containers which you fill with water and hang behind the radiators are
effective to some extent. But don’t forget to keep them filled. Pans
of water on top of the radiator also help. A steam kettle, such as you
use when the kiddies have a chest cold, can be used for a few hours.
But remember, that steam is hot, so be careful not to get it too close
to your plants. Just keep it in the general vicinity; please, not too
close! Here is something else we often use--put some gravel, sand,
perlite, or vermiculite in a plate or platter, pour in some water, and
put your flower pot in it. The water will evaporate and moisten the
air around your plant. If you have a number of plants, get a metal or
plastic tray. If you have a decorative garden, you might want to have
a tray made to order, to fit your space. Paint it a pleasing color.
I have seen such trays decorated with decals, but personally, I’d
rather rely on my plants for the necessary decoration. In having a tray
made--we’ve had several made by our tinsmith--the larger the tray, the
better.
The “nuisance” system is usually necessary only for very delicate
tropical plants that flourish in highly humid jungles and rain forests.
They will need the platter, or tray of moist sand, plus some enclosure
to hold in the moist air. For a single small plant, this can be an
inverted bell jar, or a tent made from a polyethylene bag (the sort
vegetables are often packed in) and propped over the jar and plant.
A larger bag can be used to protect several plants. You can even use
kitchen-type plastics such as Saran Wrap. A collection of tropicals
almost calls for an indoor greenhouse, like the oldtime Wardian case.
In our window greenhouse we can close the inside sash and, with the aid
of pans of water, keep the humidity just about where we want it. On
cold nights the electric-coil heater isn’t always adequate, so we open
the sash to get the benefit of the heat of the room.
The plants that need this extra humidification are definitely in the
minority; most are content with simple measures, or none at all.
_Soil_
When I first became interested in a wide variety of indoor plants, I
prepared soil mixtures with the care and precision I had used in making
the formulas for our children. It involved trips to the woods for leaf
mold, sifting and mixing ingredients, and sterilizing the ordinary soil
which we used in order to kill the seeds that are found in almost all
soils. In our Long Island home we had an extra stove in the basement
which we used for canning and other secondary purposes. I’d fill the
oven with old baking pans and other receptacles which contained my
potting soil, and light the burner. Frankly, it “reeked” and the reek
was all over the house. It was as though we were burning feathers in
the fireplace. Now that I am less energetic, and somewhat wiser, I buy
prepared soil.
I find that for a reasonable number of plants the prepared soil is not
costly and saves a lot of time and preparation. Of course, if you are
a professional you may have your own ideas about soil, and your own
formulas for a mixture. I’ll admit I do a little mixing on my own, but
that is because I grow many different kinds of plants in pots, and each
has individual preferences. Most cacti and succulents need something
sandy that doesn’t hold moisture too long, as is natural in their
desert homes. Tropical plants need a light, porous medium that is rich
in moisture-holding humus, like decayed leaves on the jungle floor.
Some plants get nourishment only from acid soil, some need alkaline
soil, some like soil nearly neutral. I’ve found Michigan peat moss a
good starting base regardless of requirements of individual plants.
I like to dish it right out of the bag. When done, I always pull the
plastic inner liner together to keep it moist. In extra dry weather
I often wet a sponge and put it on top of the mixture. Potting is a
pleasure, because Michigan peat feels so soft, silky, and clean. At
repotting time I discover well-developed, healthy root systems.
For plants that require better-than-average drainage--mostly
succulents--I mix peat moss with builders’ sand. (Want to know
where I got my last batch of builders’ sand?--from a contractor who
was building a house down the road. He and his wife happen to be
begonia lovers and he was charmed to know about my book _All About
Begonias_.) The formula for the mixture is two-thirds soil and
one-third sand. For even greater aeration, I may throw in a moderate
ration of crushed charcoal.
On the other hand, some of my plants insist that their soil always be
moist. For them I add coarse vermiculite, perlite, or Pelonex, and
in a similar ratio. These soil conditioners have the ability to hold
moisture without making the soil muddy or soggy.
