Chapter 13: Planting and Care (2)

There was a word of caution on each aerosol container I have seen: “Do not throw into an open flame when empty.” My husband wondered what would happen if he did. He tossed an empty can into the trash burner and got behind a tree. The explosion sounded like a hand grenade left over from World War II and he had to get a new lid for the burner. Please take my word for it and don’t take that chance. Let him be crazy if he likes, but not you. I don’t like to lose readers so early in my book.

I know I take precautions, but in spite of everything my plants become infected at times. When that happens it’s helpful if you can recognize the symptoms, diagnose the ailment, and apply the cure. With your interests in mind, I have put together a list of sorts which includes the most prevalent house-plant insects and diseases, the telltale signs of their arrival, and the insecticides and fungicides which will send them to their happier hunting grounds. If I have skipped anything, my apologies. If you are having special problems, phone your local county agricultural agent. He is a good man to know anyhow. But please, unless you have something that is out of hand, don’t bedevil the man. He is probably concerned with ticks on sheep, ringworm, hog cholera, breachy cows, grubworms, and forty people who want to know why their hollyhocks didn’t bloom.

PROPAGATING HOUSE PLANTS

It’s hard to tell which provides the warmest pleasure, to give a friend or visitor a rooted, potted cutting of some plant she has admired, or to come home with a gift cutting of a new plant you have admired and coveted. There is a thrill also in adding a new plant to your collection by growing seed from a seed house. And I always have another thrill when the church or the school asks me to contribute plants for the annual bazaars. Fortunately, I usually am able to anticipate these requests far enough in advance to have a supply ready and waiting.

PESTS AND TREATMENT

_Symptoms_ _Treatment_

Aphids Little louse-like This is an easy one to
(Nasty plant insects. get rid of, but likely
lice) Green in color in to return if you don’t
our area. watch out. Use a solution
Clustered on new of Black Leaf 40
leaves, on flowers, (nicotine sulfate) in a
and around stems combination spray with
lindane or pyrethrum and
malathion. Or you can use
any of them alone

Mealybugs Little white dabs of Dip an artist’s paint
(Don’t let them cotton clinging to brush or a cotton-wrapped
frighten you) tender joints, stems, toothpick in a solution
and the underside of of malathion. Remove the
leaves pests one by one

Mites Buds and new leaves Dip plants in a solution
are puckered and of malathion, Kelthane,
distorted. The or Tedion according to
underside of the the directions on the
leaves may show fine, label
white silky webs

Mildew Silvery dust Dust plants with sulfur,
disfigures the or spray with one of the
leaves, most likely new fungicides like
in dark, muggy summer captan, zineb, etc. Give
weather plants more space and
increase air circulation

Scale Hard brown, or green, Dip plant in a solution
scales irregularly on of malathion. Repeat
the underside of according to directions
leaves

Slugs Slimy villains, like Use special slug-bait
shell-less snails, containing metaldehyde
which hide in soil or according to package
under pots by day and directions
come out to chew
holes in leaves at
night

Thrips Brownish blotches Dip or spray with
under leaves. malathion all-purpose
Disfigured flowers mixture containing
lindane, pyrethrum

White Fly Minute flies swarm Spray or dip in
in the air about the malathion, or an
plant when disturbed all-purpose mixture

Since I fashioned my first crude propagating box--a square cake-tin with a rickety frame covered with kitchen plastic--I’ve always had some sort of similar device in operation. They have been of many sizes and shapes, and have included an aquarium vacated by the children’s goldfish, and a fruit crate from the grocery with cut-to-measure glass sides and top (I use masking tape to hold the corners). The one thing common to all of these boxes is the three-inch layer of some moist propagating medium, ready to receive seeds and cuttings.

The latest and most attractive box I’ve used is the Gro-Master--a ready-made plug-in propagator with an electric coil in the bottom to provide gentle bottom heat. Several similar devices are also available. With something like this one can hardly miss germinating even the most difficult house-plant seeds, or rooting even the most delicate cuttings.

The choice of a propagating medium is all yours. I’ve used vermiculite, perlite, and Pelonex with unqualified success. I tried sharp sand but discovered that it dried out too fast for anything but succulents. Peat alone, or mixed with sand, tends to pack and rots rather quickly. I tried a blend of equal parts of peat, vermiculite, and perlite. It held up rather well, but I seldom bother to mix it. Regardless of what you prefer to use, have the medium moist when you use it, and water just enough to keep it barely moist during the rooting process.

Of course, with many types of plants, you can root “slips” in a glass of water on your kitchen window sill. But in any kind of propagating box, where the air is kept humid and the delicate plants are protected from drafts and drying-out, you have a better chance.

_House Plants from Seed_

African violets and other gesneriads, all types of begonias and geraniums, and many other indoor plants can be grown quite easily from seed. I like to plant each variety in its own small plastic refrigerator dish with a half-inch or so of soil (moist, sterilized soil that is) in the bottom of the dish. Sometimes I use plastic ice-cube trays. When planting powder-fine seeds, I usually add a thin layer of moist, finely-milled sphagnum moss and make it very smooth. Dust the tiny seeds over this surface, but don’t cover them with soil. Larger seeds should be covered with soil or more moss. Next, cover the container tightly and set it in a warm spot. That is when you will appreciate a propagating box. If the moss and soil begins to dry out, moisten it by gently running drops of water down the sides of the container. Please be gentle and tender. Tiny seeds and seedlings should not be disturbed.

When the seedlings have developed one or two true leaves of fairly substantial size, pick them out very gently and transplant them to another “community” container, or to individual thumb pots. Keep them humid and protected until they are big enough to need transplanting again. After that, they should be nearly ready to become adjusted to grown-up growing conditions in a window, or some other indoor garden.

One of the neatest tricks of the year is the Water ‘N’ Watch indoor garden developed and sold by Peggie Schulz, an attractive plastic planter complete with soil and planted with fourteen types of seeds. You simply follow her instructions, add water, and watch the seedlings germinate and grow. Gradually you remove the plastic dome when the plants are large enough. At transplanting time, remove the seedlings to separate pots, or leave a few to mature in the planter. This device is just about as work-free a method of growing house plants as there is.

_Stem Cuttings_

This is the most familiar way to propagate house plants, and the method that works best for most kinds of plants. With the exception of miniature orchids, stem cuttings can be taken from any house plant mentioned in this book, and your chances for success are very good if you have a propagating box for them.

Generally, stem cuttings are the ends cut from branches that are in healthy, active growth. Each should be more than a mere tip, and have at least two nodes, or “joints.” The large, bottom leaves are stripped off very gently and the cut end of the stem is inserted, to about half of its length, in the propagating medium. When you see evidences of new growth, or when roots have developed, dig under it with a spoon and remove it for potting. (Here is the test to determine if roots have developed: Pull on the cutting, very gently of course. If you feel resistance you know it has roots which are holding it down.) Pot your new plant very carefully in soil that is suitable for it; and please, don’t add fertilizer to this soil.

