Plants too tall to be covered should be protected with straw or corn-stalks; cover for some little distance beyond the roots with leaves or litter, and place straw or corn fodder around them, bringing it to a point at top, and tying firmly there and in the middle, sloping the stalks sufficiently to shed rain. Tall Rosebushes, young Althæas, and similar growths, are much benefited by this form of protection. Long beds of plants—as Japanese Iris, Pansies, and the like—maybe protected by taking narrow boards eighteen or twenty inches long, with a notch cut in one end, the other end being pointed and driven into the ground; set these at intervals through the centre of the beds; place the poles lengthwise of the beds, their ends resting in the notches, and arrange evergreen boughs across the poles on each side to shed rain. Corn fodder may be used where the evergreens cannot be procured, or a row of pegs may support two boards, forming a ∧-shaped roof, which will protect from wind, sun, and water equally. Protect the Lily and Peony beds with a foot of leaves and rough, old manure. Rhododendrons, at the North, must have both roots and tops protected if there is to be any bloom the following year. Muslin-covered frames and leaves will do this best. Great care must be taken not to break off the buds, which are exceedingly brittle. Frames with removable lids that will admit of filling in gradually, and allow the leaves to settle before finishing, are best. Pile leaves around the roots of Clematis, and stretch sacking or other cloth over the trellises on which they grow. Protect in the same way English Ivy and Ampelopsis Veitchi while young. A northwest angle of a building affords very good protection.
Chapter TWENTY
Care of House-plants In Winter
Plants for winter blooming should be brought into the house before the nights get chilly. By becoming gradually accustomed to the air of the house before the doors are closed and the fires started, they will be less affected by the change.
Do not crowd into the window more plants than it can conveniently hold. Plants must have room to breathe and grow, and abundant light. No plant should touch its neighbours. Even with this amount of room at the start they will be badly crowded before spring, and it will probably be necessary to remove some.
Shelves, brackets, and stands should be in place before the plants are brought in, as changing about and handling are bad for them. Plants with tender foliage, as Cinerarias, Primulas, and the like, do best on a window-bracket, and the capacity of the window is greatly increased by the use of brackets. Plants with drooping leaves should have single brackets, to avoid contact with other plants. The Bougainvillea, also, does better on a bracket, being of a trailing habit. It is not, however, a good winter bloomer, usually coming in late in March and continuing until December, but it is very reliable during that time and requires less care than any house-plant with which I am familiar, unless it be the Araucaria.
See that all shelves are securely fastened, and strong enough to sustain the weight to be placed upon them. The additional protection of a small brass chain fastening the outer edge of the shelf to the window-casing above it will ease the strain on the brackets and give greater security.
See that all hanging-baskets are securely hung with copper wire, and that there is no danger of the hooks from which they are suspended pulling out.
Do not start in with a number of plants the requirements of which are entirely unknown. Where conditions for their proper care are not obtainable it will be wiser to content one’s self with familiar plants offering a reasonable hope of success, as Geraniums, Hyacinths, or Primroses. A healthy, vigorous plant, however common, is preferable to a sickly one, be it ever so rare.
A fair degree of atmospheric moisture should be maintained by keeping a dish of water on stove, register, or radiator. Where bulbs are grown a healthy degree of humidity is secured by evaporation and transpiration as shown by moisture gathering on the glass when the temperature falls. Moisture in the soil is a more difficult matter, and greater harm is done through ignorance in this particular than in any other way. Either plants are allowed to suffer for water, or they are drenched indiscriminately. All are watered alike, irrespective of individual need, whereas the requirements of each should be studied. A few plants, natives of bogs—as the Calla—require constant moisture when growing. Heliotrope, on the other hand, turns yellow when over-watered. Water should be applied thoroughly when given and then withheld until the plant is nearly dry again. This induces a stocky growth, with well-ripened wood, capable of producing healthy bloom. To keep a plant constantly wet may produce a quick growth, but it will be a soft one, incapable of the best results.
Flower-pots should not be filled to the brim with earth, but sufficient space should be left to hold enough water to thoroughly saturate the soil in each pot—a full inch or more in the case of six-inch pots, and at least half an inch for small pots. The soil must be sufficiently open to take the water quickly. Heliotrope, and some other plants, form a thick network of roots, which the water cannot penetrate readily, and channels should be opened through them with a pencil or stick. See that the water really penetrates the soil instead of merely passing between the ball of earth and the pot. Hanging-baskets of wire and moss are best watered by setting in a large pail until thoroughly soaked. One such watering will last a week, unless the room is very hot and dry.