Making Gift Plants Bloom Again 
THE SUITABILITY OF HOUSE PLANTS FOR HOLIDAY GIFTS AND HOW TO CARE 
FOR THEM AFTER BLOOMING TO KEEP THEM ALIVE FOR ANOTHER YEAR 
by F. F. Rockwell 
Photographs by Nathan R. Graves and others 
N O GIFT so well ex¬ 
presses the Christmas 
spirit as a living plant. 
While some of the most 
beautiful flowers are not 
adapted to this use, there 
are a number which respond 
readily to ordinary careful 
house culture. They are 
very well worth considering 
before you complete your 
list of Christmas gifts. 
To the prospective giver 
there are a few words of 
timely advice : Use the same 
good judgment and taste in 
selecting a plant that you 
would in choosing any oth¬ 
er present. That is, first 
consider the room in which 
it is likely to be kept, and 
get something suitable; and 
second, try to give it some 
touch of your own individu¬ 
ality. This offers a great 
chance for making your present distinctive 
—adding the personal note that always 
means, or should mean, more than the pres¬ 
ent itself. For instance, you can give a 
large bulb-pan (which is like a flower-pot, 
but shallower) filled with ferns and one or 
two trailing or hanging vines or flowers, 
such as tradiscantic or oxalis. Make to ac¬ 
company it a suitable hanger of strong 
green twine; or from birch bark or bark 
cloth make a cover to go around the pot in 
which your gift will be presented. 
As to the plants which are best adapted 
to Christmas giving, the range is wide. For 
the sake of succinct presentation, it is de¬ 
sirable to consider them in groups. Per¬ 
haps first of all, in popularity and suitabil¬ 
ity, come the ferns. The fact that they are 
so popular takes away, of course, one thing 
we look for in a present—that it shall be 
unusual. But a beautiful fern is so beau¬ 
tiful that minor objections are outweighed. 
Of the sort commonly used for house cul¬ 
ture there are three which have proved 
themselves popular — the Boston, Scottie, 
and Whitmani. 
Besides the ferns, two varieties of aspara¬ 
gus, Sprengeri and plumosus nanus, have 
become great favorites. The latter is sometimes called the “lace 
fern,” and certainly no foliage plant is more delicate and graceful. 
The former has long, graceful shoots, thickly set with dark green 
brilliant foliage much re¬ 
sembling short pine needles. 
These plants are very satis¬ 
factory for house culture, 
standing a greater variety 
of treatment than the ferns. 
If possible, in purchasing 
these plants go to the grow¬ 
er, and not to the retail flo¬ 
rist. Your chance of select¬ 
ing the finest specimens 
will, of course, be greater, 
and you will get the plants 
in a much healthier state— 
and the extra trouble will 
probably be repaid by a sav¬ 
ing in price. 
Ferns in the house should 
be kept out of the direct 
sunshine, and safe from 
draughts. Fresh air should 
be given whenever possible 
without lowering the tem¬ 
perature too much. The 
temperature may be as low 
as fifty degrees, but if it can be kept at five 
to ten degrees higher they will do better. 
While they require plenty of moisture, do 
not wet the leaves, and never let the earth 
get soggy or sour. An occasional syring¬ 
ing of the foliage on bright mornings will 
be beneficial. A sharp lookout must be kept 
for their insect enemies. The surest cure is 
to destroy these by hand, before they get 
any start. Tobacco preparations, applicable 
in liquid form, are also helpful. When the 
ferns must be repotted, use a soil loam, 
leaf-mould and sand, in about equal parts. 
Among the palms, Arcca Sulescens, 
Cocos Wcddeliana, Cycas revoluta, Kentia 
Bclmoreana, Latanis Borbonica, Phccnix rupicola and Seaforthia 
elegans are the most desirable for growing in the house. They are 
all beautiful, and easily cared for. The two most insidious ene¬ 
mies are dry furnace heat and gas. These must be guarded against 
carefully, and combated as much as possible by giving ventilation 
whenever possible, and occasionally either placing in a tub and 
showering, or thoroughly wiping off the leaves on both sides with 
a moist sponge or soft cloth. In spring, when the trees are in leaf, 
plunge the pots—that is, put them in the ground not quite flush 
with the soil surface — out-of-doors in a sheltered position. If any 
need repotting, do it at this time. Don't repot until necessary, and 
then, by carefully loosening up the roots and crumbling or wash¬ 
ing the soil from them, they may frequently be repotted in the 
same size pots. If old pots are used, be sure to have them clean. 
With proper attention to watering, and watching for any insect 
pests, they will do nicely until brought into the house again in the 
If you receive as a Christmas gift a flowering azalea do not feel that it must 
be a thing of beauty for the holiday season only. Follow the directions in 
this article and you will have it bloom again next year 
A flower of oxalis— 
a splendid trailing 
plant to embellish 
a Dan of bulbs 