For stem cuttings, and most other methods of propagation, there are now certain hormone rooting preparations. They speed up rooting, make it more certain, and help to develop larger and healthier root systems. Be sure you get the correct type for softwood cuttings, or indoor plants. In using these new hormones, follow the directions on the package carefully.

_Leaf Cuttings_

It is a well-known fact that African violets will reproduce themselves from a single leaf. However, it is not so well known that there are dozens of other plants that will do the same. For example, more than once I have taken a succulent leaf, laid it out flat on moist sand, and had it grow roots and a small new plant. Leaves of peperomias, and many other plants, can be cut, with or without a piece of stem, and will grow bushy new plantlets. Some kinds of begonias will send out roots from the end of the stem, or new plants from the point above where stem and leaf join.

Except for some succulents, leaf cuttings are usually inserted with their stem ends in a moist propagating medium, with their leaves standing nearly upright above. (Again, you are safer if you have a propagating box, even though it be a crude one.) When they are well rooted and the new plants are of fair size, the cuttings are potted with the old leaves intact. The parent leaf is removed only when the new plant is strong enough to grow on its own. Of course, in the case of African violets, where more than one plant is produced at the end of the stem, the babies must be separated and each put into its own pot.

_Root and Rhizome Cuttings_

Sections of roots are sometimes cut to propagate house and greenhouse plants, but the practice is more common with hardy garden plants. But pieces of thickened, stemlike, or rootlike rhizomes can be taken from many types of indoor plants. Rhizomatous begonias, and rex begonias of rhizomatous habit, are familiar examples. Each piece of rhizome should have at least two, but preferably three, “eyes,” or scars from which leafstems have grown. The piece is placed half in and half out of the moist medium in the propagating box. Roots grow from the bottom down into the medium; stems and leaves shoot up from the eyes on top.

_Layering_

There are two general methods of layering, and in each case the plant is completely rooted before it is cut away from the parent. In “air layering” a thick stem, or cane, is slit, wrapped with moist sphagnum moss, and enclosed in plastic until roots are produced. This method is usually practiced on large, overgrown plants such as dieffenbachias, and truthfully is not necessary, or practical, for most miniatures.

But ground layering is a safe and sure way to propagate almost any plant with lax stems, and is particularly useful on temperamental plants such as some miniature ivies, which are reluctant to strike roots on stem cuttings. It is very simple. Just pin down the stem, not too far from the growing tip, in the soil beside the mature plant. If you like, you can put it in a pot of its own and thus be one jump ahead by having the roots where you want them. I usually steal a hairpin out of my “bun,” but a section of wire bent into a _U_ will do. When the stem has rooted, cut it off on the side next to the parent plant. Unless it is already rooted in a pot, dig it out and plant it.

_Division of Crowns and Roots_

One African-violet plant may grow several crowns, or main stems complete with rosettes. Since single-crown plants usually are more shapely and bloom more abundantly, the extra crowns can be cut off and rooted like ordinary stem cuttings. This is one of the more popular methods of dividing an old plant and getting several new ones from it.

Some plants will eventually make such dense, bushy growth that they not only look obese and unattractive, but are prey to all sorts of rot. Root division not only gives these plants a new lease on life, but also provides several new plants. Remove the overgrown plant from its pot, and very gently, try to split the matted roots and stems into separate sections. Do this with your fingers and not a metal instrument. If you work slowly and with care, several will most likely pull free. If you can’t do it with your fingers, you may have to resort to a clean sharp knife, in which case cut down past the stems and through the roots, making several separate sections. Discard any damaged leaves. Pot up the divisions, and keep them shaded and protected for a week or so until they recover from the shock.

_Runners, Stolons, and Offsets_

Many plants are continually propagating themselves by producing new plants in clusters around the old ones, sometimes at the ends of underground stolons or above-ground runners. _Saxifraga sarmentosa_ was named “Strawberry begonia” because it continually produces new plants on runners, strawberry-style. Episcias and chlorophytums are other examples.

Any of these offsets make new plants easily. Pin them down in soil, give them time to root, and then cut them off and insert them in a propagating box. Next, you pot them. Sometimes you’ll find the roots have already formed and the new plant is ready for potting and you didn’t even suspect it.

DESCRIPTION OF HOUSE PLANTS

Some pages back I told you that the question asked of me most frequently is “How often should I water plants?” A close runner-up is the question, “Where can I get out-of-the-ordinary plants?” Believe it or not, that question is easier to answer. Local florists and greenhouse people often have plants tucked away--something exotic and special. Most of the people in the industry cherish these plants and are hesitant to part with them to run-of-the-mine customers. But if the person is a genuine plant-lover, a sale can usually be made, even though it is a reluctant sale. Just demonstrate that you are vitally interested and you will be surprised at what you can buy. Try it.

I have a number of catalogues from mail-order suppliers in all parts of the country who carry unusual plants, and in a variety that increases year by year. Do you know where I came upon their names?--from small advertisements in horticultural magazines. Read those small ads. Often the advertiser is so small, and so specialized, that he can’t afford too much space. But he has the treasures you want.

Mail-order plants are naturally young and small. Large plants are too difficult to pack and ship for any distance. Plants that are small usually cost less, and you have an extra dividend in the pleasure of seeing them grow to maturity. You would be amazed at the progress that has been made in packing and shipping in the past few years. Plants that I have ordered recently have come through the mails in from excellent to perfect condition--even plants from the Pacific Northwest. You simply unpack them--carefully, I’ll admit--water them if necessary, and keep them out of hot, bright sun and draft for a few days until they are acclimated to their new surroundings. Should any plant seem weak or mildly injured, pop it into the propagating box and usually it will be back on its feet again in a few days. If the damage is too serious, report it to the post office, the express company, or the shipper. I have yet to register one of these complaints.

I have been general in the preceding pages of this chapter. Now I will be more specific and offer a list of plants and their growing requirements. All of the following plants can be grown in the greenhouse. But given proper light, humidity, and/or other special care, they can be grown in the house where you live--even the most delicate types. The information on culture is abbreviated, but consistent use of the same terms, I feel is justified. The following are used in the sections on care under each plant.

_Full sun_

The sun actually falls on the plant for most of the day.

_Partial sun_

The sun touches the plants for only a few hours in the early morning or late afternoon in summer, but for longer periods in winter (tropical areas excepted).

_Little or no sun_

Bright daylight is sufficient to keep some plants healthy.

_Temperature_

Any figures that are quoted are for daytime. Night temperatures can usually drop about five degrees. (Cool is 40 to 60 degrees; moderate, 50 to 70 degrees; warm, 60 to 80 degrees.)

_Humidity_

This is noted if the plant needs more than average humidity (50 per cent).

_Soil_

The plant may prefer a potting mixture that is _humusy_, extra-rich in organic matter; _average_, like the potting soil I have described on other pages; _sandy_, with an extra ration of sand, or a similar substitute. Or it may be _epiphytic_ and grow in some suitable medium such as osmunda fiber or sphagnum moss.

_Dry_

Let the soil dry thoroughly before watering.

