Greenhouse plant

“ Frames and pits are valuable auxiliaries to the greenhouse, and, indeed, there can be but little done without them where soft-wooded plants, notable for an abundant production of flowers, are held in favour. The grower of hard-wooded plants and succulents will have much less need of them. Hand lights, bell glasses, and the propagating boxes made of cheap tile-ware, may be rendered serviceable at all seasons of the year in the multiplication of plants, and the enthusiastic plant-grower will soon learn how to make them repay their cost a dozen times over every year. ”

“ To raise stock, make cuttings of the young shoots when they are three inches long and growing nicely. Take them off in two-inch lengths and insert in sand, and give them the aid of a steady bottom-heat. A light loamy compost is to be preferred, but the plant will grow in any soil that is neither sour nor pasty. When they acquire some size they may be kept several years in the same pots, and if desirable large plants may be divided by cutting through the roots. ”

“ Even a hot-house is allowed by a good gardener to go down to 60° or even 55° on a bitterly cold night, as a great amount of fire-heat at such times is inimical to plant life, though it will stand a tremendous amount of sun-power. Several mats or lengths of woollen material, canvas, etc., stretched along outside will save expense, and be a more natural way of preserving the plants.
One great advantage that a greenhouse has over a conservatory is this: that any climbers can be planted out, whereas tubs have to be used where the floor is tiled. ”

“ It is seldom, however, worth while to take much pains to preserve greenhouse plants that have flowered in the open air. The ordinary way is to make abundance of cuttings in autumn; to strike them in a hotbed, and then, after hardening them by degrees, to preserve them in a small greenhouse, or in a cold pit, till the time for planting out next year. ”

“ Many persons injure greenhouse plants by keeping them too warm, and giving them too little air during winter, and then are surprised that their plants become sickly and remain without flowering, notwithstanding all the care and expense that have been bestowed upon them. No greenhouse ought to be kept at a greater heat at night than from 35° to 40° ”

“ A complete treatise on greenhouse structures and arrangements of the various forms and styles of plant houses for professional florists as well as amateurs. All the best and most approved structures are so fully and clearly described that anyone who desires to build a greenhouse will have no difficulty in determining the kind best suited to his purpose. The modern and most successful methods of heating and ventilating are fully treated upon. Special chapters are devoted to houses used for the growing of one kind of plants exclusively. ”

“ Flower Garden and Greenhouse.—Window and greenhouse plants require more water and ventilation. Due attention must be paid to shifting well-rooted plants into larger pots; and, if space is desired, many kinds of hardier plants can be safely put out in cold frames. Towards the end of the month it may be necessary slightly to shade the glass of the greenhouse. All herbaceous plants and hardy shrubs may be planted in the garden. The covering of leaves or litter should be taken off bulbs and tender plants that were covered up for winter, so that the beds can be lightly forked and raked. ”

“ It so happens, however, that a very choice selection may be made of plants equally to be desired for their curious structure, interesting history, and high floral beauty, and that such a selection may be grown to perfection in any greenhouse with the aid of a little more care than such things as bedding plants require. The best place for a few of these plants is in a compartment shut in by means of a glass screen at the warmest end of a house that is heated during winter sufficient for the safe keeping of a good collection of miscellaneous greenhouse plants. ”

“ In training greenhouse plants the young branches should be drawn outwards by means of ties fastened to a string or wire under the pot-rim; the centre then fills up, and slender stakes are used as required ”

“ Worms do a great deal of mischief to greenhouse plants in cutting through the roots, as their instinct teaches them to make their way through the earth straight across the pot and back again, and they cannot do this without tearing the roots asunder every time they pass.
Another point to be attended to in the management of a greenhouse is, keeping the plants as near as possible to the glass, as, unless this be done, the plants will become what gardeners call "drawn up," that is, they will be unnaturally tall and slender, from the efforts they make to reach the light. ”

“ Any sourness in the soil will be fatal to flowering. The compost must be carefully ‘firmed’ into the pots, but no severe pressure should be employed, or the roots will not run freely.
Neglect as to temperature or humidity will have to be paid for in long joints, green fly, red spider, or in some other way. But there are no plants of high quality that grow more thriftily if protected from cold winds and kept perfectly clean. A light airy greenhouse is their proper place, and they must have ample headroom. ”

“ We can unhesitatingly say there is no Green-house plant more hardy or easier of cultivation, and they are equally so in the parlour, if not kept confined in a room where there is a continuance of drying fire heat, their constitution not agreeing with an arid atmosphere. ”

“ All those delicate iris, half-hardy ferns, and tiresome plants that would put off flowering till too late, why, a cold conservatory or greenhouse is the very place for them!
Green-houses are altogether easier to manage than conservatories, and therefore are the best for amateurs. There cuttings may be struck, plants repotted, fuchsias, geraniums, etc., stored, and tender [Pg 27] annuals reared. A lean-to greenhouse should face south preferably, and the door should be placed at the warm end, that is, the west, so that when opened no biting wind rushes in. ”

“ You will, I trust, resemble a forest plant, which has indeed, by some accident, been brought up in the greenhouse, and thus rendered delicate and effeminate, but which regains its native firmness and tenacity when exposed for a season to the winter air. ”

“ When the young growth has begun to push, turn them out of the pots, remove nearly if not quite all the old soil, trim the roots slightly, and put each in a pot one or two sizes smaller than it previously occupied. Water very sparingly until they are well established in the new soil. Even then, no more water must be applied than is absolutely necessary to maintain a steady growth. Early in September remove to the greenhouse for the winter, and the only attention required to keep them in health will be to supply them with water when necessary, and to keep the foliage free from green-fly. ”

