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House Plants That Flourish in Low Temperatures—By C. B. Hornor 
WHAT CAN BE GROWN IN A ROOM WITHOUT DIRECT HEAT, WHERE THE THERMOME- 
TER NEVER GOES ABOVE SIXTY DEGREES AND SOMETIMES DROPS TO THIRTY-FIVE 
quar house plants can be successfully 
grown in a cool room where during 
the daytime the average temperature is 55 
degrees and at night about 42 degrees, I 
have proved with such plants as coleus, 
geraniums, freesias, begonias, ferns, cacti, 
etc. The room in which these plants are 
grown is 16x18 ft., with three windows 
having an eastern, and two a southern 
exposure. The room has no direct heat, 
the only artificial warmth that reaches it 
coming from a narrow hall leading into a 
heated room and from a door opening into 
a warm hall. In this room the thermom- 
eter never goes above 60 degrees, while 
the minimum temperature, occuring but 
once or twice during the season, is 35 
degrees. 
My success I ascribe principally to the fol- 
lowing: the low temperature of the room; 
the compost used, made of all the manures 
that it is possible to get (green and other- 
wise), mixed with wood ashes, brick dust, 
_ scraps of old leather, bone meal, rotten 
stump and, above all, pea vines which decay 
very quickly. The continued coolness of 
the room, and the fact that I leave most of 
of the plants outdoors until the thermometer 
registers 30 degrees, keeps them free from 
insects. They are also stronger and in 
better condition for having had a little 
cold weather. 
I am very particular that the plants shall 
have the best possible drainage and always 
place broken charcoal in the bottom of the 
pots. When in the house, I am also par- 
ticular that the plants be watered each day; 
but when they are in the ground I never 
water them, but simply loosen the soil from 
time to time and keep it free from weeds. 
The coleus plants, one year old, were 
raised from slips and brought into the house 
early in September. These are the only 
plants that are removed from the room at 
any time during the winter. When the 
temperature approaches 35 degrees in the 
room, I move the coleus into a warmer 
temperature. This plant makes an atirac- 
tive growth before most of the other plants 
are brought indoors. 
The geraniums raised from seed were 
planted in the house in February and placed 
in the ground in May, at which time they 
were three or four inches high. Except the 
delicate rose geranium, which was housed 
in September, all the geraniums were 
brought into the house about November 
15th. For window display plant in 3, or 4- 
inch pots. A ClydeandaSnowdrop geranium 
one and a half years old, were raised from 
California seed, and were brought into the 
house November 12th. The following were 
raised from cuttings and are strong, vigorous, 
three-year old plants: Madame Bruant, 
Jean Viaud, double General Grant, Gettys- 
burg, Granville, Telegraph and the ivy 
geranium Galilee. The last three named 
are but one year old. 
A gillyflower with its lovely lavender 
blossoms was raised from seed planted in 
May. The plant was brought indoors in 
October and bloomed in January. ‘This, 
These plants were brought indoors during September, October, and November, and were successfully grown in an unheated room 
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