Image from page 8 of "The American florist : a weekly journal for the trade" (1885)
Title: The American florist : a weekly journal for the trade
Identifier: americanfloristw32amer
Authors: American Florists Company
Subjects: Floriculture; Florists
Publisher: Chicago : American Florist Company
Contributing Library: UMass Amherst Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries
View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
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Text Appearing Before Image:
1905' The American Florist. 647 most in demand. Good American Beauty roses were rather a scarce arti- cle, but carnations were most in demand among the cut flowers. Bad weather the night before Easter ren- dered deliveries rather difficult. Notes on Foliage Plants. The month of April brings us to a season of active growth among the majority of foliage plants, the strong sunshine of that month starting on many of those plants that have been more or less dormant during the dark days of winter. This condition also brings about a period of very active work on the part of the grower, and many "operations of potting and propagating are now in order, even though the rush of Easter preparations is also on hand and cannot be deferred. Crotons are being more thought about by growers having a city trade, from- the fact that so many more of these beautiful plants are being used in window decoration, in plant baskets, and also for bedding purposes than was the_case a few years ago. Of course there were fine specimen crotons grown and exhibited in our own city of Philadelphia, and in New York and Boston, too, fully two decades ago, but it is only a few years since some few enterprising growers began to offer well grown young stock in useful sizes for the trade. The plants that have been bedded out during the summer and lifted about the beginning of Octo- ber, then potted up into as small pots as the roots will allow, and plaouJ in a warm greenhouse with a slight shade over them until they become estab- lished, are those from which the first crop of cuttings is usually taken. These cuttings are taken off in December or January, and at that sea- son will root in two or three weeks, provided that they are kept in a warm and moist house and protected from the sun. As soon as the cuttings have roots half an inch to one inch in length, they are potted off into 2i/.-inch pots, kept warm and moist and will soon start into growth, and under favorable conditions will be ready for a shift into 4-inch pots by about March 1. The young crotons need pinching to induce a bushy growth, and enjoy a rich loam soil of rather open texture, but firmly pressed into the pots, among the fertilizers used in the soil being stable manure, bone dust, horn shavings and various preparations, the matter of fertilizers being one for which I do not like to offer specific directions, from the fact that the original soil varies so greatly in different localities that it is easy to make mistakes in offering too precise a formula. These young plants should be kept moving along in a warm house, with full sun- shine, and syringed lightly two or three times a day in bright weather, and will then become the best kind of stock for bedding out in June. Many of those intended for fall and winter sales are grown from tops rooted in moss in precisely the same way as Ficus elastiea, the topping being done any time during the spring and sum- mer months, and the young plants being grown on into 4-inch, 5-inch, or 6-inch pots as may be needed. Dracaenas are also moving along rap- idly at this season, and although those of the terminalis section are not always the most satisfactory crop the grower can handle, yet they are so bright and attractive in color when well grown that there is usually a fair market for them. But do not pot on any young plants that show indications of spot on the foliage, for no matter how carefully they are handled the disease is almost sure to make much greater progress on toward the autumn when the nights get cool and damp, and it is discouraging way to have these plants is to grow them at home. A few old plants that have been long established in large pots or tubs will provide an abundance of material for this purpose when shaken out or washed out so that the roots may be readily divided. The rhizomes should have the old roots trimmed off with knife or shears, and may then be cut into sections one inch long. Such sections usually include two or three dormant eyes or buds, and they are
Text Appearing After Image:
