CHAPTER XIII 



MISCELLANEOUS HINTS 



Do not attempt to keep plants which do not bloom 

 in winter in the sitting room windows. Put them 

 away in the cellar to rest, and give the room they would 

 take up in the window to something from which you 

 can expect flowers. Such plants as Hydrangea, Ole- 

 ander, summer-flowering Fuchsias, and others of sim- 

 ilar character, are better off in the cellar than in 

 rooms, exposed to heat and light. There they can be 

 kept in a dormant condition, which is the natural one 

 for them, in winter. Give them no water, while stored 

 there, unless the soil is nearly dry. Then give just 

 enough to make it slightly moist. Put them there in 

 November, and leave them there until March or April. 

 Keep them as cool as possible without subjecting them 

 to frost, and do not be alarmed if they drop their 

 foliage. 



I am often asked about the relative merits of 

 porous and glazed pots. In the greenhouse I would 

 use nothing but porous pots. In a very warm sitting 

 room, where the air is dry, glazed pots are often 

 better than porous ones, because evaporation takes 

 place more slowly, as the air does not have a chance 

 to get at the soil through the sides of the pot, as it 

 does when unglazed pots are used. Tin cans are often 

 used. I have seen good plants growing 1 in them 

 when holes were punched through their bottoms, to 

 allow surplus water to run off, but unless this is done 

 it is almost impossible to keep plants healthy in them, 

 because the water is confined in the soil until it sours, 

 and diseased roots result, 



