House plants and how to grow them

Front matter

Book

Copyright N°__

COBfRIGHT DEPOSH!

Preface

There have been books on window gardens and house plants before this, and they have told, at length, of every kind of plant that under some condition or other has eked out a struggling existence in our dwellings. The purpose of the present volume is to discuss fully those plants which are sure to succeed. If a selection is made from the various kinds enumerated in the following pages, failure is next to impossible; it can only be brought about by carelessness and inattention to the first principles of cultivation.

Somewhat minute directions have been given for the preparation of soil, for seed sowing and for other operations in connection with each plant, and particularly as regards temperature. It should be understood that in every case these indicate the best conditions, not the imperative conditions; for success can often be achieved with wide divergence from the ideal. Still, the nearer one can vi attain to the proper conditions, the better and surer the results.

Although every cultural statement made is based on my own practical experience as a grower, yet the experiences of successful amateurs (as told in several numbers of the Garden Magazine) have been draw^n upon in order to give encouragement to beginners. Particularly must I acknowledge having made extracts in Chapter I. from the writings of Mrs. M. K. Farrand, who created the piazza conservatory, and whose calendar of operations forms Chapter XVII., the cellar door conservatory was originally described by Mrs. Edith L. Fullerton; the gas stove heating arrangement was invented by Mrs. E. A. Eames, and Mr. Leonard Barron's ideas are embodied in Chapter VI. The home propagating box and the home fumigator described are original with Mr. L. J. Doogue. I also wish to thank Mr. J. D. Eisele, Mr. Peter Duff, and Mr. A. J. Manda for suggestions and assistance. New York, 1909 P. T. B.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. How Other People Have Succeeded . 3 n. Making the Soil Foundation . . 18 in. Potting and Repotting . . -27 IV. Raising Plants from Seeds . . -35 V. Propagation by Cuttings, etc. . . 57 VI. In Sickness and in Health . . 69 VII. Bulbs from Thanksgiving to Easter . 83 VIII. The Winter Window Garden . . 94 IX. Flowering Plants for House Conditions 115 X. Roses, Carnations and Chrysanthemums 134

XI. Cactuses and Other Succulents . .147 XII. Nine Iron-clad Palms . . -173 Xlli. Foliage Plants other than Palms . 185 XIV. Reliable Ferns for the Dwelling Rooms 1 99 XV. Window Gardening Tools and Accessories 208

CHAPTER I How Other People Have Succeeded

A plain statement of facts — Practical ideas in window gardens — Glass houses for forcing in winter — Heating problems solved.

A GROUP of healthy looking, vigorousgrowing house plants always fills me with delight for it must be confessed at the outset that the thoroughly successful cultivation of a large number of plants in a window garden or in any part of a dwelling house is no mean achievement. The conditions with which living plants have to contend when brought into our ordinary living rooms are trying indeed. The fluctuations of temperature are usually not only great, but also sudden; light is neither uniform nor abundant; and the atmosphere is generally excessively dry. This last condition is particularly true in the winter time, when 3 our rooms are heated by artificial means and every degree of heat that is thus supplied for our individual comfort is taxing the energy of the plant in causing transpiration of water at a time when, normally, plant growth is at its minimum activity.

The cultivation of plants in the house, then, is very largely an individual problem of overcoming a set of opposing conditions which will never be the same for two individuals nor for the same individual in two different places. What we have to strive for is to maintain a fairly comfortable, average condition, and it is really surprising, when all things are taken into consideration, what eminently satisfactory results can be achieved. I have seen window gardens that from one year's end to another are perfect blazes of colour; in others, again, plants grown for their foliage effect alone have flourished amazingly. Yet similar plants in the homes of other people dwindled and finally died.