There is another item on my potting-soil shelf--a jar of horticultural
lime. This is for plants that dislike acidity. I either add it to the
potting soil--a scant teaspoon per three-inch pot--or mix it with
water, to be applied later. With or without these added ingredients, I
feel that a good potting soil has sufficient nutrients for almost any
plant for several months; so I seldom mix in fertilizer of any kind.
_Potting_
When and how to repot a plant should be the least of a gardener’s
problems. Here is a case where hovering, pampering, and fussing
usually does more harm than good. Plants are often better repotted
_mañana_ than today.
I know many of my plants have benefited from the fact that I have been
too busy to repot them whenever the impulse came over me. I hate to
think how many I have killed with kindness in my less active years.
Remember my Aunt Minnie? She embarked on a big repotting spree every
spring, but not very often in between. Some of her most handsome
specimens have lived in coffee tins and large juice cans for years.
Instinctively she knows when a plant should be repotted. Don’t ask me
how she knows it. And when that time comes, she goes about it in a
firm, no-nonsense manner, firmly but tenderly.
There is one sure way to tell whether a plant needs a new pot. Turn
the old pot upside down, tap the contents loose, and examine the soil
ball. If it is completely covered with a network of roots, get busy
with a larger pot. If not, don’t repot, just slip it back where it was
before and give it a loving pat. If you happen to have a seedling you
have great hopes of raising to a beautiful maturity, it will have to be
repotted more often.
The kind of pot is a matter of personal choice. Plastics are lighter
in weight, easier to clean, and capable of keeping soil moist for a
longer period of time. This makes them suitable for moisture-loving
plants, or for gardeners who have a tendency to forget the watering
pot. Clay pots are porous, and because they let air seep into plants,
they dry out faster. This makes them best for dry-growing plants, and
for overwaterers (like me).
Actually, the size of the pot is more important than the type. It takes
an expert to know how to water a plant when it is overpotted. You are
not doing your plant a favor by housing it in a pot several sizes too
large; in fact, you may even be signing its death certificate. As a
rule, the new pot should be only one size larger than the previous
one, thus leaving just enough room around the roots for some fresh
soil. Pack the new soil firmly with your finger tips, a pencil, or a
slim piece of wood. Be sure there are no empty air-pockets. Water it
thoroughly and set it in a light, but not sunny, spot, for about a
week. This will give it time to recover from any transplanting “shock.”
This discussion about overpotting applies to plants in general, but it
is even more important with miniatures. Smaller pots will keep them
down to natural, miniature size.
_Fertilizing_
Many people who have fewer plants than I--and more time--tend to make
a fetish of fertilizing. I am afraid my methods are haphazard, and not
to be recommended. Anyway, I will tell you what I do. Follow it if you
like, but quite possibly you may have a better method which you prefer.
I keep two kinds of house-plant fertilizer on hand--a reliable brand
of soluble commercial chemical plant food (it dissolves in water and
has the note “trace elements added” on the label) and an organic
food. This organic food is either manure water or fish emulsion. The
fish emulsion comes bottled and is diluted with water. As an amusing
sidelight, our tomcat goes slightly out of his mind when around a
potted plant that has had fish emulsion for its dinner. The cat just
can’t find the source of that aroma. Manure water, on the other hand,
has no such fascination. It is easy to prepare. Simply wrap a portion
of well-rotted manure in a section of cheesecloth or burlap, and steep
it in the watering pot long enough to produce a “tea” fluid. Better do
this out of doors, in the garage, or in the tool shed. It is usually
“olfactorily offensive.”
Once a month I make a solution of the chemical fertilizer, at half the
strength recommended on the label of the package, and feed plants as I
water them. Two weeks later, and once a week after that if they need
it, I feed with the organic solution. This, I think, constitutes a
“balanced diet” for most types of plants.
Like overpotting, overfertilizing can lead to lost plants. It is my
observation that an underfed plant usually doesn’t die quickly. It
simply slows down until you have time to feed it. It is particularly
important _not_ to fertilize plants that have been repotted
recently, plants that are unhealthy or are plagued by insects or
disease, plants that are resting right after flowering, plants that are
dormant or semidormant, as some of them are at certain times of the
year. _Do_ fertilize plants that are in active growth, setting
buds, or in full bloom, plants that are aglow with good health, plants
whose roots have filled, or nearly filled, their pots.