DECORATIVE FOLIAGE PLANTS. to watch the lower leaves pass through the various stages from apparent mil- dew to rusty spots and finally to drop off, leaving an expanse of naked stem with a tuft of colored foliage at the top. A good beginning is half the battle in growing Dracaena terminalis, and healthy young plants with crisp, dark foliage are those that should be selected, then shift them on from pot to pot before the lower leaves suffer from starvation, keep a constant watch for snails, syringe forcibly to discourage red spider, and with careful watering in dark weather there should be a rea- sonable probability of success. Dracsena Lauderiana and D. Godsef- fiana, both of which are much used in small sizes, are very easy to root at this season, and a succession of cuttings should be put in as they may be secured, the common practice oZ bunch- ing two or three of the young plants together requiring a good supply of cut- tings to keep up a stock. These com- pound plants are doubtless much more effective and convenient than small single plants for the retail florist, but they ought to bring a higher price than they do when taking into consideration the number of cuttings that are thus required, and the fact that these plants do not break into growth so readily after cutting back in the winter. Aspidistras are largely imported from the European and Japanese growers of late years, the preparation of these plants in decorative sizes being rather too slow an operation for the average American grower, but some nicely fur- nished young plants in 3-inch and 4-inch pots are frequently useful, anS the best planted at a depth of about one inch in flats of light soil. The flats of cut- tings are then placed in a greenhouse with a temperature of 60° at night and kept moist, in which the cuttings will soon start into growth, and may be potted into small pots when the first leaf is fully expanded. Ficus elastiea still finds a market in moderate quantities, and the present is a good time to moss up all available tops with a view to rooting them, both the original type and also the vari- egated form rooting readily at this season. The latter is really a very attractive plant when well grown, and like the green one should have plenty of light to insure a stocky habit of growth. During the winter months it is also advisable that the variegated ficus be not syringed so freely, as this treatment, when combined with a low temperature, is likely to produce or increase that rustiness of the foliage that is sometimes noticed on this plant. Cycas stems are not now so interest- ing a subject to some of the large grow- ers as they were a few years ago, some overloading having been experienced in this line of goods, and much injury hav- ing been done to a valuable plant by the unfortunate practice of sending out new stock before it was properly estab- lished. But there are still many grow- ers who need a few plants of the com- mon cycas, and the dormant stems will soon be on the market, and will need a moderately warm corner in the green- house after they have been potted firmly in as small pots as the stems will permit. The decorative stock is likely to be in poor condition after having been a,7^ft°
Note About Images
Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
Image from page 8 of "The American florist : a weekly journal for the trade" (1885)
Title: The American florist : a weekly journal for the trade
Identifier: americanfloristw32amer
Authors: American Florists Company
Subjects: Floriculture; Florists
Publisher: Chicago : American Florist Company
Contributing Library: UMass Amherst Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries
View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.
Text Appearing Before Image:
1905' The American Florist. 647 most in demand. Good American Beauty roses were rather a scarce arti- cle, but carnations were most in demand among the cut flowers. Bad weather the night before Easter ren- dered deliveries rather difficult. Notes on Foliage Plants. The month of April brings us to a season of active growth among the majority of foliage plants, the strong sunshine of that month starting on many of those plants that have been more or less dormant during the dark days of winter. This condition also brings about a period of very active work on the part of the grower, and many "operations of potting and propagating are now in order, even though the rush of Easter preparations is also on hand and cannot be deferred. Crotons are being more thought about by growers having a city trade, from- the fact that so many more of these beautiful plants are being used in window decoration, in plant baskets, and also for bedding purposes than was the_case a few years ago. Of course there were fine specimen crotons grown and exhibited in our own city of Philadelphia, and in New York and Boston, too, fully two decades ago, but it is only a few years since some few enterprising growers began to offer well grown young stock in useful sizes for the trade. The plants that have been bedded out during the summer and lifted about the beginning of Octo- ber, then potted up into as small pots as the roots will allow, and plaouJ in a warm greenhouse with a slight shade over them until they become estab- lished, are those from which the first crop of cuttings is usually taken. These cuttings are taken off in December or January, and at that sea- son will root in two or three weeks, provided that they are kept in a warm and moist house and protected from the sun. As soon as the cuttings have roots half an inch to one inch in length, they are potted off into 2i/.