Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-10-09
AND BULBS
Horticulture for the House in Winter
Time.
SOME SIMPLE DIRECTIONS
Varieties Most Likely to Bloom
Successfully.
PREPARING FOR CHRISTMAS

Written Exclusively for The Evening Star.
We often hear it said Of some woman
whose house plants are particularly -four
ishing: "Oh, she has such good luck with
flowers! If she were to stick a match in
flower pot 1t would take root and grow!'
Now, it would be going too far to say that
there is no such thing as luck" as some
people do. That is absurd. The lucky per-
son is he who is born with brains enough
TO make the best Use of favorable circum-
stances if they exist or to create them if
they are lacking. This applies to tioricu-
ture as well as to any other human under
taking. Conditions must be right or the
result is failure. Sometimes one fails
through ignorance or indifference-that is
bad luck for the Plants. Sometimes the
conditi MS are beyond ones power to
change-that is bad luck all around First
consider If you have even one sunny win
dow which you can give up to your plants;
then, by following some simple sensible
directions you may have one lovely YER
uant corner to make the shortest darkest
winter day less dreary.
Perhaps you have in the garden a lot of
serahlums, helotropes and other bedding
PidHtS winch nave grown almost too large
Tor mouse plants, and yet it seems some
now ungrateful and shabby treatment to
let them freeze after all they have given
you Oh beauty through the long summer
II IS not too late to start slips of the finer
sorts IN boxes of soil or Jars of water in
some sunny window, to be potted for win
ter blooming, and these will do much bet
ter than large plants that have been bloom
iES an summer. The large geranums may
be planted in boxes and kept in the cellar
Tor spring planting out of doors however
The tops will die, but the plant, with a
niue niue water now and then. will come up
nnely when it finds itself again in the gar
den bed.
Prepare the soil for potting plants with
equal parts of leaf mold, compost and gar
oen loam mixing in little sand Always
cover the bottom of pots, boxes or what
ever receptacle is used with from one to
TWO inches of shards, pebbles, cinders or
something Of the kind for drainage. If
you are not needing much soil, it would be
best to buy 1t ready mixed of good florist
when convenient.
Some Good House Boomers
Besides the old favorites which every
one knows each year brings forward new
house plants. highly recommended for
beauty and ease of culture. The swain
sonia is one of the more recent candidates
for popular favor. Both flowers and foli-
age resemble the wisteria in manner of
growth, though much smaller of course
II can be trained a window climber or
by ''pirching back made to form "a COM
pact bush, and rewards care with IL con-
slant profusion of sprays of delicate pea
shaped blossoms, scarlet or white. ana
very sweet. The new varieties of begonia
are gorgeous. The marguerite or Paris
daisy Is constant and dainty boomer. II
you have in your garden the ncotiana Of
fms cut off the tops and pot, giving plenty
OF room. Set the plant in a shady corner
where scarcely anything else will grow,
and water when needed. You will have
much pleasure from the great star-like
blooms ic Ea hat of
moon flower.
A Gorgeous Novelty.
The Chinese lantern plant is a gorgeous
novelty just introduced. AS the name sug-
gests. it bears numbers of balloon-like
husks, inside Of which the fruit develops.
These change from green to vivid scarlet
making the plant exceedingly decorative.
The Otaheite orange is now popular dec
orative plant. My own observation is that
II Is difficult to manage, but the florists
recommend 1t not at all So Certainly it
Is worth trying, for anything more beau
tiful than this dwarf tree with shining
foliage starred with scented white bios
SONS intermipgled with rpening fruit 1t
would be impossible to imagine. The garde-
MIA, or cape jessamine, is another rare,
though not new, plant, and Will reward
proper care with its exquisite waxlike flow
ers, the favorite boutonniere of masculine
swelldom.
Roses are SO difficult to manage indoors
that the inexperienced would do well to
leave them alone. Still, If one wishes to
try the experiment with a few, here ere the
r ames of some of the less difficult: Prin-
cess Bonnie, deep pink; Hermosa, pink;
La France. pink; The Bride. white;
Pearl of the Garden, yellow; American
Beauty, crimson; The Meteor. red.
Bu1bOus Plants.
But for house culture. far and away be-
yond all others in point of certainty, vari-
ETY. and beauty, are the dubious plants
hyacinths, tulips, lilies and narcissus, in all
their wonderful diversity of form and color,
and many others-new and old-so many,
and so beautiful, that choice becomes al
most impossible. Best of all the conditions
required for successful culture of most of
these are within reach of almost every one
There Is no mystery about the matter
follow few simple directions and you are
bound to succeed.
Simple Directions.
Select your bulbs with great care, as
you would Of permitted choose the peo-
pie with whom you were to DE in intimate
relations for months to come. Buy the
named hyacinths, or at least the higher
priced bulbs, recommended for window
growing. Use the broad, shallow pots, not
forgetting the layer of drainage material
at the bottom, and filling up with good,
porous garden loan, to which about ore
qudi lSi It's Dulh VI COARSE SAND mas been
added. Set several bulbs in each pot:
don't be afraid of crowdng them-they
like it-but plant preferably all of one
kind in pot. as they are more sure Of
coming into bloom at the same time. Don't
plant them upside down! Set each in a
little bed Of sand leaving about half the
bulb above the surface.
The same rule applies to the larger kinds
of narcssus. Small bulbs must be covered
though not very deeply. Nearly all must
be kept in dark, cool place until well
rooted: they must be watered occasionally.
but not too freely. Be patient In waiting
for signs of growth. Some bulbs REQUIRE
only few weeks, others two or three
months, before they are ready to bring to
the light. Wait until tie foliage and buds
are Well grown. The former will be wkite
like celery, perhaps, but that does not mat.
ter. Wait! When the flower stalks begin
to grow up. then is the time to bring your
hyacinths, etc., gradually into the sunlight.
The foliage will turn green within forty
eight hours. The cellar is a good place to
start bulbs In, If not too warm If too
light. turn box over the pots. A very
good way to start bulbs is to plunge the
pots in the flower beds, covering several
inches with soil. Keep them there until
very cold weather sets in; then bring grad
ually to light and warmth.
Raised In Water.