Chapter II: Part 2

Before transplanting to the open ground these screens should be removed entirely and the plants left exposed to the weather for a few days to harden. Screens of chicken netting may be substituted, if protection from cats, dogs or chickens is needed. If, in the early stages of the hotbed, drops of moisture gather on the glass, the soil is too wet and the sash must be raised to allow the surplus moisture to pass off, avoiding always a cold draught across the bed.

The cold-frame is simply a frame of boards fitted with sash and placed over a prepared bed of earth. As the bed will be raised slightly above the surface of the soil, the frame should be set over it, shutting out the cold from the sides as well as the top. A covered bed, prepared without heating material, is a cold-frame; and one in which the heating material is spent is often used as a cold-frame after it has served its purpose as a hotbed earlier in the season, for growing Gloxinias and rooting cuttings during the summer, and in August for sowing Pansy seed for the next summer’s blooming. Cold-frames are useful to protect beds of such tender perennials as Tea-roses, Pansies, Canterbury-bells, Foxgloves and Violets. Violets may, by this means, be kept in bloom during the winter. They are also useful for bringing forward, early in spring, beds of Hyacinths and Narcissi. They should be protected by carpets or mattings at night and during the colder days, and exposed to the heat of the sun on bright days when the soil is not frozen. When it is, they must remain covered and thaw out in the dark, to be aired when the weather is above freezing, but draughts across the bed must be avoided, as they will certainly blast any buds there may be.

The cold-frame in winter must have good drainage, or much damage will ensue from water standing around the roots of plants. The surface of the bed must be above the level of the land outside and a trifle lower at one corner. From this corner a trench should be dug having an outlet, or a deep hole may be dug and filled with broken crockery and stones to carry off all surplus water.

The sand-box is a receptacle for the summer storage of plants which are not to be bedded out. It is also used to prepare plants for winter blooming, and for experiments with novelties in house-plants. It is, finally, the ideal place for rooting cuttings. I have never known a plant capable of being started from cuttings that would not take root in the sand-box. Any shallow box that may be reached across easily is suitable for this purpose; or a deep box may be cut down to six or eight inches and rendered available, the length depending on the plants to be accommodated and the room at disposal. The sand-box should be placed, if possible, in a convenient place on the east side of the house. Elevate on saw-horses, blocks, posts or a regular frame to a height easy to reach when sitting in a chair. Fill nearly full with clean white sand; in this bury the pots nearly to the brims and keep the sand constantly wet.

Plants that can stand full sunshine—as Geraniums, Crotons, Heliotropes, etc.—should be placed in front; those requiring more shade may be in the second row, and those needing the most against the wall. Vines, also, may be trained against the wall, and over the sides of the box, if it is desired to make it beautiful as well as useful. A wooden chair should be placed conveniently near, and the space underneath may be utilised for ferns, or the storage of tools and pots.

Once established, the sand-box will be found one of the most fascinating of spots. Cuttings of all kinds may be thrust into the sand between the pots—Geraniums, Carnations and Roses in front. Gloxinias and Begonias—with the leaves laid flat on the sand in the rear—will quickly take root in it. No one who cultivates a garden, or house-plants, should try to get along without a work table or bench, and this should be situated in some cool, shady spot out of doors. It may be either a large kitchen table or a large packing box, the latter being preferable, perhaps, as affording shelter for the various tools used in working. It should be high enough to work at conveniently when standing up, and a tall stool should be provided for sitting on when desired, to be pushed under the top of table when not in use. There should be a shelf underneath, sufficiently roomy to hold a supply of pots and flats, and, below it, a box of potting soil and one of fine white sand should be kept ready for use. If the potting soil lies on the ground it will keep moist in the dryest weather. A tin pail of pebbles, broken crockery and charcoal for drainage, and a supply of sphagnum moss should also be kept handy. A trowel, knife, shears, pencils and a stick—or, better still, a piece of a broken carving-steel—for pushing a plant out of the pot by inserting it in the drainage hole when, for any reason, it is not readily removed by tapping, will greatly lessen the labour of repotting and shifting house-plants in summer.

A shallow tray, with a bail of wood, large enough to hold a number of pots, will be useful to carry plants from the potting table to the sand-box, and will save many steps. With a well-equipped table to depend on and no litter around the house, one is much more likely to give plants necessary attention promptly. The work then becomes a pleasure instead of a labour to be dreaded. There, too, may be kept the supply for staking plants. The nicest stakes for house-plants are made of Cat-tail stems, any quantity of which may be gathered in the fall and stored away for future use, each stalk furnishing two or three stakes. Being round and smooth they are sightly and just what is needed for Carnations, Freesias and the like.

Chapter _FIVE_
Purchasing of Seeds

Buying seeds is largely a matter of experience. So glowing are the descriptions in the numerous catalogues sent out that one may easily be led into ordering many worthless novelties, and many desirable ones for which there is neither room nor sufficient knowledge of their wants to grow them successfully. Cheap collections, where one is requested to send ten cents for a catalogue and twelve packages of seeds, are worst of all.