The ideal situation for a window garden is on the south side of the house, the window itself slightly projecting from the building line, so as to secure abundance of light,

HOW OTHER PEOPLE HAVE SUCCEEDED 5 for the sunshine is the Hfe. In addition, just because the winter and spring sun may sometimes be too energetic for plants at rest, there should be some arrangement of adjustable shades to screen the excessive light which might be injurious to some of the younger growths in the early days of spring. Plants that have been kept in dark corners of dwelling rooms — such as palms or ferns — when brought into the window garden to resuscitate, will be thankful for such careful protection while the sun is at its hottest. Many ingenious devices have been thought out by amateur gardeners to meet the requirements and to provide the necessary best available conditions for their pets, and surely if one is about to indulge in window gardening on anything like an extensive scale, it is the part of wisdom to make a good beginning by giving them the best chance possible for a comfortable life.

It is often not at all difficult to build a small extension outside a window for the accommodation of house plants, and a little addition like this, on a slightly more pretentious scale, very easily approaches the dignity of a small greenhouse; and in a great many respects will serve the same purpose, as for raising seeds of plants to be put out in the garden later, whether these be flowering plants or vegetables.

A PIAZZA CONSERVATORY

I know of one instance where a ten-footsquare corner of a piazza was brought into service by enclosing it with glass so that it might have been surely called a piazza conservatory. Its owner preferred to refer to it merely as a "glass house" on account of its small dimensions, but I venture to say that this small place gave more pleasure, and perhaps more flowers, to its owner than some other real greenhouses on a much more elaborate scale. Besides the flowers, the glass house is big enough to hold comfortably a wicker armchair and a teastand. The house is built on one corner of the porch, and gets the early morning sun from the east, and the south and west sun later in the day.

The first year a small coal stove was installed in one corner, and the temperature varied from tropical to arctic in a startling

HOW OTHER PEOPLE HAVE SUCCEEDED 7 manner; but in spite of being baked one hour and chilled the next, the plants managed to survive. The coal stove was succeeded by a smokeless oil heater, which has proved, except in windy and very cold weather, a most satisfactory arrangement. The heating question was finally settled for good by running a pipe from the furnace underneath the drawing room out into the glass house.

The glass house was first furnished with some stocks and cannas taken from the garden, and some ferns and green-leaved plants. Just a few days before Christmas the first box of paper-white narcissus is in full bloom, and since then the house is not without a flower. Freesias, Chinese sacred lilies, and more paper-white narcissi follow in January, and about the middle of the month the azaleas commence and keep bravely on until the last of March. Before the flowers of the last box of narcissus wither, the early Yellow Prince tulip starts in, about the 15th of February, lasting till near the end of March.

One hundred and fifty Gladiolus Colvillei, planted early in January, gave dozens of white and pink flowers in the third week of May. Wistarias in large pots, and hyacinths came next, while more tulips (variety Murillo) and a huge plant of double flowering cherry {Prunus Pseudo-Cerasus, var. hortensis flore-pleno, known in the trade as P. Sieboldii, var. rubra plena) made March gay with pink tints. The calla lilies flower until May.

In such a place as this seeds of the greenhouse type of plant, such as primrose, cineraria, and calceolaria, may be started in the usual way, in flats with window glass over the boxes to prevent too rapid evaporation of the moisture, but care must be taken to secure the right soil. Finely sifted woods earth, mixed with one-third sandy loam, has proved a reliable combination in the hands of the lady who presides over the house, in which to germinate the seeds of these plants. Drainage is provided by a layer of sharp sand and bits of broken crockery and charcoal in the bottom of the box.

When the seedlings have developed three or four leaves, they are transplanted to one and one-half inch pots, using about the same soil and drainage as in the flats, adding a small quantity of well-rotted cow manure.

HOW OTHER PEOPLE HAVE SUCCEEDED 9

The pots are now plunged to the rims in sand to keep the soil moist.

As it may be of practical value to others I give, in Chapter XVII. , the "calendar of operations" for this piazza house. It's valuable because it is real experience, not a table of guesses.

