8 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



January, 1912 



the plants. If the gravel mentioned is 

 not available, a piece of oilcloth is a 

 fairly good substitute. This can be 

 dampened quite frcc|uently. 



Flower saucers, for the pots to stand 

 in, are of great service. If about half an 

 inch of water — not more — is constantly 

 kept in the saucers, it will benefit the 

 plants considerably while evaporation is 

 going on. Saucers or pans of water stood 

 around near the plants near the heat 

 radiators are of great benefit to plant 

 life. 



WATERING PLANTS 



Water plants, in winter especially, 

 with tepid or lukewarm water, rain water 

 preferred. Never use ice cold water. 

 Stand the water in a tub or pail for a day 

 or so to soften before using it. Add a 

 little warm water if necessary so as to 

 get the water about the same tempera- 

 ture as the room — fifty to fifty-five de- 

 grees. In watering plants always give 

 sufficient so that it runs through the aper- 

 ture in the bottom of the pot. Then 

 withhold water until the surface of soil 

 shows signs of dryness. Do not keep the 

 soil soddened with water all the time, or 

 on the other hand allow the plants to 

 wilt for the want of water. Intelligent 

 watering of plants has a great deal to 

 do with the results obtained. 



SiriTABLE VARIETIES 



The following lists of flowering and 

 foliage plants will give a good selection 



A Window of Plants 



In the back row are callas. shrubby begonias. 

 Boston ferns and asparagus ptumoeus. In the 

 centre is a large Chinese Sa<;r»i Lily. On either 

 side of it are white hyaclnthe. In the front 

 row are silver leafed gerajiiume, primulas and 

 bloom-forereir. 



for both sunny and partially shaded win- 

 dows, especially for winter season effect : 



Geraniums — Single varieties are best 

 for winter flowering as a rule. Good 

 single varieties are: Phyllis, salmon 

 rose ; John P. Cleary, orange scarlet , 

 L'Aube, pure white; Dryden, white and 

 rosy red. Double varieties : Marquis de 

 Castellaine, dark red ; M. Anatole Rose- 

 leur, light pink; LeSoliel, dark scarlet; 

 White Swan, pure white ; S. A. Nutt, 

 crimson ; Mme. Jaulen, apple blossom. 



The Ivy-leaved, Silver, Bronze, and 

 Fragrant-leaved geraniums are especially 



effective as window plants. Mme. Salle- 

 roi and Wm. Languth, silver leaved ; 

 Rose and Peppermint scented for fra- 

 grant kinds ; Alliance, ivy-leaved — are 

 good varieties to grow. 



Begonias — B. argenta guttata, B. 

 manicata aurea, B. Otto Hacker, B. 

 Thurstonii, B. rubra, B. Paul Bruant, 

 and other varieties. 



Primulas — B. sinensis (Chinese prim- 

 ula), P. obconica. 



Calla— (Calla Lily), Richardia Ethio- 

 pica. 



Chrysanthemum — Pompon and Japan- 

 ese types. Pompons : Snowdrop, white ; 

 Klondike, yellow ; Julia Lagravere, dark 

 red. Japanese large flowering : Nellie 

 Pockett, cream color ; Early Snow, 

 white ; Glory of Pacific, pink ; Golden 

 Glow, bright yellow. 



Impatiens Sultani — (Bloom for Ever). 

 Lilium Harrisii (Easter Lily), Lilium 

 auratum, Lilium speciosum rubrum, etc. 

 Petunia (Single or Double). 

 Epiphyllum (Lobster or Christmas 

 Cactus). 



Pelargonium (Lady Washington Ger- 

 anium). 



Freesia refracta alba (Bulbs with 

 sweet-scented flowers). 



Valotta purpurea (Scarborough Lily), 

 bulb, bright red flowers. 



Amaryllis in variety (bulbs). 

 Otaheite Orange (flowers, fruit, and 

 foliage are attractive). 



Winter Flowering Bulbs — Roman and 

 Dutch Hyacinths, Narcissi (Daffodil) in 

 variety. Tulips, Single and Double, 

 early flowering. Chinese Sacred Lily 

 grown in saucers in gravel. 



Best varieties of Bulbs for pot culture. 

 For early flowering — Roman White Hya- 

 cinth, Paper White Narcissi, Chinese 

 Sacred Lily. For later flowering — Dutch 

 Hyacinths in variety, single and double ; 

 Narcissus, Von Sion, Bicolor Victoria. 

 Princeps. Tulips : Murillo, Couronne 

 d'Or, Cottage Maid, Chrysolora. 



To have all or any of these plants in 

 the best possible condition for the win- 

 ter season, a great deal of preparation 

 must be done the previous summer and 

 autumn. A few hints on the culture of 

 some of the kinds named may be helpful 

 to plant lovers. 



Geraniums cannot be dispensed with in 

 the majority of windows. Too often, 

 however, the all enduring nature of these 

 plants is severely imposed upon. On 

 that account, one seldom sees a really 

 good specimen in a window. The plants 

 that are expected to flower all the win- 

 ter are very often plants that have been 

 doing duty planted out in the flower bed 

 or border all the summer. These are 

 often dug up in the fall, potted and 

 brought into the window just as they 

 are. The result is a very large pot, a 

 very poor plant, with long bare stems, 

 except just at the top where there may 

 be a few fairly fresh looking leaves, and 



Nellie Pocket Chrysanthmnum 



This variety of chrj-santhemum m&kee a good 

 pot plant. 



perhaps a very small truss or two of 

 bloom during the winter or in early 

 spring. 



FOLIAGE PLANTS 



Foliage plants suitable for a shaded 

 or partially shaded window include the 

 following : 



Anthericum vittatum variegatum, An- 

 thericum picturatum, .\raucaria excelsa 

 (Norfolk Island Pine), Asparagus plumo- 

 sus. Asparagus Sprengeri, .Aspidistra 

 lurida variegata, Dracaena indivisa and 

 Dracena australis Cordyline, Farfugium 

 grande (I-^opard plant). Ferns — Neph- 

 rolepis Bostoniensis (Boston Fern), Ne- 

 phrolepis, Whitmani, Nephrolepis ScotFi, 

 and other varieties. 



Ficus elastica (Rubber plant). Palms — 

 Kentia Belmoreana, Kentia Fonsteriana, 

 Phoenix rupicola, Phoenix reclinata, 

 Phoenix dactylifera (Date Palm), Latania 

 Borbonica (Fan Palm), Cocos Weddeli- 

 ana, Pandanus Veitchii, Sansevieria zey- 

 lanica (Bow-string Hemp Plant). 



Most of the foregoing plants will suc- 

 ceed fairly well where flowering plants 

 do, but very hot sun does not agree with 

 them so well. Very few of the foliage 

 plants named can be raised and propa- 

 gated successfully in a window. It is 

 best to purchase them in the first place 

 from a florist. This class of plants re- 

 quires a moister atmosphere and a warmer 

 temfjerature, as a rule, than do flowering 

 plants. As the foliage of most of them 

 is usually of a glaucous or glossy nature, 

 the foliage requires frequent sponging 

 and spraying for the plants to present the 

 tx;autiful glossy appearance that is their 

 chief point of beauty. 



Rubber Plants 



A. V. Main, OtUwa, Oat. 



Rubber plants are favorite house plants 

 with many and about the most simple 



