Chapter 13: Planting and Care (3)

CARE. Intermediate temperature, needs fresh air, loamy soil, bright sun, keep on the dry side. For fruit, pollinate. Humidity, not too much fertilizer, not too much water. Sudden temperature changes causes leaves to drop.

PROPAGATION. Seeds, grafting, cuttings (for pot varieties).

SPECIAL USES. Seedlings for miniature gardens and greenhouses.

=Columnea microphylla= _Gesneriaceae_

Velvety trailer, suitable for small hanging baskets, with soft little mouse-ear leaves. But wow! the fiery-red flowers never heard of the word _miniature_. Their long slender tubes stand straight up from the dangling stems, flare out to a wide mouth through which you can look to see the yellow throat inside.

CARE. Warm, humid, humusy soil, filtered sun, moist.

PROPAGATION. Seeds, stem and leaf cuttings.

SPECIAL USES. Hanging baskets.

=Cryptanthus= _Bromeliaceae_ Earth Stars

Not many bromeliads can rightly be called miniatures, and grow either in air or in soil to boot. These are low flat rosettes of stiff painted leaves, often with prickles on the edge and always unusually colored. From the heart, wee white flowers peep out, usually in summer. Some suppliers offer a grab-bag selection of hybrids, “no two alike.” Or you can buy these smaller species if you wish.

_acaulis_--Thin gray fuzz over rather mottled green leaves.

_bahianus_--These leaves are slimmer, curving at the tip
and wavy on the edge, flushed or margined brick red, more
upright than flat.

_beuckeri_--Asymmetrical arrangement of ladle-like leaves
tapered to a sharp point, dark green marbled over light.

_bivittatus minor_ (_roseus pictus_)--Faintly banded
dark-green leaves completely flushed bronzy pink or salmon.

_bromelioides tricolor_--Slim, pointed leaves with bands of
rich cream and green, shaded cherry pink along the edge and in
the heart.

_lacerdae_--‘Silver Star’--Definitely star-shaped and
definitely silvery; the only green is in the two stripes down
each side of the center.

CARE. Warm, humus, filtered sun, dry side, good drainage.

PROPAGATION. Offsets or cuttings. Peel off one or two basal leaves from stem; pot and root for two to three weeks.

SPECIAL USES. House plant.

=Cryptbergia meadi= _Bromeliaceae_

Everything said about the cryptanthus applies here. This is the result of crossing a billbergia with a cryptanthus. The leaves are slim spear-shaped and sharply pointed, upright in the center and arching out around the side. The basic green is rather drab. Made more appealing by a bronzy sheen and faint dark mottlings.

=Cyanotis= _Commelinaceae_

Succulent creeping or trailing cousins of the inch plants, with similar botanical characteristics, but each an individual in its own right:

_kewensis_--teddy-bear plant--Brown-woolly all over the
stem and the tiny pointed-ear leaves.

_somaliensis_--pussy ears--The fresh green leaves are bent
into boat shape, clasping tight to the stem and covered with
velvety white fuzz.

_veldhoutiana_ (_Tradescantia villosa_)
(_Tradescantia pexata_) (_Tradescantia sillamontana_),
and known in the trade as tradescantia ‘White Velvet’ and also
‘White Gossamer’--This tiny plant, more trailing than creeping,
has lettuce-green leaves, and stems clothed in long silky
silvery-white hairs. It has so many names I fear it would be
lost to view if all of its labels were placed around it. I quote
all of them in order to avoid confusion and controversy. But
according to the Institute de Biologia in Mexico, the correct
name is _Tradescantia sillamontana_.

CARE. Intermediate temperature, needs fresh air, loamy soil, bright light, dry side.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings.

SPECIAL USES. Miniature tropical gardens, greenhouses.

=Dionaea muscipula= _Droseraceae_ Venus Fly Trap

Never let anyone tell you this little bug-eater will “trap flies on your window sill.” Don’t poke at it to see it close its trap. Avoid disturbing it; let it feed itself naturally. And now that the negatives are covered, do try this braggart elf (give it conditions in which it can grow), for the pleasure in its intricately devised mechanism, one of nature’s wonders. Basically, there’s a five-inch-wide rosette of wide flat stems, a two-part leaf at the end of each making a flat burnished bronze oval with a fringe of thick whiskers. When an insect steps onto this dance floor, the hinges in the center fold the two halves together fast, and that is the end of the bug. White flowers top the tallish stems in spring.

