THE HOUSE GARDEN. 



PLANTS FOR THE WINDOW, AND HOW TO HANDLE THEM. 



CAN SAY, from practical experi- 

 ence, that no plants are so suit- 

 able for window gardening as or- 

 namental foliage plants, for no 

 others are so easily managed, if 

 once they are started right. Flow- 

 ering plants have a greater tendency to become 

 straggling and top-heavy, to have many dead leaves 

 which must be removed, or they present a most 

 untidy appearance. Foliage plants are much more 

 compact, graceful, and ornamental in appearance ; 

 and another point in their favor is that, while a 

 bright, sunny window is indispensable to full suc- 

 cess with flowering plants, a partially shaded posi- 

 tion is much better for ornamental-leaved kinds. 

 In fact, if they are placed in a south window, it 

 will be necessary to provide a curtain to shield them 

 from the direct rays of the sun, as the days become 

 warmer in the spring. 



The first requisite for success is to select plants which 

 will be as attractive as possible, which will be able to 

 stand a considerable amount of rough usage, and such 

 as are not too straggling in habit, for economy of space 

 must be considered in the selection of window plants. 



To avoid the sudden drying out, which is so injurious 

 to the health of most plants in dwellings, I would sug- 

 gest that a box be made the size required, and then lined 

 with zinc. Have a pipe from the bottom of the box to 

 carry away the water which will soak through when 

 watering. Place the plants in this box with the rim of 

 the pots a little below the top of the box ; fill in between 

 the pots with moss, which will keep the plants from dry- 

 ing out, and will tend to prevent their becoming infested 

 with red spider. If the plants are to stand separate, the 

 pots can be placed inside of others, two sizes larger 

 and the space between filled with either moss or sand. 

 Plants so treated are not much trouble, as they will not 

 require so much watering. Never water unless the 

 plants are dry ; then give enough to thoroughly soak the 

 soil. The speed with which water will evaporate from 

 the soil of a porous pot fully exposed to the dry air of a 

 dwelling is something astonishing, and the plants are 

 almost certain to suffer thereby at times. By the means 

 indicated, this is largely avoided and the plants make a 

 more satisfactory growth. 



Sponging off the leaves occasionally with tepid water 

 will greatly improve the appearance of the plants, and 

 besides, it is very beneficial in preventing the attacks of 

 red spider and other insects. Plants well cared for are 

 much less liable to suffer from insect pests than those 

 which are neglected. If troubled with scale, make a 



thick suds of whale-oil soap and rub this on the plants. 

 Let it remain some time, then carefully rub it off with a 

 sponge, or syringe with clean water. It is necessary to 

 use care not to get any of the solution on the young 

 leaves, else it will injure them and cause them to fall off. 

 If the plants are properly cared for, sponging off the 

 leaves occasionally, this remedy need not be applied. 

 In my opinion, clean water is the best insecticide if used 

 in time. For the green-fly, tobacco stems may be steeped 

 and the decoction syringed over the plants, if fumigat- 

 ing with tobacco smoke is undesirable, as it usually is in 

 living rooms. 



In summer time your plants can be put out-doors, and 

 those which need repotting attended to. Have the pots 

 well filled with roots before the plants are taken into the 

 house in the fall. If you have a partly shaded place 

 near the house, you can plunge the plants in the soil ; 

 if nicely arranged they will give a very satisfactory ef- 

 fect, and the plants will do better. 



Always have some good potting soil on hand. It should 

 be composed of leaf-mould, decomposed manure, sand 

 and rotted sod. See that your pots are well drained, 

 for no plants will remain long in a healthy condition 

 unless the drainage is perfect. The following is a list of 

 plants, all of which will, in my judgment, prove satis- 

 factory as window plants : 



Aralia elegantissima. 

 " Guilfoylei. 

 " \'ariegata. 

 .■\raucaria Cookii. 



" Cuiininghami. 

 " excelsa. 

 .\reca lutesceiis. 



" Madagascarieiisis 

 Aspidistra lurida, var. 

 Aucuba Japonica. 



bicolor. 

 Achryanthus Herbstii. 



" Liiidenii. 

 Cycas revoluta. 

 Curculigo recurvata. 



" variegata. 

 Carludovica atrovirens. 

 ChariKcrops excelsa. 



Fortunei. 

 " humilis. 

 Cyperus alteniifolius. 



" variegatus. 

 Draciena termiiialis. 

 " Baptisti. 

 " Brasiliensis. 

 Euoiiymus Japonica. 

 Farfugium grande. 

 Ficus elastica. 



*' repens. 

 Keiitia auslralis. 

 *' Balnioreana. 

 " Fosteriana. 



Cornell University. 



Latania Borbonica. 

 Pandanus Veitchii. 



" utilis. 



" Javaiiiciis. 

 Pepironica argyraea. 

 Panicum variegatum. 

 Phorium tenax. 



" variegatum. 

 Retinospora plumosa. 

 Tradescaiilia discolor. 



" zebrina. 

 Yucca filamentosa, var. 



" aloifolia, variegata. 

 Begonia, Countess L. Erdody. 

 Rex. 



" Louis Chretien, 



" Queen of Hanover. 



" Queen Victoria. 



" manicata, aurea. 



" O'Donoghue. 

 Selaginella cordifolia. 



" Wildmorii. 



" Kraussiana. 



" Martensii, variegata. 

 Asplenium bulbiforum. 



" aculeatum. 

 Nephrolepis exaltata. 



" davallioides, furcans 

 Pteris cretica, alba lineata. 



" serrulata. 

 Platycerium alicorne. 



R. Shore. 



