Pittosporum
This old fashioned plant is a wonderful plant and a favorite for its fragrance over the beauty of its foliage, which appears as a dull green with dull white flowers.
The most common type is the P. Tobira, a native of New South Wales, and makes a hardy England wall plant. In the US, it is a wonderful parlor plant. It will bloom from February to May. The soil should be composed of three parts loam, with one part each of leaf mould, sand, and manure.
During the blooming period, it should be watered freely. During the summer, the plant should be set outside in a sheltered location. The leaves will need frequent washing to keep the dust and other particles off them. This plant needs very little sun to thrive.
Jasmine
The Jasmine family is beautiful climbing shrub that is favored for both its foliage and fragrance. It produces white or yellow flowers which are produced from February to June, or slightly later.
The best soil combination is equal parts of loam and peat, with a slight admixture of sand. The only insect to be aware of is scale, which can be removed with a little washing rather easily. In a commo room culture, the plant will grow to a large size, and make a wonderful plant.
These plants should be watered freely, and need to be trained to climb neatly on trellises, with the branches allowed to droop. These are the best varieties:
J. Azoricum: White flowers in summer.
J. Odoratissimum: Yellow flowers in spring.
J. Multiflorum: White flowers in spring.
J. Nuliflorum: Yellow flowers in spring.
Calceolaria
The best way to grow this plant is by raising seedlings. The seeds will need to be planted in August, into a light and rich loam. Three seedlings should be repotted into planters. Pinch out the center of the plant, and keep doing this until the plant is of the size desired for blooming.
The plant will need to be repotted as the roots of the plant touch the bottom of the pot. As the flower stems push up, you should carefully tie them to sticks. Be careful not to over water your plants, as this can cause them to damp off. The plants will need as much sun and air as possible, and should be kept close to the glass.
The best soil combination consists of three parts or a light rich loam, one part fine peat, and one part sand. The shrubbery varieties do not work well as window plants, but do wonderfully in a flower garden. Use the same treatment given above to make them bloom well.
Mahernia
This general favorite creates a lovely yellow bell flower, as it is almost always in bloom and has a wonderful fragrance. You will want to select a plant with a straight stem, as it has a habit to grow straggling. The main stem should be tied as it grows, and if you keep pinching it off, it will restrain too much copious growth.
The main type that is grown is the M. odorata. There are also orange and pink varieties that are wonderful to grow, the M. Hector and Diana, respectively. The soil should be four parts loam, one part sand, and one part manure. The plant needs to be kept moist, but not wet. It needs as much sun as possible, and will bloom from February to May.
Chinese Primrose
The Chinese Primrose comes in both single and double varieties, and is a wonderful choice for window gardening. The seeds should be sown in July, in a fine soil. Treat the plant exactly as you would the calceolarias, except for the pinching. By January, you should have nice little blooming plants formed, which will need plenty of light and air, and be careful not to let them over bloom.
Once the bloom is over, about June, the plants should be set outside, and should not be allowed to bloom. They should be grown well until autumn, and then re-potted, and by Christmas, the blooming should be ready to occur again. The soil will need to be a mixture of on part well decomposed cow dung, one part, peat, and one part sand.
The pots must be well drained, and the plant should not be kept very wet. The colors of the blooms can be red, lilac, rosy, white, stripped and mottled, and may have fringed or plain edges.