CARE. Cool, humid, sun, soil rich in humus with sphagnum, wet. Dormant in February and March before flowering. Most vigorous growth in spring and summer.

PROPAGATION. By roots or seeds. If seeds are used, start them under a bell jar.

SPECIAL USES. Terrariums.

=Dracaena godseffiana= _Liliaceae_

Small tropical foliage shrub, slow-growing and bushy, with glassy, leathery leaves haphazardly splotched with white. The named variety ‘Florida Beauty’ is even more dwarf, takes years to fit a four-inch pot, and boasts golden-yellow splotches.

CARE. Warm, loamy garden soil, filtered sun (more light for color), moist to wet.

PROPAGATION. Pieces of stem with several joints; tip cuttings; air layering.

SPECIAL USES. Miniature gardens.

=Drosera rotundifolia= _Droseraceae_ Sundew

The whole plant can often hide under a half-dollar--the smallest of all the insect-eaters. Flat stems radiate out from a central crown, expand at the ends, become flat spoon-shaped blades covered with reddish hairs that are tipped with drops of glue. Any insect landing on the surface gets his feet stuck while longer hairs on the edge act like tentacles to entangle him even more. Spring flowers top stems that grow straight up in the center.

CARE. Cool, humid, humusy soil made acid with peat moss if necessary, moist but not soggy, good drainage, room temperature is adequate with some direct sunlight but not enough to raise temperature in terrarium to a dangerous level. Transplanting or shipping may retard growth several weeks; don’t get soil on leaves. May go dormant after flowering. Do not try to grow in ordinary room without glass cover or a plastic bag. Small amount of plant food (such as Vigoro). Rain water preferred.

PROPAGATION. As in _Dionaea muscipula_.

SPECIAL USES. Terrariums.

=Dyckia= _Bromeliaceae_

Small, stiff fountains or sprays of spiny-edged leaves, spikes of orange or yellow flowers like a miniature version of the pineapple in various sizes and shapes. Some are not very dwarf. The dwarfs, to the best of my knowledge, are:

_altissima_--Light-green, tapering leaves armed with brown
spines and yellow flowers.

_fosteriana_--Dense circle of sugary gray leaves with
purplish sheen.

_rariflora_--Slim, sharp-pointed six-inch leaves with
minute silver scales, spines soft and black.

CARE. Intermediate temperature, humusy soil, filtered sun, dry side.

PROPAGATION. Easiest from offshoots when suckers are large enough to handle. Root in sphagnum peat. Seeds, germinate on tissue napkins in a shallow tray covered with glass. Keep in light at 65 to 70 degrees.

SPECIAL USES. House plant.

=Episcia dianthiflora= _Gesneriaceae_

Although none of the episcias grow very high, they do spread out to make wide, handsome pot or hanging-basket plants. This is the only species that can reasonably be called dwarf. Its leaves are the size and shape of my little fingernail, olive green and softly velvet, reddish along the center vein, first forming a tidy rosette. Soon the branches start stretching, rather stiff and woody for an episcia, with new leaf rosettes forming as the branches grow. The silky tube-flowers are pure white and fringed on the edges.

CARE. Warm, humid, humusy soil, filtered sun, moist.

PROPAGATION. Seeds and cuttings.

=Exacum affine= _Gentianaceae_

This is a compact, free-flowering plant of the gentian family. The flowers are blue with golden stamens and very fragrant. A herbaceous biennial, it can be treated in a greenhouse as a perennial. It has bushy green leaves, ovate and tiny. A dark-lavender form is the variety atrocaeruleum.

CARE. Warm, humid, humusy soil, filtered sun, moist.

PROPAGATION. Seeds. Can be planted any month, but a February planting will produce flowering plants for autumn and winter.

SPECIAL USES. Window gardens and greenhouses.

=Ficus= _Moraceae_ Creeping Fig

Here are two delightful foliage creepers that keep their miniature proportions, although the large-leaved form of the first often covers large walls in the South.

