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.
[Illustration: SIFTING LOAM THROUGH A SIEVE]
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.
[Illustration: REPOTTING]
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.