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If possible, perennial vines should be planted when they are not in a period of vigorous growth. In warm areas this means late fall, winter, or earliest spring; but if you can plant during the short time that the vine is dormant or semi-dormant (usually during December or January), so much the better. Spring planting is usually recommended for areas where soil freezes deep in winter. Plant as early as a hole can be dug and the ground can be prepared.

If you can’t plant bare-rooted vines immediately on arrival, the can be “heeled in” (laid in a trench and covered with moist for a while). But set them in their permanent homes before growth gets well under way. Either way, soak the roots in water for some hours before planting.

“Balled and burlap” plants, with root-and-soil ball tied tightly in burlap, can wait for planting if the soil is kept moist and the plant kept out of hot sun. In planting, loosen the burlap after the roots are set in the hole, lay it down, and leave it to rot away. This avoids disturbing the roots unduly.

For any perennial vine, prepare a generous planting hole at least half again as large and deep aas the length and spread of the existing roots. Mix the soil with any needed suppliment – humus, sand, or fertilizer – before replacing it in a hole around the roots.

If the soil is entirely too poor, replace it completely with a better mixture. Soil near a building foundation or wall may be infertile, of poor texture, and loaded with debris like chunks of concrete. Concrete, by the way, can spoil soil for acid loving plants; have it tested if you are in doubt.

Tamp or tramp down the soil just firmly enough to support the plant and fill any possible pockets of air, and to keep it from settling later so the plant sinks with it. Water slowly and thoroughly, making sure all the soil around the newly planted roots is completely moist. Newly planted vines and landscape plants with landscape bridges need plentiful water throughout their first season until the time the ground freezes in winter. Build up a ridge of soil around the base, to help hold water while it is seeping down to the thirsty roots below.

If a vine has partly or fully leafed out by planting time, rig up some kind of shade to keep it from wilting for the first few weeks. A tent of newspapers, a thin drape like old sheeting, or a screen of leafy branches will keep the sun from dehydrating the foliage while roots are establishing themselves.

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If you have a greenhouse in which you can give cymbidiums cool nights and bright light, you should surely try a plant or two, for they are very handsome orchids. The plants have rounded pseudobulbs about the size of a fist, which bear eight to twelve long, slender leaves. The roots are fleshy and stay within the compost. They are variously called semi-terrestrial and semi-epiphytic. The flower spike arises from the base of the pseudobulb, within the axil of one of the lower leaves, and grows two to three feet tall (sometimes more). It appears in the fall, and the flowers open from December through April, depending on the habit of the particular plant.

The flowers are waxy, three to five inches in diameter, in colors ranging from white through shades of yellow, green, brown, pink, and various subtle combinations of these. They keep for several weeks on the plant, and almost as long when cut. Unlike cattleyas, the flowers will open after the spike has been cut. If a spike is cut when the lower blooms arc open and put in water, it can be enjoyed for a long time while the other buds open in turn.

Cymbidiums can be grown in bark, osmunda fiber and other orchid growing media to which sometimes is added some well-rotted cow manure, or in a fibrous compost that allows free aeration. They must be kept well watered at all times, and they benefit from frequent syringing of the foliage in warm, bright weather. The syringing helps to keep under control their chief enemy, red spider. They are known as “heavy feeders” and should have a weekly application of chemical fertilizer during their growing season.

Shading has to be adjusted to the season and local conditions. During the summer, although they demand good light, the hot summer days allow the heat to build up too much in the greenhouse. Shading must be applied to the glass, but not so heavily as to deprive them of good light. It must be combined with free ventilation and a fan to keep the air circulating. The ventilators can be left open day and night. Some growers move the plants out of the greenhouse for the summer, either into a lath house or under tall trees. Although cymbidiums can take an occasional frost without apparent damage, it is wise to move them back into the greenhouse before frost is expected.

As cooler days come on, increase the amount of light gradually like in path lighting. As winter arrives, and flowering begins, shading will have to be adjusted to the locality. In cold climates, where the sun does not build up the heat in the greenhouse so much, less shading is necessary. In warmer climates, as on the West Coast, the flowers will have to be protected from the warm sun. Areas with more or less dull winters will allow cymbidiums to have clear glass.

New growth starts in late winter or early spring in some kinds, or in late summer in others. Growths that start early should produce spikes that autumn, but those that start in the summer will not flower until the following year. In the latter types you will see vegetative growths coming shortly before spikes start from the same pseudo-bulbs.

Cymbidium hybrids are superior to the species and are more easily obtained.

