Among the Flowers With Eben E. Rexford 



TRACTICAL MELTS IN FLORICULTURE FOR AMATEURS 



[This department is under the entire charge of Mr. Rexford, and everything not signed 

 by another name is from his pen. Readers are cordially invited to correspond freely with 

 Mr. Rexford, addressing him in care of this oflBce.] 



IX the window garden, because of its 

 limitations, we are often compelled to 

 divide plants when they are in their 

 prime, because if this is not done larger pots 

 will be needed if we would not have the 

 plant receive the check which comes from 

 being root-bound. This is especially the 

 case with sword ferns. In order to antici- 

 pate such a condition, make a division of 

 old plants in spring. This will give you 

 strong, well-developed plants by fall, and 

 you will have fine specimens in winter, 

 when they will be most appreciated. But 

 if you have a greenhouse, give some of the 

 large plants larger pots, or tubs, and allow 

 them to develop to their fullest extent. 

 One has but a slight idea of the decorative 

 possibilities of some of our fine foliaged 

 plants from seeing them as they are grown 

 in small pots in the window. Small speci- 

 mens are ornamental, as far as they go, 

 but they do not go very far. 



* * * 



Roses in the House. — It is possible to 

 grow roses in the house, but they must 

 be given the best of care, and treated ac- 

 cording to their requirements. .They 

 should have a rather heavy soil, good 

 drainage, not very large pots, plenty of 

 fertilizer when growing, plenty of sun- 

 shine, a moderate amount of water, and be 

 kept free from insects of all kinds. The 

 temperature ought not to run above sev- 

 enty by day, and should fall to about sixty 

 at night. 



* * * 



The question is often asked : Can 

 plants be grown in cans and boxes as satis- 

 factorily as in pots? In reply, I would 

 say that it depends on where they are 

 grown. In the living room, where the 

 temperature is high, plants will flourish 

 in cans, or pots of glazed ware, because 



evaporation takes place less rapidly from 

 them than from porous pots. But in the 

 greenhouse, where the temperature is more 

 even, and generally several degrees lower, 

 a freer evaporation is advisable, and for 

 use these porous pots are preferable to 

 glazed ones, or to vessels of tin or wood. 

 * * * 



Pots ought never be allowed to stand 

 with full exposure to the hot summer sun, 

 because the heat so affects them that the 

 delicate roots which come in contact with 



"ON A BANK TWO ROSES FAIR" 



their sides are greatly injured, and often 

 killed. In the window aim to have the top 

 of the pot on a level with the window sill, 

 or, if the sill is used as a shelf, have a thin 

 board between pot and glass. 