_Moist_

Water when the soil in the top of the pot feels dry to the touch.

_Wet_

Never allow the soil to dry out.

* * * * *

Methods of propagation are also summarized and, if possible, listed in order of preference. The terms are the same as those used in the sections on propagating house and greenhouse plants.

For most plants, there are short notations on special uses for which they are especially suited, i.e., growing under artificial lights, dish gardens, model landscapes, terrariums and other gardens under glass. Included also are some small tropical trees and shrubs for the small greenhouse. Among the precious miniatures described in Chapter 17, varieties suitable for forcing are so noted. Forcing procedures are also covered.

=Abutilon hybridum savitzi= _Malvaceae_ Flowering Maple

Delicate tropical shrubs with thin, soft, maple-shaped, dove-gray leaves lavishly splashed with creamy white, and sometimes white all over. (I’ve never seen it produce the typical dangling lantern flowers.) It grows slowly, keeps plump and bushy, and is content with a small pot for several years.

CARE. Full sun, moderate temperature, and average soil kept constantly moist.

SPECIAL USES. Artificial light, dish gardens, model landscapes, terrariums.

=Achimenes= _Gesneriaceae_

A large group of utterly charming plants related to, and grown like, African violets--except that their scaly rhizomes (like minuscule pine cones) are completely dormant in winter. Most have velvet-soft leaves and all produce an overwhelming display of tubular flowers flaring wide-open at the end. None grow to great size. A single rhizome would probably be happy in a two-inch pot; several are usually planted together for a bigger show. The following are among the smallest varieties, upright unless otherwise noted.

‘Charm’--Luscious pink flowers, gold in the center.

_coccinea coccinea_--Trailer with notched, oval leaves and
plentiful flowers of deepest scarlet, half the size of a dime.

‘François Cardinaux’--Flowers in two tones of blue.

‘Little Beauty’--Similar to ‘Charm,’ but in another glowing
shade of pink.

‘Masterpiece’--Flowers royal, reddish purple.

‘Miniata’--Ruffled flowers in changeable violet tones.

‘Misera’--Many small white flowers spotted with drops of wine,
yellow in the throat.

‘Patens Major’--Orange throat blending into rich plum petals.

‘Peach Blossom’--New dwarf with peach-pink flowers.

‘Violacea Semi-Plena’--The only semidouble-flowering variety in
deep, glowing purple.

CARE. Partial sun, warmth, humusy soil kept moist. In late winter, or early spring, pre-root the tiny rhizomes in a light, porous mixture such as vermiculite and peat, barely moist and over bottom heat, or in warmth (65 to 70 degrees). When new growth is about two inches high, pot in light soil enriched with leaf mold or some similiar organic material. Pinch out any growing tips or trailers once or twice to encourage branching. In early fall, after flowering has ended, let the pot and soil dry out gradually. Clean the rhizomes, and store them in a polyethylene bag filled with dry peat at a temperature of 50 to 60 degrees. Check the little fellows occasionally. You may be amazed, but sometimes they’ll send out new sprouts in this dark, dry storage, and want to be rooted and begin growth again.

PROPAGATION. Rhizomes will multiply spontaneously. Also use stem cuttings, leaf cuttings, seeds.

SPECIAL USES. Artificial light.

=Acorus gramineus variegatus= _Araceae_

Neat, sweet little water-lover, like a miniature grass, with flat fans of slender, four-inch leaves striped lengthwise with sparkling white. It spreads eagerly.

CARE. Partial sun, cool, average soil kept wet.

PROPAGATION. Division of creeping roots.

SPECIAL USES. Artificial light, dish gardens, terrariums. Pretty bog plant for the miniature garden pool.

=Adiantum bellum= _Polypodiaceae_ Bermuda Maidenhair Fern

Elfin version of the maidenhair fern with ruffly leaflets like upside-down wedges, the points attached to the dark, wiry six-inch stems. The foliage is surprisingly dense for such a delicate, airy effect.

CARE. Little or no sun. Warmth, humidity, humusy soil (lime if acid), kept moist, and wet in winter. The plant seems to rest in summer.

SPECIAL USES. Artificial light, terrariums.

=Allophyton mexicanum= _Scrophulariaceae_ Mexican Foxglove

Perky combination of oval, dark-green five-inch leaves beneath upstanding stems bearing several long-tubed, flaring half-inch flowers of pastel lavender blending into white, violet in the throat. Blooms in spurts throughout the year.

CARE. Partial sun, moderate warmth, humidity, average soil kept moist.

PROPAGATION. Seeds.

SPECIAL USES. Artificial light, dish gardens.

=Alternanthera= _Amaranthaceae_ Joseph’s Coat

Enthusiastically branching, bushy plants with leaves of many colors, and convolutions, like small, contorted coleus. They’re often kept dwarfed by regular shearing, so the white flowers seldom form.

_amoena_--Bushlet with crisp, oval leaves haphazardly
daubed with bright shades of red and orange. It seldom tops four
inches.

_bettzickiana_--Tongue-shaped leaves blotched with cream,
yellow, salmon, and red. This is the one that’s used for formal
carpet bedding. Its green-and-gold variety, aurea nana, makes a
round three-inch mound.

_versicolor_--A gnome with gnarled, wrinkled leaves. It is
basically green but brightened with shocking pink and white. It
can grow six inches high, but stays lower if pinched regularly.

CARE. Full sun (for best color), warmth, average soil kept moist.

PROPAGATION. Stem cuttings, division of roots.

SPECIAL USES. Artificial light, dish gardens, model landscapes, terrariums.

=Anthurium scherzerianum= _Araceae_ Flamingo Flower

This is a baby in a family predominantly of giants, but it won’t outgrow a three-inch pot for years. This exotic tropical plant has leaves like varnished green shields and flowers like a golden Jack preaching from a flamingo-pink pulpit.

CARE. Little or no sun, warmth, humidity, humusy soil kept moist, or even wet.

PROPAGATION. Division of suckers and seeds.

SPECIAL USES. Artificial lights.

=Babiana stricta= _Iridaceae_

Winter-flowering, South African bulb for forcing in the greenhouse. Grown outdoors only in frost-free climates. Clusters of red or lavender fuchsia-like eight-inch stems above fuzzy, slender leaves indented at the veins. A dwarf variety, ‘Blue Gem,’ has deep-blue blooms.

CARE. Full sun, moderate warmth, average soil kept moist. Plant in fall for winter flowering.

=Begonia= _Begoniaceae_

There are enough miniatures in this big happy family of plants to make a sizable collection, and enough variations to keep the collector fascinated. Botanically, begonias are divided into three classes--fibrous-rooted, rhizomatous, and tuberous-rooted. Among the tuberous types, the best-known are the summer-flowering garden beauties--not available, as far as I know, in miniature. Each of the other classes contains miniatures that divide naturally into two general types of begonias with separate personalities, habits, and cultures. You could almost consider each type a completely distinctive group of plants, only technically related to the others.