In buying flower-seeds, as in everything else, one never gets “something for nothing”—not even experience, and cheap seeds usually prove a very poor investment; the only safeguard is to buy of trustworthy dealers whose seeds are offered at fair prices. Take, for instance, Pansy seed: one ought not to expect to buy a fine mixture in a full-size packet—two hundred and fifty seeds—for less than twenty-five cents, while such varieties as Giant Trimardeau and Giant Cassier should be fifteen cents or more, according to the place of purchase. A few of the old favourites—like the Snow Queen—may be bought in packets costing from three to five cents and prove good value. But generally speaking, packets selling for less than five cents are to be looked upon with suspicion. Seeds bought at the grocer’s or other local dealer’s are likely to be old or inferior stock—the better class of seedsmen selling direct to the consumer only. At the end of every season seedsmen have a large stock left over. The best concerns destroy these, but the less scrupulous put them up as prizes for advertising purposes, or sell them to the local dealers.

Some varieties of seeds retain vitality for years, like the Morning-glory, while others lose vitality in a few months or weeks, like the perennial Phlox, which must be sown as soon as ripe. From this it can be readily seen how worthless some of the seed carried over from year to year must be. As an experiment, I planted under glass in the house, with more than usual care, a part of one of these trial packages of twelve for a quarter. From five of the packages I got just one plant—a Lantana, while from the sixth I grew a number of inferior Petunias. In striking contrast to this I planted, under the same conditions, a packet of Bush Hill Pioneer Cyclamen containing twelve seeds, for which I paid fifty cents, and secured eleven plants, every one of which lived, making four and a half cents apiece for a very choice variety of Cyclamen, while the one little common Lantana cost me ten cents.

The prices of one firm will frequently be much higher than those of another equally trustworthy, the difference being caused, in most cases, by the number of seeds in the packets. A few firms now state the number of seeds in their price-lists. This should become the general practice. There is manifest injustice in selling packets containing a quantity which is entirely problematical, and often much below what the purchaser has a right to expect. To advertise seeds much under the usual price and reduce the number accordingly is a common practice.

It is better to buy a few good seeds, and by careful cultivation bring the plants as near perfection as possible, than to buy a quantity of cheap seeds. One can join with a friend or neighbour and thus secure a larger variety at less cost than would otherwise be possible. Generally speaking I think it a great mistake to save one’s own seed. Few choice varieties are fixed and so tend to run out in two or three seasons. From fine strains of Asters you may save seed that will give good results the first year, but flowers grown from seed saved from these will show more or less centre, so that fresh seed should be purchased every other year at least. As the bees do not visit the Asters so assiduously as other flowers, they are less given to hybridisation and come quite true from seed; the trouble with them being deterioration. The first flower on the plant is usually the best, and should be reserved for seed by tying a string around it and labelling it, if it is desired to keep the varieties separate. Remove all other blooms on the plant, as they fade, allowing only the one selected to ripen.

Pansy seed should never be saved, as the ripening of it weakens the plant and checks its blooming. Pansies growing in a mixed bed never come true from seed and deteriorate rapidly. Growing Pansy seed is work for the Pansy specialist, but if it must be saved a few plants should be grown in a bed by themselves and covered with a netting to keep off the bees, which work incessantly over the Pansy bed. Not more than two or three of the finest flowers on a plant should be allowed to seed, all other buds being removed as they form, and the plants kept in a high state of cultivation and supplied with liquid manure at least once a week during the season of seeding.

Seed may be saved freely from Poppies, as they do not deteriorate appreciably, and the hybridisation constantly going on results in a wonderful variety of form and colouring. The ripening of one or two capsules of seed does not materially affect the period of bloom; but it is well to mark one blossom on each plant, giving a preference to the terminal blossom on the main stalk, as being usually the finest. Remove all other blossoms as they fade. Perennial Poppies will do better, however, if no seeds are allowed to form. Morning-glories, Cosmos and Verbenas sow themselves better than the gardener can, the plants being much more vigorous than from the hand-sown seeds. Verbenas mix badly, and are apt to hark back to the original purple strain, or come striped. The seeds of the pink variety come true, I find, and some of the finest pinks I have seen were from self-sown seed. They range in colour through all the shades from pink to deep rose. A fair proportion of white may also be expected, but scarlet and red with a white eye are shy and rarely appear.

Nasturtiums rarely come true from seed, and if one desires a particular colour or shade, she must either buy fresh seed or grow that particular variety alone. If, however, one simply desires an abundance of bright flowers with a preponderance of yellow, orange and scarlet, it is worth while to save seed, as its vitality is remarkable and every seed may be expected to germinate.