BUILDING ROUND A CELLAR DOOR

Another triumphant solution of a somewhat similar problem of making a planthouse attachment to the dwelling resulted in utilizing the heat from the furnace and making a removable house around the cellar door. The story is best told by the one who did it all:

"The south door opens upon a small porch, with the outside cellar door under part of its roof. One French window also opens upon it. The floor of this porch was directly on the ground, and, as the boards had rotted away, we removed them, substituting a floor of cement.

"The cellar is low, and a modern furnace heated it beyond the point of wisdom. We sought an outlet for the heat and immediately the conservatory shaped itself. By enclosing the small porch in glass and removing the outside cellar doors, the heat from the cellar would be released and the conservatory warmed. By leaving the hall door open and removing the French windows from the living room, we gained more heat and better ventilation.

'^Our desire was to have as much glass and as little wood as was possible for strength and durability. We also desired the glass panes to butt and not be puttied. It was necessary to have a door in front of the cellar door for the removal of coal ashes, and transoms for ventilation. With this general plan the work was begun. A heavy timber was run along the floor and bolted at the corners (the conservatory must disappear in summer time). A corresponding timber ran along the edge of the porch ceiling. Uprights were then placed at certain intervals, and these were grooved to admit of the glass sliding down them. Photographic plates, ii x 14, freed from the gelatine, made the glass panes for our conservatory.

"Curtains of unbleached muslin were arranged for; the rollers, four and five

HOW OTHER PEOPLE HAVE SUCCEEDED II feet long respectively, were of tin. These were set at the bottom, along the beam, and the curtains drawn up by means of a sash cord and pulleys.

"Two trays about table height were constructed. They were four inches deep, to admit of sand in them in which to sink the pots. A shelf was made about two inches from the floor on these tray tables, and formed an admirable place for seed boxes and for starting bulbs.

"The curtains proving insuflBcient protection from the sun, we coated the outside of the structure with a lime wash to keep off the direct rays. As for the heating, there was ample, and our cellar was kept in the finest condition. When the thermometer registered 4 below zero out of doors, the glass or garden room registered 56 degrees.

"The cost of this structure was:

Labour j^Si.oo

Lumber 16.42

Corner iron work . . i.oo

Hardware . 4.00

Door 3.50

Sash cord .35

" The labour included cutting the glass and placing it in the frames where it was needed/'

THE HEATING PROBLEM

Perhaps, after all, the greatest stumblingblock in window gardening lies in the matter of heating. Very naturally one wants to have, as the fruits of this hobby, plants in flower during the winter season. The most ingenious method I ever heard of was the construction of a miniature gas furnace in the cellar to heat a portable window extension box, and it was by no means expensive. The scheme was evolved out of the desire to force bulbs; it came as an inspiration one October day when overhauling the storm windows preparatory for winter. Two tall, narrow ones which had been made useless by remodeling the sittingroom suggested the thought that here was a start toward the little conservatory. They were of exactly the same height as the storm sash of the south dining-room window. Here, then, were three sides of a window greenhouse; moreover, they exactly fitted each other and the window.

By means of four long screws on a side,

HOW OTHER PEOPLE HAVE SUCCEEDED I3

the two narrow sashes were fastened to the window frame at the exact places where the vertical edges of the regular storm sash belonged — only they were at right angles to the wall of the house, projecting into space. The regular storm sash was now screwed to the outer edges of the two sashes already in place, forming a generous space, ideally lighted, requiring only a top and bottom to make a splendid windowconservatory.

Half-inch boards nailed across formed the bottom and two oak brackets supported the whole. Two tapering boards were fitted to the top making a roof with a pitch and overhanging eaves sufficient to shed any kind of weather. Old rubber floor matting tacked over all made the top and bottom waterproof. A tight joint with the house was made by continuing the rubber back and up under the bottom of the first clapboard.