SEMPERFLORENS BEGONIAS

Fondly known as “wax begonias,” and often called “America’s favorite house plant.” These are bustling, buxom, freely branching plants with watery stems and crisp, nearly round leaves gleaming with a high polish. They cover themselves with continual bursts of white, pink, or red flowers. The furiously flowering singles are the oldest, best-known, and toughest, often used for edging semishady garden beds. The semidoubles (crested or thimble type) have a raspberry-shaped center extending out from a circle of petals. The doubles (rosebud or camellia-flowered) are fluttery, full-petaled spheres. Foliage may be clean green, bronzy, or mahogany.

‘Adeline’ (‘Improved Darling’)--Free-blooming soft, single pink;
green leaves.

‘Andy’--Deeper, more luminous pink flowers; green leaves.

‘Little Gem’--Double, rosy-pink flowers; very dark red leaves;
small, slow-growing.

‘Pied Piper’--Baby pink, semidouble flowers, the crest sometimes
touched with gold; bronzy leaves.

‘Snowdrop’--Smallest I’ve ever seen, has never topped three
inches for me, just grows bushier and bushier. Double white
flowers like minute snowballs; dark-red foliage.

_tausendschoen_ (‘Thousand Beauties’)--A group of
green-leaved, single-flowering dwarfs available in red, pink, or
white. Easily grown from seed.

‘Winkie’--Fully double, old rose flowers; masses of dark leaves.

CARE. Partial sun, moderate warmth, average soil kept on the dry side.

PROPAGATION. Stem cuttings (best taken with a branch, so the plants will be self-branching), seeds (singles), division of root and crown.

MISCELLANEOUS FIBROUS-ROOTED BEGONIAS

Some miniatures are of the angel-wing, cane-stemmed type; some are from the hirsute, hairy-leaved group; some can’t be categorized.

_albo-picta_--Small angel wing with low, arched branches;
silver-spotted, sharp-pointed slender leaves; clusters of
off-white flowers.

_bartonea_ (‘Winter Jewel’)--This one’s a flirt, flaunting
its leaves and tiny pink-tinged flowers one wintry day,
collapsing completely the next. It can’t bear dry air or chills
but will grow up again cheerfully from the roots. The foliage is
finely scalloped on the edges, washed with russet in the center
and along the veins, and completely overlaid with silver sheen.

‘Dainty Spray’--Impudent dwarf with little angel-wing leaves,
bouquets of face-powder-pink flowers dripping from the drooping
stems.

_dregei_--Maple-leaf begonia with sharply cut,
thumbnail-sized leaves bronzy with purple veins, white flowers.
This is a semituberous type, the main stem swelling to look like
a bulb above the soil at the base. Pinching regularly keeps it
fairly small. May be dormant in winter. The variety macbethi has
smaller leaves completely green, white flowers.

‘Dwarf Houghtoni’--For me, this stays under six inches high
and covers itself with pointed leaves upholstered with sheer,
tawny-pink velvet. The clusters of large white flowers with pink
whiskers are almost too heavy for the branches to hold.

‘Medora’--Miniature angel wing with two-inch, flat
silver-spotted leaves and white flowers. Also available as
‘Green Medora,’ with plain green leaves and watermelon-pink
flowers.

_richardsiana_--Another semituberous maple-leaf type, the
leaves smallest of all and deeply cut almost into lace. Flowers
are faint pink.

CARE. Partial sun, moderate warmth, average soil kept on the dry side. The semituberous types take more moisture during the active growing season.

PROPAGATION. Seeds (for some species), stem cuttings, division of root and crown.

RHIZOMATOUS BEGONIAS

Here’s where the hybridists are creating the most intriguing new varieties, because they have more miniature parent species to work with. The leaf and flower stems grow straight up or out from the rhizome, a swollen, scarred rootstock that creeps over the top of the soil, usually sending down roots as it goes. Sprays of trembling flowers stand well above the foliage in late winter or early spring.

_aridicaulis_--Mounds of tiny, sharp-pointed, lettuce-green
leaves seldom over three or four inches high. Small, white,
two-petaled flowers like fairy pocketbooks.

_boweri_--Better known as the “eyelash begonia” because of
the black stitching around the edge of the lettuce-green leaves,
marked with bristly black hairs. Flowers are small, baby-pink,
and plentiful. This is the seed parent of a whole group of
popular namesakes; star-leaved ‘Bow-Arriola,’ chocolate-stitched
‘Bow Chance,’ dark-complexioned ‘Bow-Joe,’ bronzy ‘Bow-Nigra.’
All have the eyelash edging and pink flowers, and are happy
plants for the window garden or greenhouse.

_hydrocotylifolia_--“Miniature pond-lily begonia” for the
terrarium or shallow basket or pot. Shiny, penny-like leaves
overcast with bronze, dark along the veins; pink flowers on
six-inch stems.

‘Maphil’ (‘Cleopatra’)--Most famous boweri offspring, more dwarf
than miniature, just right for small window gardens and baskets.
The starlike leaves are satiny, irregularly marked chocolate on
chartreuse; the flowers, rich pink.

_mazae_--Bronzy, half-dollar leaves with light veins that
meet at the stem end to make a white eye, wine-red beneath.
Pale-pink, red-spotted flowers.

_rotundifolia_--Very similar to hydrocotylifolia except for
the bronzy cast and dark veins. May be the smallest of all.

‘Spaulding’--Extra-bushy dwarf with medium-green leaves shading
to dark green, edged with whiskers, and oxblood beneath. Showers
of pink flowers.

‘Virbob’--Reddish star leaves with yellow-green leaves, bright
red beneath. Short stems hold the leaves close to the pot.

‘Spaulding,’--an extra-bushy dwarf begonia]

In the past few years, Mrs. H. E. Dillard of Tropical Paradise Greenhouse has introduced a number of delightful new dwarfs and miniatures. Among them:

‘Baby Perfection’--Star leaves splotched mahogany on green.

‘Black Falcon’--Darkest red-brown star leaves, silvery along the
veins, whiskery along the edge.

‘Chantilly Lace’--One of my favorites, with cupped, chartreuse
leaves stitched with black around the edge.

‘China Doll’--Pointed yellow-green leaves striped brown along
the veins.

‘Kathy Diane’--Pointed oval leaves brown splotched with
chartreuse.

‘Midget’--Nearly black star leaves silvery green along the veins.

‘Oriental Music’--Dwarf with pebbly apple-green leaves.

‘Persian Brocade’--Green star leaves intricately laced with
black along the edge.

‘Raspberry Parfait’--Pointed, velvety, olive-green leaves
lighter along the veins; new leaves flushed with bright pink.

Group of dwarf begonias: _lower left_, ‘China Doll’;
_upper left_, ‘Silver Jewel’; _upper center_,
‘Bow-Chance’; _upper right_, ‘Bow-Arriola’; _lower
right_, ‘Bow-Nigra’; _center_, ‘Chantilly Lace.’]

CARE. Partial sun, moderate warmth, humusy soil kept moist.

