The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-11-10

VARIETIES THAF WILL THRIVE
IN SPITE ar STEAM HEAT.


Niarket-Care I'm watering the Great
Necd-NeIther Too Much NOr Too Little
To buy a house plant il easy enough.
There are palms. ferns. rubber plants and
other varieties without end. Therefore TO
purchase a plant which will lock we'll in
the house in easy enough.
But TO keep hat plant in thriving con-
ditiOn il harder. The- wealthy evado tho
difficulty by having n florist look after
the plants at least once a week. He minis
ters to the plants general well being. and
despite the overbenting Of houses palms
and ferns and other things retain their
freshness all winter long.
The rank and nle Of pPnt purchasers
can't afford 20 do this. So the pIhnts are
apt to suffer.
According 10 an expert to keep a plant
alive and in good condition during the
winter is about all that any one can rea-
sOnably expect who hasn't a conservatory
0r "A greenhouse. and to accomplish this
the plant must not get too much or too
little water. Once a week il often enough
IA a rule to water palms, rubber plants,
draceuas and the like. but when they are
watered il must he lone thoroughly.
Ferns require watering every two or
three days and a generous quantity OF
water each time. and between mes they
or any other plant must be let alone.
The other day a woman who had pur-
chased a handsome fern about two weeks
previously swept into n florists and COM
planned hat the leaves were beginning to
turn yellow.
And you said the plant was an exOep-
tionally healthy one" she exclaimed. in
dignantly.
Inquiries revealed the fact hat she had
faithfully watered IL every second day.
How much water had she given the plant,
the florist wanted to know. and the answer
showed that about thr~ee-quarters Of a pint
was the usua quantity.
The roots of the plant had consequently
gone dry ever since the fern changed
owners And yet the florist could not
persuade the woman that she had not wa
tered the fern well and implicitly followed
his directions.
But the class Of women who think that
because the surface of the earth looks dry
it will do no harm to give a plant OF this
sort a drink every day is far more numerous
than the class Of women who do not give
water enough. Any one who is obliged
to heat her room with gas will have to
watch carefully for leaks. escaping gas
being sure death to most of the fern and
palm family.
As TO the plants likely to thrive best in
the care of the inexperienced. a florist said
be thought more hbarties could be taken
with the common rubber plant. or FIcus
e~lastica, han with some other varieties,
and this variety is comparatively low in
price.
The fiddle ficus, so named on account Of
the shape of the leaf. is perhaps not quite
SO hardy as the common ficus, and its cost
is considerably more Nevertheless, treated
with care. kept in an even, not too high
temperature. il will remain a thing Of beauty
all winter long.
One Of the hardest Of the indoor plants
is Of the variety called aspidestria. The
texture OF the leaf il something like the
hcus. one variety having ~variegated color
ing with RtTeaks Of yellow in the leaves.
Other varieties have a uniform plain very
dark green leaf.
Compared with the common ficus this
plant is expensive at the start but cheap in
the end. IL is imported from Belgium and
Holland, and so popular has IL became
that there ~ "A shortaG sc in the supply sent
to the New York market.
ne NIdNf'IhtH anu Hhnldluh NHIICuI AD- |
peal to the seeker after decorative effects
on account Of the artistic mingling of yellow
and green in the long graceful leaves. |
They are sufficiently hardy to hold their
own even in a steam heated apartment.
OF the palm family one OF the costliest, |
having the finest leaf. is said to be also one
of the hardest. This in called PhPnix |
cobelleni. The Phoenix rupecola. very
gra ceful and having q heavier. wider leaf
than the other. il also n good grower, The /
kentia palm lasts fairly well. |
A palm now enjoying a Z with peo- |
pile who can't afford many plants and want
something more than ordinarily tropical
in appearance il the LivingstOnia or fan
palm. which has a round or fqn shaped
leaf.
Buying FERNS il easier than keeping them
in condition. As a general thing II ia better
to select a plant not too thickly packed; |
in other words. "A plant in which the air can
circulate among the leaves. In some very
handsome examples the growth is so luxurf- ,
ant that il is hard for the air to reach the
heart Of the mass of leaves, and such a plant
is bound to fade fast when removed from
the greenhouse.
The hardest of all il perhaps the holly
fern. which looks very little like a fern
although included in that family. The
leaves are not unlike the holly leaf in size
and color. II is n splendid grower and has
a strong constitution. W. features a woman
who can buy only one plant a season values
highly.