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One of the reasons why room dividers and other indoor planters have become decoratively possible and practical is the discovery, some years ago, that artificial light can substitute for daylight in keeping plants growing healthily. So now we can have indoor gardens wherever we want them, and can fill them with an increasing variety of plants.

Successful gardening under artificial light presupposes, of course, that other cultural requirements like proper soil and humidity are also fulfilled. Success also requires that the light be of sufficient intensity and duration to satisfy the plants’ needs. Here is where some light installations fall short of the high hopes built up for them.

The principles of growing under artificial light have been around for 50 years, the information on the topic continues to grow. But amateur growers, professionals, and botanists are experimenting, learning, and publishing updated results. Anyone interested in this exciting grow light horticultural field should locate the latest authoritative information, experiment and search the web.

But think what decorative effects this growing principle makes possible! Now you can set a plant in the darkest corner of your hall, supply it with artificial light, and see it fresh, green, and thriving for months on end. You can install fluorescent tubes underneath one bookcase or cupboard shelf and grow plants on the next shelf as prettily as you would in any window. You can build a planter garden between your living and dining rooms, under a set of lights or a solar landscape lights that not only keep the plants growing but also illuminate the garden and make it a refreshing center of interest.

Of course, promises like these are always subject to one qualification – that the job be done properly. Unless the lights are of the type, intensity, and duration necessary for healthy growth, disappointment is around the corner. The main deficiency – unfortunately, all too frequent – is usually in intensity. I defy anyone to grow “full-flowering cattleya orchids” under one, or even two twenty-watt fluorescent tubes.

At present it is widely accepted that incandescent light is not needed in an artificial-light setup. This is helpful, because ordinary light bulbs do generate high heat, and their cost of operation is comparatively high. Fluorescent tubes – cool white, warm white, daylight, or a combination of types – are usually recommended.

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Home gardeners find that rooting scented-leaved geraniums is not always easy. Often they have a favorite plant they want to propagate and after several attempts meet with failure. Among the many kinds, some root very easily, while others are very tricky.

Of the popular scented-leaved geraniums, the lemon-scented and the rose-scented varieties root easily and quickly under common propagating methods.

The lemon-scented (Pelargonium crispum) is a small stemmed plant, with tiny crinkled leaves, which requires considerably more water than most geraniums. Take cuttings about 3-3/4 inches long and trim off all leaves from the bottom up to 1-1/4 inches. Make a clean cut beneath an eye, dip the end into 3X rooting powder and insert the cuttings in clean sand, deep enough so that the lower leaves do not touch the sand. Shade until signs of growth are evident. Then remove shade and keep plants a little drier.

Oak-leaved varieties (Pelargonium quercifolium) are not too difficult. Take tender cuttings, but if they are hardened, root them under drier conditions. A 1X rooting powder is best. Practically all hardy and easy-to-root as well are the flowering scented varieties, none of which demand anything beyond normal cultural conditions. Here again water well, and allow the sand to become rather dry, but not arid, before watering again.

Spice-scented and fruit-scented varieties vary considerably in their needs, but here is how some of the more familiar kinds should be handled.

Use Rooting Powder

Cuttings from the nutmeg geranium (Pelargonium fragrans) and its varieties are made from the heaviest wood available and dipped in a No. 1 or No. 2 rooting powder. These are dependable rooters, but it is best to leave them in the sand for three or four months until the tuberous-type roots have formed.

Apple-scented geraniums (Pelargonium odoratissimum) are propagated from the very short joints which radiate from the main stem and then potted directly into 2-1/2″ pots filled with good soil. They will invariably lose all their leaves, but will fill out with new growth. So it is a must to know why there are brown tips on plants.

Ginger-scented, lemon-balm and almond-scented are all very easy to root under ordinary conditions.

Gooseberry-leaved geranium (Pelargonium grossularioides) is another very small-wooded variety which should he well shaded and given a little more than the usual amount of water, especially after the first week or two in sand.

Mint-scented varieties (Pelargonium tomentosam) including Peppermint, Pungent Peppermint and Joy Lucile require only the usual practices given cuttings.

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Chill November winds spur us on to get things done before the ground freezes in cooler sections of the country. Now is the time to finish cleaning up gardens before the appearance of the first snow or colder weather.

Some General Chores

Continue to rake up fallen leaves, dead annuals and vegetables and to shear perennial tops, placing them on the compost pile. Destroy corn stalks and other vegetables tops which harbor diseases. Sanitation practiced now will do much to prevent pests and disease next year.

