Red Berries that Last Two Years—By Thomas McAdam, %%, 
THE ASTONISHING STORY OF A LITTLE EVERGREEN SHRUB —A NEW AND SINGU- 
LARLY INGENIOUS WAY OF MAKING SOMEONE SUPREMELY HAPPY AT CHRISTMAS 
oe PPE as it may seem, the 
red holly-like berries of the charming 
Ardisia actually remain attractive for two 
whole years and more! “If you look closely 
at them you can tell which are the two- 
year-old berries. They are the lower ones 
and they are just a trifle darker than the 
year-old berries, which occupy the upper 
half of the plant. 
As the public demand a ‘‘common”’ name 
for everything worth having, this plant might 
be christened the ‘Japanese Christmas 
berry,” but the florists know it only as 
Ardisia crenulata. The name of ‘“‘spear- 
flower” sometimes given it does not appear 
appropriate. It is incomparably the best 
red-berried house-plant for Christmas gifts 
and has the extraordinary merit of remaining 
in attractive condition for five to eight years, 
if properly cared for. 
The whole bearing of the Ardisia is singu- 
larly Japanese, as if this gifted people had 
impressed upon it some of their best natural 
traits. In fact, it almost seems an outgrowth 
of Japanese art, rather than a product of 
Nature—not the picturesque or grotesque 
Japanese art, but that small formal handi- 
work, quiet, rich and elegant—which bears 
mute interest to the competent, self-contained 
character of the Japanese. One sees all 
this in the dark, lustrous, shapely evergreen 
leaves that last three years; in the soft, 
mellow glow of the ardent but enduring 
berries; and in the dignified port of this 
compact, symmetrical, little shrub. 
Like everything of surpassing merit the 
Ardisia has its limitations. It always will 
be costly, for it takes two years to raise it 
from seed to the berried condition; and a 
really first-class specimen eighteen inches 
high and bearing hundreds of berries often 
represents five years’ growth, and ought really 
to be worth $5.00 or more. No wonder the 
demand exceeds the supply, for the ordinary 
florist sees little inducement to give his 
precious glass-house space and good coal 
heat for two years to a plant that will bring 
him no more at Christmas than a poinsettia 
started in May. 
Like many other choice shrubs the Ar- 
disia is at its best when only two feet high. 
After that it tends to lose the lower leaves 
and get “‘leggy.”” When that happens there 
is a notable remedy which never fails to 
arouse enthusiasm. You can make a deep, 
slanting cut in the stem just below the foliage, 
and cover it with moss which you must tie 
tightly and keep wet all the time. In about 
a month the moss will be so full of roots that 
you can cut off the old bare stem and pot the 
newly rooted plant, thus retaining all the 
beauty of a splendid old specimen while 
furnishing it with foliage right down to the 
pot. You need not lose a single berry and 
the plant has been known to produce a crop 
of its dainty, rose-red, fragrant blossoms 
during the change from one root system to 
another. The same thing can be done with 
rubber plants. Not one amateur in a hun- 
dred, however, will succeed with this process, 
but a florist will do it for you. It is the only 
way to restore to their original beauty 
certain Christmas and birthday gifts which 
often have priceless associations to their 
owners who would gladly pay anything in 
reason. 
Does not this suggest a new way to make 
somebody very happy this Christmas? Don’t 
you know some dear old lady who treasures 
with pathetic devotion, for sentiment’s sake, 
an uncomfortably large and awkward rubber 
plant? Borrow it for a month on the plea 
that you know a florist that can help it 
The best small red-berried house vlant for Christmas decoration. 
without hurting it and give her a surprise 
during the holidays. The best plan is 
to do this after the holidays and restore it 
at Easter, but if you act before November 
20th you may be able to restore it on Christ- 
mas day! — 
Somebody ought to make a life hobby 
of the Ardisia and put the finishing touches 
upon its perfection. We need a fast-growing 
variety that will branch from below instead 
of only at the top; will be less likely to drop 
leaves or berries when exposed to sudden 
drouth in the dwelling house and _ will 
be uniformly covered with berries — that 
will stand out against the glossy dark leaves 
and never be partially obscured by them. 
Variations in these directions may be ob- 
243, 
served in every large batch of seedlings. 
And when the new variety is secured, it will 
doubtless have to be propagated by cuttings, 
because the seeds will give too much variation. 
Plants raised from cuttings make more 
shapely specimens because they are shorter 
and a foot or rarely eighteen inches wide, 
while those from seeds are usually only 
eight inches across. It is harder and costlier - 
to raise them from cuttings, which are best 
made from half-ripened wood in spring. 
If you give a friend an Ardisia this Christ- 
mas tell her she can keep it five years (eight 
years if she has a little greenhouse) and that 
it need never be without berries for a day 
if she will follow these directions faithfully. 
Keep it in a cool room in partial shade and 
Ardisia crenulata 
give it a night temperature of 45° to 50°. 
Wash the stems and leaves once a fortnight 
with strong tobacco water to prevent the 
large brown scale from coming. In summer, 
put it outdoors under a tree, and syringe it 
daily. Don’t give mice a chance to eat the 
berries. Follow the general directions given 
in the following article. 
An amusing fact about the Ardisia is 
that every berry is worth a cent. The seeds 
cost a dollar a hundred wholesale. Con- 
sequently a cluster two and a half inches 
across containing twenty-five berries is 
actually worth a quarter! No wonder the 
florist makes practically nothing out of a 
plant we buy for $2.50. 
Although the Ardisia is decorative every 
