Chapter VII · THE GROWING OF THE ORNAMENTAL PLANTS—THE CLASSES OF PLANTS, AND LISTS (continued 3)

Plants for an average night temperature of 60° (trade names).

Upright flowering plants,—Abutilons, browallias, calceolaria “Lincoln Park,” begonias, bouvardias, euphorbias, scarlet sage, richardia or calla, heliotropes, fuchsias, Chinese hibiscus, jasmines, single petunias, swainsona, billbergia, freesias, geraniums, eupheas.

Upright foliage plants.—Muehlenbeckia, Cycas revoluta, Dracœna fragans and others, palms, cannas, Farfugium grande, achyranthes, ferns, araucarias, epiphyllums, pandanus or “screw pine,” Pilea arborea, Ficus elastica, Grevillea robusta.

Climbing plants.—Asparagus tenuissimus, A. plumosus, Cobœa scandens, smilax, Japanese hop, Madeira vine (Boussingaultia), Senecio mikanioides and S. macroglossus (parlor ivies). See also list below.

Low-growing, trailing, or drooping plants.—These may be used for baskets and edgings. Flowering kinds are: Sweet alyssum, lobelia, Fuchsia procumbens, mesembryanthemum, Oxalis pendula, 0. floribunda and others, Russelia juncea, Mahernia odorata or honey-bell.

Foliage plants of drooping habit.—Vincas, Saxifraga sarmentosa, Kenilworth ivy, tradescantia or wandering jew, Festuca glauca* othonna, Isolepsis gracilis,* English ivy, Selaginella denticulata, and others. Some of these plants flower quite freely, but the flowers are small and of secondary consideration. Those with an asterisk * droop but slightly.

Plants for an average night temperature of 50°.

Upright flowering plants.—Azaleas, cyclamens, carnations, chrysanthemums, geraniums, Chinese primroses, stevias, marguerite or Paris daisy, single petunias, Anthemis coronaria, camellias, ardisia (berries), cinerarias, violets, hyacinths, narcissus, tulips, the Easter lily when in bloom, and others.

Upright foliage plants.—Pittosporums, palms, aucuba, euonymus (golden and silvery variegated), araucarias, pandanus, dusty millers.

Climbing plants.—English ivy, maurandia, senecio or parlor ivy, lygodium (climbing fern).

Drooping or trailing plants.—Flowering kinds are: Sweet alyssum, Mahernia odorata, Russelia and ivy geranium.

Bulbs in the window-garden.

Bulbs flowering through the winter add to the list of house plants a charming variety. The labor, time, and skill required is much less than for growing many of the larger plants more commonly used for winter decorations (for instructions on growing bulbs out-of-doors, see p. 281; also the entries in Chapter VIII).

Hyacinths, narcissus, tulips, and crocus, and others can be made to flower in the winter without difficulty. Secure the bulbs so as to be able to pot them by the middle or last of October, or if earlier all the better. The soil should be rich sandy loam, if possible; if not, the best that can be got, to which about one-fourth the bulk of sand is added and mixed thoroughly.

If ordinary flower-pots are to be used, place in the bottom a few pieces of broken pots, charcoal, or small stones for drainage, then fill the pot with dirt so that when the bulbs are set on the dirt the top of the bulb is even with the rim of the pot. Fill around it with soil, leaving just the tip of the bulb showing above the earth. If the soil is heavy, a good plan is to sprinkle a small handful of sand under the bulb to carry off the water, as is done in the beds outdoors. If one does not have pots, he may use boxes. Starch boxes are a good size to use, as they are not heavy to handle; and excellent flowers are sometimes secured from bulbs planted in old tomato-cans. If boxes or cans are used, care must be taken to have holes in the bottoms to let the water run out. A large hyacinth bulb will do well in a 5-inch pot. The same size pot will do for three or four narcissuses or eight to twelve crocuses.

After the bulbs are planted in the pots or other receptacles, they should be placed in a cool place, either in a cold pit or cellar, or on the shady side of a building, or, better yet, plunged or buried up to the rim of the pot in a shady border. This is done to force the roots to grow while the top stands still, as only the bulbs with good roots will give good flowers. When the weather gets so cold that a crust is frozen on the soil, the pots should be covered with a little straw, and as the weather gets colder more straw must be used. In six to eight weeks after planting the bulbs, they should have made roots enough to grow the plant, and they may be taken up and placed in a cool room for a week or so, after which, if they have started into growth, they may be taken into a warmer room where they can have plenty of light. They will grow very rapidly now and will want much water, and after the flowers begin to show, the pots may stand in a saucer of water all the time. When just coming into bloom the plants may have full sunlight part of the time to help bring out the color of the flowers.

