* 
X H K 
GARDEN ALBUM 
_ AND REVIEW. 
~ M A Y, 1906. 
PLANTS FOR ROOMS. 
There are comparatively few people able to 
grow plants successfully in dwelling rooms. 
The common complaint is that the leaves very 
soon turn brown at the tips, and often drop off 
even within a few days of being placed in the 
room. This is not at all unnatural when one 
comes to think of the conditions to which the 
plants have to submit. It frequently happens 
that plants that have been grown in a tempera¬ 
ture of 75 0 or 8o° F. for a considerable period, 
and have had every attention given them in 
the way of a humid atmosphere, proper water¬ 
ing, and perhaps liberal doses of liquid or 
chemical manures, are practically killed in two 
or three days in a room where totally different 
conditions and treatment prevail. 
Before one attempts to grow plants in rooms 
it may be as well to consider the disadvantages 
under which they will have to live. In the 
first place there is a lack of sunlight, without 
which it is impossible for green-leaved plants 
to assimilate the carbonic acid gas from the 
atmosphere in sufficient quantities to increase 
their bulk. In the second place, the atmos¬ 
phere of a room 1 is usually very much drier 
than that of any greenhouse. Hence it follows 
that the evaporation from the pores of the 
leaves must be enormous, and is in fact often 
going on so rapidly that it is quite impossible 
for the roots to keep pace with it. This is 
usually the cause of the leaf-tips turning brown 
and drying, and of the older leaves at the base 
of the plant falling off before their time. No 
matter how dry the atmosphere may be, it can 
scarcely be rectified by syringing the plants in 
the room for obvious reasons. Plants, how¬ 
ever, often go wrong when a low temperature 
prevails. Under these circumstances it often 
happens that watering is over-done, and the 
soil becomes sour sooner or later. The leaves 
gradually droop and turn yellow, and drop off 
one by one. Watering should always be done 
with intelligence. It is not a sensible plan to 
give room plants as much water in winter as in 
summer. The supply must be regulated by 
climatic conditions, and as these are always 
changing, so the supply of water must be 
regulated accordingly. 
Another point to bear in mind when growing 
plants in rooms is to select only those that 
have been grown in little heat, and that have 
hard, smooth leaves instead of soft hairy or 
downy ones. Plants of the latter type usually 
collect the dust too readily, and soon have the 
breathing pores of the leaves choked up, with 
the result that they are unable to perform their 
functions satisfactorily. 
The following are a few plants that have 
smooth-skinned leaves, and will flourish for a 
long time in rooms if care be given to watering 
and sunlight. The Parlour Palms (Aspidistras) 
are undoubtedly the best all-round plants for 
rooms. They are always graceful and orna¬ 
mental, and the broad leaves may be kept 
clean, green, and glossy by rubbing the surface 
over occasionally with a soft dry rag. They 
do not like pots too large, and will grow in any 
ordinary good soil to which a little sand, leaf- 
mould or peat, has been added. When they 
get too large, the best time to divide or re-pot 
is when the young growths are showing up 
from the base. 
Next to the Aspidistras, the Kentia Palms 
(K. Belmoreana and K. Fosteriana) are un¬ 
doubtedly excellent plants for growing in 
rooms. If plants are selected from cool green¬ 
houses, they will not only grow steadily for 
years, but will not lose their large fronds at 
first, like those that have been grown in hot¬ 
houses. Other Palms like the Arecas, 
Latanias, Coryphas, etc., may also be grown. 
The India Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica), the 
so-called Castor Oil plant (Aralia Sieboldi or 
Fatsia japonica), the Ribbon Ferns (Pteris 
cretica and P. serrulata varieties), the cool 
house Dracaenas or Cordylines, and Grevillea 
robusta, are also plants that may be easily 
grown in dwelling rooms if the conditions 
referred to above have been taken into con¬ 
sideration. 
Perhaps some reference may be made to the 
commonest mistakes made by amateurs with 
room plants. As soon as a plant shows the 
least sign of losing the fresh appearance it 
brought from the greenhouse, one often jumps 
to the conclusion that there must be either “ a 
worm at the roots,” or that the plant wants re¬ 
potting. As a rule it is neither of these. In 
any case the plant is usually turned out of its 
pot, the roots are thoughtlessly pulled about 
and injured, and not unfrequently all the good 
soil is shaken away, and the rough, harsh 
mould from the cold garden is substituted for 
it. Such treatment often has only one result 
—the death of the plant. 
Unless an amateur has had some training or 
experience, it is always safer and really more 
economic to take the plant to a qualified 
gardener who will, as a rule, soon diagnose its 
disease and advise accordingly. When a 
person is ill he goes to a doctor. When a 
plant is ill it should be taken to a gardener. 
L. K. T. 
