Manual of Gardening (Second Edition) by L. H. Bailey

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Dwarf Norway spruce, _Picea excelsa,_ dwarf forms. Several very dwarf
sorts of the Norway spruce are in cultivation, some of which are to be
recommended.

Dwarf pine, _Pinus montana,_ var. _pumilio._

Mugho pine, _Pinus montana,_ var. _Mughus._(DD) There are other
desirable dwarf pines.

Wild yew, _Taxus Canadensis._(A) Common in woods; a wide-spreading plant
known as "ground hemlock"; 3-4 ft.

_Arboreous conifers._

The evergreen conifers that one is likely to plant may be roughly
classed as pines; spruces and firs; cedars and junipers;
arborvitae; yews.

White Pine, _Pinus Strobus._(A)(DD) The best native species for general
planting; retains its bright green color in winter.

Austrian pine, _P. Austriaca._(DD) Hardy, coarse, and rugged; suitable
only for large areas; foliage very dark.

Scotch pine, _P. sylvestris._(DD) Not so coarse as Austrian pine, with a
lighter and bluer foliage.

Red pine, P. _resinosa_(A)(DD) Valuable in groups and belts; usually
called "Norway pine"; rather heavy in expression.

Bull pine, P. _ponderosa._(A)(DD) A strong majestic tree, deserving to
be better known in large grounds; native westward.

Cembrian pine, _Pinus Cembra._ A very fine slow-growing tree; one of the
few standard pines suitable for small places.

Scrub pine, _P. divaricata_ (_P. Banksiana_).(A)

A small tree, more odd and picturesque than beautiful, but desirable in
certain places.

Mugho pine, _P. montana_ var. _Mughus._(DD)

Usually more a bush than a tree (2 to 12 ft.), although it may attain a
height of 20-30 ft.; mentioned under Shrubs.

Norway spruce, _Picea excelsa._(DD)

The most commonly planted spruce; loses much of its peculiar beauty when
thirty to fifty years of age; several dwarf and weeping forms.

White spruce, _P. alba._(A)(DD)

One of the finest of the spruces; a more compact grower than the last,
and not so coarse; grows slowly.

Oriental spruce, _P. orientalis._

Especially valuable from its habit of holding its lowest limbs; grows
slowly; needs some shelter.

Colorado blue spruce, _P. pungens._(A)(DD)

In color the finest of the conifers; grows slowly; seedlings vary much
in blueness.

Alcock's spruce, _P. Alcockiana._(DD)

Excellent; foliage has silvery under surfaces.

Hemlock spruce, _Tsuga Canadensis._(A)

The common lumber hemlock, but excellent for hedges and as a lawn tree;
young trees may need partial protection from sun.

White fir, _Abies concolor._(A)(DD)

Probably the best of the native firs for the northeastern region; leaves
broad, glaucous.

Nordmann's fir, _A. Nordmanniana._

Excellent in every way; leaves shining above and lighter beneath.

Balsam fir, _A. balsamea._(A)

Loses most of its beauty in fifteen or twenty years.

Douglas fir, _Pseudotsuga Douglasii._(A)(DD)

Majestic tree of the northern Pacific slope, hardy in the east when
grown from seeds from far north or high mountains.

Red cedar, _Juniperus Virginiana_(A)

A common tree, North and South; several horticultural varieties.

Arborvitae (white cedar, erroneously), _Thuja occidentalis._(A)

Becomes unattractive after ten or fifteen years on poor soils; the
horticultural varieties are excellent; see p. 333, and Hedges, p. 220.

Japanese yew, _Taxus cuspidata._

Hardy small tree.

_Conifers for the South._

Evergreen conifers, trees and bushes, for regions south of Washington:
_Abies Fraseri_ and _A. Picea_ (_A. pectinata_); Norway spruce; true
cedars, _Cedrus Atlantica_ and _Deodara;_ cypress, _Cupressus Goveniana,
majestica, sempervirens; Chamoecyparis Lawsoniana;_ practically all
junipers, including the native cedar (_Juniperus Virginiana_);
practically all arborvitae, including the oriental or biota group;
retinosporas (forms of chamaecyparis and thuja of several kinds);
Carolina hemlock, _Tsuga Caroliniana;_ English yew, _Taxus baccata;
Libocedrus decurrens;_ cephalotaxus and podocarpus; cryptomeria; Bhotan
pine, _Pinus excelsa;_ and the native pines of the regions.

