For December, 1921 



809 



A Lesson on the Window Garden in Winter 



Being One of a Series of Lessons of a Home Study Course on Gardening Appearing Regularly in The Gardeners' Chronicle 



Under the Direction of ARTHUR SMITH 



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IF we consider gardening as a whole, in its widest and most 

 complete sense, there is doubtless no feature connected with 

 it which presents greater ditKculties than that of growing 

 plants in a dwelling house during the Winter half of the year. 

 These difficulties may be explained by the fact that the general 

 conditions of a modern dwelling house are the worst possible 

 for plant life, although in some cases these conditions are not so 

 bad as they are in others, and it is also generally true that the 

 worse the conditions are for plant life the more unhygienic they 

 are for human occupants. The average dwelling house today is 

 undoubtedly over-heated, ventilation is conspicuous by its ab- 

 sence, and practically every drop of moisture is dried out of the 

 air. Under the system of heating a generation or so ago house 

 plants did not find existence such an uphill job. At the same 

 time it is true that a yearly increasing number of people are be- 

 coming wise to the advantages to their health in maintaining a 

 lower temperature, or at least in allowing fresh air to continually 

 enter their homes, with the result that both they and their plants 

 do better. 



In most houses the conditions wliich prevail in the kitchen 

 render it the room most suitable for plant life because of the 

 moisture derived from the steam which comes from cooking, 

 and the fact that a coal range requires the continual ingress of 

 fresh air. Many people in fact look upon their kitchen as their 

 plant hospital. When the cooking is done by gas, the kitchen 

 is not, however, a desirable place for plants. 



The health of plants is considerably affected by the lighting 

 system, that derived from gas being the worst, as it not only- 

 helps to dry the atmosphere, but the fumes given off from it 

 are very deleterious. The nearest approach to the ideal for 

 house plants is when the dwelling is heated by a system which 

 draws in a continuous supply of fresh air and when it is lighted 

 by electricity. An open fire is a very hygenic addition to a 

 living room, even when radiators are also used ; with the latter, 

 vessels can be used containing water to maintain a moist at- 

 mosphere. 



It is of course one thing to be continually obtaining potted 

 plants fresh from a greenhouse or a florist, which last in good 

 condition a few days, or longer, according to the conditions, the 

 care given them, and tlie species, and quite another thing to 

 keep plants all the Winter in a good state of health and grow 

 them on year after year until they become practically members 

 of the family. With certain reservations in connection with 

 species which under any conditions are ephemeral in the flow- 

 ering stage, and which are not particularly ornamental after 

 their period of blooming is over, to succeed in keeping house 

 plants in good condition one must treat plants as household pets 

 To get this point of view we must realize that plants are prac- 

 tically living, feeling or,ganisms. which respond to loving care, 

 and wliich soon manifest their disapproval of neglect or of bad 

 treatment. 



It is not at all uncommon to hear people remark that their 

 "mother was always successful with her house plants and every- 

 thing seemed to grow for her. while nothing does well with 

 me." It is true that old-fashioned houses were, as above men- 

 tioned, more suitable for plant life than modern ones, but this 

 is not the entire reason. The habits of previous generations 

 caused them to devote more time to tlieir nlanls ; their spirits 

 were more in harmony with plant life, and plants grew for them 

 because they loved tlu-m and treated them as fellow creatures. 

 At the same time the psychological side of the question requires 

 to be combined with something more. as. while we are prepared 

 to credit plants with considerably higher attriliutes than is gen- 

 erally the case, we do not concede thtin the novver of cither 

 personal antipathy or affection: but if people will get the same 

 mental outlook towards them which their mothers had. and give 

 their plants the same regular care and attention, they will doubt- 

 less olitain the same measure of success. 



