178 HOUSE PLANTS 



place it on its side in a pot filled with soil. 

 Do not bury more than one-quarter of the 

 nut. The germination is very interesting 

 as a leaf will appear long before there is any 

 sign of a root, which may not develop for a 

 year. The cocoanut is easily injured by too 

 much water; it needs practically none. 



ONE THAT NEVER GROWS UP 



About the only other palms which succeed 

 in the house are the date palms (PhoBnix 

 Canariensis, redtnata, and Rcehelenii). 

 These are all very much alike, the chief 

 differences being the habit of growth. P. 

 Rcehelenii is a real dwarf; the leaves, grace- 

 fully curving, are only a foot or so long. 

 It withstands the hardships of house culti- 

 vation equally as well as does the kentia 

 and when small is as graceful as Cocos 

 Weddelliana. It is perhaps the most costly 

 of all the house palms. P. rupicola is prob- 

 ably the hardiest. It seems able to with- 

 stand almost any hardship which may be 

 imposed upon it. In the South and in 

 California, P. Canariensis is considered the 

 handsomest of all the date palms. The 

 leaves are more slender and graceful than in 



