January, 1913 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Spiraea Van Houttei Used as a Hedge 



The hedge here shown is to he seen in the garden of R. Burns, Brantford, Out., 



whose garden won first prize in a garden competition held in his part of the city 



last year. The trellis of climhin? roees over the arch in the opening added 



much to the general effect. Such a hedge makes a good screen 



or diyision between a front and back lawn. The hedge 



shown is five years old. 



The Striped and flaked varieties are 

 not much sought after. Helen Pierce is 

 a pleasing mottled pale blue. Senator 

 Spencer looks like a good thing gone 

 wrong. Its color scheme consists of 

 malhogany streaks on a dirty white 

 ground. Prince Olaf is a good combin- 

 ation of purple and lavender and shows 

 the marking well, as it is not ruffled. 

 Aurora Spencer and America Spencer are 

 hoth pleasing: flaked varieties, the for- 

 mer an orange rose, the latter a rosy 

 .scarlet. The freakishness of Mariory 

 Linzee is not in the color, which Is pink, 

 but in the form. It frequently has dou- 

 ble standards, but does not seem any 

 more desirable on that account. 



For the person who can plant only a 



single row of ninety or one hundred feet, 

 a packet of twenty seeds of each of the 

 following twelve varieties will be found 

 more than sufficient. One, white: Etta 

 Dyke Spencer; two, buff: Clara Curtis 

 Spencer; three, cream pink: Mrs. Rout- 

 zahn Spencer; four, pink edged: Elsie 

 Herbert Spencer; five, pink: Countess 

 Spencer; six, orange: Helen Lewis; sev- 

 en, scarlet: Queen Alexandra; eight, 

 crimson: King Edward Spencer; nine, 

 maroon : Douglas Unwin ; ten, blue : 

 Lord Nelson; eleven, lavender: Asta 

 Ohn ; twelve, purple edged : Phenomen- 

 al. If only four varieties can be grown 

 it will be found that Etta Dyke Spencer, 

 Countess Spencer, Queen .Alexandra, 

 and Asta Ohn will blend very well, either 

 on the plants or wthen picked. 



The Winter Care of Window Flowers 



R. S. Rose, Pctcrboro, Ont. 



THE watering of window plants is 

 one of the most essential points 

 to watch if bloom is required and 

 if you want your plants to be healthy 

 and to give satisfaction throughout the 

 season. There is no set rule for water- 

 ing. I can only say this : Do not water 

 too often. Frequent watering is apt to 

 bring on disease and to decay the root. 

 Only water when the surface of the 

 earth has a dry appearance. Give 

 enough water to thoroughly saturate all 

 the soil in the pot. 



Three times a week is sufficiently fre- 

 quent to water plants although, of 

 course, conditions differ. Plants that 

 have lots of sun require more watering 

 than those in the shade, and plants in 

 small pots dry out more rapidly and re- 

 quire to be watered oftener than those 

 in larger pots. In summer one can 

 water every day, but in winter plants do 

 no need the same amount of water for 



their growth is not so rapid as it would 

 be if they were out in their beds exposed 

 to the hot summer's sun. Do not sprin- 

 kle only the surface, but water thor- 

 oughly. 



After watering do not allow the pots 

 to stand in a saucer full of water. See 

 that this saucer is kept dry as otherwise 

 you are apt to have your plants weakly 

 and unhealthy. 



INSECT TROUBLES 



The most frequent insect pest of 

 house plants is the aphis, commonly 

 called green plant-louse. I do not wait 

 for the pests to appear, as once a week 

 I take a whisk and go over each plant 

 carefully, thoroughly sprinkling over 

 and under the leaves. The preparation 

 I use is one cupful of coal oil to a gallon 

 of soapsuds and water. I always keep 

 a supply of this mixture on hand. It is 

 made as follows : A half cake of ordin- 

 ary washing soap is dissolved in one gal- 



lon of boiling water. After cooling one 

 cup of coal oil is added. The mixture is 

 then well stirred. 



Examine the leaves of your plants 

 every day. If you find that some are 

 turning yellow and drop off without any 

 apparent reason, you will most likely 

 find that the red spider is the cause. 

 Turn up the leaves and examine them 

 carefully. If any tiny webs show on it, 

 you can be sure the red spider is at 

 work. 



Nothing will kill the red spider but 

 moisture. I have had to use a tubful 

 of water and souse the whole plant in 

 it, going over each leaf between thumb 

 and finger, rubbing them gently. Do 

 this three or four times a week until 

 the leaves have lost their yellow appear- 

 ance and the plant regained its green 

 freshness. 



I collect all the tea leaves from the 

 dining table, and once or twice a week, 

 before watering, put them around the 

 plants. I then water through them. 

 This is good for the bloom and it also 

 has a tendency to keep away insects. 



THE BEST LOCATION 



Windows facing south or west are the 

 best. See that your plants have plenty 

 of sun. As they love sunshine and fresh 

 air give them plenty of both on very 

 mild days. If possible open a door or 

 window at some distance from them and 

 let the colder air from outside mix with 

 the warm air of the room where your 

 plants are, before it reaches them. This 

 is necessary, for, as your room is liable 

 to be pretty warm, a cold draft directly 

 on your plants is likely to chill them or 

 give them a set back from which they 

 may not recover during the season. 



GERANIUM SLIPS 



I am often asked about slips from ger- 

 aniums taken from the garden to pot for 

 the winter as winter plants. If winter 

 bloom is wanted take in the whole plant, 

 as plants that are one year old give 

 much tetter satisfaction, as they will 

 blossom throughout the winter. If, 

 on the other hand, all that is wanted is 

 for next year's outdoor growth, slips 

 are all that are necessary. These should 

 be kept clipped back and the buds nip- 

 ped. One or two may be allowed to come 

 to maturity, but no more if you want to 

 have them do well out of doors next 

 year. Plants that have been blooming 

 all winter cannot be expected to do well 

 next summer. All flowering plants must 

 have a rest some time. So keep your 

 whole plant for winter bloom and your 

 slips for next summer. 



One can have boxes in the window 

 which will be a delight to the whole 

 house. Such flowers as sweet peas, nas- 

 turtiums, dwarf climbing; mignonette, 

 machet or Defiance, with the trailing 

 tradescantia do well in boxes, with 

 ordinary care. 