_pumila minima_--Tiny valentine leaves patterned and
crinkled with a network of sunken veins, deep green and
refreshing.

_radicans variegata_--Much larger, slim pointed leaves
basically silvery green, but marked with creamy white, starting
at the edge and blending off irregularly. Like many variegated
plants, it’s not very vigorous and thus is suitable for
terrariums, where it will get the humidity it needs.

CARE. Warm, needs fresh air, loamy soil, filtered sun, moist.

PROPAGATION. Division of the rooting stems.

SPECIAL USES. Terrariums, hanging baskets, outdoors in the South.

=Fittonia verschaffelti= _Acanthaceae_ Nerve or Mosaic Plant

Flat-creeping tropical plants with jewel-like foliage netted with veins of contrasting color. The oval or rounded paper-thin leaves may be large--up to two inches long--but the plants grow slowly and seldom exceed dwarf proportions, particularly if there are any slugs within miles. Fittonias are one of the critters’ favorite foods.

You have a choice of three color schemes: The species is dark green with carmine veins; its variety argyroneura is emerald with silver; the variety pearcei, light green with pink.

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

PROPAGATION. Stem cuttings.

SPECIAL USES. Foliage plants in greenhouses.

=Fortunella= _Rutaceae_ Kumquat

Smallest, and hardiest, of the evergreen citrus trees or shrubs, with typical glassy, leathery leaves and flowers at intervals during the year, sometimes coincidental with the thin-skinned fruit. The species vary in size, habit, and fruit, some taking a lifetime to reach ten feet. But before they achieve that altitude, they can long pass as dwarfs or miniatures. Who wants to wait a lifetime to watch a kumquat outgrow a three-inch pot?

_hindsi_--Small spiny tree with small (less than one inch)
pea-shaped fruit.

_japonica_--marumi kumquat--Small tree, well branched and
shapely, with perfectly round, somewhat sweet fruit nearly one
and a half inches in diameter.

_margarita_--nagami kumquat--Most frost-resistant and
dwarf. Nearly thornless, with sour-sweet, egg-shaped fruit.

CARE. Intermediate temperature (any sudden changes in temperature may cause the leaves to drop), soil on the dry side (not too much fertilizer), bright sun, pollinate if you wish fruit, maintain humidity.

PROPAGATION. Seeds, grafting, cuttings.

SPECIAL USES. Potted plants, seedlings for miniature gardens.

=Fuchsia magellanica= _Onagraceae_

This “hardy” fuchsia, when given a chance to develop, can hardly be called a miniature. It can cover a wall twenty feet high, I have been told. However, in a climate like that near Philadelphia, it is only “root-hardy” and even then has to have a protective winter mulch. In the spring it has to start new growth all over again. Then it assumes miniature proportions. I’ve seen it in a small hanging basket, the leaves less than one-third the size of the typical hybrid fuchsias, the stems thin and wiry, the red-and-purple flowers quite small. Even more like a miniature is the slower-growing variety variegata, with creamy blotches and streaks on the leaf edges. Then there is the slender, more airy and lax variety, gracilis, also available in variegated form.

CARE. Cool, needs fresh air, loamy soil, shade, moist.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings of soft green wood.

SPECIAL USES. House plants, hanging baskets.

=Hebe buxifola variegata= _Scrophulariaceae_

This is a charming little plant I have grown in my greenhouse. Although it has some larger relatives, my specimens have been delightfully small. The leaves are about one-half inch long, waxy green with creamy white edges which overlap into a nice pattern. I love the small white flowers which appear frequently.

CARE. Little sun, humusy soil, moderate warmth, moist.

PROPAGATION. Stem cuttings.

SPECIAL USES. House plants.

=Hedera helix= _Araliaceas_ English Ivy

As long as I’ve grown house plants I’ve always had ivies, sometimes only a few pots of my favorite varieties (when my growing space was limited) but more often a collection of a dozen or more. Once when preparing a magazine article, I had thirty-seven scrambling around the greenhouse! The foliage always is fresh green and glossy, delightful the year round; the climbing or trailing stems are graceful and willing to be trained in just about any pattern. In the tiny-leaved miniatures there is a particular fascination in the intricate formations of lobes and points, edges which are waved or crinkled, and the markings, which may be dainty, pert, or bold.