In going more into detail with the various points which to- 

 Sethcr make for success, we must again emphasize the value of 

 fresh air. but in giving this to plants we must be careful to avoid 

 cold drafts. Opening the windows at the top will allow the air 

 of the room to be changed, and the ingress of fresh air always 

 brings with it more or less moisture The size of the opening 

 must obviously depend upon outside temperature, and upon 

 whether it is calm or windy. .Mthough the notion is less com- 



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mon today than it used to be, there are still people who are 

 possessed with the idea that plants are not altogether healthful 

 in a living room and they consider them especially harmful if 

 left in a bedroom all night. As a matter of fact the reverse is 

 the case. Plants are beneficial by reason of the fact that they 

 require carbon dioxide to build up their structure and they 

 therefore do good service by reducing the atmospheric content 

 of this element, which in excess, is deleterious to the human 

 occupants. 



There is probably no one more fruitful source of failure both 

 in outdoor as well as indoor gardening than that of watering. 

 All the food which a plant obtains from the soil must come to 

 it dissolved in the water it drinks before it can be digested and 

 assimilated. The only way in which plants can obtain water 

 is through their roots, and therefore they should always have 

 an ample supply of water during their growing period. Success 

 with plants in pots is not possible when they are flooded with 

 water for one period and parched with thirst for another. While 

 there is not much harm in over-watering if effective drainage 

 has been provided, at the same time, to be continually pouring 

 water on to a pot when it is unnecessary tends to impoverish 

 the soil by carrying away of plant food, and is also a waste 

 of time. 



Drainage and watering are very intimately associated, for while 

 an ample supply of water must be maintained in the soil, this soil 

 moisture must not be in a free state, or stagnant, and the soil, 

 whether in a pot or elsewhere, must be sufliciently well drained 

 so as to allow all surplus water the soil cannot absorb to dram 

 away. The distinction between absorbed water and that in a 

 free state may be exampled by a sponge. If we place a sponge 

 in water it will take up a considerable quantity of liquid and if 

 we take the sponge out a large amount of water will be held 

 suspended in the interstices of the sponge, but the actual sponge 

 material absorbs very little, which is easily seen wdien we squeeze 

 it. The water which is squeezed out is that which was in a 

 free state. Leaving out of the question aquatic and subaquatic 

 species, water in a free state acts more or less like poison to 

 plants, and they suffer more from this when in [Kits than when 

 in the unconlined soil. The soil condition which allows water 

 to exist in a free state is known as water-logged and the manner 

 in whicli a plant has been potted has much to do with possibilities 

 in this direction. If the soil in a pot has not been sufliciently 

 firmed around the roots it is slower in draining out because the 

 interstices left in the soil render it like a si»nge and it remains 

 saturated for a long time, which causes the fine, feeding roots 

 and their hairs to decay, and a condition of things is thereby 

 brought about which not only prevents a plant from thriving. 

 but which may cause its death. Fven if a water-logged state 

 is not of a sufficiently long duration to kill roots it will in- 

 variably check their growth and prevent the proper exerci.se 

 of their functions. 



Over-potting, or having the pot too large for the requirements 

 of the plant will also increase the possiliilitics of a saturated 

 condition, with the consequent souring of the soil, which may 

 be brought under this condition even if the pot is well drained : 

 in fact good drainage fails of its desired effect when a plant is 

 placed in a loo.se. spongy soil, in too large a pot. 



For the purpose of cleanliness to tables and floors, pots are 

 stood in saucers which hold the drainage water, and the evap- 

 oration of this water is of Iicncfit in helpinc to keep the at- 

 mosphere moist, hut if the saucers remain full of water for a 

 considerable time harm is likely to result. This hann may be 

 intensified when pots are placed in jardinieres : in these the sur- 

 plus water accumulates .so that the pot may he standing in sev- 

 eral inches of foul water. This can be avoided by frequently 

 emptying the jardiniere and it is also a good plan to place an 

 inverted saucer or piece of brick at the bottom so as to prevent 

 the pot from contiiniallv standing in water. 



While the standing of pots in .saucers is ncces.sary in the case 

 of plants placed singlv about a room, such saucers being actually 

 harmful to the plants, or the reverse, according to the manner 

 things in connection with them arc handled, for a group of 

 plants in a window individual saucers arc better done away 

 with and a water-tight zinc tray two inches deep made to fit 

 the position used to stand pots on. Before nlacing the pots an 

 inch deep of small pebbles should be evenly spread over the 



