The Garden Magazine 
VoL. IV—No. 6 
PUBLISHED MONTHLY 
TAINIUE RNG S07 
° { ONE DOLLAR A YEAR 
| FIFTEEN CENTS A Copy 
Watering House Plants 
Ho OFTEN shall I water the plants 
in my window garden?” 
There can be no general answer, except 
“when they need it.” Don’t over-water, 
but give sufficient to thoroughly wet the soil 
at each time, and wait until it has dried out 
a liltle before giving more water. 
Did you ever see a gardener or florist rap 
the outside of a flower pot with his knuckles ? 
He does that to ascertain how it “‘rings.” 
If the soil is wet, the sound is dull and heavy; 
if dry, the pot resounds with a clear, sharp 
tone. Therefore, give water whenever the 
pot rings sharp and clear. Give each pot a 
rap with the knuckles every day at least, 
until you have arrived at a knowledge of the 
capacity of each pot for holding water. Do 
it regularly when you are giving the window 
plants the routine attention. Some pots will 
require wetting only once in two days, per- 
haps; others twice in one day, depending on 
the size of the pot, the nature of the soil, the 
quantity of drainage in the pot, and espe- 
cially, on the dryness of the atmosphere in 
the room. Steam heated apartments are 
usually very trying to plants; furnace heated 
rooms are generally a little more moist be- 
cause of the evaporating pan that is in the 
furnace. 
Never resort to a daily light sprinkling. 
This will keep the surface soil wet—-so wet 
sometimes that moss will grow on it, but the 
mass of soil in the pot remains dry. 
Here is the surest, easiest, and cleanest 
way to water house plants: Take the plants 
from the window and put them in a tub, or 
other convenient place—the kitchen sink 
is perhaps the handiest of all. Here they 
may be watered copiously, the surplus drain- 
ing away; and the foliage may be syringed 
—-that will help fo keep the leaves clean, 
and remove dust, which otherwise will choke 
up the pores. Or the pots may be put in a 
tub filled with water to within an inch of the 
rim of the pot. Let them remain here until 
the soil in the pot becomes thoroughly soaked. 
When this is accomplished the surface soil 
will show signs of dampness. Now remove 
the pot, and set it aside somewhere, to drain. 
If watering must be done in the window or 
room, use a saucer under the pot, and give 
water inside the pot until it is full to the top. 
Let the water soak in, and any that runs out 
at the drainage holes in the bottom will be 
held in the saucer. Do not at once empty 
this, but let it remain, with the pot standing 
in it, for an hour. If the soil is loose in the 
pot, water runs through it quickly, without 
really watering; leaving it standing thus, 
you give ample opportunity for the soil to 
soak up a proper supply of water. But 
don’t let water remain in the saucer indef- 
initely. It prevents aération of the roots, 
which is every bit as necessary as water. 
BULBS IN THE HOUSE 
If you acted on the advice given in the 
September Gardener’s Reminder, you will be 
ready with a stock of bulbs in pots for bloom 
through the first two months of the year, 
and before there is any opportunity for work 
to be done outside. | Hyacinths, tulips, daf- 
fodils that were potted in September, and 
put under cover in the cellar, can be brought 
into the light (and heat) about Christmas 
week, or later, according to the time that 
flowers are wanted. By bringing in several 
pots, in succession, at intervals of a week 
or ten days, flowers can be had from about 
January 2oth until the outdoor spring flowers 
appear. There is nothing difficult in this. 
The pots, or boxes merely need digging up 
from the ashes, and the bulbs will commence 
to grow at once in a window garden where 
they are not exposed to frost. On very 
cold nights, or very wintry days, take them 
away from the window. 
The bulbs cannot help flowering, if you 
give them a fair chance. The flower was 
nestling down in it when you bought the 
bulb, and is only too anxious to push itself 
into the sunshine. Failures with bulbs are 
always due to careless or improper treatment. 
The most common fault of the window 
garden is its irregularity ot temperature— 
too warm in the day, and too cold at night— 
especially the latter. 
Good tulips for early forcing are Proserpine, 
Yellow Prince, Chrysolora, Vermilion Bril- 
liant, La Reine, Rose Grisdelin Cottage Maid. 
Do not try to force double tulips until late 
in February. 
GETTING READY FOR EASTER 
Next Easter day is March 31st. It is 
quite possible for the window gardener to 
force flowers for Easter. The easiest plants 
to handle for this purpose are the hortensia, 
(Hydrangea hortensis), and the florist’s 
spirea (lstilbe Japonica). Sparaxis, ixia 
and freesia, among the Cape bulbs, can also 
be had easily. 
Most people fail to grow the spirea because 
they do not give it sufficient water. It must 
be kept constantly moist. Buy roots as 
early as possible in December. They may 
be potted at once, or stored in a cool place— 
a little frost will do no harm. Bring into 
the warmth the latter part of January. Do 
the same thing with the hydrangea. They 
both need ten weeks from starting growth 
until they flower. 
ALSO BEFORE JANUARY FIRST 
Begin forcing Easter lilies (Lilium longi- 
florum, var. extmium)—bulbs brought in from 
frames and pits as soon as possible can be 
put in a cool house where not less than 45° is 
maintained. Give a gradual increase of 
about 2° or 3° a week until 60° is reached. 
If by the end of February the buds are not 
well developed, give a somewhat higher 
temperature; even 75° will not hurt them. 
The middle of December is late for forcing 
lilies, but flowers can be had by Easter, if 
all conditions are favorable. 
AFTER JANUARY FIRST 
Put into a cool house (40° to 45° night 
temperature) pots and pans of ixia, ane- 
mone, sparaxis, and other Cape bulbs, which 
were potted as advised in the September 
Gardener’s Reminder. 
SEEDS TO SOW NOW 
As early as possible this month sow seeds of 
pansy, . lobelia, verbena, marguerite, car- 
nation, snapdragon, petunia, daisy, forget- 
me-not, wishbone plant (Torenia), impatiens, 
silk oak, banana, as well as of all the plants 
mentioned in Mr. Rockwell’s article on page 
281 of this number. Carefully read that 
article too, for it is the best description of 
how to do the work that we know. The 
perennials and annual bedding plants raised 
from these early sowings will be in flower 
by planting-out time in May. Buy a few 
cactus seeds after reading Mr. Barnes’s 
article on page 278. Cannas can be sown 
now, or later. 
THINK OF NEXT SUMMER’S BEDS 
There is no more showy plant for outdoor 
bedding in a shaded spot than the tuberous 
begonia—it will grow best at the north side 
of a house, or partially shaded by trees. If 
you want large flowering plants by June, 
sow seeds indoors now. Begonia semper- 
florens, var. Fairy Queen, does much better 
in partially shaded beds than in full sun. 
Gloxinias (for indoor cultivation only) can 
also be started in the greenhouse now. 