(MEAGHERI GREEN FEATHER)

_Hedera helix meagheri_--a fine small specimen]

These variations (actually mutations) of the ubiquitous evergreen ground or wall cover, are less hardy than the species from which they have sprung. Their outdoor use is best limited to moderate or mild climates--but never where it is hot and dry. Some slow creeping types like the variety conglomerata are delightful in not-too-hot rock gardens. Indoors, of course, you can have any or all of them, and you have many to choose from. Here is a representative selection to tempt you:

‘Goldheart’--Deepest green leaves centered with a heart of gold.

‘Itsy Bitsy’--Lacy leaves half the size of a fingernail.

‘Ivalace’--Fresh green with a crocheted edge.

‘Jubilee’--Gray-green spattered with white.

‘Needlepoint’--So sharply cut there’s nearly no leaf at all.

‘Shell’--Waved and crinkled on the veins.

‘Tear Drop’--A baby’s tear at that.

‘Telecurl’--Tight as a brand-new “permanent.”

CARE. Cool, needs fresh air, loamy soil, shade or semishade, moist.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings, layering, seed. (Seeds may take as long as two years to germinate.)

SPECIAL USES. House plants, ground cover, rock gardens, miniature gardens.

=Helxine soleiroli= _Urticaceae_ Baby’s Tears

Millions of tiny, button-like leaves hug close to the thready stems of this wee creeper that covers soil, or a pot, in incredible haste. The growth twines and intertwines thickly as if it were weaving a fresh green carpet for a doll’s house.

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

PROPAGATION. Cuttings of rooting stems.

SPECIAL USES. Ground cover, rocks and walls. (Outdoors only in mild climates.)

=Hoya bella= _Asclepiadaceae_ Wax Plant

Definitely a dwarf, as wax plants grow, and not climbing, as most others are, little _H. bella_ has arching, rather than woody, stems with thick, heavy somber green leaves on either side and clusters of incredible flowers at the tips, porcelain-white, waxy, and fragrant, with a wheel-shaped purple “crown” in the center. Best in a basket because the flowers droop, and the view is prettiest from below.

CARE. Warm, needs fresh air, loamy soil, bright light, dry side.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings in spring.

SPECIAL USES. Good house plant.

=Impatiens repens= _Balsaminaceae_

This precious creeper bears so little superficial resemblance to the popular “patient Lucy” it’s hard to believe it’s a close kin. I loved it when I first saw it at the Montreal Botanical Gardens, and was delighted when it became available to us here. It is a creeper with red stems, plump button-shaped leaves, and yellow flowers.

CARE. Intermediate temperature, needs fresh air, humusy soil, bright light, moist.

PROPAGATION. Seeds, cuttings.

SPECIAL USES. Good house plant, miniature gardens.

=Koellikeria erinoides= _Gesneriaceae_

This one is a gem--clusters of pert green-velvet leaves with indented veins and sprinkled with silvery star dust; on short stems, tiny two-lipped bell flowers of creamy white and red, in summer.

CARE. Warm, humid, humusy soil, filtered sun, moist.

PROPAGATION. Seeds.

SPECIAL USES. House plant.

=Lantana camara= _Verbenaceae_

Here is a plant I have long enjoyed around the greenhouse. It is a small hairy shrub with angled branches and rough bristly leaves and is sometimes prickly.

_Helxine soleiroli_, baby’s tears--a delightful little
crawler]

Its blooming habits have always delighted me, and it is a prolific bloomer come summer. The verbena-like flowers open pink or yellow and later darken to red or orange. Often several different shades will be found on the same plant at the same time.

CARE. Moderate greenhouse temperatures, or out of doors in the summer. Needs fresh air, loamy garden soil, bright light, and does best on the dry side.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings and seed.

SPECIAL USES. House plant, pots, and containers.

=Malpighia coccigera= _Malpighiaceae_ Miniature Holly

Small glossy leaves sharply toothed like holly, and adorable as a foliage plant, but in addition provides the sweetest white-pink blooms which in its native West Indies produce red, edible fruit rich in vitamin C.