PROPAGATION. Rhizome cuttings, leaf cuttings (slow), seeds (for some species).

MINIATURE REX BEGONIAS

These begonias are also rhizomatous, but the brilliant patterns of their leaves put them in a class by themselves. Few other foliage plants have such startling combinations of peacock colors.

‘Baby Rainbow’--Crinkly, jewel-like leaves with bands of royal
purple, emerald green, silver, raspberry, amethyst. Grows and
shows off best in glass.

‘Dew Drop’--Thin, ivy-shaped leaves completely overlaid with
shimmering, lavender-pink mother-of-pearl.

‘It’--Branching, upright rex type with silver-splotched green
leaves, multitudes of large pink flowers. Likes some sunlight.

‘Lorraine Closson,’ ‘Louise Closson,’ ‘Lucille Closson,’ ‘Lucy
Closson’--A group of aristocratic dwarfs with taffeta-textured
leaves in varying patterns of black, purple, red, pink, silvery
green.

‘Pansy’--Small, pointed, deep-green leaves with sharp zone of
lighter metallic green.

‘Peacock’--Jet-black and scarlet leaves on short stems. Stays
small if fed sparingly.

‘Red Berry’--Sheer, shimmering satin leaves of unrelieved claret.

CARE. Little or no sun, warmth, humidity, humusy soil kept moist. Many rex begonias may go partially or completely dormant in winter, dropping some or all of their leaves. Simply keep them warm, with the soil slightly dry, until signs of new growth appear.

PROPAGATION. Rhizome cuttings, leaf cuttings. Seeds will produce an unpredictable mixture, seldom like the parent plant.

=Bertolonia= _Melastomaceae_

The slowly spreading stems look like fat little top-of-the-soil rhizomes; but the foliage is like nothing else on earth. Perfect pointed ovals seem fashioned of sheerest silk; the skeleton of veins is sunken and strikingly marked. Such daintiness, to be endowed with bristly whiskers! Wee flowers cluster at the top of short upright stems. None of the bertolonias are very large; these are the available miniatures.

_maculata_--Sheer leaves deep green shading to light,
pencilings of silver along the lengthwise veins, wine red
beneath.

_pubescens_--Many veins pucker the leaves like small-scale
seersucker. Colors are copper over green, plum purple down the
center.

CARE. Partial sun, warmth, humidity, humusy soil kept moist.

PROPAGATION. Stem cuttings (in warmth), seeds.

SPECIAL USES. Artificial light, terrariums.

=Boea hygroscopica= _Gesneriaceae_

Six-inch tropical gesneriad with fresh green, quilted leaves and clusters of violet-like flowers campanula-blue, with yellow centers, on willow stems.

CARE. Partial sun, moderate warmth, humidity, humusy soil kept moist.

PROPAGATION. Division of crown, seeds.

=Bouvardia longiflora humboldti= _Rubiaceae_

Two-foot tropical shrub to perfume the dream greenhouse in fall and winter. The luxuriant, glossy, evergreen leaves are a fine foil for the celestial white flowers--trumpets with long, slim tubes flaring out into perfect four-pointed stars. Florists grow the larger-flowered variety, ‘Albatross,’ for cutting.

CARE. Full sun, moderate warmth, humidity, humusy soil kept wet except when the plant is resting after bloom.

PROPAGATION. Stem cuttings of new wood with heel (in warmth), root cuttings in early summer.

SPECIAL USES. Greenhouse shrub.

=Buxus microphylla japonica= _Buxaceae_ Box, Boxwood

Slow-growing boxwood with small, prim, shiny green leaves filling out the plump shrub shape. It is hardy outdoors, but nice in pots and frequently found at plant counters in variety stores.

CARE. Full sun, cool temperatures, average soil mixture kept moist.

PROPAGATION. Stem cuttings of half-ripe wood.

SPECIAL USES. Artificial light, dish gardens, model landscapes, terrariums, indoor bonsai.

CACTI AND SIMILAR SUCCULENTS

Generally, I prefer to grow a spicy variety of plants. But I am certainly in sympathy with the hobbyists who find enough stimulation in this one group to keep them collecting for a lifetime. Such a weird assortment of shapes, from barrels to humping inchworms. Such unusual patterns and colors of either leaves or stems that have taken on the shapes and functions of leaves. And such flowers! Some like daisies or water lilies, in incredible neon-bright colors, sometimes three times the size of the plant.

Among cacti and similar succulents are some of our smallest plants, plus plenty more that grow so slowly they’re miniature for many years. Here are selected samples, only a small portion of the number available from specialist-growers and other sources.

CARE. Most succulents need full sun, moderate warmth, a sandy soil mixture (not pure sand) kept on the dry side. They need more water and warmth in summer, less in winter when they are resting. If soil is very acid, neutralize with lime.

PROPAGATION. Stem cuttings, leaf cuttings, division of root or crown, seeds.

SPECIAL USES. Dish gardens, model landscapes (with other dry-growing plants), a few for indoor bonsai.

=Aeonium caespitosum spathulatum= _Crassulaceae_

Clump-forming succulent with rosettes of leaves like the hen-and-chicks, silvery green sparsely spotted with darker green.

=Agave victoriae-reginae= _Amaryllidaceae_

Miniature “century plant” with a stiff rosette of thick, sharp-pointed dull-green leaves with white piping along the edge and streaked with white between. Mature size, six inches.

=Aichryson (Aeonium) domesticum variegatum= _Crassulaceae_

I’m not quite sure how high and wide this pretty succulent will grow if left to its own devices. Mine has stayed in a two-inch pot for more than a year, and filled itself out with thin, round green leaves edged with creamy white, blushing faint pink in warm sun. The leaves huddle in tight, overlapping rosettes all around the branching stems.

=Aloe= _Liliaceae_

Symmetrical clusters of thick, heavy, sharp-spiny leaves; fall and winter flowers held aloft like a torch. One of the smaller species is _A. brevifolia_, with leaf rosettes about three inches across. _A. variegata_ can eventually reach a foot high, but very slowly; and its white-marbled leaves are striking in the meantime.

=Aptenia cordifolia (Mesembryanthemum cordifolium)= _Aizoaceae_

Creeping, clustering succulent with thinnish, round-pointed, gray-green leaves in pairs along the stems; brilliant fuchsia-purple daisy-shaped flowers. The variety variegata is embellished with creamy-white leaf edgings.

=Astrophytum= _Cactaceae_ Star Cactus

Thick stem-bodies divided neatly into five sections but still attached together, growing very slowly to four inches across. Outlandishly large, flat, daisy flowers in summer. Try _A. myriostigma_, bishop’s cap, or _A. asterias_, sand dollar, both spineless; or silver-dotted _A. ornatum_, with swirling lines and tufts of curved spines.

=Cephalocereus senilis= _Cactaceae_ Old Man Cactus

A good bet for beginning collectors. This is a columnar cactus covered with a shaggy coat of snow-white hairs, growing up to forty feet high in the desert, but approaching that height at a snail’s pace indoors. Flowers are rosy-pink, about two inches across.

