FERNS 



365 



way or another from 2j/- or 3-in. stock on up to specimens in 8- and 

 10-in. containers, in basket arrangements for the holidays, in out- 

 door and indoor window boxes, and in hanging baskets. 



For those with limited space, it is every bit as well to obtain 

 what they need from the wholesale grower or to make use of empty 

 benches during the Summer 

 months, purchasing small stock 

 in Spring and planting it out. 

 Three-inch stock benched after 

 the bedding stock is gone will 

 grow by Fall into nice, bushy, 

 5- and 6-in. plants, which can 

 be potted up separately; or the 

 smaller plants can be used for 

 made-up pans. 



You can grow such ferns in 

 almost any soil so long as it is 

 well drained. They want a lot 

 of water and should have a 

 little shade. They can also be 

 grown in a frame outdoors with 

 good results; in fact, they will 

 do better there than in a dry 

 house. All ferns love more or 

 less moisture and while they 

 can stand almost any amount 

 of heat on top, they object to 

 warm feet. The Bostons are no 

 exception; give them a little 

 shade, and they will make great 

 headway. 



During the Winter months 

 they should have a house not 

 under 55 deg. (a little over that 

 point won't hurt), well drained 

 pots and a porous soil. They 

 can stand watering almost every 

 day, but in a sour soil they soon 

 go to pieces. 



The man who has only one 

 hundred or so of these ferns on 

 hand at a time and has to have 

 them in a house with a lot of 

 other mixed plants, should not 

 expect to get the same results 



Fig. 156. TABLE OR DISH FERNS is the 

 name given to 2- or 2^-in. stock of 

 Pteris, Asplenium, Aspidium, etc., mostly 

 used for filling fern dishes 



