I Care of Indoor Plants.

Otago Witness, Volume 25, Issue 2321, 25 August 1898, Page 8

I Care of Indoor Plants.

Buy a plant in full bloom, stand it in a fancy pot xmdsr the gas, neglect to water it. ; and then complain of the expense of flowers ! i That is the way not to do it. Another way j not to do it is to water all plants (in the aforesaid pots) copiously every day ; then foliage will turn yellow, flower buds will ' drop off, and, on inspection, tho china pots , will prove to be half full of sour, stale water, ! and the roots of the plant will be sour and sick accordingly. If plants are treated with . reasonable care they will last in health and I beauty for a long time, but they must have ; care and that regularly. No plant fhould I ever be allowed to go dry at the root, and | all plants in rooms with fire and lamps need ' frequent watering. If they stand in 'iots ! they should be lifted out twice a week, and j if the pot has water in it it should be turned ! out. Plants hi full bloom need much more water than ferns or palms, and you can j hardly give spiraeas or hydrangeas too much. j Ferns do much better with lukewarm water I than with cold, and it is really very little : trouble. Geraniums aro dry plants, and run j to leaf if over-watered, so they must only have a moderate quantity. Begonias and fuchsias drop their buds if allowed to get too dry or too wet, so they j must be treated with judgment. It does not | hurt them to have a good deal of water if j their saucers are emptied when it has run ! through. The soil can easily be tested ; if ! it feels moist to the finger, and the pot, J when struck, rings dull, it is right. If tho pot rings clear, it is dry at tho root, and il the soil 13 like sticky mud, it is too wet. i A very little practice will toach this. Aurum lilies aro wator plants, and like standing in I water, but the water should bo sweet, and if ! the pans are emptied and refilled every second day they will thrive. All large-leaved plants, palms, indiarubbcrs, aspidistras, and the like should ha\o their leaves sponged once a week ; dust prevents , their breathing and takes off their glossy j appearance. Another good place is to stand j them out of doors, -on warm, rainy days, !to get a good soaking. Even the soot-laden I rain of London is better for plants than \ water out of a pipe, and the raindrops wash the loaves better than any sponge. Ferns need a good deal of water as a rule, and, as we said before, like it with the chili ofF. Maidenhairs aro touchy where there is no greenhouse, and much dislike c;as or hot, dry living rooms. The big fern, with tiny ' plants growing at the tips of its fronds (Asplonium bulbiferum) is extremely good-na-tured and easy to manage, so that it is very useful in tho house, but, like tho palms, it 1 is all the better for sponging and syringing pretty often. Marguerites liko a Rood deal of wator, as does mignonette, and both plants suffer from drought. All plants like air and 1 sunshin*. though it is not desirable to stand

them out of doors in a hard frost, or in grilling summer weather, unless, in the latter case, they aro soaked with water first, and even then they aro not improved. Gas is another plant enemy, and nothing will keep green long in a room whore a good deal of gas is used, drying the air, and poisoning it too. Incandescent gas iB less unwholesome, and wo have been told tliat plants like electric light, but cannot speak from personal exporienco. Draught, again, is very bad for plants, and many things get their death blow on winter mornings when doors and windows are all open, and the room is being aired. If tho plants are moved to the most sheltered corner overnight, and covered with a newspaper or light, -woollen shawl, they will thrive, and it is really very little trouble. Plants near the hall stove generally die, and no wonder ! Tho stove dries the air, and gives off a certain amount of smell which kills all green things near it. If you group your pots at the farther end, and give them plenty of water, thoy will live longer at any rate; but it is the dry, hot air that kills, and hot water pipes and stores aro also bad for plants. Common musk, which is a delightful pot plant in summer, should always stand in wat3r (kept fresh, of course), and will then grow tall and fine. Oleandeis, which are capital window plants, also like a good deal of water when flowering, but in winter the supply must be reduced, as they will not be growing, and therefore require less nourishment. Bulbs in full bloom must be watered carefully, they like a fair amount, but if they are in inos3. and not earth, as is now so usual, it will be sufficient to keep the moss moist.

Above all, plants should be carefully looked over once or twii-e a week, and all those that look sick examined, to peo whethor they have too much water or too hi,tle. Then in. favourable weather— -i.e., mild and warmstand them out of doors for a couple of hours in tbo morning, syringe thorn well, let thorn drip, and bring them in, briftLt and healthy, to adorn the house.— Ax Indoob Gakdener, in Amateur Gardening.