THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



vn 



WATERING PLANTS IN POTS. 



Numerous are the in<|uiries as to the tiuie and fre- 

 quency of supplying greenhouse and other indoor plants 

 with water. The curious part is that people seem to take 

 it for granted that it should he ilune at stated hours and 

 intervals. Those who water tiieir plants at regular in- 

 tervals and give each ahout the same quantity of water 

 are pretty sure to kill some of the most valuable and del- 

 icate, as in a conservatory or other house full of plants 

 there is scarcely one but will diti'er from its neighbor in 

 the anuHint of water it requires, even if the ]ilants are 

 all of the same species. In a mi.xed collection the dif- 

 ference in the amount of moisture to be supplied is very 

 considerable. Succulent plants — Aloes, Yuccas, Cacti, 

 .Mesembryanthemums, and such fleshy-leaved subjects — 

 require little or no water from the beginning of Xovem- 

 l;er to the end of February; at least, such is the rule 

 among good cultivators, though it is not wise to a[)pl\' 

 it rigidly to some of these plants, which are apt to shrixel 

 arid get hurt if allowed to become dust-dry. I'elar- 

 goniums, again, though they must not get quite dr\-, re- 

 (|uire to be kept comparativeley so in winter till their 

 llower buds are formed. Plants in a vigorous growing 

 state, or coming into flower, as some are at all seasons, 

 will, of course, re<|uire to be will supplied with water: 

 that is, they require to be as moist at the root as we keep 

 growing plants in summer, onlv that one-third tiie 

 amount of water and watering which would be required 

 in summer will suflfice to keep them moist at this season. 

 It is impossible to lay down a rule which would be of the 

 slightest use a^ to the time of watering, etc. 



.-\ healthy-growing ])lant in a jxit, which is, as it ought 

 to be, thoroughly well drained, cannot well have too 

 nnich water when it is watered. Do not water a plant 

 till it reipiires it, and then give a thorough soaking. 



In hot summer weather plants should be e.Kamined 

 every morning, and in most cases watered ; and in the 

 case of free-growing Fuchsia^ and other .soft-growing 

 plants in the height of their bloom it may sometimes be 

 necessary to water well twice a day. .\fter a little prac- 

 tice one can readilv detect those that are dry by merely 

 looking at the soil, but in cases where the specimens have 

 been top-dressed, etc., and soil without roots in it lying 

 on the top of that full of roots, and where bad watering 

 has been practised, ^o that the earth is wet on the top 

 and dry at the bottom, it may be necessary to strike the 

 pot with the knuckles to see if it sounds hollow. This 

 indicates want of water. W'iien a crack is seen between 

 the soil and pot it is an almost invariable sign that the 

 plant wants watering. In such a case the soil should be 

 first firmly pressed to the sides of the \>o\. and a good 

 soaking given. When the operator meets with a dry 

 ])lant. instead of pouring a little water nn the surface, as 

 many do, he should fill the put (piite full, and if there is 

 not a good space for water between tiie soil and top of 

 the rim he should return to it and fill up again, so as to 

 ensure a tiiorough soaking, for a plant wet on the sur- 

 face and dry as dust down where its main roots exist is 

 in the worst possible condition. In fact, it is not a bad 

 l)lan to make it a rule to water gross-feeding and large 

 specimens twice when they get dry. 



Great harm used to be done by pouring on a little sip 

 every morning, which resulted in the pots becoming cov- 

 ered with green slime and the ^oij often a mass of black 

 mud. When rapid growtli begins in the first bright days 

 of -March, the plants must be looked over every morning, 

 and from that time to the end of (Jctober. Some people 

 fill the pots with too much soil and do not leave sufficient 

 space for a proper dose of water to be poured on ; this 



is a bad plan, and has caused the tieath of hundreds of 

 valuable plants. .\s a rule, the pot should not be filled 

 higher than witliin half ;in inch of the brim, and in the 

 case of large pots an inch. When settled down there will 

 then be sufficient room for water, and sufficient o])iior- 

 tunity to give a good drink at once — not watering again 

 till the jilant really wants it. One good watering in mid- 

 winter will often satisf\- a healthv specimen plant in full 

 leaf for two or three weeks ; ten weeks later it nia\' re- 

 quire watering every day. — Gardening — (English.) 



PRODUCING NATURAL EFFECTS IN CON- 

 SERVATORY PLANTING. 



( Conliniicil jroni page ibJ. ) 



We have attenqited a little departure from the con- 

 ventional method of planting green houses or conserva- 

 tories, and we have throughout been confronted with 

 the problem of giving the plants the conditions that the\ 

 must needed and have then tried to add those touches 

 that make plants better friends. .And it seems that in 

 the planting of any house that is worthy of the namt 

 conservatory the use of benches and stages and the 

 growth of plants in tubs and boxes is almost inexcusable, 

 (jreenhouses or conservatories should be little bits of 

 nature under glass, and the glass and everything neces- 

 sary to hold it up should be the most inconspicuous part 

 of tlie whole house. Such parts of the house as do neces- 

 .sarily come into vision should be in the nature of garden 

 ornaments and should admit of pro])er framing with 

 plants. In ci inclusion, let me add that the greenhouse 

 which includes doors, glass, heating system, walks, 

 benches ( if any ) should be constructed with very defi- 

 nite consideration of the i)lants that are to be grown in 

 them, and they should be so constructed that thev enter, 

 from the inside at least very little into the perspective. 

 .\n ideal conservatory, to my mind, is one that cannot be 

 seen from the inside : and this is the ideal that the green- 

 house man is strivins;- toward. 



A COMBINATION OF HONEYSUCKLE AND 

 CLEMATIS. 



( )ne could ncjt wish for a combination of two vines 

 better fitted for ordinary arbors than the Japanese 

 Honeysuckle and Clematis paniculata. They both are 

 free growers, but with care in pruning in Spring one 

 can he kept fnim infringing on the other in the way of 

 space. It is true both are light colored, the Honeysuckle 

 creamy white, changing to yellow ; the Clematis, white. 

 I!ut then their seasons are different, the Honevsuckle 

 flowering in June, the Clematis in .\ugust. It is the dif- 

 ferent seasons of flowering that add to the utility of the 

 combination : then the change of foliage and general 

 difference of due from the other add to the charm of the 

 whole. 



There remains to be mentioned, too. the beautiful dis- 

 l)lay the seeds of the Clematis make. They are usually 

 numerous, and when they are ripening, and later, their 

 appearance is charming, changing from green to a light 

 brown, with the usual feathery appendage of Clematis 

 seeds, which gives them a feathery appearance. 



It happens that Ixith have shining green foliage, keep- 

 ing tliis color until late in .\utumn. The sweet odor of 

 lioth these vines is well known. l)etraving their presence 

 when in l)loom often before the plants are visible. When 

 we add, l)oth are among the hardiest of vines, are they 

 not a splendid pair to plant together? — Juscl^h Mcchan 

 ill I'lorists' H.vclian''c. 



