INDULGING ONE’S 
FANCY 
Even a small conservatory 
affords opportunity for 
creating a little Palm world 
in which a semblance of the 
tropics will defy the winter 
DOMESTICATING THE PALM 
CAMILLE HART IRVINE 
If You Cannot Go to the Tropics Bring Some of the Plants of the Tropics Into 
Your Dwelling. Both Greenhouse and Living-room Offer a Home to the Palm 
B ALMS are beautiful at all seasons of the year, and 
lend charm to the home, giving a tropical atmos- 
phere to the house in winter, and making the porch 
and grounds attractive in summer. They are among 
the most decorative and satisfactory of all house plants. 
Of course no greenhouse is complete without them, and they 
adapt themselves to any shelf or corner there, requiring little care. 
Palms need so few things, but they must have: good light; 
good soil; good drainage; good air; water. They cannot stand: 
coal gas; poor drainage; hot, fetid air; frost or freezing; wet, 
soggy soil; being dry in the bottom of the pot. They will 
thrive in sun or shade, just so there is plenty of light; and 
if kept moist they will flourish at the northern end of 
the greenhouse, or in its sunniest corner. Though a Palm 
misses the luscious, moist atmosphere of the greenhouse when 
transferred to the dwelling, it soon adjusts itself and shows no 
marked change if kept properly watered and drained. It should 
be given enough water to reach every tiny root and run through 
the bottom of the pot, or the tips of the leaves will turn brown; 
but it is more easily killed by over-watering than through lack 
of it. After each watering the saucer or jardiniere must be 
emptied, otherwise the leaves are apt to lose their fresh green 
tone and become a dull yellow because of the absence of air. 
All dust should be removed by sprinkling or washing the leaves. 
The two currently given objections to Palms: first, that they 
are hard to raise without a greenhouse; secondly, that they are 
expensive, are really no objections at all. Palms are as easy to 
raise in the home as Ferns, if one observes the few things they 
need, and the few things to avoid. To recapitulate: they must 
have good, fresh air (but not cold air), and will not tolerate 
gas from a furnace; they will not flourish in a dark corner of the 
room, but demand light and plenty of water. Once a year they 
must be repotted, preferably in August, and usually changed 
to a bigger pot, with good drainage in the bottom and fine rich 
earth. They throw long, deep roots, not wide-spreading ones; 
and require deep pots, not broad ones, and thrive better when 
the pot is not too big for them. Large Palms are usually put 
in cedar kegs to get depth without width. 
05 
