How to Keep House Plants Healthy— By p. t. Barnes, s 



MAKE YOUR HOME MORE CHEERFUL THIS WINTER BY HAVING AN ATTRACTIVE WINDOW GARDEN— THE WHOLE 

 STORY CONDENSED INTO A FEW COMMON SENSE RULES, WITH PICTURES OF THE CHIEF INSECT ENEMIES 



THE ideal conditions for house plants 

 are practically the same as for human 

 beings, that is, a temperature of about 67° 

 to 70 during the day time and 50 to 55 at 

 night. It may not always be possible to main- 

 tain this warmth at night but strive to keep 

 as near that as possible. 



The next consideration is fresh air; keep 

 the rooms well ventilated, i. e. have a window 

 open somewhere in the room, preferably on 

 the opposite side from the plants, for they 

 cannot stand draughts. When a room gets 

 too warm and too dry, the plants transpire 

 an excessive amount of water — faster than 

 the roots can supply it from the soil — but 

 worse still, the surface of the soil itself is dried 

 out and even the pot as well. Thus an 

 irreparable injury is done before the owner 

 realizes it. 



When plants are grown in an abnormally 

 high temperature, with moisture, the growth 

 is forced and being soft is easily injured. A 

 strong draught, even if only io° or 20 cooler . 

 than the surrounding air, will seriously chill 

 plants in this condition. The result will be 

 that deciduous plants, like the geranium and 

 heliotrope, will turn yellow and drop their 

 leaves; with palms the tips of the leaves will 

 turn brown. To get the plants back into 

 proper condition will take months of careful 

 attention and in the case of palms or ferns it 

 will take a year — preferably at the florist's. 



To give the atmosphere the proper amount 

 of moisture have a small dish on the radiator, 

 register or stove and keep it full of water. 

 Most hot air furnaces have a water com- 



partment inside the jacket which holds about 

 a pailful. Under ordinary conditions this 

 will need filling only once a day, but during 

 the coldest days of winter when the firing is 

 heavy it may be necessary to fill it twice. 



The second most exacting requirements of 

 plants is watering. Too much water will 

 make the soil sour; with too little water the 



Seldom troubled with insects, the rubber plant is one 

 of the best house plants 



The most serious pest of house plants is the 

 aphis; Keep the plants clean by constant spraying 

 or fumigating 



plant will wilt. The effect of either will be 

 yellowing and dropping of the leaves. It is 

 easier, however, to drown a plant than to kill 

 it by drought. No hard and fast rule for 

 watering can be made. Plants may need 

 water twice a day or only once in two days. 

 The best way to determine whether a plant is 

 dry is to rap the pot sharply with the knuckles 

 of the hand. A hollow, or ringing sound 

 shows that the soil needs water; a heavy, 

 dull sound indicates that it has sufficient 

 moisture. Usually you can tell whether the 

 soil needs watering by looking at the surface. 

 If it is dry and powderv give water. 



The common fault in watering is not doing 

 the job thoroughly when it is done at all. 

 Never give a little surface sprinkle. The 

 best way, if convenient, is to take the plants 

 to the sink or bath tub and give the soil a 

 good watering, allowing the pot to stay in the 

 sink until the surplus water has had a chance 

 to drain off. If it is impossible to do this, 

 have a saucer under each pot, and ten or fif- 

 teen minutes after the watering go around and 

 turn out all the water standing in the saucers 

 Never allow water to remain in the saucers as 

 it will prevent aeration through the hole in 

 the bottom of the pot, and also rot the roots. 

 When plants are kept in jardiniers people 

 often grow careless, let water collect in the 

 bottom and then wonder why the plant is not 

 doing well. 



If by any chance the ball of earth should 



182 



become very dry plunge it in a pail of water 

 and let it stand five or ten minutes — until 

 the whole ball is soaked through. When the 

 air-bubbles cease to rise the ball is generallv 

 thoroughly soaked. Pouring water on the 

 top of the soil of a dried-out pot plant is 

 generally useless because the ball contracts 

 in drying and leaves a small space between 

 itself and the pot down which the water will 

 run. 



Bathe the leaves frequently to remove 

 dust, which will inevitably settle on them and 

 choke up the pores. When the plant is in the 

 sink or tub a hand syringe can be used to 

 spray the foliage without wetting the floor. 

 If this is inconvenient then carefully rub 

 over the surface of each leaf with a damp 

 sponge. If necessary a little soap may be 

 used in the water. 



Many amateurs do serious injury to their 

 house plants by not leaving well enough alone 

 while growth is dormant or almost so. It is 

 simply folly to fuss about with potted plants 

 at that season. Do not disturb the roots at all 

 during the winter for most plants are resting 

 and cannot quickly put out new roots. This 

 is particularly true of such decorative plants 

 as palms, rubber plants, and ferns which can 

 be shifted or fed with fertilizers only in 

 summer. Soft wooded plants like geraniums 

 and heliotropes are not so easily injured by 

 transplanting, but even so I prefer to put 

 them in large enough pots in the fall so that 

 they will not need shifting until spring. If 

 they should need extra feeding, on account 

 of large growth, it is much better given in 

 liquid form. The best form of liquid 

 plant food is made from cow manure — at the 

 rate of a bushel to a barrel of water — be- 





One of the easiest of flowering plants to grow in the 

 window is Begonia metaUtca 