“ From the time they are established in the small pots until they begin to bloom, a cold frame or greenhouse, where they can be placed near the glass, and enjoy a fresh circulation of air, will be the best position. Water liberally, and after the pots in which they are to bloom are well filled with roots, use rather weak liquid manure alternately with soft, pure water. Syringe them overhead occasionally, and keep a sharp look-out for green-fly, which, if the plants are allowed to suffer from the want of water, or kept in a close stifling atmosphere, will soon become troublesome. ”

“ The best method is to plunge the plants in a reservoir of warm water, head downward, without moistening the roots, which would injure them. After a certain time, the plants are withdrawn, turned right side up with care, and placed in a greenhouse, where they develop at once. ”

“ A warm greenhouse will be the most suitable position both for the seed-pots and the young plants until they become well established. Leaf propagation is effected by snipping off the small leaves from the flowering stems, and then inserting them in cutting pots prepared in the usual way. It is necessary to insert the base of each leaf in the sand, and to prevent the leaves becoming loose thrust a small piece of stick through them, to fix them firmly in the soil. ”

“ It flourishes best in free, substantial, moist soil which contains a large proportion of vegetable mould, and in a half-shady position. During the heats of summer it will require frequent watering. At the approach of winter it should be removed to the conservatory or cool greenhouse, except in the southern and milder districts, where it survives an ordinary winter. In the colder parts of the country it is scarcely worth planting out, it grows so slowly; but where it thrives it is very ornamental in borders, isolated, or near the margin of beds. ”

“ What renders this plant a more valuable acquisition to the green-house, is its hardiness, its readiness to flower, and the facility with which it may be propagated.
It flowers early in the spring, and, by proper management, may be made to flower the whole year through; it is sometimes kept in the stove, and may be made to flower earlier by that means; but it succeeds better in a common green-house, with no more heat than is just necessary to keep out the frost, indeed it may be preserved in a common hot-bed frame through the winter, unless the weather prove very severe. ”

“ It points out, in its earlier chapters, the main considerations which affect the construction and heating of conservatories and greenhouses, this part of the volume containing many illustrations. In the fourth chapter the amateur is initiated in the routine of greenhouse work—potting, composts, propagation, &c., being discussed. Then follows a series of chapters in which the treatment of the different groups and families is explained. Greenhouse Herbaceous Plants, in alphabetical order, leading the way, followed by the Chrysanthemum, to which a chapter is given; Greenhouse Soft-wooded Plants ”

“ They are most easily multiplied by means of either seeds or cuttings; they grow rapidly and flower freely, and altogether require less care and make more show than any other plants that properly belong to the greenhouse and the garden. The different groups of fancies, zonals, tricolors, and the rest, require different management, but all agree in loving light; all are adapted for pot culture; and the greater part of them thrive in a comparatively poor soil and a dry atmosphere. During winter dryness is quite as important as warmth for their preservation ”

“ The coldframe is constructed practically as in the hotbed, except that if manure is used at all it is for the purpose of enriching the soil where lettuce, radishes, cucumbers or other crops are to be grown to maturity in it.
If one can put up even a very small frame greenhouse, it will be a splendid investment both for profit and for pleasure. The cost is lower than is generally imagined, where one is content with a home-made structure. ”

“ Once these seedlings were transplanted to the garden, we dismantled our temporary greenhouse, filled the spot with topsoil, and made a flower bed. I’ve seen several small greenhouses like the one we improvised on sale commercially, one, of metal and glass, selling for less than ten dollars.
Improvised greenhouse costing $00.00 which saved author, shown in photograph, at least a hundred dollars per annum in the cost of annuals
Greenhouse construction diagram
Indoors or out, seeds germinate best in clean, sifted soil that is light and porous and drains perfectly. ”

“ They will grow in smoky districts, and may be increased by cuttings of firm side-shoots under a glass in summer or by layers in September. With the protection of a greenhouse they come into flower early in spring. They are the most beautiful of all flowering hardy climbers. The stove and greenhouse varieties are best planted in loam and peat, though they will thrive in any light soil. Any good garden soil suits the hardy kinds. The herbaceous varieties are increased by dividing the roots early in spring. They bloom at various periods. ”

“ The greenhouse varieties thrive in a mixture of loam and peat, and cuttings root easily if planted in sand under glass. The African and tall French varieties make a fine display when planted in shrubberies or large beds, while the dwarf French kinds are very effective in the foreground of taller plants, or in beds by themselves. They are raised from seed sown in a slight heat in March, and planted out at the end of May in any good soil. ”

“ Incidentally several kinds of hardy plants have been referred to as suitable for greenhouse cultivation. It remains, however, to be said that there are certain kinds of hardy herbaceous and alpine plants that really require the shelter of glass, but never need the aid of artificial heat, and are particularly worthy of the attention of the amateur who can find delight in seeking out the minor gems and jewels of the vegetable kingdom. ”

“ This process is called the Greenhouse Effect because it works just like a greenhouse in cold climates. The glass panes of the greenhouse allow the short waves of the sun's heat to pass into the building, but the long-wave heat radiating from the warmed surfaces inside cannot pass out again. ”

“ An olive orchard can be fertilized with stable manure or with a "complete fertilizer," or with the special brands of different manufacturers of special fruit fertilizers. But you must be sure that your trees do not need moisture more than they need fertilizers, for without adequate moisture fertilizers cannot do their best work. The increase of the humus content of the soil, either secured by stable manure or by the plowing under of winter-grown cover crops, is desirable, as they not only give the trees more plant food, but make the soil also more retentive of moisture. ”