Evening star., 1948-12-19
Plants To Give and To Receive
One Group Requires Cool Situations;
Some Do Well in Warm, Dry Air
By w. n. Younqmon

A graVel-nueQ saucer is nelpIU ana
q weekly soaking Is required. Many
azaleas sold now are hardy enough
for out-of-doo planting and so 1t
will pay to care for these plants
until. the weather moderates next
March or April.
The Warm Air Group.
For the warmer house, the African
violet is an excellent gift, especially
some of the newer varieties. The
white, pink and red varieties are
especially welcomed by the fan"
The violet seems to be happy in a
room temperature of from go to 10
degrees, especially If the night tenn
perature is to 10 degrees lower.
They need only a few hours of sun
light each day at this season. In
summer, they seem to enjoy a north
ern exposure with no direct sun
light. If in q proper soil mixture,
they will be satisfied with one
watering a week. However, they
seem to do much better If the pot
rests on a gravel layer in a shallow
pan. The moisture evaporating
from the gravel keeps the air humid
enough to keep them growing hap
pily, even though watered but once
q week.
A second plant for the warm room,
one not too well known, is the Kali
anchoe, one of the easiest of plants
for the inexperienced yet Towering
for three to five months. The thick,
fleshy leaves provide the background
for numerous umbels of crimson,
scarlet or rose colored flowers. Given
full sun in rather dry soil, the
Kalanchoe will continue in bloom
until April or May. Then, If pinched
back and given bit of rest in
semishade, it may be brought in
doors for another season of bloom.
The mealy-bug is almost certain to
be introduced with the gift plant.
However, they are easily controlled
by a few dabs of alcohol applied
with match stick cotton swab.
This last point brings attention to
one of the thoughtful gestures that
the plant giver might we'll attend to.
Examine the plant before purchase
to see if it is free of pests and signs
of disease. Don't leave it for the
recipient who might be believer in
the old saying, Never look a gift
horse in the mouth"
Ferns for the Dry House.
Most ferns are unhappy in a
warm, dry house. but, fortunately,
there are exceptions to the rule
In fact, the day of the Boston" fern
is about ended for few have either
the space or the conditions suitable
for them. Today, for the modern
home we had best select one of the
following, which are more nearly
likely to thrive: Holly. rabbitsfoot
or leather fern. The leather fern
more nearly resembles the Boston
fern, while the holly fern has leaf
lets resembling the holly leaf I'M
outline. The rabbitsfoot fern is a
good substitute for the maidenhair
fern which is practically impossible
in our modern home.
The care of these three ferns Is j
relatively simple if they have been
potted in a good mixture of leaf
mold and peatmoss. Light daily
watering is usually necessary, but
the soil should be almost dry by the
following day. A gravel pan pro-
viding humidity for the atmosphere
about the fronds is desirable for
their health and vigor, although as
mentioned above these three kinds
are most tolerant. Wintertime is
rest time for most ferns and they
should not be expected to be show
ing abundant new growth at this
season.
Few will look upon the cactus
plants as Christmas gifts. I men,
ton them only as plants that thrive
under hot, dry, sunny conditions.
For the friend who likes plants
but has neither time nor facilities
to keep plants growing vigorously in
the home, dish-garden might be
an acceptable gift. Most combi-
nations of plants for the dish
garden contain some Towering
plants as we'll as a number of small
interesting things which will last for
several weeks if not months. The
choice of plant material should be
noted-too many cool plants
should be avoided for the modern