=Chamaecereus silvestri= _Cactaceae_ Peanut Cactus

Gay ground-hugger, sending out in all directions thick green two-inch joints with soft white spines, and keeping its miniature proportions except when it’s top-heavy with long-tubed orange-scarlet flowers.

=Conophytum= _Aizoaceae_

Very tiny succulents with clusters of plump bodies that are, actually, two leaves joined completely except at the tip. The plant barely reaches one inch high and is content in a three-inch pot for years. Ridiculously large and brilliant flowers pop out through small slits in early fall. Then the leaves look like little dumplings sitting under a daisy. Of the several species available from specialists, _C. ornianum_ is light green with darker freckles, lavender-rose flowers; _C. aureum_ has gold flowers.

=Coryphantha vivipara= _Cactaceae_

Symmetrical two-inch sphere covered with evenly spaced bumps, each like a miniature sun with white rays and a spine sticking up from the center. The fringed rosy or carmine flowers pop out on top, in June; bright-red berries appear in fall. Native to, and hardy in, Manitoba, down to Texas. In time it will form clustered mounds.

=Crassula= _Crassulaceae_

An oddly assorted group of succulents including many roguish miniatures of fascinating form. _C. cooperi_ has tufts of small, pointed leaves with black blotches, little clusters of pale-pink flowers. _C. lycopodioides_ mimics the club moss of the woodlands, with slim stems encircled with little needle-like leaves. ‘Morgan’s Pink’ is a variety of dense clusters of spear-shaped leaves, crinkled like gray seersucker, coral flowers. _C. schmidti_ makes a three-inch mat of pointed, pinkish leaves, with generous glowing pink flowers.

=Echeveria= _Crassulaceae_

Perfect rosettes of succulent leaves in many lustrous colors, some silk-velvety or contrastingly trimmed on the edge. Clusters of brilliant tubular flowers top short stems. The following grow low, with four-inch rosettes.

_derenbergi_--painted lady--Translucent green leaves with
silvery sheen, touched with red at the tip, yellow-orange
flowers.

_elegans_--Mexican snowball--Light blue-green leaves
frosted with white, pure white on the edge, coral-pink flowers.

_pulvinata_--chenille plant--Dusty-green leaves of sheer
velvet, trimmed with brick red on the edge, scarlet flowers.

=Echinocereus melanocentrus= _Cactaceae_ Hedgehog Cactus

Small, spiny globes with brilliant carmine flowers from the side of the ball. At its three-inch maturity, the flowers are still larger than the plant.

=Echinopsis= _Cactaceae_ Easter Lily Cactus

Small, round plants with thick ribs and formidable spines, the lily-like flowers usually opening in the evening. A popular species is _E. kermesiana_, with glowing red flowers. _E. grandiflora_ is described as only two or three inches across, with five-inch rose-pink flowers.

=Euphorbia= _Euphorbiaceae_

Two small relatives of the poinsettia that show little family resemblance.

_caput-medusae_--Medusa’s head--Sneaky, snaky-looking plant
with tangles of twisted, gray-green branches, occasionally
tipped with small leaves.

_splendens bojeri_--dwarf crown of thorns--Compared to
the sprawly species that grows four feet tall or more, this
is really a midget. Mine has kept its six-inch bushy contours
for nearly two years. The upright grayish branches are fairly
well supplied with roundish, dark-green leaves; the scarlet
flower-like bracts are plentiful at intervals all summer and
fall.

=Faucaria= _Aizoaceae_ Tiger Jaws

Low, crowded succulents with thick, triangular leaves toothed with spiny hairs, unmistakably resembling an animal’s mouth. In late summer or early fall, golden daisy-like flowers pop up and make fun of the plant’s ferocious appearance.

_tigrina_--Silvery green leaves flecked with white,
two-inch yellow flowers.

_tuberculosa_--Darker green leaves with little white knobs.

=Fenestraria= _Aizoaceae_ Baby Toes

Clusters of cylindrical leaves, larger at the top, like little flat-tipped baseball bats. The nearly colorless tops feature tiny transparent “windows.”

_aurantiaca_--Three-inch orange daisy flowers more than
twice as wide as the clustered leaf-colony.

_rhopalophylla_--Leaves more blunt, smaller white flowers.

=Gymnocalycium mihanovichi= _Cactaceae_ Chin Cactus

Just one of many available miniature, globe-shaped cacti with spines on regular shelves, or “chins.” This one produces chartreuse flowers bigger than its body, starts to bloom while quite young.

=Haworthia= _Liliaceae_

Tight pinwheels of thick, pointed leaves intricately studded with varied patterns of pearly pinheads. The whitish flowers are not a main feature.

_fasciata_--Zebra-striped succulent often seen in dish
gardens.

_margaritifera_--Slightly larger, dark green with a more
scattered pattern of white dots.

=Kalanchoe= _Crassulaceae_

Among these congenial succulents are several that grow to considerable size in their native homes, but keep pleasantly small in pots or dish gardens. The leaves are fleshy, with indentations along the edge. Lantern-shaped flowers appear in winter.

_blossfeldiana_--Well-branched bush with overlapping, fresh
green leaves, flowering in winter when days are short and nights
are long. ‘Tom Thumb’ is a dwarf variety that smothers itself
with scarlet blooms for Christmas. Greenhouses grow it from
seeds sown in spring, and so can you.

_marmorata_--penwiper plant--Leaves fold in around the stem and
are spattered on both sides with purple blotches.

_pumila_--Leaves like a doll’s spoon, notched on the edge and
sugar-frosted; plum-colored pitcher flowers.

_tomentosa_--panda plant--Fat leaves covered with white felt,
distinctly marked with chocolate at the teeth on the edge.

(_Kitchingia_) _uniflora_--Miniature creeper or dangler for
small hanging baskets, with round green leaves marching up and
down the stem and rosy or red urn-flowers hanging from thin,
short threads.

=Kleinia= _Compositae_

Curious even among succulents, each of these oddly shaped or strangely decorated plants has a personality of its own and no need for daisy-like flower heads to make it interesting.

_pendula_--inchworm plant--Weird, round, leafless stems snake up
and down over the soil; flowers brilliant red.

_repens_--Low and somewhat trailing, with thick leaves like long
canoes, unbelievable blue.

_tomentosa_--Cylindrical cocoon-like leaves tapered to sharp
points and covered with pure-white down; gold or orange flowers.

=Lobivia aurea= _Cactaceae_ Golden Easter Lily

Squat, round, prickly cactus like a small echinopsis, except that this one opens its friendly water-lily flowers in the daytime. Dozens of different species and varieties are available.

=Mammillaria= _Cactaceae_ Pincushion Cactus

There are many mighty midgets in this group, and in fascinating variety. They’re mostly round, from squat to columnar, but all are primly neat. The spines may be soft or not, but are always arranged in a perfect pattern. The flowers are not overlarge, but are arranged in a crown and ripen into attractive, berry-like fruit.