For Cleaning Tools

Clean tools to prevent them from rusting. Go over lightly all metal parts with a stiff brush and then rub with light oil. On very rusty tools, use a commercial rust remover and rub down handles with equal parts of linseed oil and turpentine. Sharpen grass clippers and lawn mower blades before putting away and remember to grease and oil metal parts of garden furniture.

To Winter Mulch

Mulch flower beds, perennials and bulbs after the first frosts have frozen the ground. Use only material which will not mat down plants. Cranberry tops, straw or hay, marsh hay or pine needles or boughs are all excellent materials for mulching. Leaves tend to pack too closely and should only be used in a layer of one-half inch thick. Mulching prevents the ground from freezing and thawing, one of the chief reasons for its use.

Bring in Potting Soil

Bring inside garden soil, compost, sand and pebbles, as well as other materials that will be needed during the winter months for repotting house plants, forcing bulbs or for starting seeds next February or March. Keep the soil covered to retain its moisture and keep the bacteria alive.

Pruning Trees and Shrubs

Many trees and shrubs may be safely pruned now that the leaves have fallen, removing broken, dead or diseased wood. Do some pruning of summer blooming hydrangeas, rose of sharons, vitexes, and tamarisks by thinning out crowded branches. Shrubs that flower on old wood should be pruned just after flowering is past in the spring. These include flowering quince, forsythia, weigela, vanhoutte spirea, viburnums, deutzias and bush cherries.

On House Plants

Syringe house plants frequently if room is dry to provide some of the humidity they need. All house plants will benefit from this syringing except succulents and cactus. Shift plants around every week or two so they will not lean towards the light. Watch for mealy bugs, scale and other insects, spraying with neem oil or an insecticidal soap. Re-pot plants that become pot bound. It is a good policy to water plants thoroughly less frequently than to water often.

In the Vegetable Garden

Mulch strawberries with marsh hay or sawdust, as well as asparagus after the tops are cut to the ground. Blackberries, raspberries and currants will also appreciate a mulch as they are shallow rooted. It is too early to mulch in warmer parts of the country, but get the materials ready.

Trees and Shrubs

Continue to plant deciduous trees like the ficus benjamina and shrubs until the ground freezes. Also plant evergreens and water well as they give off more water during winter than they can replace. By watering woody plants freely before the ground freezes, their barks will be less apt. to suffer from sunscald, while the leaves of evergreens will be in less danger of windburning.

Care of Roses

Finish planting roses in well-prepared soil that is rich in organic matter. Mound new as well as old plants with soil, taken from elsewhere, to protect from winter injury. Fill depressions with leaves or marsh hay to prevent water from settling in these low spots. With standard or tree type roses, bend carefully and cover the tops with soil to prevent winter killing. Plants may also be lifted, placed in a trench and covered with soil where winters are very severe.

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Ideally, window boxes are designed and constructed along with the house; but more often they are added later, and designed to suit the architectural style. When they are in good proportion, balance, and harmony, they add attractiveness and appeal to a house. Location is important, too. Window boxes are fine for relieving the bleakness of bare walls, but not for walls already adorned with shutters or awnings. They should harmonize with – but not compete with or be hidden by – foundation plantings. They should not be used where they make a house look overdecorated.

Finished color can blend a box with the house, or set it off in contrast. Natural wood finishes are often favored because they “go with everything.” Green is a good garden color, if it doesn’t clash with plant or building colors. Dark shades make the box recede in importance, and seldom display the plants to best advantage. Soft, light colors like ivory or creamy yellow are pleasing. Pure white can be glaring and deadly unless it ties the box in with the window frame.

The size of a window box depends upon the size of the window and other principles of balance and proportion; but it should also be wide and deep enough for proper development of plant roots. Minimum recommended depth is eight inches. A box eight inches wide, inside measurement, will accommodate two rows of plants; ten or eleven inches wide, three rows. Length varies with the width of the window. For two or more adjoining windows, separate matching boxes are most manageable and sturdy. Maximum length for any box should be six feet; and even this may be unwieldy.

Window boxes should be as sturdy and lasting as any other containers, made of any material. They should also be secured or sup-. ported so there is no danger that, filled with heavy soil, they will slip or fall. When they are hung on a house wall, use strong bolts or lag screws, not ordinary nails or screws; and make sure you anchor into the studding. Or install supporting brackets of wood or metal of attractive and suitable design.

Treat all wood with a nonpoisonous preservative. Coat any rust-susceptible nails, screws, and brackets with paint or a rust-inhibitor to preserve them and help avoid rusty streaks dripping down the house wall. Where winters are severe, slant the front of the box out at the top so freezing soil can expand without pulling or forcing the box apart.

