CHAPTER XX 



THE HOUSE-PLANTS 



THE plants of which so far we have been speaking are 

 seedlings or cuttings, mostly destined for the garden. I 

 wish to stop long enough, however, to speak of house-plants, 

 which are to be taken out of doors only for their summer's 

 rest. In many ways they should be treated differently 

 from the plants which we have just been studying. 



In the first place, the purpose of our house-plants is dif- 

 ferent : usually we wish them to flower, not to grow large. 

 And so the repotting stops as soon as possible, say at five- or 

 six- or seven-inch pots. We are then willing to keep them 

 longer in the same pots, in the hope that they will stop their 

 growth and begin to flower. Do not repot a house-plant, 

 then, unless you are sure that the roots and the plant are 

 suffering for more room or fresher earth. Even then the 

 plant may flower better if you take it out, shake off some or 

 even all of the soil (in the latter case wash the roots) and pot 

 it afresh in the same pot. Study again Figures 22 to 25. 



In the second place, the potting-earth may very well be 

 different. Mix equal parts of good loam and well-rotted 

 manure, and with them put a little (say a third as much as 

 of the others) of leaf mold. The manure should be very 

 well rotted, and is best a mixture of horse and cow manure. 

 This mixture may vary a little : to every bushel add a quart 

 of sand, if you wish the plants to grow more slowly ; but for 

 strong growth add bone-meal instead. Put a few small bits 



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