228 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



December, 1905 



tionably the best, from all standpoints, is the 

 Boston fern and its now numerous varieties. 

 They will succeed well in a room that is com- 

 fortably warm, but prefer a temperature of 

 6o°. They like full sunlight in winter, 

 though they will stand in a very shady corner 

 for a time. They should not, however, be 

 left there long, or the leaves will turn yellow 

 and drop. If you have several plants, keep 

 changing them around from place to place, so 

 that none will suffer unduly. 



You can give the baby a drink at regular 

 intervals, but the weather, atmosphere and 

 temperature of a room vary so much that no 

 such rule can be applied to watering house 

 plants. The different families of plants also 

 vary, some requiring a drier and some a 

 wetter soil than others. On general prin- 

 ciples, when you strike the pot sharply with 

 your thumb nail or some hard implement and 

 the sound is sharp and clear, the plant needs 

 water; if dull, it is wet enough. Again, take 

 some of the earth from the pot and squeeze 

 it between your finger and thumb; if it feels 

 soft and spongy or adheres in a mass, it needs 

 no water; but if it falls apart, give a good 

 watering. Mark, when "a good watering" 



is spoken of, I do not mean two tablespoon- 

 fuls, but as much as a teacupful to a 6-inch 

 pot, and more or less, according to the size 

 of the pot. 



The keeping of house plants in saucers is 

 necessary for cleanliness, but as soon as the 

 water has soaked through the saucer should 

 be emptied. The hole in the bottom of the 

 pot is not there for drainage only; it is meant 

 also for an air passage. It is well to raise the 

 bottom of the pot a little above the bottom of 

 the saucer, by standing it on a few pieces of 

 broken pot or other material. 



Notes of warning are often heard about the 

 bad effects which accrue from having plants 

 in our living rooms. Such talk is exagger- 

 ated. It may not be advisable to have a lot 

 of plants in a sleeping room, however, as 

 assimilation stops when the sun goes down. 

 The effect would be the same as if a num- 

 ber of people were to sleep in one room. 



All plants that have their pots full of roots 

 and are in a healthy condition are benefited 

 by feeding. But a healthy condition is neces- 

 sary. No sickly plant can survive on a strong 

 diet any more than can a dyspeptic, but this 

 sickly condition of plants is often brought 



The only gorgeous yellow-flowered shrub (hat is in flower at Christmas is the genista (Cytisusl. Its 

 bloom does not last long, however, and it should be bought only for some special purpose. Of the two species 

 commonly grown by florists, C. Canariensis has shorter racemes of flowers than C. racemosus 



'Primula obconica will flower nearly all the year, but 

 its lilac flowers are small. The foliage poisons some 

 people, which has lessened its popularity 



about by lack of nourishment, and feeding is 

 then necessary. 



Chemical fertilizers will enable you to 

 have smaller pots than would otherwise be 

 necessary, and for house plants large pots are 

 especially cumbersome. Plants fed regularly 

 with chemical manure can be kept healthy in 

 a pot one-half the size that would otherwise 

 be needed. The feeding of plants in pots 

 must always be done very carefully, and at 

 the proper time. Don't give doses of food 

 when the plants are just past their periods of 

 most active growth. 



In flowering plants the greatest amount of 

 the plant's work is done by the time the buds 

 are fully developed, therefore stop feeding. 



Fertilizers then would only hasten the end 

 of the blooming season and shorten its dura- 

 tion by days, or even weeks. Once the plant 

 is in flower give only the necessary water, but 

 just as soon as the blooms drop feed again 

 and assist the plant into healthy, vigorous 

 growth. This will improve your next crop 

 of flowers. In the case of palms and foliage 

 this contingency does not arise. As soon as 

 the pots are full of roots the plants will be 

 benefited by feeding constantly. 



A very clean, cheap and convenient fer- 

 tilizer for house plants is ordinary "house- 

 hold" ammonia. Commence with five or 

 six drops of ammonia to a cupful of water, and 

 as the plants get used to it increase the dose, 

 but never let it exceed half a teaspoonful to a 

 breakfast cup of water. A teaspoonful of the 

 special plant fertilizer sprinkled on the top 

 of a 6-inch pot— more or less, according to 

 the size of the pot — is sufficient. Then 

 water it in. One application every two 

 weeks should be sufficient. Wash the leaves 

 every now and then, for dust will gather in 

 the cleanest of rooms. If red spider or thrips 

 attack the foliage plants sponge with water 

 and a very little soap. For aphis on flowering 

 plants sprinkle slightly with tobacco powder. 

 Do this upon the first appearance of evil; one 

 ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 