No variety of Petunia can be depended upon when grown in a mixed bed. A particularly fine variety may be lifted and planted on the opposite side of the house, either in the ground or in a window-box, or in a pot in the house. From one exceedingly fine specimen of the large ruffled variety, lifted and grown in a window-box on the opposite side of the house from the Petunia bed, I saved a single pod of seed from which I grew, the following year, sufficient plants for a large bed. No two of these were alike in colour, but they retained the immense size, ruffled edges, velvety texture and beautifully marked throats of the parent strain; some were a velvety crimson, nearly black, some white with crimson blotches, and some showed rare shades of grey.

Sweet Alyssum sows itself, and the trouble is usually not to save but to get rid of it. Candytuft may be saved, but the fewer flowers allowed to seed the better for the continuation of bloom. Where one does not actually need the seed all flowers should be removed as fast as they fade. No one thing will add so much to the appearance of the garden as this, as nothing is more untidy than flowers gone to seed.

Perennials are greatly benefited by having the withered flowers removed; indeed so noticeable is the advantage that some, like the Monkshood, will give a second crop of flowers, and those that will not respond in this way will be more robust and bloom more freely the next year.

Vincas, too, and Hibiscus bloom more freely if not allowed to seed, while Coleus should not even be allowed to bloom. Sweet-peas must on no account be permitted to seed unless grown for the purpose. Seed may be gathered from the Thunbergia, Maurandya, Adlumia, common Morning-glory and Hollyhock without risk of deterioration or harm to the vine. Antirrhinums suffer severely from seed-bearing, while the Ricinus, Lantanas and Salvias may be allowed to seed freely. Ageratums look rusty when ripening seed, and it pays to go over them frequently with the shears; this will keep them fresh and full of bloom until frost. One flower-head will furnish all the seed one is likely to want.

All seeds should be gathered when ripe and the foliage dry. They should be exposed to the air in any convenient receptacle, except in the case of the Thunbergias, Balsams, and others having pods which snap open and expel the seeds to a distance. These should be saved in paper bags until perfectly dry, when they may be freed from their husks by sifting or winnowing, and stored in paper bags, envelopes, or boxes. It pays to save the florists’ envelopes for this purpose, as they are already labelled. Never put seeds away unlabelled, and it is a good idea to add to the label the date, period of germination, with the colour of the bloom, height, and other data of interest. It is still better to keep a book of such information to which one may refer from year to year. There are frequent doubts concerning some operation—the season of starting the hotbed, the time it took a certain class of bulbs to bloom after potting, and the like. In all such cases the note-book offers unimpeachable evidence.

Chapter _SIX_
Starting Seeds in Flats

There are many choice seeds, especially in the greenhouse varieties, that cannot be handled successfully in the hotbed—Begonias, Gloxinias, Cinerarias, and Primulas among them. All seeds too fine to be covered do better with house treatment. For starting these the shallow boxes or flats, as they are called, are used. Shallow cigar-boxes, or the larger ones sawed in two and the lid nailed on for the extra bottom, make convenient sizes for the finest seeds. They may be used from year to year if care is taken to store them away, at the end of the season, where they will keep dry and ready for use.

Holes for drainage should be bored in the bottom and covered with bits of glass or broken crockery. Fill with finely sifted leaf-mould to within an inch of the top and shake the earth smooth and even. A smooth piece of board, three inches wide and as long as the inside width of the flat, with a handle that can be easily grasped, is indispensable for pressing down the soil, both before and after sowing the seeds. It should be stored away with the flats at the end of the season.

Sow very fine seed broadcast, scattering it thinly and evenly over the surface and pressing it into the soil with the wood. It will be better to sow only part of a packet at a time. This will usually give all the plants of a kind wanted at one time, and if success does not follow this first trial there will be seed left for another sowing. Label plainly with the name and date of sowing, and, when known, the date of germination. Give the soil a thorough watering by setting the flat in lukewarm water until the water rises to the surface, but not above it. When the entire surface is wet, remove the box, draining off all surplus water by tipping on one corner, until the water ceases to run off. Cover the flat with a glass and sheet of white paper and place in a warm place—a shelf above a coal-stove or radiator is an excellent location, as it affords the bottom heat so essential in starting tender seeds. Seeds while germinating need but little light, and a box on a shelf in a living-room may be so screened as not to be unsightly. A shelf under another, having a light valance, is an ideal place, as the heat strikes more on the bottom of the box, leaving the top cool. Coarse seeds may be sown in rows and lightly covered, or enough fine white sand to merely cover may be sifted over them. Large seed, like the Asparagus Sprengeri may be pressed into the soil to twice their depth. Or the soil may first be covered with a thin layer of fine white sand, and the seeds sown on this and covered according to need. Sand counteracts the troublesome tendency to damping off caused by the presence of a minute fungus in the form of a fine moss or thread-like filaments covering the ground. Since this is the result of too much moisture, the remedy is to remove the glass, allowing the surplus moisture to pass off and the dry air to strike the soil for a short time. Care must be taken that the dryness does not extend below the surface. Drops of water on the glass indicate too much humidity. The glass should be removed, wiped, and aired. Where the plants are not too close together a crochet-hook or hat-pin may be used to scrape the moss or filament from the earth. This slight disturbance of the soil often serves to destroy the fungus. If the soil threatens to become dry, water carefully with a rubber sprinkler. If the dryness begins in the bottom, water as before by setting the flat in a pan of water.