9. WINDOW-GARDENS

Although the making of window-gardens may not be properly a part of the
planting and ornamenting of the home grounds, yet the appearance of the
residence has a marked effect on the attractiveness or unattractiveness
of the premises; and there is no better place than this in which to
discuss the subject. Furthermore, window-gardening is closely associated
with various forms of temporary plant protection about the residence
(Fig. 268).

Window-gardens are of two types: the window-box and porch-box type, in
which the plants are grown outside the window and which is a summer or
warm-weather effort; the interior or true window-garden, made for the
enjoyment of the family in its internal relations, and which is chiefly
a winter or cold-weather effort.

[Illustration: Fig. 268. A protection for chrysanthemums. Very good
plants can be grown under a temporary shed cover. The roof may be of
glass, oiled paper, or even of wood. Such a shed cover will afford a
very effective and handy protection for many plants.]

_The window-box for outside effect._

Handsomely finished boxes, ornamental tiling, and bracket work of wood
and iron suitable for fitting out windows for the growing of plants, are
on the market; but such, while desirable, are by no means necessary. A
stout pine box of a length corresponding to the width of the window,
about 10 inches wide and 6 deep, answers quite as well as a finer box,
since it will likely be some distance above the street, and its sides,
moreover, are soon covered by the vines. A zinc tray of a size to fit
into the wooden box may be ordered of the tinsmith. It will tend to keep
the soil from drying out so rapidly, but it is not a necessity. A few
small holes in the bottom will provide for drainage; but with
carefulness in watering these are not necessary, since the box by its
exposed position will dry out readily during summer weather, unless the
position is a shaded one. In the latter case provision for good drainage
is always advisable.

Since there is more or less cramping of roots, it will be necessary to
make the soil richer than would be required were the plants to grow in
the garden. The most desirable soil is one that does not pack hard like
clay, nor contract much when dry, but remains porous and springy. Such a
soil is found in the potting earth used by florists, and it may be
obtained from them at 50 cents to $1 a barrel. Often the nature of the
soil will be such as to make it desirable to have at hand a barrel of
sharp sand for mixing with it, to make it more porous and prevent
baking. A good filling for a deep box is a layer of clinkers or other
drainage in the bottom, a layer of pasture sod, a layer of old cow
manure, and fill with fertile garden earth.

Some window-gardeners pot the plants and then set them in the
window-box, filling the spaces between the pots with moist moss. Others
plant them directly in the earth. The former method, as a general rule,
is to be preferred in the winter window-garden; the latter in
the summer.

The plants most valuable for outside boxes are those of drooping habit,
such as lobelias, tropeolums, othonna, Kenilworth ivy, verbena (Fig.
269), sweet alyssum, and petunia. Such plants may occupy the front row,
while back of them may be the erect-growing plants, as geraniums,
heliotropes, begonias (Plate XX).

For shady situations the main dependence is on plants of graceful form
or handsome foliage; while for the sunny window the selection may be of
blooming plants. Of the plants mentioned below for these two positions,
those marked with an asterisk (A) are of climbing habit, and may be
trained up about the sides of the window.

[Illustration: Fig. 269. Bouquet of verbenas.]

Just what plants will be most suitable depends on the exposure. For the
shady side of the street, the more delicate kinds of plants may be
used. For full exposure to the sun, it will be necessary to choose the
more vigorous-growing kinds. In the latter position, suitable plants for
drooping would be: tropeolums,(A) passifloras,(A) the single petunias,
sweet alyssum, lobelias, verbenas, mesembryanthemums. For erect-growing
plants: geraniums, heliotropes, phlox. If the position is a shaded one,
the drooping plants might be of the following: tradescantia, Kenilworth
ivy, senecio(A) or parlor ivy, sedums, moneywort,(A) vinca, smilax,(A)
lygodium(A) or climbing fern. Erect-growing plants would be dracenas,
palms, ferns, coleus, centaurea, spotted calla, and others.

After the plants have filled the earth with roots, it will be desirable
to give the surface among them a very light sprinkling of bone-dust or a
thicker coating of rotted manure from time to time during the summer; or
instead of this, a watering with weak liquid manure about once a week.
This is not necessary, however, until the growth shows that the roots
have about exhausted the soil.

In the fall the box may be placed on the inside of the window. In this
case it will be desirable to thin out the foliage somewhat, shorten in
some of the vines, and perhaps remove some of the plants. It will also
be desirable to give a fresh coating of rich soil. Increased care will
be necessary, also, in watering, since the plants will have less light
than previously, and, moreover, there may be no provision for drainage.

