290 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



PALMS. 



fHERE are a great many varieties of 

 palms grown for decorative pur- 

 poses, some of the most popular 

 in the order in which they are most 

 favorably known, are the following- : 



Kentia Balmoriana. This is probably the 

 best house palm g-rown, and is increasing in 

 favor every year. It is not a rapid grower, 

 but in a lig^ht place in a warm room and 

 with sufficient water, the leaves being- kept 

 sponged off and clean, it makes an ideal 

 house plant and improves from year to year. 

 I have seen several of these house-g^rown 

 palms better than any coming from green- 

 houses. 



Next in order comes Kentia Fosteriana, a 

 fine palm, but generally a stronger grower 

 than the preceding. Some of this variety 

 shown last fall prove what can be done in 

 the house with it. The fine Kentia Canter- 

 buryana is rather expensive. The hardy and 

 very graceful Cocos Weddelliana is fine for a 

 warm house, but is not so long-lived as the 

 Kentias ; it stands the wear and tear of the 

 house very well for one season. 



The Phoenix Rupicola is one of the most 

 graceful palms grown, and like nearly all of 

 the Phoenix tribe stands the house treatment 

 well. It is a slow grower and rather ex- 

 pensive, but with a little care will last many 

 years — which may be said of several other 

 varieties of the Phoenix, viz. , Canariensis, 

 Tennissima, Sanderiana, Dactylifera, etc. 



Latania Borhonica is a favorite house plant 

 in places where it can have considerable 

 room to spread. But a much finer variety, 

 with something of the same character, ,is 

 Levistonia rotundifolia, of a more compact 

 growth than Borbonica, and quite as hardy 

 and useful. 



Rhapis fiabellifomiis is rather a slow 

 grower, but one of the best hardy decorative 

 palms we have. Rhapis hutnilis is quite as 



hardy and is more graceful and of a brighter 

 green, but is scarce and expensive, and so it 

 is seldom seen here. 



The very graceful Areca lutescens'is much 

 in use in the United States, but has not 

 proved a good house plant here, seldom last- 

 ing more than one season, even with careful 

 treatment. 



ChamcBrops fortunii will stand much ill- 

 treatment, but grows slowly and looks stiff, 

 while Geononia Gracilis is pretty, but tender 

 and scarce. Areca Verschaffeltia, a good, 

 hardy variety for a warm house, has a dis- 

 tinct appearance, but is rather expensive. 



Several varieties of Caryotas are known to 

 growers as pretty plants, but are seldom 

 seen outside of private collections in this 

 country. The same may be said of varieties 

 of Calamus, several fine specimens of which 

 are in the collection at Exhibition Park. 



There are a great many plants called palms 

 that are not really palms, such as the Cycads 

 and several varieties of Pandanus. Very 

 many more varieties of the palm beside those 

 above mentioned, are well known to florists. 

 The edges and tops of the leaves turn brown 

 from various causes — from want of water, 

 from getting too much water ; sometimes 

 furnace gas is the cause, or the air becom- 

 ing too hot through radiators, stove pipes, 

 etc. Palms do not want large pots unless 

 they are growing very freely, and even then 

 it is best, in repotting them, to give them a 

 pot only one size larger than the one they 

 have been growing in. 



The soil I like best for palms is made up 

 of one-half sandy loam and one-half well- 

 rotted manure. The soil should be worked 

 evenly down around the sides of the pot and 

 pounded tight with a potting stick. Before 

 repotting the plant should be well watered, 

 and also after the potting is done, so that 

 all the soil may be equally moist. 



