December. 1905 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



225 



Start a few bulbs of the Chinese sacred lily (Nar- 

 cissus Tazetta). They will make welcome presents in 

 this stage, and the attention until they flower will be 

 a constant reminder of the giver 



place. There is no need to pay the higher 

 price. Get one of the varieties named above 

 and no trouble will be experienced. 



After flowering keep the plants from 

 freezing, and when the weather gets warmer, 

 say about May 20th, plant them outdoors. 

 Water well all summer, and syringe regularly 

 for red spider, etc. In the fall, before frost, 

 lift and repot for next Chrismas flowering. 



CALLA LILIES AX ENTIRE SEASON 



Though the flowers may be stiff and the 

 foliage coarse, compared with begonias, 

 azaleas, etc., yet the African calla (Richardia 

 Africana) is nevertheless one of the most use- 

 ful of house plants. It grows by means of 

 creeping underground veins, called rhizomes 

 (not bulbs), which can be bought for very 

 little (fifteen to twenty-five cents each) . They 

 start readily when potted up in an ordinary 

 soil and placed in a window. Two or three 

 rhizomes in one pot (say a six-inch pot) give 

 the best results, and, when once established 

 and kept growing on, they will bloom at inter- 

 vals throughout the whole season. Their 

 bright green leaves enliven a dwelling house 

 at all times, and in many ways they are prefer- 

 able to palms. 



Besides the well-known white calla, there 

 are several others worth a place. The dwarf- 

 habited R. Africana, var. nana compacta, the 

 little gem of the trade, resembles the larger 

 growing type in every detail except in habit 

 and growth. It is much smaller and more 

 compact. This is perhaps the best of all the 

 callas for house work. Richardia EUiottiana 

 and R. Pentlandii have yellow flowers and 

 are more expensive than the others. The 

 former has a white spotted leaf and is the 

 better known, but Pentlandii has a deeper, 

 richer color. 



The common spotted calla (R. albo- 

 maadata) is rather curious than beautiful. 

 There are sufficient of these to make a very 

 interesting collection, and if one window of 

 the house were devoted to them exclusivelv 



there would always be some flower in it, from 

 one or another of the species. 



Callas are naturally bog plants, and require 

 abundance of water at all times. In sum- 

 mer, when evaporation is great, the saucers 

 in which they stand may be kept always full, 

 but in winter this is not necessarv. In fact, 

 during the dull days the more air that can 

 circulate through the soil the better. 



Nearly every person you meet has his own 

 peculiar way of treating these plants after 

 they have done their winter service, which 

 only goes to show that callas are among the 

 easiest of all house plants to manage. I have 

 given most of the ways a fair trial, and have 

 not found enough difference to warrant the 

 exclusive recommendation of any. 



If the calla is wanted for a house plant the 

 whole year through, all you have to do is to 

 "keep it growing," only repot in fresh soil 

 and a larger pot. in August or September. If 



Have something out of the ordinary rut! Mint on 

 Christmas day. It is as easy to grow as parsley, so 

 why be satisfied with the dried stuff? 



you have to leave your plants to the tender 

 mercies of someone else during the summer 

 months you can knock them out of their pots 

 and plant them out in the garden, when they 

 will take care of themselves and be ready for 

 lifting and potting again in August or Sep- 

 tember for winter blooming. 



Even if you have no garden you can keep 

 them over the summer. Lay the pots on 

 their sides in a shady place for a few months. 

 The soil will become quite dry, but the rhi- 

 zomes will not suffer. In the fall, shake off 

 the old soil and repot in fresh mold, just as 

 you would in the case of newly purchased 

 roots or bulbs. 



A DAISY THAT FLOWERS THREE TIMES A 

 YEAR 



For sheets of white or pale yellow bloom at 

 a cheap price, the Marguerite or Paris Daisy 

 (Chrysanthemum frutescens) is unequalled. 

 It can be had in good plants at Christmas 

 time, from seventy cents up. There are 

 several varieties in both colors. The best of 

 the newer ones are Coronation and Queen 

 Alexandra. Coronation is better than the 



old Paris Daisy, because its flowers are more 

 dazzlingly white and are produced in greater 

 profusion. The Queen Alexandra variety 

 is anemone flowered; that is, the white ray 

 petals of the outer whorl are as in the ordinary 

 form, but the centre (or disc) consists of a 

 cluster of tubular florets, which are also 

 white. They form a rounded cushion, about 

 which the ray or outer petals set as a frill. It 

 resembles the anemone-flowered chrysanthe- 

 mum in every particular. 



The Marguerites remain in bloom for 

 several months at a time, and flower two or 

 three times during the year. If kept in a 

 cold room during winter (a temperature of 

 55 suits them best) they will positively thrive. 

 When summer comes plant them outdoors 

 and they will give abundance of bloom to 

 cut from. They propagate as readily as ger- 

 aniums. Cuttings taken from the old plants 

 in July or August will make good flowering 

 plants for the following winter. They are 

 not subject to diseases of any kind, and are 

 practically immune from insect attacks. 



A SHORT-LIVED BUT EFFECTIVE FLOWERING 

 PLANT 



The best gorgeous yellow plant is the 

 genista (Cytisus racemosus and C. Canarien- 

 sis), but its great drawback is that the flowers 

 do not last long, and unless wanted for a 

 special occasion they do not make satisfactory 

 house plants. While they are in flower, how- 

 ever, they are beautiful, being one mass of 

 small yellow pea-like flowers. After treat- 

 ment is the same as recommended for azaleas. 



Poinsettias, crotons, and dracaenas also 

 belong to the unsatisfactory class. They are 

 very beautiful while they last, but the tem- 

 perature and atmosphere of the ordinary 

 living room do not suit their requirements. 



The most aristocratic looKing of all the bulbs, 

 Hippeastram aulicum, or ainaryllis of the florists, flowers 

 best when grown in pots. The bulbs should be started 

 into growth after the first of January 