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

PROPAGATION. Stem cuttings.

SPECIAL USES. House plant, indoor bonsai.

=Manettia bicolor= _Rubiaceae_ Firecracker Vine

Small, sharp-pointed leaves, tube-flowers only a half-inch long, fine thready twining stems--everything about this tropical vine is miniature except the height to which it will climb in the greenhouse, or outdoors in the South. Although its inclination is to climb, it is sold most often as a plant for hanging baskets. Perhaps the lack of a support helps keep it small. The leaves cluster thickly around the intertwining stems, making a massed background for the impertinent flowers, yellow at the tips, fire-engine red at the base.

CARE. Cool greenhouse, needs fresh air, humid, loamy soil, filtered sun, moist.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings over heat, of young growth. Seeds.

SPECIAL USES. Trellis and rafter vines for the greenhouse, hanging baskets.

=Maranta= _Marantaceae_

Exotic tropical foliage plants, laying their large oval leaves almost flat on the soil, only technically different from the calatheas, and sometimes offered under that name.

_(Calathea) bicolor_--Really should be “tricolor,” I think.
The silky, six-inch leaves are silvery in the center, feathering
out to points at intervals, and fading into a dark-green zone
which gives way to the basic blue-gray or gray-green that
extends to the edge.

_leuconeura kerchoveana_--rabbit tracks, prayer
plant--There’s a similar grayish feather in the center of the
leaf, a lighter silver green to the margin; but in between,
mahogany blotches where a “hippity-hopper” might have planted
his paws. The leaves fold up in prayer at night.

_leuconeura massangeana_--A picture is a more vivid
description than any word I can call on. The center is silver,
the thin curvy lines silvery pink. The basic color is mahogany
near the middle, blending into blue-green. The leaves are
tissue-thin with a silky sheen and lined with plum beneath.

_Leuconeura massangeana_--a most beautiful foliage plant
with a silver center and basic mahogany blending into blue-green]

CARE. Warmth, minimum night temperature of 60 degrees; humid, and use mist spray; rich soil; use liquid manure (except in winter). Filtered sun (plant will scorch in too direct sunshine), moist. Partial rest in winter, dry out between waterings. Repot in spring, with the crown high in the center; use charcoal in pot.

PROPAGATION. Divide crown.

SPECIAL USES. Foliage plant, artificial light. This plant is prettiest when young. Markings may disappear in older plants.

=Myrsine africana= _Myrsinaceae_ African Boxwood

This is a shrubby, dark-green-leaved plant of the boxwood sort. It is small, neat, and trim and may be shaped into many patterns to resemble the true boxwood.

CARE. Partial sun, moderate temperature, humusy soil, moist.

PROPAGATION. Stem cuttings.

SPECIAL USES. Formal miniature gardens, dish gardens, indoor bonsai.

=Myrtus communis= _Myrtaceae_ Greek Myrtle

This is a fragrant close-leaved evergreen shrub native to the Mediterranean region but raised in most of Europe and this country as a potted plant. It grows out-of-doors in the South. Fragrant white flowers and purple-black berries. In size, Greek Myrtle ranges from dwarfs to ten and fifteen feet in height.

_communis microphylla_--dwarf myrtle--This compact form,
with brown twigs and needle-like dark-green leaves, is a
favorite for bridal bouquets, corsages, and decorations. It has
a lovely white flower of pleasing fragrance. This sentimental
association with the marriage ceremony makes it a favorite house
plant.

CARE. Partial sun, cool to moderate temperatures, average soil, keep moist.

PROPAGATION. Stem cuttings.

SPECIAL USES. House plant, indoor bonsai.

=Oxalis= _Oxalidaceae_

Although most of the familiar varieties with clover-type leaves and fine-petaled buttercup-like flowers stay within our allotted limits for height, they are not miniatures as far as spreading width is concerned. But here are two small indispensables for terrariums and dish gardens.

_hedysaroides rubra_--firefern--Correctly, a tropical
shrublet, but slow-growing and willing to be kept down by
pinching. The silky thin leaves are deep wine colored and shrink
from your touch. The little flowers, like golden twinkling
stars, are frequent and fairly plentiful.

