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House Plants
DOUBLE POTTING
Another method is known as double potting. Plants in a clay pot may be plunged in peat moss which is in a larger, water-tight container. Then water is applied only to the peat moss and not to the soil in which the plant is growing. If the peatplant results from such a procedure and is more attractive and at the same time, more vigorous. The pruning operation may be performed when plants are lifted from the garden in the fall by cutting back all top growth to a few joints from the base. When a particular branch is making unnecessary growth and spoiling the symmetry of the plant, it may be held in check by pruning or "pinching back" the ends. Many of our vines are benefited by the reduction of the long runners and the forcing of more growths from the base. Pothos, philodendron, ivy, oincu, grape it, ivy, and wandering jew make better plants when "pinched back" while young.
Summer Care
Most of the plants we have discussed can be grown in the home through the summer and add to the decorativeness of the home. Added life and strength are given some of our house plants if they are removed from the rooms during the summer and grown out of doors. Geraniums and other flowering plants may be planted out directly in the garden or the pots merely plunged into the soil. In either case care should be taken at first to shade these plants from the direct rays of the sun until the plants are adjusted to sunlight. Unless this is done leaf burning and browning are sure to occur, because the plants grown in the house are soft and not used to outdoor conditions. After a few days, the gradual removal of the shade will accustom these tender specimens to their new surroundings.
Watering
Water should not be forgotten during the summer. Ferns, palms and other tropical plants are best grown in shaded locations during the summer. They may be kept on porches or plunged in the ground under the shade of trees. It is hardly advisable to set these plants directly in the soil since they may develop a strong and spreading root system and be difficult to transplant in the fall.
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