_bocasana_--powder puff--Soft, white-woolly globes, only
one and a half inches across when mature; beige flowers.

_elongata_--golden lace--Small branching pillar, nicknamed
for its tatted pattern of bright-yellow spines.

_hahniana_--old lady--Fond name for a small, white-haired
cushion.

=Notocactus= _Cactaceae_ Ball Cactus

Plump balls with prettily colored spines and large, showy flowers in late spring.

_apricus_--sun cup--Golden-yellow flowers, Oxford-gray
spines.

_graessneri_--Butter-yellow spines and flowers.

_ottonis_--Indian head--Reddish spines.

_rutilans_--Rosy flowers.

=Opuntia= _Cactaceae_

This is a “crazy, mixed-up” group of cacti. They come in so many sizes, shapes, and forms that any generalized description is impossible. Many optunias are hardy even in Northern gardens.

_mamillata_--boxing gloves--Resembles a little tree whose
branches turn into cockscombs at the tip.

_microdasys_--bunny ears--Flat, long-oval pads with tiny
tufts of soft yellow hairs.

=Parodia= _Cactaceae_

Fat little balls covered with glistening spines and sending out unbelievably large flowers although the plant measures only an inch across the middle. Even in old age, they’re never larger than three inches.

_aureispina_--Tom Thumb cactus--Gold spines, orange flowers.

_mutabilis_--Shining yellow flowers.

=Portulacaria afra variegata= _Portulacaceae_ Rainbow Bush

After planting this little tree-like succulent in a dish garden when it was only three inches tall, and finding it less than half an inch taller nearly a year later, I was mildly amazed to learn that it is a version of the twelve-foot elephant bush, or purslane tree, of desert gardens. It’s difficult to imagine the fat red stems and fleshy, cream-splashed, red-rimmed leaves ever adorning a plant of such monstrous proportions.

=Rebutia= _Cactaceae_ Crown Cactus

Flat, fat balls with whiskery spines, spreading out into clusters. Each ball, when mature, is circled by large, wide-eyed flowers coming up from the base, often as large as the four-inch plant.

_minuscula_--Best-known species, with fiery red flowers.

_senilis_--Orange flowers with turned-back petals.

_violaciflora_--Rose-pink flowers.

=Sedum= _Crassulaceae_

Tender relations of the hardy garden sedums, not so numerous but equally varied.

_adolphi_--Rosettes of fat, yellow-green leaves, white
flowers.

_hintoni_--Oval, grassy-green leaves covered with prickly
white hairs, like clumps of tiny porcupine tails; white flowers.

_lineare_--Many branching, trailing stems covered thickly
with needle-shaped leaves. The variety variegatum is a gem, each
leaf more creamy-white than green.

_multiceps_--little Joshua tree--Unbelievable bonsai-like
plant with trunk, branches, and tufts of needly dark-green
leaves like the smallest conifer imaginable.

_pachyphyllum_--jelly beans--Fat, juicy, berry-like leaves
clustering close to the branching stems; yellow flowers in
spring.

_rubrotinctum_ (_guatemalense_)--Christmas
cheer--Thick layers of small, green, drumstick-shaped leaves
turning holiday red in full sun; yellow flowers.

_stahli_--coral beads, Boston beans--Faintly hairy, beady,
reddish leaves strung closely together on branching stems;
yellow flowers in summer and fall.

=Titanopsis= _Aizoaceae_

Stone-mimicking succulents with thickly clustered leaves lavishly spotted with white, wart-like tubercles, and short-lived daisy flowers in fall or winter.

_calcarea_--jewel plant--Lustrous gray-green leaves
sparkling with white spots, gleaming gold flowers. Leaf rosette
only two inches in any direction.

_schwantesi_--Even smaller cluster of blue-gray,
liver-spotted leaves, lemon-yellow flowers.

=Trichodiadema densum= _Aizoaceae_ Desert Rose

Picture a bunch of tiny, smooth green pickles, each tipped with a triple crown of ridiculously long, bristly, white hairs. Now, smother this leaf colony under two-inch red daisy flowers. A really outlandish plant!

SUCCULENTS

=Caladium= _Araceae_ Elephant Ears

_Bicolor Varieties_. Gorgeous arrow-leaved foliage plants
for small gardens in the South or sheltered areas where summer
temperatures are not likely to drop below 60 degrees for long.
The patterns, colors, and contours of the leaves get fancier
every year. Many are hybridized for larger and larger size, but
specialists also offer a good selection of dwarfs that will stay
under eight inches. Among them:

‘Candidum, Jr.’--Bushy low version of the standard favorite with
green-netted, white leaves.

_humboldti_--A gemlike species for the connoisseur with
willowy stems topped by diminutive deep-green leaves splotched
with silvery transparent white between the center veins and the
edge. Needs more humidity than the bicolor hybrids.

‘Little Rascal’--Leaf more lance-shaped, wine-red.

‘Miss Marveen’--Pearly-white tinged and blotched with pink over
heavy drab green.

‘Mrs. Arno Nehrling’--Bronzy-green, red veins.

‘Pink Radiance’--Small and bushy, leaves centered and veined
with shades of pink, pink-flecked on the edge.

‘Sea Gull’--White at the midvein and frosted all over.

‘Twilight’--Glowing flame-pink leaf finely netted with green.

CARE. Partial sun; if in a greenhouse shade against burn. Temperature: warm (75 degrees). Humid. Soil: rich, acid (azalea type). Keep moist. Fertilizer: feed liquid manure on alternate weeks.

PROPAGATION. Seeds.

SPECIAL USES. Terrariums, window boxes, specimens.

=Calathea (Maranta)= _Marantaceae_

There’s only one available true miniature in this group of richly colored and patterned tropical foliage plants, but many other species will stay small in a three-inch pot for years. The fact that they’re suitable for lush but restrained effects in far Southern gardens is my other excuse for including them.

These plants are maranta-like, the leaf tufts with markings a peacock could crow about, silky-velvet or iridescent sheens that outshine the gowns at a coronation ball. They are reluctant to flower but nobody cares. The following is only a sampling of the available riches:

_argyraea_--Low and compact, the blotched green leaves
overlaid with silver and horizontally level.

_insignis_--Narrow, permanently waved leaves perfectly
patterned with chartreuse, wine red underneath.

_louisae_--Leaves perpendicular and perky, feather-marked
with yellow-green.

_micans_--Miniature with oval leaves about an inch long
(four inches in the tropics), lustrous deep green banded with
silver at the center, paler underneath.

_picturata vandenheckei_--Satiny dark green banded with
silver white in center. Wine red on the underside. A new form,
‘Wendlinger,’ is even more startling. The centers are sterling
silver, edged with deep green.

CARE. Provide warmth, humidity. Soil: loam, leaf mold, and sand. Feed heavily for best colors. Shade from direct sun.

PROPAGATION. Divide crowns; tubers and spring cuttings.

SPECIAL USES. Tropical gardens, pots, terrariums, dish gardens.