When the plants have their second leaves give more air and remove the paper; in a day or two set in a light, warm window, screening from the hot sun by placing a piece of white paper between the box and the window glass. Leave the glass partly off the flat to admit air, and when the plants have their first true leaves remove it entirely for a part of the time.

When large enough to handle, transplant the seedlings into other flats, setting them one or two inches apart according to their growth. When the leaves again touch prick them out in two-inch pots of leaf-mould, placing a piece of crockery over the drainage hole and filling with earth to within half an inch of the top. Plunge the pots into a box of sand in a sunny window until large enough to go out of doors. As soon as the roots fill the pots shift to a size larger, using compost of two parts fibrous loam, four parts leaf-mould, one part old, well-rotted manure, and one part sharp white sand, all thoroughly sifted together. This is called fine compost, while soils that have not been sifted are known as rough compost. To remove sticks, stones, or hard bits of root put through a sand or coal-ash screen. A piece of wire netting slightly gathered up in the hand makes a convenient screen for a small quantity and a box with a netting bottom for larger quantities of earth.

By the time the plants again need shifting it should be warm enough to bed out all those that are to grow in the open ground, while those intended for the house must be shifted from pot to pot as they outgrow their quarters and be given such special treatment as the individual plants may require, always aiming at as thrifty a growth as possible. Plants intended for winter blooming must have all their buds removed and their branches pinched back according to their summer development.

Weak liquid manure may be given once a week during summer. Keep the sand in the sand-box wet at all times, but do not over-water. Water thoroughly and then allow the earth to become nearly dry before watering again; this alternate moisture and dryness allows the wood to ripen and make a stockier growth and one that will stand frequent changes of temperature better than the tender growth induced by over-watering.

Chapter _SEVEN_
Transplanting and Repotting

Tender annuals should not be planted out of doors until all danger of frost is past—usually about the twentieth of May in the latitude of Detroit and Chicago, and correspondingly earlier in the latitude of Philadelphia. Corn-planting time is safe in all latitudes. Even hardy annuals, if not too crowded, do better in hotbeds and boxes until the nights are warm. Vines especially suffer from cold nights and cold ground, and often receive a set-back from which they may not recover all summer.

It is best to prepare the beds a few days in advance that they may settle, as freshly dug soil is too loose for the roots of tender seedlings.

For solid beds of one flower make straight, parallel rows about nine inches apart for plants like Pansies, and from twelve to eighteen for Asters and their kind. A most convenient method is to use a board the length of the bed, or as long as convenient, with the distance between the plants marked on it. By using a board wide enough to stand or kneel on, stepping on the bed is avoided. On a round bed the lines may run straight across or they may radiate from the centre, in which case it will be necessary to skip a part of every other row, as the rows run together at the top.

It is better to transplant on a bright, warm day when the soil is dry than on a damp or wet one. Never transplant when the soil is wet. Many people take advantage of an approaching rain to set out plants, but this is a doubtful practice. If the rain is followed by several days of cloudy weather, it may do, but if followed by hot sunshine the plants will suffer more than if first planted in sunshine in hot, dry weather.

Only as many plants should be lifted from the hotbed at one time as may be transplanted before they wilt badly. The plants should be well watered the night before, that they may have a good supply of moisture stored, and that the soil may be moist and cling closely to their roots.

With the trowel make a hole deep enough to receive the roots without crowding, place the plant, fill the hole with water, and when that has partly disappeared press the earth firmly about the roots. Work the surface earth fine and smooth about the plant, taking care that it is perfectly dry. If, after setting the bed, wet spots appear, go over them carefully with dry earth. _Do not cover or protect in any way_; far more plants are lost by so-called protection than by any other form of mismanagement. If the planting has been done properly the roots will keep cool and damp—the mulch of earth preventing evaporation. This being the case, the tops will take care of themselves if sun and air have free access and the wind can sweep across them. Planting, as it is usually done—with the surface left wet, and the air shut away from the top—causes the water to evaporate rapidly in the hot air, and the plant is literally cooked to death. The water applied to the roots at planting will usually last for several days. The condition of the soil may be ascertained by removing a portion of the surface. If the earth underneath is found to be drying out too much make a hole on one side of the plant and fill it with water as before, carefully replacing the mulch of dry earth. Should it rain before the plants have become established the earth must be worked over as soon as it begins to dry that the moisture may be retained. If these directions are carefully carried out the tenderest plants may be transplanted in the hottest sun without injury. Occasionally a plant will wilt from exposure before planting, but it will be all right the next day—unless it was really injured before being placed in the ground. I repeat the caution to lift no more plants at one time than may be set in the ground before they wilt; to form a fine mulch of dry earth over the soil; to cover plants in no way, and to use no water on the surface for a few days until they have become established, which they will indicate by spreading out their leaves and making ready to grow. This method of planting should be followed in moving plants from one part of the garden to another, in resetting clumps of perennials, in bedding out house-plants and those received by mail. Where these last have had part or all of the soil removed it will greatly benefit them to set them in pots until these are filled with roots.

