Evening star., 1941-08-30

There is a host of other foliage
plants well worthy of mention but 1t
is fun to hunt out new pot plant
possibilities oneself.
Geraniums have not become pasSe
through the years, neither have
begonias, cyclamen, lilies or petu-
Mas. These lovely plants are uni
versally used today, both in the
garden proper and as potted plants.
There are, however, many other in
teresting Towering plants that grow
equally as well indoors. There Is,
for instance. the lovely, yellow-cen-
tered, deep-blue African violet which
makes an ideal small plant for an
end table. The smiling, sunny,
bright yellow Chinese primrose is
another pot plant which would add
q colorful note to the room. Special
mention must be made of the Mar
tha Washington geranium, the
blooms of which would brighten the
gloomiest room for they occur in
every shade of scarlet, pink, lilac
and purple and are usually splashed
with a velvety black or wine-colored
center. A favorite of Grandma S
day, the graceful fuchsia, should be
accorded a place in every modern
home as its lovely crimson and pur-
Pile dropping blooms have a beauty
and individuality not surpassed in
any other plant. The Patience
plant, with its red and scarlet flow
ers, is another old-time favorite not
so frequently seen today, yet it is
we'll worth including in ones indoor
planting list: hybrids of it occur with
pink, salmon, violet and white
blooms. the violet and white or
chid-like blooms of Marica make
this species very desirable and it
blooms profusely during February
and March. Then. too, there are
many varieties of Freesias. bearing
lovely, graceful, delicately perfumed
flowers that make these plants q
very acceptable addition to any
room.
A little investigation and even
little experimentation. would soon
add many other species of both
foliage and Towering plants to those
which are already known TO be
adapted as house plants.
There are, naturall~ few simple
rules to be followed If one is to be
a successful indoor gardener. One
very important phase lies in the
careful re-potting of plants. AS a
plant increases in its growth above
ground so does its root grow below
the surface, until, finally. the growth
is arrested by the barrier formed by
the pot. Unless it is repotted in
larger pot, such plant will wilt and
die from being rootbound. If the
plant looks yellowish and sickly.
such a condition probably exists. In
order to make sure, place piece of
newspaper on the floor near the
kitchen sink and invert the pot,
holding the stem of the plant loosely
between thumb and fingers so that
the palm of the hand makes bowl.
BY tapping the pot gently on the
rim, the earth and plant can be re-
moved in one piece. If lot Of hair
like roots are wound around the ball
Of soil, then the need for larger pot
Is indicated. Place a piece OF broken
pot over the hole in the bottom of
the new pot and fill in small guam
tity of soil. Place the plant to-
gether with its ball of original soil
on top Of this layer and I'LL around
the sides with fresh earth, taking
care not to cover the old surface
level 1t is an excellent idea.
though, to cover the old soil level
with a A-inch layer of gravel as
that would permit mud from spat-
tering the window or woodwork dur
ing watering operations.
Some plants like lots of sunshine,
others prefer partial shade, as is the
case with plants grown outdoors
Most towering plants prefer a
southern or southeastern exposure,
while ferns do we'll in little or even
no dixect sunlight. If one does not
definitely know a plants preference
in this respect and cannot find out
by consulting seed and bulb cata-
logues, then a trial and error sys-
tenn will have to be worked out SO
that the right condition is achieved.
In any case the pots should be
turned occasionally so that all sides
Of the plant receive an equal amount
Of light. In any exposure, it is ad-
visable not to place pots on the bare
shelf, as the moisture will drain
out too quickly. Jardinieres, saucers
or bowls in which water is kept ir
the bottom are not good as the sol
becomes soggy and waterlogged and
air cannot circulate to the roots
A layer Of small pebbles mixed with
equal parts OF peat moss forms ar
ideal mat" for pot plants placed ir
such containers.
During winter, when the room.
are heated, there is little natura
humidity in the air and pot plant.
suffer accordingly. Radiator pan.
may be purchased for a few cent.
and, If kept filled with water, would
offset any undesirable dryness ir
the atmosphere. There Is a specia
type of radiator pan which can be
suspended in back of radiators *
that 1t is not visible. In con-
junction with these humidifiers 1,
would be good practice to syringe the
foliage. If 1t is possible. the plants
should be put out in the rain or
warm days during the winter and
at other times, thought should be
given to plants having suff1ciency
of fresh air in the rooms though
they should never be exposed tt
drafts. Most plants prefer the nigh,
room temperature to be from 10 de-
grees to Is degrees lower than In the
day 70 the thermoStat should be Gel
! accordingly