Hyacinths, tulips, and narcissus all require similar treatment. When well rooted, which will be in six or eight weeks, they are brought out and given a temperature of some 55° to 60° till the flowers appear, when they should be kept in a cooler temperature, say 50°. The single Roman hyacinth is an excellent house plant. The flowers are small, but they are graceful and are well adapted to cutting. It is early.

The Easter lily is managed the same way, except to hasten its flowers it should be kept at not lower than 60° at night. Warmer will be better. Lily bulbs may be covered an inch or more deep in the pots.

Freesias may be potted six or more in a pot of mellow soil, and then started into growth at once. At first they may be given a night temperature of 50°; and 55° to 60° when they have begun to grow.

Small bulbs, as snowdrop and crocus, are planted several or a dozen in a pot and buried, or treated like hyacinths; but they are very sensitive to heat, and require to be given the light only when they have started to grow, without any forcing. Forty to 45° will be as warm as they ever need be kept.

Watering house plants.

It is impossible to give rules for the watering of plants. Conditions that hold with one grower are different from those of another. Advice must be general. Give one good watering at the time of potting, after which no water should be given until the plants really need it. If, on tapping the pot, it gives out a clear ring, it is an indication that water is needed. In the case of a soft-wooded plant, just before the leaves begin to show signs of wilt is the time for watering. When plants are taken up from the ground, or have their roots cut back in repotting, gardeners rely, after the first copious watering, on syringing the tops two or three times each day, until a new root-growth has started, watering at the roots only when absolutely necessary. Plants that have been potted into larger pots will grow without the extra attention of syringing, but those from the borders that have had their roots mutilated or shortened, should be placed in a cool, shady spot and be syringed often. One soon becomes familiar with the wants of individual plants, and can judge closely as to need of water. All soft-wooded plants with a large leaf-surface need more water than hard-wooded plants, and a plant in luxuriant growth of any kind more than one that has been cut back or become defoliated. When plants are grown in living-rooms, moisture must be supplied from some source, and if no arrangement has been made for securing moist air, the plants should be syringed often.

All plant-growers should learn to withhold water when plants are “resting” or not in active growth. Thus camellias, azaleas, rex begonias, palms, and many other things are usually not in their growing period in fall and midwinter, and they should then have only sufficient water to keep them in condition. When growth begins, apply water; and increase the water as the growth becomes more rapid.

Hanging baskets.

To have a good hanging basket, it is necessary that some careful provision be made to prevent too rapid drying out of the earth. It is customary, therefore, to line the pot or basket with moss. Open wire baskets, like a horse muzzle, are often lined with moss and used for the growing of plants. Prepare the earth by mixing some well-decayed leafmold with rich garden loam, thereby making an earth that will retain moisture. Hang the basket in a light place, but still not in direct sunlight; and, if possible, avoid putting it where it will be exposed to drying wind. In order to water the basket, it is often advisable to sink it into a pail or tub of water.

Various plants are well adapted to hanging baskets. Among the drooping or vine-like kinds are the strawberry geranium, Kenilworth ivy, maurandia, German ivy, canary-bird flower, Asparagus Sprengeri, ivy geranium, trailing fuchsia, wandering jew, and othonna. Among the erect-growing plants that produce flowers, Lobelia Erinus, sweet alyssum, petunias, oxalis, and various geraniums are to be recommended. Among foliage plants such things as coleus, dusty miller, begonia, and some geraniums are adaptable.

Aquarium.

A pleasant adjunct to a window-garden, living room, or conservatory, is a large glass globe or glass box containing water, in which plants and animals are living and growing. A solid glass tank or globe is better than a box with glass sides, because it does not leak, but the box must be used if one wants a large aquarium. For most persons it is better to buy the aquarium box than to attempt to make it. Five points are important in making and keeping an aquarium:

(1) The equilibrium between plant and animal life must be secured and maintained;

(2) the aquarium must be open on top to the air or well ventilated;

(3) the temperature should be kept between 40° and 50° for ordinary animals and plants (do not place in full sun in a hot window);

(4) it is well to choose such animals for the aquarium as are adapted to life in still water;

(5) the water must be kept fresh, either by the proper balance of plant and animal life or by changing the water frequently, or by both.

The aquatic plants of the neighborhood may be kept in the aquarium,—such things as myriophyllums, charas, eel-grass, duckmeats or lemnas, cabomba or fish grass, arrow-leafs or sagittaria, and the like; also the parrot’s feather, to be bought of florists (a species of myriophyllum). Of animals, there are fishes (particularly minnows), water insects, tadpoles, clams, snails. If the proper balance is maintained between plant and animal life, it will not be necessary to change the water so frequently.