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Forcing lilacs.—Most of the lilacs used by American commercial florists for forcing are imported. Care should always be taken to procure pot-grown plants, that is, plants that have been grown in pots the previous summer. The florist who wishes to grow his own plants should lift them in the field in April or before the growth starts and pot them without losing much root. Plunge them out-of-doors during summer and give them plenty of water. This treatment will insure a good growth and the check the plants receive from lifting will induce them to form new flower-buds. These plants will force with the greatest certainty. It is well to allow five weeks for the earliest forcing. A strong heat is necessary, beginning at 60° for the first few days and increasing to 75° to 80°, with a daily watering and syringing several times. After the flowers begin to open, the syringing can be discontinued and when fully expedient the plants are better removed to a coolhouse, where they will harden off and be much more serviceable when cut. As the season advances, say March and April, less heat is needed. They will then force in any ordinary house where the night temperature is about 60°F. The Persian lilac, on account of its abundance of bloom and delicate truss, is very desirable, but this must be forced almost in the dark to produce white flowers. Marie Legraye is for all purposes the most useful lilac which has been used for forcing.
Forcing lilacs.—Most of the lilacs used by American commercial florists for forcing are imported. Care should always be taken to procure pot-grown plants, that is, plants that have been grown in pots the previous summer. The florist who wishes to grow his own plants should lift them in the field in April or before the growth starts and pot them without losing much root. Plunge them out-of-doors during summer and give them plenty of water. This treatment will insure a good growth and the check the plants receive from lifting will induce them to form new flower-buds. These plants will force with the greatest certainty. It is well to allow five weeks for the earliest forcing. A strong heat is necessary, beginning at 60° for the first few days and increasing to 75° to 80°, with a daily watering and syringing several times. After the flowers begin to open, the syringing can be discontinued and when fully expedient the plants are better removed to a coolhouse, where they will harden off and be much more serviceable when cut. As the season advances, say March and April, less heat is needed. They will then force in any ordinary house where the night temperature is about 60°F. The Persian lilac, on account of its abundance of bloom and delicate truss, is very desirable, but this must be forced almost in the dark to produce white flowers. Marie Legraye is for all purposes the most useful lilac which has been used for forcing.
S. albo-rosea, N. E. Br., .S. tomentella.—S. Koehneana, Schneid. (S. velutina, Hort., not Komarov). Allied to S. pubescens. Young branchlets puberulous: lvs. oval to oblong-lanceolate, pubescent on both sides, 2-3 in. long: infl. 3-4 in. long, pubescent: fls. pale lilac. China.—S. Komarovii, Schneid. Allied to S. villosa. Lvs. oblong-ovate, pubescent beneath, 4-6 in. long: infl. narrowly pyramidal, to 6 in. long, pubescent: corolla lilac; anthers partly exserted. W. China. Var. Sargentiana, Schneid. Branchlets slightly pubescent: infl. usually somewhat larger: corolla purple; anthers usually scarcely exserted. W. China.—S. Meyeri, Schneid. Allied to S. pubescens. Small shrub: lvs. elliptic-ovate, sparingly pubescent beneath: infl. rather dense: fls. lilac with very slender tube over 1/2 in. long. N. China. Blooms when scarcely a foot high.—S. pinnatifolia, Hemsl. Allied to S. persica. Lvs. pinnate, 2 - 3 1/8 in. long with 9-11 sessile and decurrent lfts.: infl. slender, about 2 in. long; fls. whitish pink, the tube 1/2 in. long. W. China. G.C. III. 55:269. —S. Rehderiana, Schneid. Allied to S. villosa. Branchlets tomentose: lvs. elliptic, pubescent on both sides, 3-4 in. long: infl. broadly pyramidal, to 7 in. long, villous: fls. white. W. China.—S. Sargentiana, Schneid.-S. Komarovii var. Sargentiana.—S. sempervirens, Franch. Shrub, to 4 ft., glabrous: lvs. persistent, coriaceous, broadly oval, obtuse or acutish, 1 – 1 3/4 in. long: fls. white, 1/4 in. long, in dense panicles 2-3 in. long: fr. fleshy, dehiscent. S. W. China. It looks more like a privet than like a lilac; not hardy N. —S. Sweginzowii, Koehne & Lingelsh. Allied to S. villosa. Lvs. ovate, usually rounded at the base, pubescent beneath only near the veins, 2-4 in. long: infl. to 10 in. long, with purple rachis: fls. yellowish white suffused with pink, fragrant, the tube about 1/3 in. long. E.Asia. G.C. III. 57:345. M.D. 1910, p. 112.—S. tomentella, Bur. & Franch. (S. albo-rosea, N. E. Br.). Allied to S. villosa. Branchlets glabrous or short-pubescent: lvs. elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, more or less pubescent beneath, 1 - 3 1/2 in. long: infl. dense, to 7 in. long, puberulous; fls. lilac-pink; tube over 1/3 in. long. W. China. M.D. 1910, p. 112.— S. velutina, Hort., not Komarov-S. Koehneana. The true S. velutina, Komarov, is apparently not in cult.; it differs chiefly in its larger lvs. and the glandular petioles and infl. — S. Wilsonii, Schneid. Allied to S. villosa. Lvs. elliptic-ovate, to elliptic-lanceolate, pubescent beneath near the veins, 2 1/2-5 in. long: infl. broad, to 6 in. long, glabrous or nearly so; fls. white or lilac, tube about 1/3 in. long. W. China — S. Wolfii, Schneid. Allied to S. villosa. Lvs. elliptic-oblong, nearly glabrous: infl. to 12 in. long: fls. lilac, fragrant, 3/4 in. long. N. China. Remarkable for its very large panicles. —S. yunnanensis, Franch. Allied to S. villosa. Shrub: lvs. elliptic-oblong to oblong-lanceolate, glaucescent beneath, glabrous, 1 1/2 – 3 1/2 in. long: infl. slender, 3-6 in. long, puberulous: fls. pinkish, with upright-spreading lobes. S. W. China.
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