Three six-inch shelves were placed across both side sashes by means of five-inch brackets. When still more room was necessary, additional six-inch shelves were laid across the front with their ends resting on the first set. This provided three complete tiers of shelves running around the three sides of the conservatory. Without crowding, about seventy-five pots and pans of various sizes can be accommodated here. As zero weather approached, the warmth from the dining room proved inadequate and other means of maintaining the requisite temperature to keep the plants growing were found to be necessary, so a miniature furnace was installed.

A three-eighth-inch pipe was run from the natural gas main in the cellar through the cellar window and up through the bottom of the conservatory, ending in an ordinary gas burner. This gave plenty of heat but the fumes from the gas proved objectionable and the arrangement was abandoned for the following which works admirably.

For $2.25 a tiny gas stove was purchased. This was placed on the cellar floor directly below the cellar window under the conservatory. A short smoke-pipe was connected to the nearest chimney opening in order to dispose of the fumes. A tinsmith made a galvanized iron hood which fitted down over and completely enclosed the stove; it

HOW OTHER PEOPLE HAVE SUCCEEDED I5

had a number of one-inch holes along its bottom edges for circulation, and a sliding door for access to the stove. Its top was drawn up to form a collar about eight inches in diameter. From this collar an eight-inch flue ran up and out through the cellar window (from which a pane had been removed), and ended at a five by seven inch register set into the floor of the "conservatory." The flue was enclosed in a wooden box or outer flue for insulation throughout its entire length outdoors.

This formed virtually a miniature hotair furnace. The tiniest flame warmed the stove, which in turn warmed the air enclosed in the galvanized hood. This warm air flovv-ed up the pipe through the register arid gave the plants just what they needed — pure, moist, warm air.

HEATING FROM THE LIVING ROOM

But it may not be possible always to instal a carefully designed heating plant, and many are the cases where satisfactory window gardens are maintained by the heat from the adjoining room alone — no extra apparatus — but of course no real forcing is done i6 here. In one such simple garden, situated on the south side of the house, it is found by experience that the best results could be obtained by watering the plants frequently and keeping the adjoining library at an even temperature of 70 degrees.

About the ist of October every year the window garden is filled with chrysanthemums, of which it holds about four dozen. These flowers last till the end of November, when they are replaced by the real winter flow^ers, first among which are the geraniums, which are hardy and do not require much care and will remain in flower throughout the winter. Heliotropes also do very well. Candytuft in boxes does much better than if placed singly in pots, and makes a better showing. Nasturtiums with plenty of room and strings to climb on will remain in flower all winter. Mignonette and begonias can also be grown to advantage, and do not require much care. In fact, any flower of a hardy nature will flourish in one of these gardens.

CONTROL OF TEMPERATURE

Never let the cold, frosty air strike your plants, for it will kill them; nor let the

HOW OTHER PEOPLE HAVE SUCCEEDED 17

temperature of the room vary between too wide limits (20 degrees would be safe, but extreme during the day ; the night temperature can be as much as lo degrees below the day minimum). If at one time the plants are overheated, and the next moment chilled, their growth is stunted and their bloom killed.

CHAPTER II Making the Soil Foundation

The ideal and practical substitutes — Loam and when to get It — The compost heap — Spring vs. fall making- — Manures of various kinds — Leafmould —[Peat — Muck.

Good soil is an absolute necessity to success with plants and there is only one way to get it — by mixing. A workable soil may be made from loam, sand, and manure, but it will be much better if it has an addition of leafmould, peat, or wellweathered muck.

When it is impracticable to make a compost heap, any good garden loam may be used and it is not absolutely necessary to prepare it any length of time beforehand.

PASTURE LOAM FOR COMPOST

The best loam to use in a potting soil is well decayed sod taken from a pasture. The best time to secure it is in the fall after the grass has been killed by hard frosts; it can, i8

MAKING THE SOIL FOUNDATION I9

however, be secured in the spring before the grass starts to grow. Cut the sod three or four inches deep and place it in a pile, the grass side down. For convenience make the pile about four feet wide and high, and as long as necessary, and have the top hollowed out a little so that it will catch the rains and so keep the pile moist. Many people when making up the sod pile compost manure with it. If you prefer to do it this way add one part fresh cow manure to each three parts of sod, if done in the fall.

