House and Garden 
DAPHNE 
considered at this time. In the fall, I shake the roots 
out of the dry, hard soil, and repot them in a fresh 
compost of muck, loam, and sand, made rich with 
considerable old cow-manure. At potting-time I 
water them well, and set them away in some sheltered 
place to make feeding-roots, and get a start. As soon 
as leaves appear, they are taken to the house and 
water applied in more liberal (juantities. I do not 
believe, however, in planting them in water-tight 
many do, nor do I advocate the 
ter on them. It their 
stagnant wa- 
kely to 
crocks or jars, as 
use ot hot wa- 
roots stand in 
ter they are 
h e c o m e d i s- 
eased, and hot 
a j:) p 1 i c a t i o n s 
force a rapid 
and unhealthy 
d e ve 1 o p m e n t 
which IS sadly 
lackingin stam¬ 
ina. A slower, 
more substan¬ 
tial growth IS 
what gives fine 
plants are kept 
year round, they throw 
their energies into the produc¬ 
tion ot leaves, and these will 
he interior in all respects to those 
ot the plants which have been given a good, 
long resting-spell. Indeed, my plants, grown after 
the plan outlined above, have such strong, luxuriant 
tohage—often three to tour feet tall that visitors 
ask it I have not a new and improved variety, 
d'hese plants generally begin to bloom in January, 
lowers. 
and from that time on, they are seldom with¬ 
out flowers, often as many as three or tour to 
a plant, at one time. That depends, however, 
on the number of crowns the roots have. It 
you remove all offsets, as they form, you keep 
your plant pruned down to one crown, and 
cannot expect hut one blossom at a time. 1 
allow small plants to form about the old root, 
because I like the effect ot a good deal ot 
foliage, of ditferent sizes. The illustration 
which accompanies this article shows how the 
calla is grown in California, in summer. The 
treatment I have advised above results in 
plants very similar in appearance to these, in 
winter — strong, sturdy, with a large quantity 
of foliage, and twice as many flowers as 1 
have ever secured from plants grown in any 
other way. After buds appear, I use a 
liquid fertilizer at least once a week. Ibis 
gives unusually large bloom, and keeps the 
plants vigorous throughout the season. 
The Kucharis is one ot the plants that we 
admire, when we see it growing at a greenhouse, or 
find a specimen of it in the bouquet a friend sends us, 
“on special occasions,” hut we seldom attempt to 
grow' It for ourselves, even if we own a greenhouse. 
1 he reason tor this, is: that we have been told by 
some one who has “experimented” with it m ama¬ 
teurish fashion, that it is “a hard plant to grow; 
you can’t do anything with it, so don’t try. I've tried 
it, and I knozv." 
Jdke most plants, it is rather hard to grow unless 
you understand its peculiarities. But, these under¬ 
stood, and proper care given, it is not hard to grow. 
It is a plant that re(|uires considerable heat—and 
this most all living-rooms furnish — and a moist 
atmosphere, which is not usually found in our 
dwellings. But by frequent showering, the 
evaporation ot water on stoves and radi¬ 
ators, and the use of sphagnum 
moss or sand among the 
pots, kept saturated 
with water, we 
can secure 
A CAI.I.A 
BORDER 
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