November, 
19 21 
45 
THE 
CULTURE and CARE of 
Although Sturdy, the Palm Appreciates and Responds 
To the Niceties of Cultivation 
PALMS 
E. BADE 
T HE propagation of palms 
from seeds is a very interest¬ 
ing but rather a tedious proc¬ 
ess, as they often require a year or 
more to germinate. Before sowing 
the seeds, a cut is made in the seed 
coat which facilitates germination. 
Having been treated in this manner 
they are placed into a light soil to a 
depth a little more than their own 
thickness and stored in a place of 
75° to 80° F. The pots should be 
covered with glass plates and the 
seeds kept moist. If these rules are 
not rigidly followed a longer period 
of time will elapse before the roots 
make their appearance. Palm seeds 
must be planted as soon as they have 
been received from the tropics; the 
month or the season of the year is 
not a determining factor. 
After germination the young plants 
are transplanted into small flower 
pots, where they are placed so that 
the seed coat just lies on the surface 
of the soil. The long roots, which 
are bent so that they will find suffi¬ 
cient room in the pot, show a pre¬ 
dilection for forming spongy roots at 
this spot. Only when the roots lie 
against the walls of the pot where 
they absorb air, which is a vital ne¬ 
cessity for them, can palms grow 
profusely and luxuriantly. Care 
must be taken not to injure the roots 
nor to break off the seed coat. 
The seedlings are again trans¬ 
planted when the rootlets have com¬ 
Palms have a decided deco¬ 
rative value, but they should 
not be permitted to domi¬ 
nate an interior 
pletely filled the pot. If one has 
used one-third lawn soil, and two- 
thirds of sandy humus for the first 
transplantation, then one uses one- 
half hot-bed soil to each one-quarter 
of lawn and humus for the next. To 
those palm varieties which have 
many root-hairs, a larger percentage 
of humus is given. 
When the palms have passed their 
first year they develop, with careful 
and attentive cultivation, into beau¬ 
tiful plants. They are not friendly 
to continual change. In quiet places 
not too far from an open window 
they will unfold themselves, given 
uniform attention in regard to tem¬ 
perature, moisture, and cleanliness 
of their leaves, into admirable showy 
plants. They should be somewhat 
shaded against the burning rays of 
the summer sun, but the rays of the 
winter sun may strike them with all 
their force. 
The majority of the palms which 
are kept in the living room do not 
stand in need of so much heat, nor 
are they so difficult to take care of as 
is commonly supposed. In spite of 
their warm and sunny habitat, the 
greater part of them become accus¬ 
tomed to a temperature of 60° F. 
During the winter months some va¬ 
rieties even endure lower tempera¬ 
tures, although palms never have a 
definite period of rest. When they 
are taken from a greenhouse and 
(Continued on page 94) 
(Center below) A common 
type of house palm, known 
to botanists as Diplothe- 
mium humilis 
(Right) A third type, 
suitable for use in¬ 
doors, is the Chamae- 
rops humilis, a broad- 
leafed species of 
graceful form 
(Left) Its fearsome 
botanical name — 
Chrysalidocarpus lu- 
tesceus—need never 
deter one from using 
this palm 
