Seed may be sown in the hot-bed or open ground. If young plants
are grown in the autumn and kept in a frame during the winter they
will be ready to set out very early in the spring and give flowers until
hot weather. If seed is sown in the spring, get it in as early as possi-
ble, so as to have plants ready to flower during the spring rains. Seed
sown in a cool, shady place, and well watered until up, will make plants
for autumn flowering.
Pansies will last from April until December, and with the protection
of a cold frame (which is simply four boards nailed together and an old
window-sash laid over). One can pick pansies the year round.
ROSES.
The ever blooming roses are decidedly the best for house culture in
pots, because they bloom quicker and more continuously than any
others, and besides this, their style and habit of growth is more bushy
and better adapted to the purpose. They can be kept nicely with other
growing plants, and with proper attention to their requirements will
bloom freely. Do not use too large pots, if possible not more than three
TUBEROSES. 113
or four inches. The rule is, one size larger than the plants have been
grown in. The smaller the pot — provided, of course, it is large enough
to contain the plant — the quicker and stronger the plant will grow. It
is very difficult to get a small plant to live and grow in a large pot. A
rOse will not bloom much till the pot is well filled with roots ; therefore,
small pots facilitate quick bloom. If the pots are old they should be
thoroughly washed. If new they should be soaked in water, otherwise
they will absorb the moisture from the plant. Have good, rich soil,
mellow and friable. That made from old, decomposed sods is best. If
manure is used, it should be old and thoroughly composted ; fresh
manure is very injurious. Put some bits of charcoal, broken crockery,
or other similar material, in the bottom of each pot, to facilitate drain-
age, then enough fine earth to raise the plant to a proper height. It
should not be much deeper than it was before. Next put in the plant
and spread out the roots as naturally as possible ; then fill in fine earth
and press down firmly with the hand. When done the pot should not
be quite full ; a little space is needed for water. When first potted,
water thoroughly, and if the sun is strong shade for a few days ; then
give full light and air. Though the plant should not be allowed to
wither for want of water, the earth should get moderately dry before
watering again. Too much water is worse than not enough. Very
little water is needed until the plant starts to grow.
Roses can be made to bloom in winter, provided their wants are
studied and the proper treatment given. It is useless to dig up a rose
plant in the fall, carefully pot it and expect it to bloom that winter, as
some of our bedding plants — geraniums, for instance — will do. Roses
intended for winter blooming must be grown in pots during the sum-
mer months, in order that they may join working roots. These are the
little white fibres you will see among the other roots, and are the chief
feeders of the plant. When the roots have turned to a dark brown color
their day of usefulness has passed.
Page 100
Presented as published in 1886. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Seed may be sown in the hot-bed or open ground. If young plants are grown in the autumn and kept in a frame during the winter they will be ready to set out very early in the spring and give flowers until hot weather. If seed is sown in the spring, get it in as early as possible, so as to have plants ready to flower during the spring rains. Seed sown in a cool, shady place, and well watered until up, will make plants for autumn flowering.
Pansies will last from April until December, and with the protection of a cold frame (which is simply four boards nailed together and an old window-sash laid over). One can pick pansies the year round.
ROSES.
The ever blooming roses are decidedly the best for house culture in pots, because they bloom quicker and more continuously than any others, and besides this, their style and habit of growth is more bushy and better adapted to the purpose. They can be kept nicely with other growing plants, and with proper attention to their requirements will bloom freely. Do not use too large pots, if possible not more than three
TUBEROSES. 113
or four inches. The rule is, one size larger than the plants have been grown in. The smaller the pot — provided, of course, it is large enough to contain the plant — the quicker and stronger the plant will grow. It is very difficult to get a small plant to live and grow in a large pot. A rOse will not bloom much till the pot is well filled with roots ; therefore, small pots facilitate quick bloom. If the pots are old they should be thoroughly washed. If new they should be soaked in water, otherwise they will absorb the moisture from the plant. Have good, rich soil, mellow and friable. That made from old, decomposed sods is best. If manure is used, it should be old and thoroughly composted ; fresh manure is very injurious. Put some bits of charcoal, broken crockery, or other similar material, in the bottom of each pot, to facilitate drainage, then enough fine earth to raise the plant to a proper height. It should not be much deeper than it was before. Next put in the plant and spread out the roots as naturally as possible ; then fill in fine earth and press down firmly with the hand. When done the pot should not be quite full ; a little space is needed for water. When first potted, water thoroughly, and if the sun is strong shade for a few days ; then give full light and air. Though the plant should not be allowed to wither for want of water, the earth should get moderately dry before watering again. Too much water is worse than not enough. Very little water is needed until the plant starts to grow.
Roses can be made to bloom in winter, provided their wants are studied and the proper treatment given. It is useless to dig up a rose plant in the fall, carefully pot it and expect it to bloom that winter, as some of our bedding plants — geraniums, for instance — will do. Roses intended for winter blooming must be grown in pots during the summer months, in order that they may join working roots. These are the little white fibres you will see among the other roots, and are the chief feeders of the plant. When the roots have turned to a dark brown color their day of usefulness has passed.