It is desirable that young plants should be kept growing vigorously all the time, and frequent shifting is necessary. Whenever the earth becomes full of roots, or the ball of earth is covered with a network of roots, the plant should be shifted into a pot a size larger.

“Shifting” means changing the plant to a pot a size larger without disturbing the ball of earth, while “repotting” properly means an entire renewal of the soil, the same sized crock being sometimes used. Shifting may be done at any time, even though the plant be in full bloom, while repotting should be done when the plant is dormant, as it is likely to cause the buds to blast and the foliage to droop. Plants less than a year old are better shifted than repotted—especially such as have neither bloomed nor shown any decided tendency to rest. After blooming and resting, if they are in as large a pot as you care to handle, they may be repotted in fresh soil, care being taken not to injure the roots, while dead roots should be removed with the shears. When a plant has outgrown its pot and it is inexpedient to give it a larger one—especially if it is not making a very vigorous top growth, part of the roots may be removed by running a knife down on two sides of the plant, which should not be disturbed afterward until the roots begin to grow anew, say, in three or four weeks, when it may be repotted with good rich soil.

In shifting plants turn them out of the pot without disturbing the ball of earth. This may be done by placing the hand over the pot, reversing it and giving it a sharp tap on the edge of the table, which will loosen it. Sometimes, when a plant has become pot bound, it will stick to the sides of the pot, when a stick inserted in the drainage hole against the stone in the bottom will usually loosen it. Having removed the plant from the pot, take out the old drainage material carefully, place in a pot a size or two larger an inch or two of broken charcoal covered with a little sphagnum moss to prevent the earth working into the drainage and clogging it. Fill in as much earth as the difference in the size of pot seems to require, working it well up around the sides with the trowel; press the old pot into this to make a hole the proper size and shape; place the plant, press the earth around it, and add more if needed. Water well and return to its place on the shelf or in the sand-box.

In potting some plants will require to have the soil pressed much more firmly around the roots than others. Those which make a soft growth, such as Impatiens sultana, various Primulas, Cinerarias, and most tuberous plants, like Begonias and Gloxinias, may be potted rather loosely, that is, with the earth pressed down lightly. Geraniums should be potted much more firmly, while such hard-wooded plants as Roses, Hibiscus, Otaheite Orange and Fuchsias, should be potted very hard indeed. Many failures in plant growing may be traced to neglect of this rule.

Cuttings of common house-plants are so easily rooted that it seems almost superfluous to give directions for handling them. Geraniums, Petunias, Coleus, and the like will rarely fail to root if stuck in the ground by the side of the plant; they will do still better if placed in the sand-box. On the whole I prefer to set them in small pots of earth plunged in the sand-box and kept moist, as by this method they do not suffer the shock of disturbance when ready to pot off.

A word about the selection of cuttings will not be amiss, as failure to choose wisely often results in the loss of the cutting, or in a poor or straggly plant. Quick, tender growths are not suitable for cuttings, except in the case of the Chinese Hibiscus, where the extreme tips are used for rooting; hard or woody growths are equally undesirable. The part where the new wood begins to harden and will break with a snap is best. No cutting should be over two or three inches long. The little, stubby side branches on Geraniums are best, and as soon as growth begins these should be pinched back to within an inch of the ground, or to the lowest buds on the stalks; this insures a stocky plant, branching close to the ground. Heliotropes do not root readily and should be started in wet sand in full sunshine and covered with a glass, which should be lifted occasionally to allow the surplus moisture to pass off, or in a bottle of water hung in a sunny window. Rose cuttings are so easily and so quickly rooted in the sand-box that it seems a waste of time to try any other way. In cutting Roses for bouquets, during summer, one should be generous with stems, cutting down to a robust leaf-bud in the axil of a leaf. After the Roses have faded the stems may be used for cuttings, dividing them into as many lengths as the buds allow, leaving two or three buds to a cutting. By this method one may have a large number of young Rose plants with little trouble and no expense. Coleus cuttings are quickly rooted by putting them in a glass dish filled with water and set in a warm place. If in the fall it is desired to save choice varieties growing on the lawn, large cuttings may be taken of the finest plants. Grouped together in a bowl, they are sightly and root readily. As the plants begin to grow they are likely to lose their large leaves—the new growths starting at the axils of these push them off—injuring the appearance of the plant. They should be potted off as soon as possible, the tops pinched out, and the plant encouraged to grow vigorously. To this end a warm, even temperature is necessary, sudden chills being fatal.