Porch-boxes may be made in the same general plan. Since the plants are
likely to be injured in porch-boxes, and since these boxes should have
some architectural effect, it is well to use abundantly of rather heavy
greenery, such as swordfern (the common form of _Nephrolepis exaltata_)
or the Boston fern, _Asparagus Sprengeri,_ wandering jew, the large
drooping vinca (perhaps the variegated form), aspidistra. With these or
similar things constituting the body of the box planting, the flowering
plants may be added to heighten the effect.

_The inside window-garden, or "house plants._"

The winter window-garden may consist simply of a jardiniere, or a few
choice pot-plants on a stand at the window, or of a considerable
collection with more or less elaborate arrangements for their
accommodation in the way of box, brackets, shelves, and stands.
Expensive arrangements are by no means necessary, nor is a large
collection. The plants and flowers themselves are the main
consideration, and a small collection well cared for is better than a
large one unless it can be easily accommodated and kept in good
condition.

The box will be seen near at hand, and so it may be more or less
ornamental in character. The sides may be covered with ornamental tile
held in place by molding; or a light latticework of wood surrounding the
box is pretty. But a neatly made and strong box of about the dimensions
mentioned on page 337, with a strip of molding at the top and bottom,
answers just as well; and if painted green, or some neutral shade, only
the plants will be seen or thought of. Brackets, jardinieres, and stands
may be purchased of any of the larger florists.

The box may consist of merely the wooden receptacle; but a preferable
arrangement is to make it about eight inches deep instead of six, then
have the tinsmith make a zinc tray to fit the box. This is provided with
a false wooden bottom, with cracks for drainage, two inches above the
real bottom of the tray. The plants will then have a vacant space below
them into which drainage water may pass. Such a box may be thoroughly
watered as the plants require without danger of the water running on the
carpet. Of course, a faucet should be provided at some suitable point on
a level with the bottom of the tray, to permit of its being drained
every day or so if the water tends to accumulate. It would not do to
allow the water to remain long; especially should it never rise to the
false bottom, as then the soil would be kept too wet.

The window for plants should have a southern, southeastern, or eastern
exposure. Plants need all the light they can get in the winter,
especially those that are expected to bloom. The window should be
tight-fitting. Shutters and a curtain will be an advantage in
cold weather.

Plants like a certain uniformity in conditions. It is very trying on
them, and often fatal to success, to have them snug and warm one night
and pinched in a temperature only a few degrees above freezing the next.
Some plants will live in spite of it, but they cannot be expected to
prosper. Those whose rooms are heated with steam, hot water, or hot air
will have to guard against keeping rooms too warm fully as much as
keeping them too cool. Rooms in brick dwellings that have been warm all
day, if shut up and made snug in the evening, will often keep warm over
night without heat except in the coldest weather. Rooms in frame
dwellings exposed on all sides soon cool down.

It is difficult to grow plants in rooms lighted by gas. Most
living-rooms have air too dry for plants. In such cases the bow-window
may be set off from the room by glass doors; one then has a miniature
conservatory. A pan of water on the stove or on the register and damp
moss among the pots, will help to afford plants the necessary humidity.

The foliage will need cleansing from time to time to free it from dust.
A bath tub provided with a ready outlet for the water is an excellent
place for this purpose. The plants may be turned on their sides and
supported on a small box above the bottom of the tub. Then they may be
freely syringed without danger of making the soil too wet. It is usually
advisable not to wet the flowers, however, especially the white waxen
kinds, like hyacinths. The foliage of rex begonias should be cleansed
with a piece of dry or only slightly moist cotton. But if the leaves can
be quickly dried off by placing them in the open air on mild days, or
moderately near the stove, the foliage may be syringed.

Some persons attach the box to the window, or support it on brackets
attached below the window-sill; but a preferable arrangement is to
support the box on a low and light stand of suitable height provided
with rollers. It may then be drawn back from the window, turned around
from time to time to give the plants light on all sides, or turned with
the attractive side in as may be desired.

Often the plants are set directly in the soil; but if they are kept in
pots they may be rearranged, and changed about to give those which need
it more light. Larger plants that are to stand on shelves or brackets
may be in porous earthenware pots; but the smaller ones that are to fill
the window-box may be placed in heavy paper pots. The sides of these are
flexible, and the plants in them therefore may be crowded close together
with great economy in space. When pots are spaced, damp sphagnum or
other moss among them will hold them in place, keep the soil from drying
out too rapidly, and at the same time give off moisture, so grateful to
the foliage.

In addition to the stand, or box, a bracket for one or more pots on
either side of the window, about one-third or half-way up, will be
desirable. The bracket should turn on a basal hinge or pivot, to admit
of swinging it forward or backward. These bracket plants usually suffer
for moisture, and are rather difficult to manage.