Bottom holes or other provisions for drainage are important, not only to plants but also to the welfare of the house. Holes can be bored near the front of the box, and the bottom slanted downward, to carry drip away from the wall. Or arrange pipes or tubes to carry off water. Or line the side of the house with roofing paper. But best of all, use cleats or brackets to support the box an inch or so out and away from the wall, so air can circulate, wood is drier, and termites are not encouraged.

In areas where hot, searing summer winds dry out soil too fast, make boxes with double walls separated by a space of a half inch or more. Stuff the space with a moisture retainer like sphagnum moss, for insulation against heat. The same sort of insulation is good for boxes that hold soil and plants through a cold winter.

Use vines in window boxes as you use them in any container gardening just like the cordyline plant – to blend, soften, accent, emphasize structural lines. To pull a too-high window down closer to the ground, let trailers hang over the edge. To heighten a window, train a vine up and around it. To tie several windows together, use the same variety in all boxes.

For summer container gardens, you have a wide choice of vining plants: annuals, some hardy perennials, and many tender types that can be grown in tubs and stored indoors over winter.

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What is the best temperature for growing house plants? Here again, consider each plant’s preference, and also the relation of other cultural factors, like humidity. Some plants prefer to grow cooler than average house temperatures, some need more warmth. Optimum figures vary widely.

Except for vines specifically noted as requiring lower or higher temperatures, you can expect most varieties recommended for growing indoors to be content with the average 65-75 degrees in the home, with a drop of about 10 degrees at night. But since warm air is drying, humidity needs to be stepped up for some varieties, and more frequent watering may be necessary.

When you measure temperature, take the reading in the growing area, not in a cooler window, or over a radiator, or in a far corner of the room.

Plants will usually show you when the temperature is not to their liking. If it is too cool, they will not grow at their usual speed and will refuse to flower. If it is too warm, growth will be sickly and often elongated, particularly if warmth is combined with lack of light. “Bud blast,” in which plants drop their flower buds before they open, frequently results from too much warmth and dry air.

Humidity

Except in arid areas, the air in most of the outdoor locations where plants like peace lily outdoors grow naturally contains more moisture than inside a heated home in winter. This is humidity, correctly called “relative humidity” because it is a percentage comparison of the amount of moisture in the air with the total amount of moisture the air can possibly hold at a given temperature.

Plants indicate need for higher humidity by crisping and drying leaf edges and flower buds, and by failing to grow and bloom. When humidity is too high – and particularly when high humidity combines with cool air, moist soil, and lack of light – leaves go soggy, stems feel limp and watery, rot and mildew may result. Adequate circulation of fresh air is a better preventive than cure.

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There are some ways to help intensify light in a window, or inside a room especially during winter. Pass up heavy drapes in favor of transparent curtains. Color the walls in pale tones, so less light is absorbed and more is bounced back. Supply added light from a table or floor lamp, particularly on dark wintry days.

Interrelated with light intensity, and equally important, is the number of hours of light. To some extent – but not in equal proportion – light over a longer period will help make up for lack in intensity. Here is another reason for supplying extra artificial light after sundown in winter. But for some plants it is also a reason to avoid the use of supplementary light.

Through a scientific principle called photoperiodism we know that some plants will set buds and flower only when the hours of daylight are limited, as they are in winter. Poinsettias, chrysanthemums, and the popular Christmas cactus are included in this category of “short-day” (also called “long-night”) plants. For full and early flowering they should be shaded against light of any kind after twilight in fall and winter.

The principle of photoperiodism also singles out many varieties, called “long-day” (“short-night”) plants that will flower only when daylight hours are long and the light strong. Among vining plants this would apply to winter forcing of clematis, pendula tuberous begonias, and many other summer-flowering plants. They will bloom only with hours and intensity of light comparable to that of summer.

There is also a large group of plants to which amount or intensity of light is not so important. And whether light like the solar deck post light is a controlling factor or not, other cultural conditions like temperature and humidity also influence plant growth and flowering.

How can you tell whether your plants are getting enough light? Generally, by their appearance. Pale, limp leaves of poor texture; overlong stalks or stems with greater-than-usual intervals between the joints; tendrils that lean drunkenly away from their supports, stretching out in search of more light; lanky plants that topple lopsidedly in one direction – all these are signs of insufficient light. In good light, indoor house plants, vines and hanging plants keep compact, symmetrical, and lush-looking; and their fresh-colored leaves and stems feel firm and healthy to the touch.

