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HOME AND FLOWERS 



OUE EE A DEES' 



Failure With Oxalis.— (C. W. E.) I can not 

 understand -why your Buttercup oxalis fails to 

 bloom profusely. Perhaps the trouble may be 

 with the soil. Let me tell you how I grow this 

 plant. In September I plant from six to eight 

 roots in a hanging basket of ordinary size. I 

 give them a soil of common garden loam. By 

 November the baskets are covered with foliage, 

 and a little later the plants come into bloom, 

 and from that time to May they are masses of 

 rich yellow, each cluster containing from six 

 to ten flowers at a time, from forty to fifty or 

 sixty stems of bloom to be counted on each 

 pot. Give a sunny location, moderate amount 

 of water, and not too high a temperature. So 

 freely does this plant bloom for me that I de- 

 pend upon it for yellow after the chrysanthe- 

 mums are gone, and I find it a good substitute 

 for them. I grow forty or fifty pots of it each 

 season. In May I ^vithhold water, and the 

 foliage soon dies off. Then the pots are set 

 away in a dry place, and left there until Sep- 

 tember. Then I sift the roots out of the old soil 

 and repot. Generally scores of roots will be 

 found where only one was planted. The smallest 

 of them will bloom nearly as profusely as the 

 larger ones. 



Palm Failure.— (^Irs. J. P. C.) The fact 

 that your palm was healthy up to a certain 

 period, £:nd then all at once began to fail, 

 would go to show that something must have 

 suddenly happened to interfere with its devel- 

 opment. Are you sure it did not get chilled? 

 A sudden drop in temperature might account 

 for the trouble. It is possible that worms may 

 be at work at the roots of it, though these 

 would hardly be likely to bring on such a sudden 

 change as you speak of. It is also possible that 

 the roots may be diseased. Examine and see 

 if this is the case. I once lost a fine specimen 

 of Latania borbonica by decay of the crown of 

 the plant. Apparently the plant was in perfect 

 health, but one day we discovered that one leaf 

 was limp. The next day we fpund another in 

 the same condition, and in less than two weeks 

 every leaf was gone. On examining the plant 

 we found the crown of it soft with decay. If 

 your plant is in the condition you describe 

 nothing can be done to save it. 



Scale on Boston Fern.— (Mrs. T.) Yes, scale 

 will greatly injure your fern. In time it will 

 ruin it, if not interfered with. But how to 

 interfere with it without injury to the plant is 

 a problem hard to solve satisfactorily. About 

 the only way to rid a plant of scale is to go 

 over it and forcibly remove each one, and this 

 is a tiresome operation, and one by which the 



PEEPLEXITIES 



plant suffers to a greater or less extent. If the 

 fronds are thickly infested, I would advise cut- 

 ting them off and allowing the plant to renew 

 itself, keeping close watch of the new fronds 

 as they develop. The application of a wash of 

 Fir-tree oil soapsuds, once a week, will do much 

 to prevent scale from taking possession of the 

 plant. Let it be somewhat weaker than advised 

 in the direction on the cans containing the soap, 

 and apply it "with a sprayer. It is easier to keep 

 scale from plants than it is to get rid of it 

 after it has taken possession of them. 



Bone JfeaL— (Mrs. M. C.) It is not an easy 

 matter to advise any one as to just how often 

 to use bone meal on plants. Much depends on 

 the soil. If it is moderately rich less meal will 

 be needed and less frequently should it be used. 

 The aim is to keep the plants going steadily 

 and healthily ahead. L"^se a little meal, and 

 watch the effect. As soon as growth seems in- 

 clined to flag a little apply more meal, but 

 never use enough to bring about a rapid, weak 

 growth. As a general thing it will not. be neces- 

 sary to use more than a teaspoonful to a seven 

 or eight-inch pot once a month, and often this 

 would be more than was needed. Be governed 

 by the condition of the plant. Study the effect 

 of it on them, and you will soon be able to use 

 it intelligently. Personal observation must be 

 depended on more than the advice of any one, 

 because of the great difference in the condi- 

 tions of soil. 



Hoya Failing to Bloom. — (Mrs. A. C.) I 

 have been told by an old gardener who was for 

 many years in the employ of the late Peter 

 Henderson that frequently the hoya or wax 

 plant can be made to bloom by allowing it to 

 get quite dry at the roots and remain so for 

 three or four weeks in summer — not dry enough 

 to wither, but enough to prevent growth. Then 

 give more water, gradually. The result is in 

 many instances a crop of. flowers when the next 

 period of growth occurs. I am inclined to think 

 that your plant has too much root room. Per- 

 haps when the pail is filled with roots the plant 

 may make less rampant growth and flower more 

 freely. It require3 a warm place, and not a 

 great deal of water. The insect you complain 

 of is scale. Scrub your vine, leaf by leaf, and 

 rub off every scale you find, washing it at the 

 same time vrith Fir-tree oil soapsuds. 



Tradescantia.— (:sLvs. TT. F.) This plant 

 is sometimes called "Wandering Jew," I believe, 

 and you may know it by that name in your 

 locality. It has a fleshy stalk, and oval leaves. 

 One variety shows stripes of plum color on a 