Florists now usually grow plants suitable for window-gardens and winter
flowering, and any intelligent florist, if asked, will take pleasure in
making out a suitable collection. The plants should be ordered early in
the fall; the florist will then not be so crowded for time and can give
the matter better attention.

Most of the plants suitable for the winter window-garden belong to the
groups that florists grow in their medium and cool houses. The former
are given a night temperature of about 60 deg., the latter about 50 deg.
In each case the temperature is 10 to 15 deg. higher for the daytime.
Five degrees of variation below these temperatures will be allowable
without any injurious effects; even more may be borne, but not without
more or less check to the plants. In bright, sunny weather the day
temperature may be higher than in cloudy and dark weather.

Plants for an average night temperature of 60 deg. (trade names).

_Upright flowering plants,_--Abutilons, browallias, calceolaria "Lincoln
Park," begonias, bouvardias, euphorbias, scarlet sage, richardia or
calla, heliotropes, fuchsias, Chinese hibiscus, jasmines, single
petunias, swainsona, billbergia, freesias, geraniums, eupheas.

_Upright foliage plants._--Muehlenbeckia, _Cycas revoluta, Dracoena
fragans_ and others, palms, cannas, _Farfugium grande,_ achyranthes,
ferns, araucarias, epiphyllums, pandanus or "screw pine," _Pilea
arborea, Ficus elastica, Grevillea robusta._

_Climbing plants._--_Asparagus tenuissimus, A. plumosus, Coboea
scandens,_ smilax, Japanese hop, Madeira vine (Boussingaultia), _Senecio
mikanioides_ and _S. macroglossus_ (parlor ivies). See also list below.

_Low-growing, trailing, or drooping plants._--These may be used for
baskets and edgings. Flowering kinds are: Sweet alyssum, lobelia,
_Fuchsia procumbens,_ mesembryanthemum, _Oxalis pendula, 0. floribunda_
and others, _Russelia juncea, Mahernia odorata_ or honey-bell.

_Foliage plants of drooping habit._--Vincas, _Saxifraga sarmentosa,_
Kenilworth ivy, tradescantia or wandering jew, _Festuca glauca_(A)
othonna, _Isolepsis gracilis,_(A) English ivy, _Selaginella
denticulata,_ and others. Some of these plants flower quite freely, but
the flowers are small and of secondary consideration. Those with an
asterisk (A) droop but slightly.

Plants for an average night temperature of 50 deg..

_Upright flowering plants._--Azaleas, cyclamens, carnations,
chrysanthemums, geraniums, Chinese primroses, stevias, marguerite or
Paris daisy, single petunias, _Anthemis coronaria,_ camellias, ardisia
(berries), cinerarias, violets, hyacinths, narcissus, tulips, the Easter
lily when in bloom, and others.

_Upright foliage plants._--Pittosporums, palms, aucuba, euonymus (golden
and silvery variegated), araucarias, pandanus, dusty millers.

_Climbing plants._--English ivy, maurandia, senecio or parlor ivy,
lygodium (climbing fern).

_Drooping or trailing plants._--Flowering kinds are: Sweet alyssum,
_Mahernia odorata,_ Russelia and ivy geranium.

_Bulbs in the window-garden._

Bulbs flowering through the winter add to the list of house plants a
charming variety. The labor, time, and skill required is much less than
for growing many of the larger plants more commonly used for winter
decorations (for instructions on growing bulbs out-of-doors, see p. 281;
also the entries in Chapter VIII).

Hyacinths, narcissus, tulips, and crocus, and others can be made to
flower in the winter without difficulty. Secure the bulbs so as to be
able to pot them by the middle or last of October, or if earlier all the
better. The soil should be rich sandy loam, if possible; if not, the
best that can be got, to which about one-fourth the bulk of sand is
added and mixed thoroughly.

If ordinary flower-pots are to be used, place in the bottom a few pieces
of broken pots, charcoal, or small stones for drainage, then fill the
pot with dirt so that when the bulbs are set on the dirt the top of the
bulb is even with the rim of the pot. Fill around it with soil, leaving
just the tip of the bulb showing above the earth. If the soil is heavy,
a good plan is to sprinkle a small handful of sand under the bulb to
carry off the water, as is done in the beds outdoors. If one does not
have pots, he may use boxes. Starch boxes are a good size to use, as
they are not heavy to handle; and excellent flowers are sometimes
secured from bulbs planted in old tomato-cans. If boxes or cans are
used, care must be taken to have holes in the bottoms to let the water
run out. A large hyacinth bulb will do well in a 5-inch pot. The same
size pot will do for three or four narcissuses or eight to
twelve crocuses.