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Despite occasional criticism of its social qualities, we like the black walnut – both the tree and the nut. It is the only nut we know, that retains its special flavor after cooking. The tree has been charged with all sorts of heinous crimes, such as shooting out a special toxin which kills everything around it. Some of the claims amuse us because we have had experiences which do not jibe.

Once we had some rhododendrons in such poor condition we had about decided to discard them, but as a last resort we transferred them to a spot under a black walnut. Whether they recognized the desperate nature of our act we do not know, but in two years they had revived, improved in color and returned to normal growth. We will leave the explanation to one to whom black walnut is anathema.

The Silk Tree – Albizzia julibrissin, has many uses and great charm. Native to the orient, it has long been in this country and has found the vast area from Maryland south and west much to its liking. It is also being used in more New England gardens. It is happy also in many parts of the West coast. But few know it as silk tree. Mimosa is universally its name in the south, so it is not surprising that the leaf wing caterpillar that attacks it, is called mimosa web worm.

Its rapid growth, (as much as twelve feet a year) grace and prolonged blossoming, have made the silk tree a popular dooryard choice. Strains hardy enough to thrive in southern New England, eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Long Island have brought the mimosa webworm with them, but in the northern states this pest seems to prefer the honey locust. The red-brown matted dead leaflets are characteristic of the dirty work of this insect. Spraying with malathion will control the pest or putting neem oil insecticide, if the application is made as the first brood of caterpillars are hatching.

Parsley – as an edging plant along a path is attractive, requires little care and stays in place without constant attention. It’s worth a try.

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The cool, orchids comprise a number of lovely kinds, some of which are suited to growing in a room where the winter night temperature drops to 50 degrees, or can be kept between 50-55 degrees (not over 55 F). You can choose between those that do well with moderate light, such as required for phalaenopsis, and those that must have bright light. Remember, however, that even kinds that are less light demanding deserve the best light you can give them. There is not quite as wide a choice in the cool group as in the intermediate and warm groups.

The kinds specifically suited to the 50-55 degrees F temperature range do not like winter temperatures above this level, but, like most other kinds of orchids, will take warmer summer nights. There is a fourth group which is so intolerant of heat that we might call them “cold” orchids. They require air-conditioned greenhouses in many parts of this country. These are chiefly the high-altitude odontoglossums, such as 0dontoglossum crispum and its hybrids, whose culture is tricky at best and which we will not take up for this reason.

The methods of handling the cool orchids in an orchid case are: careful ventilation to prevent constant saturation of the air and the building up of heat; shading against the heat of the sun at its peak; and attention to proper night temperatures.

These Grow Cool

The plain-leaved cypripediums, such as Cypripedium insigne and its hybrids, are good subjects for the cool case, and many growers do well with them in a cool window. If the lists of dealers do not specify which of these are cool growing and which warm, better ask before buying.

Miltonias are not as widely grown as cypripediums, but a number of indoor growers have had success with them, and where cool conditions are possible they are certainly worth trying. They make good companions for the cool Gyps, since their light requirements are about the same. They are botanically related to odontoglossum and oncidium, and come from the cool altitudes of the South American rain forests. They are pretty plants, with somewhat flattened pseudobulbs and slender leaves. Their nickname, “pansy orchid,” describes the character of their flat, gently rounded flowers.

The chief problem is to keep them cool enough in areas with hot summers. The cypripediums are more tolerant of summer heat than miltonias, If you live in a warm climate, we would not advise Miltonias for your first orchids, for they require an experienced hand where conditions are not ideal.

They should be shaded sufficiently from the sun at its peak so as not to have great heat, yet they must have enough light to mature their growths well. An east exposure is perhaps best, where they can receive good light during the morning hours before the day becomes hot. They should be given good light through the winter.

Miltonia is grown in this country in the soft, brown osmunda fiber, fir bark and other orchid growing media. Some growers pot them like the golden pothos every year, in pots large enough to accommodate the year’s growth. Other growers pot them every two years. They should be potted when new growth starts in the spring, but do not tolerate being shifted in hot weather. If new growth has not started by April, you have a choice of potting them in anticipation of new growth, or waiting until early fall. It would seem, since our fall weather is often quite warm, that potting in the spring is preferable. About one-third of the pot should be filled with crock for drainage. The fiber should be firm, and some growers like to have it convex on the surface to insure aeration at the base of the plant.

Miltonias should be watered frequently enough to keep the fiber damp, with the usual care not to produce a soggy condition. During their growing season they benefit from applications of fertilizer, as suggested for both cypripediums and phalaenopsis.

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