=Callopsis volkensi= _Araceae_

This is a perfectly proportioned miniature “calla lily” only four inches high, the white porcelain flowers centered with a gold, spear-like spadix, and substantial but small heart-shaped green leaves quaintly crinkled. It grows from an underground rhizome. It branches freely but compactly and is winter-blooming.

CARE. Shade, humidity, humusy soil kept evenly moist.

PROPAGATION. Rhizomes.

SPECIAL USES. Terrariums, dish gardens.

=Carex elegantissima (Morrowi variegata)= _Cyperaceae_

Lady-like little grass with airy tufts of slimmest leaves, bright green with a white stripe along each edge.

CARE. Loamy garden soil, filtered sun, wet. Intermediate temperature.

PROPAGATION. Seeds.

SPECIAL USES. Terrariums, dish gardens.

=Carissa grandiflora nana compacta= _Apocynaceae_ Natal Plum

When is a dwarf not really a dwarf? In the two years or more I’ve had this plant it has grown so slowly I have no idea what ultimate height it has in mind, or when it will reach it. It is still about six inches tall, with round, green, overlapping leaves with the shiniest glassy polish of any leaves I have ever seen. Off and on during the year it gives sensual delight with richly fragrant china-white flowers, none of which, so far, have been replaced by scarlet plums. This form is blessedly without spines, always refreshing, and particularly appropriate for Oriental planters and miniature indoor gardens.

CARE. Almost any soil, warmth, light shade, moist, spray leaves. Resents repotting.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings, layers.

SPECIAL USES. Bonsai, planters.

=Ceropegia= _Asclepiadaceae_

Among the few hanging or climbing vines of suitable size and form for truly miniature baskets, or supports--succulent and easy to grow to boot! Their effect is always dainty, never bold; thin wiry stems may grow long, but never the leaves; waxy tube-like flowers inspire close inspection, but are never showy. Here are four of the daintiest species:

_barkleyi_--umbrella flower--A climber with pointed
wing-shaped leaves feathered with a network of silver;
purple-veined greenish flowers like parasols.

_caffrorum_--Pairs of green heart-leaves march down the
threadlike stems; greenish flowers intricately marked with plum.

_debilis_--Green needle-like leaves penciled silver along
the center; green-and-purple flowers.

_woodi_--rosary vine, string of hearts, hearts
entangled--Matching pairs of thick silvery valentines every
inch or so along the dangling stem, identically traced with a
precisely patterned design. The little pink-lavender flowers are
shaped like pixie pipes or urns.

CARE. Soil: loam, leaf mold, sandy and humusy. Intermediate temperature, filtered sun. Moist in summer, on the dry side in winter.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings in spring; tubers, seeds.

SPECIAL USES. Hanging baskets.

=Chaenostoma fastigiatum= _Scrophulariaceae_ Little Stars

Cheerful little tropical herb which keeps its compact contour by branching freely, and covers its stems with myriads of half-inch fragrant leaves. All year it twinkles with a sprinkling of starry white flowers, outdoes itself in the summer months.

CARE. Loamy garden soil, bright light, moist.

PROPAGATION. Seeds, cuttings.

SPECIAL USES. Edgings.

=Chamaedorea elegans bella= _Palmaceae_

Slow-growing dwarf palm tree, so slow it can be a granddaddy in a six-inch pot and takes eons to top two feet. The reedy green stems cluster in a rosette and curve gracefully at the ends. Leaves are thin, fresh green, airily divided.

CARE. Warm, loamy garden soil, moist, shade.

PROPAGATION. Seeds.

SPECIAL USES. House plant, dish gardens.

=Chamaeranthemum= _Acanthaceae_

A choice, exclusive threesome of tender tropical creepers with small supine leaves embroidered with dainty patterns.

_gaudichaudi_--Forest-green, long oval leaves of sheer
velvet, silver feathers down the center and out along the veins.

_(Stenandrium) lindeni_--A bolder, golden feather marks the
larger, perhaps even sheerer, leaves.

_venosum_--Symmetrical, oval leaves more broad than
slender, dark powder-blue with thin leaves of silver on the
network of veins.

CARE. Warm, humid, loamy garden soil, filtered sun, moist.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings.

SPECIAL USES. Terrariums, dish gardens.

=Chlorophytum bicheti= _Liliaceae_

Spidery little pot plant with tapering, grassy-looking leaves about six inches long, arching somewhat stiffly, with cream-white tidy stripes along the edge and sometimes down the middle. Always looks prim and precise.

CARE. Intermediate temperature, needs fresh air, loamy soil, filtered sun, moist.

PROPAGATION. Division.

SPECIAL USES. Indoor gardens, artificial light.

=Cissus striata= _Vitaceae_ Miniature Grape Ivy

This lacy little climber looks less like grape ivy, more like woodbine, but it certainly does look and act like a miniature. The reddish stems turn and twist at angles, trying to touch the tiny tendrils to a support they can curl around. The one-and-a-half-inch leaves are like five fat separate fingers delicately joined in the center, scalloped or toothed near the rounded tip, burnished green and lined with wine beneath.

_Cissus striata_--a genuine miniature climber not unlike
woodbine]

CARE. Intermediate temperature, humid, loamy garden soil, filtered sun, moisture in the pots.

PROPAGATION. Roots and cuttings.

SPECIAL USES. House plant, miniature gardens, artificial light.

=Citrus= _Rutaceae_

These are true miniature citrus trees, varieties that are naturally dwarf, or grow so slowly they’ll flower and fruit in smallish pots indoors.

_aurantifolia_--lime--Spiny little tree with small leaves,
small tartly acid, thin-skinned, green fruit. The Persian lime
is a variety called “one of the most beautiful of all citrus
trees.”

_limonia ‘ponderosa’_--ponderosa lemon--Oblong, glassy,
evergreen leaves; stiff sharp spines; large waxy, fragrant
flowers; heavy (to two and a half pounds) pear-shaped (to five
inches long) lemons at intervals through the year, beginning
when the tree may not be much more than a foot tall. Supposedly,
one lemon “gives enough juice to make a pie.”

_mitis_--calamondin--Bushy little tree, not prickly, dense
with glassy green leaves; flowers fragrant, small and white. May
bear fruit all year but usually in winter it produces bright
oranges, about one and a half inches in diameter, thin-skinned
and somewhat flattened on the end. The lime-like flavor of the
juice is reportedly pleasant, but my tree looked so pretty I
didn’t pick the fruit. A calamondin can, and often will, fruit
in a two-and-a-half-inch pot--a mighty midget.

_nobilis deliciosa_--tangerine, mandarin orange--Small,
nearly thornless tree with willowy leaves; sweet fruit, with
loose skin that peels off like a kid glove and segments that
separate freely.

_taitensis_--otaheite orange--Neat little bush for pots,
with plenty of two-inch, wavy-edged leaves, few if any spines,
and fragrant pink-tinged flowers in January. By Christmas,
even if the tree is only eight inches high, the oranges are
ripe. They are the size of a plum, shaped like a lemon, tartly
flavored like a lime.