IRISH GARDENING. 



Plants for Rooms. 



By C. WAKELY, Horticultural Instructor, Essex County Council. 



PLANTS for rooms I The mention of them 

 brings to our minds the many beautiful 

 effects produced by plants when used for 

 in-door decoration. Yet the memory of these 

 effects is often marred by the further knowledge 

 that the beauty of the plants all too quickly 

 passed away. This may possibly have dis- 

 couraged some readers from pursuing the 

 subject any further. I therefore wish to write 

 in order to encourage such, as well as those 

 who have avoided the work entirely on account 

 of its supposed difficulty. 



Let me first say that a long experience in 

 dealing with the growers of room plants has 

 shown me that the first essential to success is 

 a real interest in plants as living things. This 

 naturally leads to a study of their modes of 

 growth and requirements, which will help one 

 far more than mere adherence to '" cut and 

 dried " rules. 



Whence shall we obtain our plants? A 

 serious question indeed I Yet, as a rule, it is 

 easily answered by the keen cultivator. It is 

 usually not long before he meets with a kindred 

 spirit, and then the subject of cuttings or seed- 

 lings somehow gets raised, and if only a 

 single pelargonium cutting is thus obtained the 

 learner may make a good start with this. 

 Additions are likely to be quickly made, as I 

 confess that plant lovers are generally pretty 

 good hands at begging. 



If plants are bought, do not select those in 

 full bloom, but rather young ones for growing 

 on, as far greater interest attaches to such 

 specimens. Remember that two great changes 

 will probably be experienced by the plants 

 when brought from a greenhouse to a room. 

 The air will generally be much drier and the 

 supply of light will not be so good. Take all 

 possible care to avoid sudden checks to 

 growth by means of draughts. Never carry 

 out re-potting of the newly-purchased speci- 

 men, rather watch its behaviour, and get it 

 thoroughly used to the new conditions first. 

 Attention to these points will mean a great 

 deal to the beginner. 



SoiVs for potting! — What a bogey to the 

 amateur I specially so if he has read of the 

 mixtures often recommended for greenhouse 

 plants ; but let him always bear in mind that, 

 providing the pots used are so drained that 

 stagnant moisture cannot accumulate in them 

 and an open soil is used that will admit air to the 

 roots, and he is practically sure of a measure of 

 success. Sods of turf which have been cut for 

 a few months in order to kill the grass will 

 generally form a good foundation for the pot- 



ting mixture. To this about one-third of its 

 bulk of pure leaf-mould (decayed leaves, not 

 rotten wood!) may be added for most plants, 

 although a coarse grower such as the arum lily 

 will appreciate some rotten manure instead. 

 Sand is usually a good addition in order to 

 render the mixture porous. Let it form from 

 one-tenth to one-sixth of the bulk, according to 

 the character of the turf. For seed sowing 

 and the planting of cuttings a rather fine soil is 

 desirable, but for general potting too much is 

 yet heard about sifted soil. Always use the 

 compost in a moist condition, so that it can be 

 pressed into the pots rather firmly, but never 

 use it whilst in a wet, sticky state. 



Pots should be clean and well drained with 

 "crocks" or bits of brick. Over these place 

 some of the coarser particles of the soil so that 

 the drainage will remain clear. Beginners 

 should specially avoid using too large a pot — 

 mistaken kindness of this sort has been a verv 

 common pitfall for the unwary. When your 

 cuttings are well rooted place them singly in 

 pots which will nicely accommodate the roots. 

 Note their progress, and hence the demand for 

 larget; pots. Similarly, when purchased plants 

 have made theniselves at home, pots of one or 

 two sizes larger may commonly be given if the 

 roots have thoroughly taken possession of the 

 old soil. Avoid potting in late autumn and 

 winter. 



Watering. — A volume might well be taken 

 up with this subject, and still the reader would 

 fail in his work unless he learnt to read the 

 plants. The amount of leaf surface exposed to 

 sunlight will chiefly determine the quantity re- 

 quired. Newly potted or pruned plants will 

 need less water for a time. The amount of 

 moisture in the air will also be an important 

 factor in the case. When watering always fill 

 the space left at the top of the soil for the pur- 

 pose (about ^ inch in depth in a 5-inch pot). 

 Specially avoid exact rules for watering. I 

 frequently attack the rule, which runs as 

 follows — " give a little water every day," as 

 it never helped to grow plants. 



Suitable plants are numerous, yet certain of them 

 stand out as pre-eminently satisfactory for our purpose. 

 Of foliag-e plants choose Aspidistra lurida and its 

 variegfated form, Fatsin ( Aralia) japonica and Chloro- 

 phvtiDii datum variegatuin. Master these, and then go 

 on to the Dracaenas and perhaps the India-rubber plant 

 (Fiats elastica). 



Of ferns, commence with Pteris serridata and its 

 varieties (ribbon ferns), Pteris tremula and Aspleiiiuni 

 bidbiferu)!.. Proceed from these to the Adiantum 

 (maiden-hair). 



Many shrubs are available, such as Fuchsia, Coronilla 

 glanca, Solanutu capsicasfruni (winter cherry), and 

 Heliotrope. These may all be improved by a pruning- 

 into shape just before new growth starts. Re-pot these 

 plants just after the young shoots show, removing a 

 good deal of the old soil. 



Of bulbs, Valhta purpurea easily stands first as a 



