House Plants

There are literally hundredsof different kinds of plants which can begrown in the home as house plants, but it isessential to know first the conditions of light,heat and atmospheric moisture in the placesabout the house where plants are to be grown,then to select the right plants for those par-ticular situations. The failure of a plant to growproperly can usually be traced directly to in-sufficient (or too much light), incorrect tempera-ture, too much or too little water, a poor soilmixture and in houses using manufactured gas
(not natural gas) to the ethylene and carbonmonoxide which can escape from leaky fixtures.

The lower the temperature in the situationselected, the fewer the kinds of plants which canbe grown. Plants like Sansevieria, Philo-dendron sp., Hedera helix, the Rubber-plant(Ficus elastics) and others seem to do well witha minimum amount of light where many otherplants fail. Sometimes these will exist insituations where they receive no direct sunlight.On the other hand, azaleas, cyclamen,primroses and other flowering plants, especiallyif they have been forced into flower in thegreenhouse, are extremely difficult to keep in agood flowering condition unless they have acertain amount of direct sunlight and thehouse atmosphere is not too dry.

Also, extreme watering is often the result offailure, for some people actually ruin theirplants with too much. The reverse is also true,especially if the plants are off in a room wherethey receive little attention. Dry atmosphere issometimes overcome by growing small plantsin terrariums (which see), for if these are properlyplanted they need no attention for weeks at atime, provided they are in a normally warm.

Those unfamiliar with fertilizers often injurethe plants with too much or too frequentfertilizer applications. The ability to grow goodhouse plants is not acquired readily but comesafter much experience working with theconditions at hand. We havebeen growing house plants for zo years in ourpresent home and have had many failures, butwe have come to learn about the ones that willdo well under our conditions. Other plantscontinually come and go, but there are thosewe term the “old rcliables” and we have foundwhich ones these are by a long process of trialand error. It is interesting to try new plants ifone has the time and space, but if not, we havelearned that a good display can always beobtained with the dozen kinds we have foundwe can grow properly.

Soil

The soil mixture can be varied according tothe requirements of the plant and one specificmixture is not necessarily good for all plants.Azaleas, for instance, need an acid soil withplenty of leaf mold, cacti require soil with alarge percentage of sand, African-violets andferns require one with a high percentage of leafmold. A good general mixture is: 4 parts loam,2 parts sand, 11 parts dried cow manure, parts leaf mold and cup of bone meal for eachpeck of mixture.

Fertilizers

There are many so-called plant foods obtain-able in liquid or granular form being sold undertrade-marked names. Some of these are perfectlysatisfactory but be sure to read the directions ofapplication on the bottle or the package. Asimple 5-00-5 (see soms) one teasponful to agallon of water is helpful, if a cup of this solu-tion is applied to a moderate-sized pot plantabout every 4 weeks.
For potting houseplants

Water

There are many factors involved in this forthere is no such thing as watering regularly somany times a week or month, by the calendar.Some plants (cacti) require less water than others(ferns). Actively growing plants need more thanthose in a rest period. Pot-bound plants take upmore moisture than those with the pot not sofull of roots. Plants in clay pots need more waterthan those in plastic pots. Plants growing in avery dry atmosphere require more water thanthose grown in high humidity. Plants in fullsunshine need more water than those in theshade. If the temperatures are high, more water isneeded than for plants in a cool room. And so itgoes. House plants might very well be inspectedseveral times a week to see when watering isrequired. It may be that a regular pattern willevolve, but chances are that if watering is doneseveral times a week, certain plants will requirewater each time, others will not. Extreme careshould be taken not to over-water.

Rest Period

Most plants have a rest period or are dormantfor a period after they have completed activegrowth. Naturally this varies with differentplants and can become a highly complicatedaffair if one grows a large number of differentkinds of plants. During this rest period theyshould be given less water and possibly re-moved to a cooler place. The busy home ownerhas many more important things to do than toworry about the individual rest periods of allhis plants, but he can notice that when that timecomes, they should receive less water.
We believe in giving our house plants a”vacation.” All during 9 long months they have been on display, some have become over-grown, too large for the pot or just plainstraggly. In mid-June we take them all out of thehouse, cut them back heavily, remove the pots ofmost and either repot or plant them directly inthe soil under an old hemlock. The soil hasbeen worked over and plenty of leaf mold andmanure has been added. This is near the hosewhere the plants are sprinkled on occasion,otherwise they are forgotten until the iso ofSept., when they are potted and prepared forbringing into the house at the advent of frostynights. In this way, we have little worries abouthouse plants indoors 00 001, during tho summermonths. We have a rest from caring for them,and they in turn seem to relish the lack ofattention they receive throughout the summermonths.

Pruning

Usually “pinching” is a better term, for somehouse plants like fuschias, Coleus, Jerusalem-cherry and the like should have the fast-elongating shoots pinched back occasionally toor a buds to make them more compact inhabit. Coleus especially are in this category ifthey do not receive sufficient sunlight.
PropagationMany house plants are easily propagated bycuttings or division. In many cases this caneasily be done right in the kitchen window 00 05a plant stand. A bulb pan nearly filled with therooting medium (sand, peat moss, perlite or amixture) can serve as the rooting bench especiallyif a polyethylene bag is placed completelyaround it to keep in the moisture and keep thecuttings from drying out. The temperatureinside should not go over 80. F. and the rootingmedium should be inspected once a week totesif water should be added. Begonia leaf cuttingsas well as those of Saintpaulia are easily rootedin this manner.

Pests

Scales, plant lice, white flies and mealy bugare the chief pests with which to contend.

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