_Watering_
My children, who are learning to care for plants rather early, have
been grounded in one fundamental fact--feel the soil in the pot to
see if the plant needs water. If the soil is dry, fetch the watering
pot (succulents can be an exception). I have been told my kiddies have
had arguments at school about watering the plants which cluster on the
sunny window sills. The usual procedure in our Redding school is to
assign the care of the plants to a different child each day. He, or
she, floods everything with water and then retires to his, or her, desk
with the feeling of having done his, or her, good deed for the day.
Plants, alas, are not like goldfish. They don’t care for swimming.
This brings up a question I am frequently asked about house plants:
“How often should they be watered?” Even an IBM calculator with a
thousand cards feeding through its maw couldn’t come up with a better
answer than this simple statement: “Water them when they need it.”
At the risk of repeating myself, I will sum up my thoughts on this
problem, and then go on to other subjects. Test the soil with your
fingers, if it is dry, you can most likely water with impunity. If
moist, more water is inviting root rot. When you water, make sure
the entire soil ball is so saturated that excess water runs out the
drainage hole in the bottom of the pot. Miniature plants are likely
to require more frequent watering, because their pots are small and
they are small. Frequency of watering: Here we get into an awful lot
of tangibles, and some intangibles. There are such things to consider
as the type of plant and its moisture needs, size of the plant and its
pot, what sort of soil is in the pot, is the plant root-bound or not,
is it in active growth or dormant, what is the weather like out of
doors--is it warm or blustery, clear and sunny, dark and humid, or just
another day. Remember, on hot dry days the moisture is going to slip
away into the atmosphere. On cloudy days it will hang around longer;
humidity will take care of that. If you feel your plant needs water and
you are afraid of flooding it, you might try another device. Put some
moist peat in a larger pot--or you can use vermiculite or perlite--and
set the plant and its pot inside this larger pot.
Right now you may be wondering about hanging baskets and those plants
that are wrapped in osmunda and mounted on slabs of wood. Give them a
good dunking in the kitchen sink but let the excess water drain off
before you hang them again, out of deference to your carpeting and
furniture. Actually, the plants don’t care whether they spot your
furnishings or not.
If all of this is confusing, may I sum it up in a phrase: “Just use
your common sense” (horse sense may be a better term). I know I have
written a few books about plants and gardening, and countless magazine
articles, but here is a very candid confession. Until a very few years
ago I knew practically nothing about the subject. What I know I learned
by reading books and magazine articles, and “doing.” I know I killed
a few plants out of ignorance, but I killed more with kindness. Every
time a plant withered and died I felt badly. But I considered it a
lesson in what to do, or not to do. I tried to find the cause for the
demise. Today I have the satisfaction of having raised thousands of
plants to beautiful bloomhood, and largely because of the sacrifice
of some obscure begonia, or petunia, a few years back. I have been
acclaimed as having a “green thumb.” Actually I do not have a green
thumb. No one has. I thoroughly dislike the term. I dislike the
implication that a person has a God-given quality which makes plants
grow. Making plants grow and prosper is largely the mastering of a
few rules, and the use of a lot of common sense. I’ll grant you, much
of your common sense comes the “hard way.” But it is fun. I bow most
respectfully to those plants which I killed with ignorance and kindness.
_Grooming_
This is the “beauty-parlor” treatment for your plants. Fading flowers
and dying leaves are as unattractive on a plant as those unruly
ringlets in a woman’s coiffure. In fact, they are even worse. They take
strength from a plant and are unsanitary. Remove them as regularly as
you can. You’ll be adding to the welfare of your plant. If the plant
is of a type that needs to be pruned or pinched to keep it comely and
compact, perform the operation before the branches get that gangly,
middle-aged spread. Pinching out the new growing tips, either with
sharp fingernails or sharper scissors, usually produces two new
branches. If you pinch out the tips of these, you will most likely get
four new branches and your plant will become pleasingly plump. The
exception is the plant that blooms from the ends of new growth. Stop
your pinching before the bud-setting season.