ADDING MANURE

When the compost is made in the spring the manure must be well-rotted, and horse manure is preferable to cow manure.

The compost pile must be thoroughly mixed two or three times by chopping it down with a spade and throwing it up into a new pile.

A spring-made compost heap will be ready to use in the fall, but the soil is apt to be rather coarse. The fall-made compost is sure to give much better satisfaction.

In my practice I have always found well-decayed horse manure better than cow manure; the latter can be used, however, but it tends to make the soil cold and clammy. Well-decayed horse manure may usually be purchased in the suburbs and smaller towns from the livery or other stables. If you cannot purchase rotted horse manure and you have a convenient place in any out-of-the-way corner in the backyard where fresh droppings can be stored, well and good. They will require several months to rot properly. Protect it from the rain and turn it over frequently to prevent burning. If the manure gets too dry sprinkle it v/ith water when turning.

Sheep, hen, pigeon, and other manures may be used in mixing potting soils, but very sparingly, for they are so strong that if a large amount is used the roots of the plants will be burned.

LEAFMOULD, PEAT, AND MUCK

Added to the potting soil, either leafmould, peat or muck makes it much more friable, increases its water-holding capacity, eases the circulation of the air through it, and induces a better growth of roots. In no case is there actual fertilizing value. In raising

MAKING THE SOIL FOUNDATION from seed such plants as cyclamens, cinerarias, Chinese primroses and begonias, leafmould is a necessity. Where manure is not obtainable one of these three forms of vegetable mould must be used to supply the necessary humus; the plant food can then be added in the form of a complete fertilizer which may be bought from any seedsman.

Peat is very scarce in this country, and so is quite expensive; but it can be bought from nearly all the dealers in seeds or bulbs.

Leafmould and muck are much easier to obtain, and usually cost nothing outside of the labour necessary to collect them. When the foliage is falling, late in September or in October, is the best time to lay in a stock of next year's leafmould.

If there is no hardwood timber land nearby, where you can get clean leaves, then rake up the leaves which have fallen in the street. Maple leaves are best, but those of the elm and oak Vv^ill do. Sometimes an arrangement can be made with the city em.ployees to dump in the back yard all the leaves they gather in cleaning the streets. In this v/ay, and at no cost, an abundant supply of leafmould can be had in suburban districts.

HANDLING LEAVES

In the winter the leaves may be used for banking coldframes and pits, to keep out the frost, or for mulching the bulb beds. In the spring, when the pits are empty, throw all the leaves into a pit, wet them thoroughly, and allow them to rot. By fall they are in good condition to use. If this way of rotting them is followed, you will probably need to wet them several times during the summer. Another good way to handle the leaves is to dig as large a hole in the ground as you can fill with leaves. Pack in the leaves as tightly as possible, wetting them as they are being thrown in. A good time to do this is on a rainy day, for then it saves the necessity of handling water. If you have a hose you can do the work at any time.

If neither of these ways can be followed, the leaves may be put in a heap on the ground, thoroughly moistened, and tramped down. When treated thus, it will be necessary to water them oftener, because the pile presents

MAKING THE SOIL FOUNDATION more surface from which the moisture can evaporate. Turn the heap of leaves occasionally, and in two years the leafmould will be in usable condition.

Never bury leaves in your garden where you intend to grow plants next year. The heat caused by the fermentation will injure the roots of the grov/ing plants.

VALUE OF MUCK

Muck from either a fresh water or salt water marsh is equally good as leafmould, but it must be dug at least one winter before using. After digging, place it on the upland, away from the tides and floods, in triangularshaped piles about three feet wide, three feet high, and as long as necessary. By putting it in such small piles the frost and air have a much better chance to work through it than if it is in larger piles. Under ordinary circumstances, exposure to the weather for one winter will sweeten it. But if not, add a little lime; this will quickly neutralize any acidity.

