PALMS, PANDANUS 455 



The Palm House 



In building a new place the first things I would consider are the 

 palm house and its location. It should be as near to the main 

 entrance of the place as possible. Every one of the other houses 

 has periods when it is not looking at its best, but the palm house 

 always looks good. If you lack an imposing front entrance or an 

 elaborate store, there is, I am sure, a way to manage with a house, 

 a half-house or even a quarter of a house -filled with palms displayed 

 to best advantage. If four or even three plain white walls constitute 

 the inside of the room you do business in, a half-hour's work with 

 palms and ferns can transform it into an attractive florist shop. 



That is my opinion as to the value of palms. No matter how 

 much or how Httle a retail grower actually grows on his place, 

 there is no reason for him not to have a good supply on hand. Ours 

 is a show business if ever there was one, and all depends on the show 

 we make. If you retail flowers and want to do it successfully, 

 palms are a vitaJ necessity. 



A palm house should have a minimum temperature of 60 deg. 

 in Winter and no harm is done if it gets to 100 deg. or over during 

 Summer as long as you supply sufficient water and shade to prevent 

 the burning of the foliage. The palm house, with the smaller 

 florist in particular, isn't meant for palms alone, but for other deco- 

 rative foUage plants and ferns. Always see that it is kept in shape 

 and clean, with everything arranged for the best effect. A palm 

 house is always a show house, and should be a house to be proud of. 



PAMPAS GRASS 



See Ornamental Grasses 



PANDANUS VEITGHII 



This is considered one of the most beautiful variegated plants 

 of aU the florist carries and every store, show house or palm house 

 needs a few specimens to make things attractive. 



As a house plant this Pandanus has no equtd. It will grow in 

 time into great specimens, yet even small stock out of 2-in. pots 

 makes most suitable center plants for fern dishes. Or around 

 Christmas and Easter, plants out of 3^2- and up to 5-in. pots can 

 be used to great advantage with other plants in a basket arrangement. 



It doesn't pay the average florist to grow on the plants he needs 

 during the year. He can do better to purchase from time to time 

 the different sizes he runs short of. It is cheaper than to carry a 

 lot of large plants for stock. However, if you have good-sized plants 

 on hand the lateral shoots which appear at the base of the plants 

 are easfly removed; and if given a sand bench with strong bottom 

 heat they wfll soon send out their thick, white roots. The sooner 

 after that you pot them up in a sandy soil mixture, the better. 



