136 
The Garden Magazine, November, 1920 
Palms of various kinds and sizes may be grown in the house 
in a bay window with southern exposure in winter, and put out 
on the lawn in summer. They do not grow so fast or so luxuri- 
antly as in a greenhouse, but given a very little care they cer- 
tainly are not hard to raise, and readily become strong, sturdy 
plants. 
Scale on the leaves and stems is their worst foe. It comes in 
several forms, little round specks the size of fly specks is the 
most common. It has to be scrubbed off with a good stiff 
scrubbing brush and whale oil soap, particularly from the wrong 
side of the leaves. 
As to expense: if one has a greenhouse, Palms can be raised 
from seed but they are very slow in germinating, some not for a 
year or even two. It is therefore better to get the small plants 
from some good dealer who makes a specialty of raising Palms 
from seed. These will be of small cost and are easily shipped, 
packed in moss and sent by parcel post. 
All Palms throw up two long slender leaves at first, and all 
look alike, and that is the time to buy them for the greenhouse, 
— before the character leaves appear. Some develop their own 
character leaves earlier than others, but usually in from six 
months to a year after the seed leaves. Seedling plants which 
are to be grown under ordinary house conditions should have 
their roots soaked in tepid water for half an hour before potting. 
Small pots are preferable; 4-inch pots for plants 10 to 15 inches 
high, and 6-inch pots for plants 20 to 24 inches high. 
The favorite among Palms, and one which every one knows 
and loves, is the big Chinese fan-leaved Livistona chinensis, or 
Latania borbonica of many dealers, as it is one of the most 
tropical looking, and of the easiest culture. 
All of the Phoenix Palms are most decorative and have the 
additional rare virtue of cheerfully enduring neglect. Phoenix 
pumila is a rich blue-green, sturdy and desirable, and forms 
character plants very early, but they are spiny, and better 
for the lawn than the house. The very popular Phoenix 
reclinata is more drooping, with longer fronds, and develops into 
a larger plant. Phoenix filifera and P. Roebelenii have finer 
leaves but are less robust. 
The popular yellow-stemmed Areca lutescens, or properly 
Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, is one of the most feathery and 
beautiful kind for the house, and does not grow so big and un- 
wieldy, but sprouts from the root making a lovely plant. 
The Howeas are the handsomest and most graceful of all 
Palms, with long slender fronds, but are very slow in growth 
and should be bought after the character leaves have 
appeared. The two most familiar species are generally 
known under the titles of Kentia Belmoreana and Kentia 
Forsteriana. 
These are the four best Palms for the home grower, easily 
cultivated and suitable for decorating at a wedding or other 
function ; equally suitable in the less formal atmosphere of living- 
room, porch, or lawn. They group beautifully with other 
plants or with cut flowers. 
There are others which would be desirable in a big collection, 
such as the Cocos Weddelliana with its fine pinnate foliage, 
largely used by florists for fern dishes for the table; and 
Corypha australis, which grows so slowly one fears it is petrified : 
and many more, but the four standard favorites are the Latania, 
Phoenix, Areca, and Kentia, and everybody if possible should 
have at least these. 
SOME PALM FAVORITES 
These sturdy, house-grown specimens conclusively prove the possibility of successful domestication. The 
two large Fan-palms (Livistona chinensis) on right and left have reached their quarter century mark 