_herrerae (henrei)_--Curious, densely branching succulent
for small hanging containers. The sturdy stems are gray-green
and swollen, tipped with three thick leaflets. Small yellow
flowers in clusters on long stems.

_martiana aureo-reticulata_--Shamrock leaves of emerald
green thickly traced with interlacing veins of gold, easy
flowers in loose clusters.

CARE. Cool, loamy garden soil, needs fresh air, bright light, dry side. (_O. hedysariodes rubra_ requires more warmth and semishade.)

PROPAGATION. Bulbs, division of roots, seeds.

SPECIAL USES. House plants, hanging containers.

_Oxalis hedysaroides rubra_]

=Parochetus communis= _Leguminosae_ Shamrock Pea, Blue Oxalis

It’s neither a shamrock nor an oxalis, although it has three-part leaves resembling both and is marked with a mahogany quarter-moon in the center. But, the blooms are pea-like, all right, with ocean blue blending into pink on the two side petals. It’s a tender tropical trailer never more than three inches tall with creeping stems rooting over the soil.

CARE. Sun, intermediate temperature, average soil.

PROPAGATION. Seeds in March and April. Division in March.

SPECIAL USES. Rock gardens in mild climate, baskets, miniature gardens, edging.

=Pelargonium hortorum= _Geraniaceae_ Geranium

How minute is a miniature? How small is a dwarf? Here is one case where I really don’t care. However you classify them, these small-scale geraniums are bewitching. And actually, their stature depends largely on how you grow them.

Their leaves may be as small as your thumbnail, but they are shaped, edged, veined, zoned, and often variegated like their larger relatives. In most varieties the size of the flowers has been cut down proportionately, but sometimes a cluster is as large as the entire plant. With age the stems may become gnarled and twisted, almost bonsai-like.

As a sort of yardstick, if you are very much concerned about height, miniatures are from two to three inches. Anything above that is a semidwarf, usually up to six or seven inches. There are many varieties within these limits, and by the time you read this there will most likely be dozens more. For the moment, here are some varieties you can start on your window sill; they will stay small and meanwhile bloom their heads off.

‘Black Vesuvius’--Single, orange-scarlet.

‘Dopey’--Large rose-red with white center. Free-blooming.
Semidwarf.

‘Elf’--Dark leaves, zoned red and black, yellow on edge, single.

‘Epsilon’--Large flowers light pink with dark-pink phlox eye,
semidwarf.

‘Fairyland’--Dull-green leaves with cream on the edge, single,
touched with rose-red.

‘Fairy Tales’--Flouncy white with lilac at the center.

‘Fleurette’--Strong robust free-blooming dark salmon. Semidwarf.

‘Goblin’--Outstanding blooms bright red. Free-blooming, dark
zoned.

‘Imp’--Very miniature salmon-pink. Dark foliage.

‘Kleiner Liebling’ (‘Little Darling’)--Variegated, single, pink.

‘Minx’--Purple-crimson blend, pretty blackish ruffled leaves.

‘Mischief’--Orange-red curled and twisted poinsettia-type petals.

‘Perky’--Single, red with bright white center.

‘Polaris’--Free-blooming white with pink edge. Single.

‘Pride’--Very large full rounded salmon. Robust semidwarf.

‘Prince Valiant’--Purple-crimson with orange flush. Semidwarf.

‘Robin Hood’--Semidwarf, strong growing, dark red. Good for
outdoor planting. Double.

‘Rosy Dawn’--A different shade of salmon-orange-red. Dark
foliage.

‘Ruffles’--Semidouble, small, ruffled, light salmon. Very
miniature.

‘Salmon Comet’--Somewhat shaggy, single, salmon.

‘Saturn’--Bright scarlet, good bloomer, dark foliage.

Three dwarf geraniums: ‘Salmon Comet,’ ‘Pride,’ and ‘Pygmy’]

Dwarf geranium, ‘Robin Hood’]

‘Small Fortune’--Double, pure white, blushing pink in center.

‘Sneezy’--Large bright scarlet with white center. Semidwarf.