-inch pots, kept warm and moist and will soon start into growth, and under favorable conditions will be ready for a shift into 4-inch pots by about March 1. The young crotons need pinching to induce a bushy growth, and enjoy a rich loam soil of rather open texture, but firmly pressed into the pots, among the fertilizers used in the soil being stable manure, bone dust, horn shavings and various preparations, the matter of fertilizers being one for which I do not like to offer specific directions, from the fact that the original soil varies so greatly in different localities that it is easy to make mistakes in offering too precise a formula. These young plants should be kept moving along in a warm house, with full sun- shine, and syringed lightly two or three times a day in bright weather, and will then become the best kind of stock for bedding out in June. Many of those intended for fall and winter sales are grown from tops rooted in moss in precisely the same way as Ficus elastiea, the topping being done any time during the spring and sum- mer months, and the young plants being grown on into 4-inch, 5-inch, or 6-inch pots as may be needed. Dracaenas are also moving along rap- idly at this season, and although those of the terminalis section are not always the most satisfactory crop the grower can handle, yet they are so bright and attractive in color when well grown that there is usually a fair market for them. But do not pot on any young plants that show indications of spot on the foliage, for no matter how carefully they are handled the disease is almost sure to make much greater progress on toward the autumn when the nights get cool and damp, and it is discouraging way to have these plants is to grow them at home. A few old plants that have been long established in large pots or tubs will provide an abundance of material for this purpose when shaken out or washed out so that the roots may be readily divided. The rhizomes should have the old roots trimmed off with knife or shears, and may then be cut into sections one inch long. Such sections usually include two or three dormant eyes or buds, and they are
Text Appearing After Image:
DECORATIVE FOLIAGE PLANTS. to watch the lower leaves pass through the various stages from apparent mil- dew to rusty spots and finally to drop off, leaving an expanse of naked stem with a tuft of colored foliage at the top. A good beginning is half the battle in growing Dracaena terminalis, and healthy young plants with crisp, dark foliage are those that should be selected, then shift them on from pot to pot before the lower leaves suffer from starvation, keep a constant watch for snails, syringe forcibly to discourage red spider, and with careful watering in dark weather there should be a rea- sonable probability of success. Dracsena Lauderiana and D. Godsef- fiana, both of which are much used in small sizes, are very easy to root at this season, and a succession of cuttings should be put in as they may be secured, the common practice oZ bunch- ing two or three of the young plants together requiring a good supply of cut- tings to keep up a stock. These com- pound plants are doubtless much more effective and convenient than small single plants for the retail florist, but they ought to bring a higher price than they do when taking into consideration the number of cuttings that are thus required, and the fact that these plants do not break into growth so readily after cutting back in the winter. Aspidistras are largely imported from the European and Japanese growers of late years, the preparation of these plants in decorative sizes being rather too slow an operation for the average American grower, but some nicely fur- nished young plants in 3-inch and 4-inch pots are frequently useful, anS the best planted at a depth of about one inch in flats of light soil. The flats of cut- tings are then placed in a greenhouse with a temperature of 60° at night and kept moist, in which the cuttings will soon start into growth, and may be potted into small pots when the first leaf is fully expanded. Ficus elastiea still finds a market in moderate quantities, and the present is a good time to moss up all available tops with a view to rooting them, both the original type and also the vari- egated form rooting readily at this season. The latter is really a very attractive plant when well grown, and like the green one should have plenty of light to insure a stocky habit of growth. During the winter months it is also advisable that the variegated ficus be not syringed so freely, as this treatment, when combined with a low temperature, is likely to produce or increase that rustiness of the foliage that is sometimes noticed on this plant. Cycas stems are not now so interest- ing a subject to some of the large grow- ers as they were a few years ago, some overloading having been experienced in this line of goods, and much injury hav- ing been done to a valuable plant by the unfortunate practice of sending out new stock before it was properly estab- lished. But there are still many grow- ers who need a few plants of the com- mon cycas, and the dormant stems will soon be on the market, and will need a moderately warm corner in the green- house after they have been potted firmly in as small pots as the stems will permit. The decorative stock is likely to be in poor condition after having been a,7^ft°
Note About Images
Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.