Gloxinias may be started in the sand-box by laying a leaf flat on the sand, in partial shade, covering the stem end with the sand. A callus will soon form, followed presently by a bulb. This may be as large as a hazel-nut before top growth begins. When tiny leaves appear the plant may be lifted and potted and grown until it blooms. It is not necessary to rest Gloxinias—either from seeds or cuttings—before they have bloomed. Begonias and Achimenes are rooted in the same way. Umbrella-plants are started by placing face down in a dish of water in the sun. Rubber and any other hard-wooded plants may be rooted by making an incision in the under side of a branch near a leaf, at a point where the wood has begun to harden, and wrapping the wound in a quantity of sphagnum moss, kept constantly wet. A thread should be tied to the branch on the side farthest from the main stalk and attached to a limb above to hold the cut slightly open that it may quickly become calloused. After a time roots will make their appearance through the moss, when the branch may be removed and potted. A method sometimes employed, when it is desired to save the crown of a plant which has a leggy or unshapely undergrowth, is to partly sever the stem at the point at which it is desired to root the plant, cutting out a wedge-shaped piece and packing with sphagnum moss. Or a small flower-pot, divided in halves, may be fitted around the cut, the bottom of the pot resting on a lower limb or other support, and filled with earth or sand kept constantly moist.

Cuttings liable to decay, as are some of the Cacti, may often be saved by tying them to a bit of wood and inserting that in the ground so that the end of the cutting just rests on the surface. In this way the air will reach and harden it so that a callus can form. Without the formation of the callus the sap escapes and the branch withers or decays. When the callus forms the imprisoned sap goes to the formation of roots. Some plants form more pronounced calluses than others—particularly the Gloxinia and Rose.

Layering is another form of rooting cuttings, and is especially valuable for Carnations, Honeysuckles, and plants whose branches grow near the ground or are supple enough to be bent down below its level. A cut should be made in the under side of a branch just below a joint, the cut portion brought down below the ground to insure moisture, and bent sufficiently to spread the cut somewhat, or it may be laid on the surface and a stone placed at the point of the cut. From a long branch like the Honeysuckle a number of cuttings may be started at once by notching the branch in several places and pegging it down, making the ground higher between each notch that there may be sufficient bend to the branch to keep the cut open.

Chapter _EIGHT_
House-plants From Seeds

Raising house-plants from seed is a most fascinating work, and it is also the most economical way of obtaining a number of choice plants, as a packet of seeds may be purchased for the price of a single plant. A package of Geranium seed may give a dozen plants, while a packet of Gloxinias or Cinerarias may give a hundred or more—the fine seed germinating more freely than the large.

Mixed seeds also give a variety, no two plants being identical in bloom, and, what is most important, seedlings always bloom—while plants from cuttings are often stubborn in this respect and sometimes refuse to bloom at all, owing probably to the check received at propagation. A cutting taken from a vigorous plant, rooting quickly, and continuing to grow, is quite certain to bloom—while the reverse is the case with one slow to root and slow to start into growth after rooting. The seedling, meeting with no check, blossoms in the natural course, and it has the advantage of growing from the start in the same atmospheric conditions, and does not suffer the violent change from the moist, warm air of the greenhouse into the dryer, more uneven temperature of the living-room.

By sowing seed one obtains a number of plants with the same season of bloom, making a finer appearance than mixed plants blooming at different times. A half dozen Cinerarias or Calceolarias in full bloom is a sight to gladden the heart of the gardener.

In giving the following cultural details I have selected those seeds which are always carried in stock and may be depended upon to give good results in the hands of the amateur. Unless some one particular colour or marking is desired it is better to purchase the mixed seed—selecting always the finest, or “extra choice mixed,” which will also be the highest priced. Never buy cheap seed for house-plants. Exception may, perhaps, be made in the case of Primroses, which are more inclined to come true, and it is, for this reason, better to purchase any particular colours one may wish in separate packets. Some seedsmen now put up expensive seeds in whole and half-sized packets, and the half packets will usually give all the plants needed of one kind. The mystery of tint and colour, only to be revealed at blossom time, is one of the greatest charms of growing mixed seedlings.

The Abutilons, or Flowering Maples, if set going any time before April will flower the same season. Start in the house in flats, and when large enough to handle transplant into tiny pots in a hotbed or sunny window and grow on until time to plant in the open ground, shifting as required. They may also be started in the hotbed, or in a protected bed in the open ground when the trees are in bloom. Set from one to two feet apart, according as a close hedge or fine specimen plants are required. The new California Abutilons present a great diversity of form and colour—there are beautiful drooping bells, gay little parachutes, flowers crinkled like crape or shining like satin, some so full as to appear double. They should be cultivated frequently if grown in the open ground and potted before the nights become cold, as a chill is often as harmful as frost, and plants so exposed are likely to lose their foliage. Plants intended for winter blooming should be lifted while the days and nights are still warm.