‘Snow-White’--A pure-white single that blooms and blooms.

‘Sparkle’--Free-blooming bright rose-red. Semidwarf, dark
foliage.

‘Sprite’--Small silvery-and-white leaves sometimes pink-tinged,
single, salmon.

‘Tiny Tim’--Pink or red, tiny blooms. Miniature foliage.

‘Twinkle’--Bright rose-pink, double. Dark foliage, semidwarf.

‘Variegated Kleiner Liebling’--Small green-and-white leaves.
Small single pink blooms.

CARE. Sun (in winter artificial light), fresh air (air-conditioning if possible), cool greenhouse or cool part of dwelling-house, garden soil (lime if soil is extra acid), on the dry side.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings, seeds.

SPECIAL USES. Excellent house plant, artificial-light gardens.

=Pellaea rotundifolia= _Polypodiaceae_ Button Fern

Take a piece of wiry brown yarn and string it with shiny, dark-green, leathery polka dots on either side and you’ll have a model of a frond of this tropical fern. The fuzzy stems arch gently but stay close to the soil as the small rhizomes slowly creep around. It’s all very un-fernlike but exceedingly sweet.

CARE. Intermediate temperature, humid, loamy soil, shade, moist.

=Pellionia= _Urticaceae_

Two delicate tropical creepers with attractively colored and patterned leaves lined up and lying flat along the thickish stems. No one cares whether they produce their drab clusters of small greenish flowers or not.

_pulchra_--Precise oval leaves are dusty blue-gray,
with broad lines of black over the network of nerves, violet
underneath. Juicy stems look lavender-pink.

_repens (daveauana)_--Young leaves nearly egg-shaped,
metallic copper-green, nearly chartreuse on both sides of the
center nerve. Leaves of the mature plants become slimmer and
pointed on the end, with more green in the center zone and less
copper along the edge.

CARE. Filtered sun, warm and humid, loamy soil, moist.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings, division of rooted stems.

SPECIAL USES. Terrariums, artificial light, hanging baskets.

=Peperomia= _Piperaceae_

Since almost all of these succulents, with their “catkin-like” flower spikes, fit within our miniature measurements, I’ve enjoyed picking a few to serve as a sample of their modest but much varied appeal. I like them, and hope you will also.

Twenty-three varieties of _Pelargonium hortorum_, miniature
and dwarf: 1. Fleurette 2. Snow White 3. Dopey 4. Mischief 5.
Robin Hood 6. Minx 7. Epsilon 8. Prince Valiant 9. Polaris 10.
Saturn 11. Sparkle 12. Kleiner Liebling 13. Small Fortune 14.
Goblin 15. Variegated Kleiner Liebling 16. Fairy Tales 17. Rosy
Dawn 18. Pride 19. Sneezy 20. Twinkle 21. Ruffled 22. Imp 23.
Salmon Comet]

‘Astrid’--Layer upon layer of glossy green, pointed oval leaves
creased down the center by the main vein, making a dense,
symmetrical cone-shaped mound. In fact, there are so many tight
branches that the leaves can’t always find room to fill out to
full size. Then ‘Astrid’ turns into a version called ‘Pixie.’ To
reverse the cycle, root a single stem of ‘Pixie’ and see how it
returns to being ‘Astrid’ again.

‘Caperata’ (‘Little Fantasy’)--One perfect little heart leaf,
its end pointing down, perched at the top of a sturdy stem. The
entire leaf is so deeply wrinkled and crinkled that the basic
Kelly-green looks almost black in the indentations, and silvery
on the edges. Its big brother, ‘Emerald Ripple,’ is half again
as large but otherwise identical.

‘Mamorata’ (‘Silver Heart’)--These heart-leaves taper to a
sharper point and are rippled in a much more modest way. There
is so much silver on the surface they look plated.

_metallica_--Upright and branching with slim-oval leaves
pointed at both ends and colored chocolate with a coffee luster.
There is a wide green stripe straight down the middle.

_ornata_--Handsome and stately despite its small stature.
The cupped, pointed-oval leaves are somber green on top and
enlivened with lines of light green along the curved veins.
Underneath, the veins become raised ribs and are wine red.

