Adventures In Living and Gardening

Familiar to visitors to picturesque Rockport, Massachusetts, in the summer are the trailing purple lantanas along the front of Ketchopulos Market. Thirty-three years ago, Mrs. Mary Ketchopulos hung a single specimen in one of the arches of the facade which faces northwest. She received so many compliments that the next summer, she added nine more with blue tubs of blue hydrangeas at the base of each post. Here, everything is regularly watered twice a day and three times in very hot weather. Once a week, plants are fed a liquid fertilizer. Over the years, visitors from many states have stopped to admire these container plants

Basic Needs Of Fushias

These tender woody plants do best under cool, humid conditions. They are especially successful in coastal areas, where fog and humidity prevail, though some varieties, as the single all-red Mephisto and the red-and-white Mme. Cornelissen, will thrive in hot, dry inland regions. They are great favorites because they bloom in shade, not the heavy shade of low-branching trees, but high, open shade and that found on the north side of a building. In dense shade, plants get leggy and flower sparingly. In hot, direct sunshine, however, they dry out and the leaves burn. In hot climates, lath houses provide ideal conditions. Windy locations should be avoided because of the delicate flowers and brittle branches.

Un rooted Leaves
Leaves of the newest varieties often sell for as much as $1.00 to $1.50; older varieties bring about 15 to 35 cents each. There is a minimum of work connected with selling un rooted leaves. All you have to do is snip them from the plant, place them with a label in a plastic bag, seal the bag, and you’re ready to ring the cash register.

Sales of un rooted leaves from just one or two plants of newer varieties may bring you enough cash to pay for greenhouse necessities—fertilizer, insecticides, etc.

It is surprising how many seeds you can sell in your own neighbourhood. The florists in your city may be interested in handling some of your home-grown seeds. They often have calls for Saintpaulias and prefer not to stock them in large quantities. If there is a seed house in or near your city, it is another potential outlet. Special mixtures such as “best of the single pink varieties” or mixed doubles; mixed girl types; or mixed whites, are a natural for advertising in specialized house-plant publications since they are very popular with fanciers.