DRAINAGE

One of the most important things to provide for in a soil is drainage. This is best secured by adding sand. Use a clean, sharp sand such as a mason would use for making mortar. If you cannot secure this from a nearby sand bank, you can buy bird sand, if only small quantities are needed, from the grocer. It comes put up in small packages. If sand from the seashore is used, get it from the shore side of the sand hills, and wash it thoroughly before using in order to remove any salt. Although I have never done it myself, I have seen coal ashes successfully used as a substitute for sand. They were, of course, screened to remove the coarse matter. On heavy soils coal ashes sometimes are a positive detriment, however, by making the clay into a sort of cement. Where better drainage is wanted than can be given by simply adding sand, add charcoal. If the plants are to stay for a year or so in single pots without repotting (as is the case with palms), the charcoal is a distinct advantage, not only because of the better drainage it affords, but also because it prevents the soil from souring. Charcoal is cheap, and a little of it goes a long v/ay.

It is very important to have on hand

MAKING THE SOIL FOUNDATION 25 at all times the ingredients necessary to make up a good potting soil, so in an outbuilding away from the weather, or in the cellar, have bins in which a six months' (if not a year's) supply, of the articles just mentioned may be stored. You will find this a very decided advantage, especially in the winter when the ground is frozen. Even the manure may be stored in the cellar, if it is well decayed, without the least inconvenience.

No hard and fast rule can be laid down for the amounts of the different ingredients of a potting soil. They will vary with the character of the soil in your locality. I have found that a soil composed of equal parts of rotted sod, manure, leafmould, and sand Vv^ll give excellent results with plants ordinarily grown in the house. If the rotted sod has been composted then it will be necessary to add only sand and leafmould.

Mix the soil thoroughly before planting. The best way to do this is to get the component parts together in layers, and then throwing the mass over to making a new pile. Always shovel from the bottom of the pile, and always throw the added matter on the apex of the new pile so that the soil can roll down the sides. If this is done, and the pile turned three or four times, the soil will be thoroughly mixed.

Before mixing the soil determine whether it is sufficiently moist. This may be told by taking a handful of the soil and pressing it firmly in the hand. If water can be squeezed out the soil is too damp, and ought not to be worked over until enough dry soil has been added to take up the surplus moisture.

If, after having been pressed in the hand, the soil remains together, but will break upon being lightly touched, it contains the proper amount of m.oisture. If it v/ill not rem.ain in a lump but breaks up im.mediately the pressure is released, it needs more water. Add it by means of a watering pot; the amount necessary can be judged better from experience than by any rules which may be laid down.

CHAPTER in

Potting and Repotting

When to repot — Why plants die — Feeding vs. shifting — Winter disturbance — "Knocking out" — Seedlings — Cuttings — The potting bench — Crocking and drainage — Danger of large pots.

The best time of the year to repot house plants is in the spring (April or May), or when new growths start. Only in very exceptional cases do house plants need repotting during the winter; this is particularly true of palms, ferns, rubber plants, etc. These plants are then resting or are making very little growth, and meddling is positively dangerous to their lives. The average amateur gardener does not realize this, and, although the plant is in a good, healthy condition, he becomes very much worried because it is not making new growth. Then he will repot the plant, putting it in a larger pot, and nine times out of ten the plant becomes sickly and often dies in a few weeks because of the shock received and the inability to make a new root system rapidly, and so take hold of the new soil.

FEEDING vs. REPOTTING

Soft-wooded plants, like geraniums and coleus, I would much rather feed with liquid fertilizer than repot during the winter; although, if the plants are growing, they may be shifted to slightly larger pots without injury. Should you desire to repot the plants, do so before the roots circling about the inside of the pot become woody; after they have matted but while still white and succulent.