Not many miniatures need staking to keep them upright. If stake you
must, do it as inconspicuously as possible and tie the stems neatly in
their natural growing manner. Train miniature creepers in the direction
you want them to grow, and miniature climbers up their supports. Rinse
foliage with a fine spray (use that discarded Windex bottle I described
earlier) as often as you can to wash away dust and dirt. Please, may I
throw in a plea right here--recently I saw a commercial product which
some people use to make their plants more green. It is a spray for
foliage. For the moment it makes plants look green with its sheen. But
it also clogs the pores on the plant and its leaves. For the moment it
is beautiful; for permanency it is harmful. Decide, do you want your
plant to live for the moment only?
_Insects and Disease_
Not long ago, when visiting a friend, I was taken out to her sun room
to see her plants. She was proud, but I was shocked. What I saw was the
most amazingly bug-ridden collection of fuchsias and geraniums I have
seen in many a moon, plus a few poor distorted other flowers which were
trying to survive. My poor hostess, honestly, I think she had no idea
of her problems and the future of her plants. In fact, they had little
future. I thought over that problem for a spell, and then told her the
facts of life. Fortunately, she was able to save much of her greenery.
That poor gardener was on one end of the spectrum. On the other end
are the overanxious ones who treat their plants with so many sprays
and dusts that the leaves never get a chance to breathe pure air.
Fortunately, in between there are the sane, sensible growers who are
able to cope with the insects and diseases which beset house plants. As
for myself, I have been at both extremes.
I now find prevention is the best protection. That is an old saw, but
the best one I know. I keep plants and pots clean, remove dead flowers
and foliage before they decay, and use germ-free potting soil. People
often give me plants. I accept them most politely, and gratefully;
but I am cautious about mingling them with my other residents of the
greenhouse and window garden. I keep them in a quarantine section for a
few weeks. No use asking for trouble, and I trust my friends understand.
For immediate and reliable treatment, I rely on an “all-purpose”
house-plant spray or a dip. As long as I am careful to keep it up, I
seem to have no great problems. When I get careless, as humans are wont
to do, I regret it.
It is very convenient to rely on the new aerosol bombs--those that
are specifically marked for house plants, and not those for household
insects. There are several reliable brands, each listing on the
label what they are to be used for. If there happens to be an added
fungicide, so much to the good. That will cover just about everything.
A few words of caution about the use of aerosol bombs. Follow the
instructions on the label to the letter. Hold the bomb at least
eighteen inches away from your plant, maybe more. Some of those fluids
come out of the can at a very low temperature and have the same effect
as a blowtorch on foliage. Try to make sure the spray hits all parts of
the plant. Remember, leaves also have an underside. Don’t let bugs use
that underside as a hide-out.
There was a word of caution on each aerosol container I have seen: “Do
not throw into an open flame when empty.” My husband wondered what
would happen if he did. He tossed an empty can into the trash burner
and got behind a tree. The explosion sounded like a hand grenade left
over from World War II and he had to get a new lid for the burner.
Please take my word for it and don’t take that chance. Let him be crazy
if he likes, but not you. I don’t like to lose readers so early in my
book.
I know I take precautions, but in spite of everything my plants become
infected at times. When that happens it’s helpful if you can recognize
the symptoms, diagnose the ailment, and apply the cure. With your
interests in mind, I have put together a list of sorts which includes
the most prevalent house-plant insects and diseases, the telltale signs
of their arrival, and the insecticides and fungicides which will send
them to their happier hunting grounds. If I have skipped anything, my
apologies. If you are having special problems, phone your local county
agricultural agent. He is a good man to know anyhow. But please, unless
you have something that is out of hand, don’t bedevil the man. He is
probably concerned with ticks on sheep, ringworm, hog cholera, breachy
cows, grubworms, and forty people who want to know why their hollyhocks
didn’t bloom.
PROPAGATING HOUSE PLANTS
It’s hard to tell which provides the warmest pleasure, to give a friend
or visitor a rooted, potted cutting of some plant she has admired,
or to come home with a gift cutting of a new plant you have admired
and coveted. There is a thrill also in adding a new plant to your
collection by growing seed from a seed house. And I always have another
thrill when the church or the school asks me to contribute plants for
the annual bazaars. Fortunately, I usually am able to anticipate these
requests far enough in advance to have a supply ready and waiting.