Asparagus plumosus nanus and A. Sprengeri (emerald feather) may be started any time in the late winter or early spring. The seeds are large and should be planted in rows an inch apart each way, pressing them into the soil a quarter of an inch and covering them over. They germinate in about twenty-one days, and require no especial care other than to be kept moist and fairly warm. When an inch high transplant to thumb-pots, using the fine compost. Shift as often as necessary; all Asparagus—especially the Sprengeri—are greatly benefited by frequent repotting. Spray frequently, keep moist always, and give liquid manure once a week while growing.

A. Sprengeri grows rapidly and is the most easily managed of all varieties. It needs, however, abundant root room, and where that is restricted must be given some kind of plant-food. It is the plant most used for hanging-baskets. A basket of three two-year-old seedlings is a thing of beauty, throwing off wonderful fronds—even in the dry air of a sitting-room heated with a coal-stove. They should be given a chance to rest during the summer by setting in a cool, shady place, watering sparingly. When the plant shows signs of renewed growth repot, giving a larger pot if necessary, or, if two or three plants have been growing in one basket they may be separated and given more room. An elongated tuber is formed on the roots, which stores nourishment—like the nodules on the Clematis and Clover roots. It is useless for propagating purposes, and should not be disturbed. A basket or a pot on a bracket or pedestal is the only way in which to grow A. Sprengeri successfully, while A. plumosus nanus succeeds best in deep pots, as it sends its roots far down, often pushing its crown well above the soil in this way. A. plumosus sends out fronds several feet long, and is best adapted for growing on strings. A deep pot on a north or east window-sill suits it well, provided it is not too cool, and fine spool-wire makes a neat support and is almost invisible.

The seeds of Rex and other Begonias are so fine as to look like dust. They should be sown on the surface of the soil, in flats in the house, in February or March, and an even temperature maintained. They germinate in eight or ten days, and the greatest care is required to keep the tender seedlings from damping off or drying out. The tiny plants appear first as a vague green bloom on the face of the soil, and a magnifying glass is necessary to show that each infinitesimal green point is possessed of a pair of leaves. From this time on it is a delight to watch the development of character in the leaf—quite tiny plants showing different markings. I have never raised two Rex Begonias exactly alike. When the little plants are large enough to handle prick them out into other flats, setting them an inch apart each way. When an inch high put into two-inch pots of leaf-mould, and plunge the pots in a pan of wet sand in a cool, north window where bulbs are growing, if possible, as the constant evaporation from these keeps the air moist. This is an important consideration in the culture of Begonias, and in winter water should be kept on stove, radiator or register to supply moisture. Among the fine bedding, fibrous-rooted Begonias the new Vulcan, a fiery scarlet; Vernon, a deep red; Erfordii, a soft pink, and the dwarf Bijou are the best. By starting these during January and February in flats in the house they may be bedded out in early summer. If planted in the house in January, transplanted to flats, and thence to the hotbed when it is emptied after the 20th of May, and partly shaded, they will be fine, robust plants by August, and may be used to replace the Pansies when it is not desired to carry these through the summer. If one has a sufficient number of pots, pot and plunge in the hotbed and they will not be set back by transplanting, but they must be plunged to the rim. They should be shifted when necessary, duly mulched, and not allowed to dry out.

Nothing finer than the tuberous Begonias can be desired either for bedding or for pot culture. The single are perhaps showier for bedding, but the double are handsomer for pot culture. They do admirably bedded out in a shady corner, or in pots in the sandbox. Peat, or a compost of two parts loam, two parts leaf-mould, and one part each of sand and old, well-rotted manure suits all varieties of Begonias. In setting out the tuberous Begonia it is well to mulch the bed with lawn clippings. Water thoroughly once a day, and, if very dry, or at all exposed to the sun, twice a day. So really wonderful are their blossoms, and so long and freely do they bloom, that they well repay a little extra care and protection. When frosty nights come the tuberous Begonias must be lifted, potted and kept indoors until they have completed their season of growth. Then water should be gradually cut off and the pots stored away in a dark, warm closet until spring, or if there are too many Begonias to pot they may be ripened off at once by putting on a tray of damp earth with the roots covered, and allowing them to dry gradually. When dry the tubers may be removed, wrapped separately in tissue-paper and stored in a dry, fairly warm place—a shelf in a closet or a drawer.

Probably no greenhouse flower is as little known or repays acquaintance as royally as the Calceolaria. Of infinite variety, its showy purse-shaped flowers range from a rare pure white through all the shades of pale lemon, orange, and scarlet to a deep, rich, velvety cardinal. It is one of the most easily cultivated of house-plants. The seed is fine like the Begonia, is handled in the same way, and germinates in eight or ten days. Shift as often as the pot fills with roots, using a size larger each time and disturbing the roots as little as possible. Rather more loam than leaf-mould is used in potting them. Keep in an east window in winter, where there is good morning sunlight and a temperature of at least 60 degrees. The air should be kept moist, either from blossoming bulbs or dishes of water on the stove. In a dry atmosphere it is liable to attacks of red spider, which greatly mar the foliage. The remedy or preventive measure is fresh air and moisture. Keep the soil moist but not wet. When the flower-buds appear slightly increase the supply of water and give a little manure once a week. The large felty leaves grow so thick and close that when the buds appear, to prevent injury from lack of light it may be necessary to remove a few leaves. If kept growing vigorously and shifted frequently, plants should be in five-inch pots by February and coming into bloom. When in full bloom it is well to remove to a cool room, where the blossoms will last for weeks. Cuttings may be taken when they are through blooming, but I think it best to begin afresh each year with seed.

