Date to Remember 
PIGMY PALM 
The not so rare but infrequently 
seen Pigmy Date Palm, Phoenix 
Roebelenii (P. Loureiri), is a most 
beautiful ornamental deserving of 
far wider use than it receives lo- 
cally. The adjective ‘'elegant,” a 
term commonly employed in hor- 
ticultural description is most ap- 
propriate as applied to this little 
palm from the Nam Ou River Val- 
ley in Laos, Indo-China, a region 
much in our minds lately for rea- 
sons far less pleasant than horti- 
culture. 
Phoenix Roebelenii was regular- 
ly exported to Europe in the form 
of seed many many years ago and 
has long been a favorite for con- 
servatory culture where ever that 
art is practiced around the world. 
Several of the early descriptions 
of this palm leave the impression 
that its mature height is about 
two feet, which is selling it a bit 
short, for Southern California at 
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In order that our readers 
may make their gardening plans 
with greater perspective and 
for a longer time, the Grape- 
vine henceforth will appear BI- | 
monthly. | 
VOL 5)" = -§MAY—JUNE. (9547-8 
Se runsmaeonya% 
PS Uae lesbo 
TROPICALS including Hibiscus, Pelargoniums 
and other long-blooming perennials, summer an- 
nuals, and summer-flowering shrubs. Now is the 
last of spring bloom, the first of summer. Gardens 
are at their peak. Come in and select full-blown 
what somehow you forgot to plant. As we have 
said before, the only way to achieve an ever-bloom- 
ing garden is to add a little each month, subtract- 
ing at the same time certain subjects you've tried 
and have found are not for you. 
Those wonderful tropical-looking things you've 
been wanting all winter and spring are ready to get 
into warm moist earth right NOW—green ribbed 
Bananas, five gallon, $4.50; oak-leaf Papaya, $5; 
wide-spreading Gunnera, $5; and so on. Every time 
you come in there's something new. And never 
have we had better full-bloom Hibiscus so early 
in the season—shell pink Bride, yellow and bronze 
Crown of Bohemia, double Red Monarch, brilliant 
yellow, red-centered Haleakala, and others too well- 
known to mention, all $4. 
Never too, have we had such Ceanothus Sierra 
Blue, one tall-growing California lilac well-adapted 
to average garden conditions, and oh! such a 
WONDERFUL BLUE; in full bloom, five gallon, 
$5; Ice-plants both in cans and flats are running 
the usual gay gamut of colors—yellows, pinks, pur- 
ples, crimson and that exquisite fragrant orchid- 
colored one called Mitzi; one gallons, 65 cents to 
85 cents. 
Pelargoniums are their usual late-May riot. We 
call your attention particularly to Ventura, pale 
orchid with deeper eye; Santa Monica, light pink; 
the incomparable white, Grace Armstrong; bright 
pink to red multicolor, Azalea; the pastel pattern 
of Daisy Banks; all 85 cents and $1.50. Remember 
that Martha Washingtons don't need full sun, nor 
do they require special fertilizers. They just want 
water, food and frequent pruning. Cut generously 
for the house. 
Among the evergreen perennials none is more 
cheerful, ever-blooming and fragrant than the old- 
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