After the bulbs are planted in the pots or other receptacles, they
should be placed in a cool place, either in a cold pit or cellar, or on
the shady side of a building, or, better yet, plunged or buried up to
the rim of the pot in a shady border. This is done to force the roots to
grow while the top stands still, as only the bulbs with good roots will
give good flowers. When the weather gets so cold that a crust is frozen
on the soil, the pots should be covered with a little straw, and as the
weather gets colder more straw must be used. In six to eight weeks after
planting the bulbs, they should have made roots enough to grow the
plant, and they may be taken up and placed in a cool room for a week or
so, after which, if they have started into growth, they may be taken
into a warmer room where they can have plenty of light. They will grow
very rapidly now and will want much water, and after the flowers begin
to show, the pots may stand in a saucer of water all the time. When just
coming into bloom the plants may have full sunlight part of the time to
help bring out the color of the flowers.

Hyacinths, tulips, and narcissus all require similar treatment. When
well rooted, which will be in six or eight weeks, they are brought out
and given a temperature of some 55 deg. to 60 deg. till the flowers
appear, when they should be kept in a cooler temperature, say 50 deg.
The single Roman hyacinth is an excellent house plant. The flowers are
small, but they are graceful and are well adapted to cutting. It is
early.

The Easter lily is managed the same way, except to hasten its flowers it
should be kept at not lower than 60 deg. at night. Warmer will be better.
Lily bulbs may be covered an inch or more deep in the pots.

Freesias may be potted six or more in a pot of mellow soil, and then
started into growth at once. At first they may be given a night
temperature of 50 deg.; and 55 deg. to 60 deg. when they have begun to
grow.

Small bulbs, as snowdrop and crocus, are planted several or a dozen in a
pot and buried, or treated like hyacinths; but they are very sensitive
to heat, and require to be given the light only when they have started
to grow, without any forcing. Forty to 45 deg. will be as warm as they ever
need be kept.

_Watering house plants._

It is impossible to give rules for the watering of plants. Conditions
that hold with one grower are different from those of another. Advice
must be general. Give one good watering at the time of potting, after
which no water should be given until the plants really need it. If, on
tapping the pot, it gives out a clear ring, it is an indication that
water is needed. In the case of a soft-wooded plant, just before the
leaves begin to show signs of wilt is the time for watering. When plants
are taken up from the ground, or have their roots cut back in repotting,
gardeners rely, after the first copious watering, on syringing the tops
two or three times each day, until a new root-growth has started,
watering at the roots only when absolutely necessary. Plants that have
been potted into larger pots will grow without the extra attention of
syringing, but those from the borders that have had their roots
mutilated or shortened, should be placed in a cool, shady spot and be
syringed often. One soon becomes familiar with the wants of individual
plants, and can judge closely as to need of water. All soft-wooded
plants with a large leaf-surface need more water than hard-wooded
plants, and a plant in luxuriant growth of any kind more than one that
has been cut back or become defoliated. When plants are grown in
living-rooms, moisture must be supplied from some source, and if no
arrangement has been made for securing moist air, the plants should be
syringed often.

All plant-growers should learn to withhold water when plants are
"resting" or not in active growth. Thus camellias, azaleas, rex
begonias, palms, and many other things are usually not in their growing
period in fall and midwinter, and they should then have only sufficient
water to keep them in condition. When growth begins, apply water; and
increase the water as the growth becomes more rapid.

_Hanging baskets._

To have a good hanging basket, it is necessary that some careful
provision be made to prevent too rapid drying out of the earth. It is
customary, therefore, to line the pot or basket with moss. Open wire
baskets, like a horse muzzle, are often lined with moss and used for the
growing of plants. Prepare the earth by mixing some well-decayed
leafmold with rich garden loam, thereby making an earth that will retain
moisture. Hang the basket in a light place, but still not in direct
sunlight; and, if possible, avoid putting it where it will be exposed to
drying wind. In order to water the basket, it is often advisable to sink
it into a pail or tub of water.

Various plants are well adapted to hanging baskets. Among the drooping
or vine-like kinds are the strawberry geranium, Kenilworth ivy,
maurandia, German ivy, canary-bird flower, _Asparagus Sprengeri,_ ivy
geranium, trailing fuchsia, wandering jew, and othonna. Among the
erect-growing plants that produce flowers, _Lobelia Erinus,_ sweet
alyssum, petunias, oxalis, and various geraniums are to be recommended.
Among foliage plants such things as coleus, dusty miller, begonia, and
some geraniums are adaptable.

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