around New York. I think it was Peter Henderson who told me how carefully he imported it from Europe a few years ago—brought it over with him on returning from one of his visits there and nursed it in his state- room. But he might not have bothered with it for we then had plenty of it in America. I remember seeing a lot of it, seven years ago, at the Cincinnati Floral Co's. greenhouses. The VARIKGATEn-LEAVED GROUND Ivv (Nepeta glechoma).—A good deal of this pretty little plant is now grown around New York, and it has even found its way to our auction rooms. I'sed for small baskets or brackets it is quite ap- propriate, and it makes a comely .sod, selaginella-fashion on the surface of the ground in i)ots around fuchsias, rubber plants, palms or other house plants. In moist half-shady places out of doors it is quite hardy, but less so than is the green- leaved form which has become natural- ized among the grass by the roadside in the vicinity of old gardens. It is readily multiplied, and is being increased vigor- ously by some of our florists for the spring trade. Mr. W. J. Davison has been engaged to assist Mr. Peter Henderson in the com- pilation of a new edition of his Handbook of Plants. It is generally conceded that Billy Davison is one of the most intelli- gent horticulturists in America. He has an excellent knowledge of plants, hardy and tender, and is intimately familiar with the seed, florist, and practical plant- growing business in their several ramifi- cations. And Billy loves flowers. When
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V\.QR\L ^^^. I go to New York I most always bring him a bunch of flowers, anything new, rare or old-fashioned that I have got. To see his big heart open up in love for them, and share the joy they bring him, is pleasure that mutual tastes alone ap- preciate. Cosmos iupinnatus.—What a pity it is that this splendid Mexican annual blooms so late in the fall as to be subject to be destroyed by frost before it comes well into blossom. We can get it into bloom at any time of year by growing it in pots and confining its roots, but when planted out, after vigorous growth begins flower- ing stops till well into September when it again begins in earnest and continues till destroyed by frost. We have it now Oct. 29 in extreme profusion, for, on ac- count of our proximity to the salt water we have not had any frost. As cut flowers these cosmos blossoms are splendid, large, showy, beautiful, pure white, rose or pur- ple, and they last a long time when cut. .Some plants I raised from seed last June although not so wide spread as those raised in March are just as well furnished with flowers. Would it pay florists to grow it in pots for bloommg from Sep- tember till Christmas ? "What do vciuwant?" "Manettia bicolor." "Why, haven't j'ou got it?" "Yes, we have a few plants but not nearly enough to get up enough stock for our spring sales. It has been laying around our place for some years but we never did anything with it till last sum- mer when I planted out a few on a bench in a greenhouse and trained them up on stakes and strings, and they grew and flowered beautifully. When customers came through the houses they admired it so much and asked for it that the boss right away saw money in it and is now going to push it. Said a florist's fore- man who came to see me the other day. I took him out into the garden to a fence trellis on which I had the manettia grow- ing, and stripped off half a bushel of vines, packed them into a bundle for him and sent him home happy. Now here are two points to consider: First, The maneltiagrows better, keepscleaner, appears handsomer and yields a vast deal more wood for cuttings when planted out of doors in summer than when grown in a greenhouse, no matter under what con- ditions. Second: The "boss" never ap- preciated this plant till his customers wanted it, and the customers never wanted the jjlant till it was presented to them in an attractive form. And it is just the same with a hundred other kinds of plants that we keep kicking around our greenhouses. Orchids, yes the people do want them. Among my correspondents are a large number of amateurs throughout the coun- try who write to enquire about one thing or another. Many of these particularly wish to know about orchiils. They have read about them, heard about them and seen pictures of them, but many of these people have never seen an orchid and are very curious not only to see one but to possess and try to grow one. And we all know there are lots of orchids that can be grown successfully as window plants. Now wouldn't it pay .some florist who issues a handsomely illustrated cata- logue to offer a $^ collection of orchids and devote a page or half a page to illus- trating and describing them ? Three or four plants could be given for this price. And instead of raising this stock himself he could contract with Mathews, Brack- enridge, Saul or other orchid giower to furnish the plants. Cytisus Racemosus. This old greenhouse shrub has exper- ienced a revival within the last few years and if ever a thing merited to be brought out again and be pushed to the front, Cytisus racemosus is surely one of the most deserving, on account of its free flowering habit and the neat and graceful appearance of the whole plant. Whether grown as a standard or in bush form everybody must be pleased with it when in bloom, barely showing the fine, small, but dense foliage of a glaucous green color, so entirely is it covered then, with the golden yellow racemes of flowers. As we may have them in bloom a month or six weeks before or the same time after Easter, or even later, we have here a valuable decorative plant, which bears the hardship of transportation well and can endure the dry air in dwelling houses as well as any plant I know of. The flowers hold on firm to the stems, are not easily bruised or spoiled and last a very long time. If you have a large plant of It you may expect to see it full of flowers for three months, providing you do not keep it in a very warm house; but there are not a great many large old plants in the countrj', although plenty of younger plants in pretty good shape are offered in many places, and as they are verj' free growers we shall have an abun- dance of good sized specimens of everj' shape in a short time. I'or Easter decor- ation it rivals the azalea, but is much less difficult to handle in transportation and also giving us a color, entirely miss- ing iu the latter. We do not need to give them much heat, nor even the best site iu a cold house ; they are contented in most any place and don't require a great deal of attention. After flowering (usually after i;aster with me) I set them in a shed and trim in the tops and give just enough water to keep life in them. Here they

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