PESTS AND TREATMENT
_Symptoms_ _Treatment_
Aphids Little louse-like This is an easy one to
(Nasty plant insects. get rid of, but likely
lice) Green in color in to return if you don’t
our area. watch out. Use a solution
Clustered on new of Black Leaf 40
leaves, on flowers, (nicotine sulfate) in a
and around stems combination spray with
lindane or pyrethrum and
malathion. Or you can use
any of them alone
Mealybugs Little white dabs of Dip an artist’s paint
(Don’t let them cotton clinging to brush or a cotton-wrapped
frighten you) tender joints, stems, toothpick in a solution
and the underside of of malathion. Remove the
leaves pests one by one
Mites Buds and new leaves Dip plants in a solution
are puckered and of malathion, Kelthane,
distorted. The or Tedion according to
underside of the the directions on the
leaves may show fine, label
white silky webs
Mildew Silvery dust Dust plants with sulfur,
disfigures the or spray with one of the
leaves, most likely new fungicides like
in dark, muggy summer captan, zineb, etc. Give
weather plants more space and
increase air circulation
Scale Hard brown, or green, Dip plant in a solution
scales irregularly on of malathion. Repeat
the underside of according to directions
leaves
Slugs Slimy villains, like Use special slug-bait
shell-less snails, containing metaldehyde
which hide in soil or according to package
under pots by day and directions
come out to chew
holes in leaves at
night
Thrips Brownish blotches Dip or spray with
under leaves. malathion all-purpose
Disfigured flowers mixture containing
lindane, pyrethrum
White Fly Minute flies swarm Spray or dip in
in the air about the malathion, or an
plant when disturbed all-purpose mixture
Since I fashioned my first crude propagating box--a square cake-tin
with a rickety frame covered with kitchen plastic--I’ve always had
some sort of similar device in operation. They have been of many sizes
and shapes, and have included an aquarium vacated by the children’s
goldfish, and a fruit crate from the grocery with cut-to-measure glass
sides and top (I use masking tape to hold the corners). The one thing
common to all of these boxes is the three-inch layer of some moist
propagating medium, ready to receive seeds and cuttings.
The latest and most attractive box I’ve used is the Gro-Master--a
ready-made plug-in propagator with an electric coil in the bottom to
provide gentle bottom heat. Several similar devices are also available.
With something like this one can hardly miss germinating even the most
difficult house-plant seeds, or rooting even the most delicate cuttings.
The choice of a propagating medium is all yours. I’ve used vermiculite,
perlite, and Pelonex with unqualified success. I tried sharp sand but
discovered that it dried out too fast for anything but succulents. Peat
alone, or mixed with sand, tends to pack and rots rather quickly. I
tried a blend of equal parts of peat, vermiculite, and perlite. It held
up rather well, but I seldom bother to mix it. Regardless of what you
prefer to use, have the medium moist when you use it, and water just
enough to keep it barely moist during the rooting process.
Of course, with many types of plants, you can root “slips” in a glass
of water on your kitchen window sill. But in any kind of propagating
box, where the air is kept humid and the delicate plants are protected
from drafts and drying-out, you have a better chance.
_House Plants from Seed_
African violets and other gesneriads, all types of begonias and
geraniums, and many other indoor plants can be grown quite easily
from seed. I like to plant each variety in its own small plastic
refrigerator dish with a half-inch or so of soil (moist, sterilized
soil that is) in the bottom of the dish. Sometimes I use plastic
ice-cube trays. When planting powder-fine seeds, I usually add a thin
layer of moist, finely-milled sphagnum moss and make it very smooth.
Dust the tiny seeds over this surface, but don’t cover them with soil.
Larger seeds should be covered with soil or more moss. Next, cover the
container tightly and set it in a warm spot. That is when you will
appreciate a propagating box. If the moss and soil begins to dry out,
moisten it by gently running drops of water down the sides of the
container. Please be gentle and tender. Tiny seeds and seedlings should
not be disturbed.
When the seedlings have developed one or two true leaves of fairly
substantial size, pick them out very gently and transplant them to
another “community” container, or to individual thumb pots. Keep them
humid and protected until they are big enough to need transplanting
again. After that, they should be nearly ready to become adjusted to
grown-up growing conditions in a window, or some other indoor garden.