Tulip

Light: (see explanation)
Temperature: (see explanation)
Humidity: 40%
Soil: “potting”
Watering: (see explanation)
Spraying: daily until flowering

If you want to force-grow tulips, select some of the early-forcing varieties. In January, plant the bulbs in pots with the flat side down. Wet the soil well and put the planted bulbs in a dark room, at a temperature of 45° to 50° F (8° to 10° C). When the sprouts are 5 to 6 in. (12 to 15 cm) high, move the pot to a very bright window, at around 60° to 65° F (16° to 19° C). It is important to maintain a rather high humidity level. When planting your bulbs, make sure they are covered by 2 to 3 in. (5 to 8 cm) of soil. In a 7 in. pot (18 cm), you should plant six to nine bulbs. Water as often as necessary to keep soil moist.

Silver Vase (Aechmea fasciata)

Light: lots of light
Temperature: 70° to 75° F – 21° to 24° C
Humidity: 45%
Soil: black
Watering: twice a week
Spraying: daily, on foliage only

This member of the Bromeliad family is very popular with lovers of indoor plants. Its rough-textured foliage and its flowers, which are first blue and later rose and purple, and grow in a spiky conical arrangement, make this plant a highly decorative one. It is also fairly easy to grow, and although it prefers high humidity, manages well in the dry heat of central heating.

Flowering occurs in June and consists of a single bloom. After that, suckers will emerge from the base of the mother-plant. Divide these into as many separate roots as possible, and repot them in a good soil to propagate your plant. This is also a good time to repot the main plant. Your plant should be regularly fertilized from May to September. Water it regularly during the growing season but reduce the watering in the winter. Use tepid water at room temperature. Water the middle of the plant. During the resting period, put your plant in a slightly cooler spot.

“A father is always making his baby into a little woman. And when she is a woman he turns her back again.”  Enid Bagnold

“It no longer bothers me that I may be constantly searching for father figures; by this time, I have found several and dearly enjoyed knowing them all.”  Alice Walker

“None of you can ever be proud enough of being the child of SUCH a Father who has not his equal in this world-so great, so good, so faultless. Try, all of you, to follow in his footsteps and don’t be discouraged, for to be really in everything like him none of you, I am sure, will ever be. Try, therefore, to be like him in some points, and you will have acquired a great deal.”  Victoria, Queen of England

“That is the thankless position of the father in the family-the provider for all, and the enemy of all.”  J. August Strindberg

“It is a wise father that knows his own child.” William Shakespeare

“It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.”  Anne Sexton

“To be a successful father . . . there’s one absolute rule: when you have a kid, don’t look at it for the first two years.”  Ernest Hemingway

“A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father.”  Gabriel García Márquez

“I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.”  Sigmund Freud

“I watched a small man with thick calluses on both hands work fifteen and sixteen hours a day. I saw him once literally bleed from the bottoms of his feet, a man who came here uneducated, alone, unable to speak the language, who taught me all I needed to know about faith and hard work by the simple eloquence of his example.”   Mario Cuomo

“Be kind to thy father, for when thou wert young,
Who loved thee so fondly as he?
He caught the first accents that fell from thy tongue,
And joined in thy innocent glee.”
Margaret Courtney

“If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right.”  Bill Cosby

Shrimp Plant (Beloperone guttata)

Light: sun; avoid bright sunshine in summer
Temperature: 68° to 72° F – 20° to 22° C
Humidity: 40%
Soil: “potting”
Watering: every third day during growth; weekly in winter
Spraying: three times a week

From Mexico, this plant gets its name from the shape of its spiky bracts which ressemble shrimps. It requires high humidity, and temperate surroundings. It likes sun, and a sunny window where the temperature is about 70° F (21° C) is the ideal spot. Nevertheless in midsummer it should be protected from bright sunshine. Flowering occurs from spring to fall.

The plant should be given a good rest during the winter. Gradually reduce watering and completely curtail fertilizing. During this time, the leaves will fall off; when growth resumes you should cut back your plant and repot it. The stem cuttings may be used for propagation by rooting in a glass of water. During the growing period your plant needs regular fertilizing, and it should always be well drained. The flowers themselves are of little interest but the orange and reddish bracts, or modified leaves, that appear afterwards give the plant a most attractive appearance.

Scarborough Lily (Vallota speciosa)

Light: much light
Temperature: 68° to 72° F – 20° to 22° C
Humidity: 40%
Soil: “potting”
Watering: every second day as needed
Spraying: as needed

This bulbed South African relative of the amaryllis is easy to grow indoors. Three-quarters of the bulb should be planted in a rich but porous soil. Bulbs should be planted in March or April. This plant does not need much warmth but does need a great deal of light. Because it grows fairly slowly it should be watered with caution at the beginning of the growing period. As soon as the leaves come out, you may increase the amount of water. Continue to fertilize until the plant is in full bloom. Reduce the watering in the fall, which is the resting period, but don’t let the soil dry out. You should repot every three or four years. For a good display try planting three or four bulbs in the same pot.

Ruellia Devosiana

Light: lots of light; no sun
Temperature: 72° to 80° F – 22° to 27° C
Humidity: 40% to 50%
Soil: “tropical”
Watering: every third day
Spraying: daily

Only a few varieties of this South American plant are grown indoors. The leaves are olive green with white veins; their undersides are purple. The plant blooms in fall and winter with gay little white flowers. The origin of this plant indicates the kind of care it needs: plenty of humidity and warmth.

The foliage must be sprayed regularly with tepid water; cold water will damage the leaves. This plant can not tolerate direct sun: keep it in a very bright spot but out of the sun. In the spring, when you repot, take care that the bottom of the pot has ample drainage. Adult plants should be cut back at this time and the cuttings may be kept for propagation. They wi11 root in a sandy mixture.

From spring to fall, fertilizer should be applied every 15 days.

I suggest that you put the plants in four-to seven-inch pots (10 to 18 cm) and that you keep to that size.