THE GROWING OF THE ORNAMENTAL PLANTS
THE CLASSES OF PLANTS, AND
LISTS - Continued
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.
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