Cinerarias make fine, large plants, as broad as they are high, their rich, velvety leaves showing on the under side wonderful colourings of green and lavender, purple and plum. The large heads of single daisy-like flowers show many shades of white, lavender, crimson, purple, and maroon. Most of the varieties have a dark eye and are sharply margined with some contrasting color. The seed is fine and is simply pressed into the soil. It germinates in from five to seven days, and requires little heat. As the plants are rather difficult to carry through the hot weather it is better to defer sowing until August. Their growth is rapid if given a cool, moist atmosphere, but a draught is most injurious and care must be taken never to over-water them. They like a moist, but never wet, soil, frequently stirred when there is any sign of damping off. They may be carried through an unusually hot spell in a cool north or east cellar window, always avoiding draughts. In winter an east window suits them best, with abundant room to develop their leaves. They are an exceedingly ornamental plant even without the flowers. The shady side of the sand-box is the best place for them in summer. They need frequent shifting, and by winter should be in five-inch pots. After the buds appear give liquid manure once a week. The utmost care must be taken to guard against aphides or green plant-lice, which are absolutely fatal if allowed to gain any foothold. The prevention is plenty of fresh air and tobacco-dust sprinkled on the leaves, which mars their beauty. The remedy—dipping in water heated to about 135 degrees, or brushing off the lice and killing them.

Carnations are the most easily grown of all desirable house-plants. If planted in drills in the hotbed in April, or in the open ground when the trees are in leaf, they will bloom in about four months. For outdoor blooming the Marguerite Carnations are usually selected, and the Giant of California is a new and choice variety of this popular strain. The seed is sown an eighth of an inch deep, the plants appearing in from five to seven days. When large enough to handle transplant into fresh rows in hotbed or flats, setting them an inch or two apart each way. When they are two or three inches high prick off into pots filled with three parts good loam and one of leaf-mould and plunge back into the hotbed. When the weather is warm enough set them in well-prepared beds of loam, enriched with a liberal quantity of well-rotted manure, planting them a foot apart each way. Cultivate frequently during summer to keep them free from weeds. A little soot and ashes added to the soil between the rows will heighten the colour of flowers and foliage and add stiffness to the flower-stems. The ashes will also counteract the tendency to burst the calyx, so troublesome in the Carnation. Plants intended for winter blooming should have all the buds removed during the summer, up to the first of September.

Only a few flowers will be obtained in the open ground the first year, but if the plants are protected during the winter they will bloom freely the second season. While blooming no seed should be allowed to form, and if size and quality are desired more than profusion of bloom, all but the terminal buds on each stalk should be removed. This is the method employed by florists to produce their long-stemmed beauties. Dig in the second summer a little old manure between the rows and sprinkle ashes there. A mulch of two or three inches of lawn clippings between the plants will hold the moisture so that cultivation will not be necessary. Fresh Carnation seed should be sown each spring, that there may always be blossoming plants and the bed made perpetual. Carnations will not stand the second winter, hence the need of young plants to renew the bed.

If it is desired to perpetuate any variety cuttings may be taken, or the plants may be increased by layering. Branches from each plant may be pegged down between the rows, equal distances apart, severed from the old plants when sufficiently established, and allowed to remain when the old plants are removed in the fall or following spring. The bed will, in this way, perpetuate itself; but cuttings from the same plants deteriorate in two or three years, and fresh seed should be sown every two years at least.

In growing winter Carnations for the house shift them as often as the growth of the plant requires, using three parts loam, one part leaf-mould, and one part each of sharp sand and old manure. When ready to bloom they should be in five-or six-inch pots. They require an atmosphere cooler than that of the ordinary living-room. A south window away from direct fire, where the temperature stands at 50 or 55 degrees, is best. Water thoroughly, but allow the soil to nearly dry out before watering again. If possible sprinkle the foliage every day and watch carefully for green fly and red spider; though there is less danger of their appearance in a cool room than in the hot, dry air of the living-room. When the flower-stalks appear they will need support, which may be supplied by placing three or four sticks or cat-tails at the side of the pot and twisting strings around them, back and forth, forming a frame around the plant. There is an excellent Carnation frame on the market, costing a few cents, which is similar but much neater. Stakes thrust into the ground near the crown of a plant are apt to injure it, and must be used carefully if at all; the finer the point on the stake the less damage done. Should green lice or flies appear syringe the plants with tobacco tea, or fumigate with tobacco, leaving them in the smoke long enough to insure success. Or the plant may be dipped in hot water at about 130 degrees; this will kill all insects or eggs.