174 



THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



is all right, if you charge for it by the 

 month, as we do. But when a kentia 

 or latania is brought home with two 

 small leaves and a diseased center, 

 write immediately to the owners and 

 tell them that it would take four years 

 to make a respectable looking plant of 

 their palm, and the charge would be 

 three times the cost of a healthy plant 

 of the same size. By that plain but 

 truthful and respectful information you 

 will usually get a telephone order to 



We have noticed ourselves plants of 

 utilis in rooms far away from the light 

 of the windows doing well if kept very 

 dry. When growing fast they want 

 plenty of water, but if you have to 

 winter them in a cool greenhouse, say 

 below 60 degrees, then be very sparing 

 of water during the dark months. 



They are undoubtedly two of the 

 most satisfactory plants we can sell 

 our customers. 



From the fact that the pandanus are 



Cocos Weddeliana. 



"do what you like with it," which 

 means throw it away. If not, and you 

 must attempt to make a plant of it, 

 the least you can charge would be one 

 dollar per square foot of bench room 

 per annum that its spread of leaves 

 occupied. But let us hope you will 

 have very little of it, for the sight of 

 a lot of scrubby, half dead palms? is 

 most depressing, and the occupation of 

 janitor of a pesthouse would be pre- 

 ferred to their care. 



PANDANUS. 



For many years past some few spe- 

 cies of pandanus have occupied quite 

 a prominent place among decorative 

 plants, and this is deservedly so from 

 the fact that the members of this 

 genus in general are not difficult to 

 manage, and are also quite rapid grow- 

 ers under favorable conditions. 



The well known P. Veitchii and P. 

 utilis are two of our very best house 

 plants. The late Peter Henderson on 

 passing a plant of the P. utilis In the 

 hall of his residence, remarked: "The 

 best house plant I know of," and Mr. 

 W. K. Harris observed to the writer a 

 few years ago: "Yes, the best house 

 plant there is, both of them if they 

 get water once a month only." "You 

 mean once a week, Mr. H." "No, I 

 don't. I mean once a month." 



natives of the tropics, a rather n'gh 

 temperature is required to secure the 

 best results, a night temperature of 

 65 to 70 degrees being best adapted 

 to their needs, and during the winter 

 months little or no shading is needed, 

 especially for the variegated species. 



A good loam enriched with old ma- 

 nure forms a satisfactory soil, and as 

 the plants make many coarse roots it- 

 is found best not to pot them too firm- 

 ly, and during the summer to give an 

 abundance of water. If grown in a 

 moist atmosphere there is but little 

 need for syringing overhead, and par- 

 ticularly during the winter an excess 

 of water may lead to an attack cf 

 "spot," if coupled with an accidental 

 low temperature at the same period. 



Propagation is effected by means of 

 cuttings of those species that sucker 

 freely, and also by seeds. Where side 

 shoots or suckers can be obtained 

 there is but little difficulty in rooting 

 them at any season, this operation be- 

 ing quickened (as in the case of a 

 pine-apple) by keeping the cuttings 

 rather on the side of dryness until 

 they are calloused, and by giving them 

 a fair amount of bottom heat. 



Seeds should be planted in light soil, 

 and placed in a warm house, and the 

 seeds should preferably be set with the 

 bottom end up, this being the end 



from which the germs emerge. These 

 seeds are somewhat peculiar, being 

 closely set in a more or less globular 

 mass that hangs down on a stout stem, 

 while the individual seeds, or rather 

 fruits, are compound, and often con- 

 tain 8 or 10 germs, the latter being en- 

 closed in cells of a tough, horny sub- 

 stance within the body of the fruit. 

 Soaking of the seeds is sometimes re- 

 sorted to prior to planting them, but 1 

 have not found any gain in rapidity of 

 germination after soaking seeds of P. 

 utilis for 48 hours in tepid water. 



The most useful and most widely 

 known species in cultivation at the 

 present time are doubtless P. Veitchii 

 and P. utilis, the first named being un- 

 questionably among the best varie- 

 gated plants for decorative purposes, 

 while its endurance as a house plant 

 depends largely on the conditions un- 

 der which it has been grown, for soft 

 and sappy specimens have an unfortu- 

 nate habit of rotting off at times. 



P. Veitchii has been in cultivation 

 for the past thirty years, and has 

 proved itself one of the most satisfac- 

 tory introductions among foliage 

 plants of the famous London firm 

 whose name it bears. 



The second species in importance in 

 the trade is P. utilis, a species that has 

 been in cultivation longer than the 

 preceding, and is usually to be had in 

 much greater quantities owing to the 

 readiness with which seeds may be ob- 

 tained and germinated. This species, 

 like P. Veitchii, is native in some of 

 the South Sea islands, notably Mada- 

 gascar and the island of Bourbon, and 

 on the latter island P. utilis is said to 

 reach a height of 60 feet, forming a 

 much branched tree. 



The specific name of this pandanus, 

 utilis, which signifies useful, seems to 

 be especially applicable to the plant in 

 Mauritius, where it is cultivated for 

 its leaves, these being used in weaving 

 the coarse matting from which sugar- 

 bags are made. 



As a florist's plant P. utilis is most 

 useful in small sizes, for example in 

 pots of 4-inch to 8-inch sizes, there be- 

 ing but a limited demand for plants 

 larger than these. 



This species is a rapid grower, and 

 requires generous treatment in regard 

 to soil and watering, and gives but lit- 

 tle trouble in its management, unless 

 it may be in those cases where an out- 

 break of "spot" is developed. The lat- 

 ter trouble is caused by the burrowing 

 of a minute insect in the tissues of the 

 leaf, and its progress seems to be fav- 

 ored by overwatering. If plants become 

 badly affected with this disease it is 

 most profitable to throw them away at 

 once, as they are likely to be perma- 

 nently disfigured by it, but light at- 

 tacks may be satisfactorily treated by 

 keeping the plants somewhat drier and 

 dosing them with sulphur. 



P. candelabrum variegatum, perhaps 

 more readily recognized under the 

 name of P. Javanicus var., is another 

 handsome variegated form, and a 

 more recent introduction than P. Veit- 

 chii, having been introduced from Java 