_prostrata_--Personally, I have my suspicions about
this sprightly creeper. When it is young, discontented, or
ailing, its fat little button-leaves along the thready stems
are a plain light green. It looks so much like the species
rotundiflora (nummularifolia) that you can’t tell the two apart.
But when prostrata is happy and romping around in its favorite
environment, the leaves turn blue-green and wear an ornate
embroidery of silver over the veins. Botanically, I’m probably
wrong. See what happens when you grow it.

_rubella_--Rosettes of tiny oval moss-green leaves stand
out at intervals up and down the straight stems and all the
branches. The undersurface is gaudy red, and so are the stems.
Pinch often to keep it bushy.

CARE. Warm, loamy garden soil, filtered sun, dry side. Water with care. Drainage to prevent rot.

PROPAGATION. Leaf cuttings, stem cuttings, division of the plant or rooting stem (roots at joints), seeds.

SPECIAL USES. Excellent house plant, dish gardens.

=Pilea= _Urticaceae_

With one exception, this is a genus of creepers, crisp, fleshy--spreaders, and bushlets for dozens of decorative uses indoors (and outdoors in tropical climates). Their common characteristics are much-branched stems bearing a full measure of variously colored, patterned, and shaped foliage, and very greenish flowers in flat clusters at the branch tips.

_cadieri minima_--Dwarf form of the popular aluminium
plant, or watermelon pilea, eagerly branching into a plump
bush. The quilted deep-green leaves are splotched with
aluminium-silver. And the splotches are faintly reminiscent of
watermelon markings.

_depressa_--Crowded stems spill over the pot, bearing round
sea-green leaves neatly toothed on the edge. Stems root where
they touch the soil.

_Pilea depressa_--a creeping, dish-garden favorite]

_involucrata_--panamiga--Fuzzy pointed oval leaves deeply
quilted by a tight network of veins, piled pair on pair along
branching stems. Foliage colors darkest green in shade, tinges
of bronze in bright light. Flowers pinkish, nestled close to the
last pair of leaves.

_microphylla (serpyllifolia)_--artillery plant--Tiny,
pointed fresh-green leaves on spreading, somewhat upright
branches. The male flowers explode their clouds of pollen when
dry.

_nummulariaefolia_--creeping Charlie--Stem-rooting creeper
with crinkled round, or broad heart-shaped, leaves, pale green
and fuzzy.

_pubescens_ (‘Silver Panamiga’)--Oval leaves overlaid with
silvery blue, grayish beneath, the veins indented sharply.

_repens_--blackleaf panamiga--Prostrate and creeping, the
branches spreading and bearing nearly round, thin, bronzy leaves
lined with violet beneath. This one holds its beady flowers atop
tall stems.

_seripillacea_--Habit like a perfectly proportioned shrub
but in most miniature proportions. Small round leaves and
plentiful branches, light green and succulent. Flower clusters
held out from the foliage by stems.

‘Silver Tree’--Copyrighted name for a species with brown-green
leaves marked with a broad silver zone on each side of the
center vein, corrugated by indented veins.

CARE. Easy, warm, humid, loamy soil with humus, filtered sun, moist.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings, use sharp sand, 65 degrees.

SPECIAL USES. Dish gardens, terrariums.

=Polyscias (Aralia) fruticosa= _Araliaceae_

Tropical shrub or tree (eight feet or less) better known in Northern greenhouses for its intricately cut, lacy foliage, and growing so slowly it is nearly permanent (and unquestionably picturesque) in a planter or dish garden. The elegant horticultural variety ‘Elegans’ has leaves cut as fine as a feathery plume. I covet the newly named variety ‘Parsley’ because it is ruffled, to boot, and because its habit is so restrained, and its form so compact and plump.

CARE. Warm, needs fresh air, loamy soil, bright light, moist.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings of firm wood, eye-cuttings (over bottom heat).

SPECIAL USES. Dish gardens.

=Polystichum tsus-simense= _Polypodiaceae_

Definitely a dwarf fern, keeping its size moderate in a three-inch pot but not always a subject for terrariums unless they are a larger-than-usual size. It has a tidy habit, always looks clean and refreshing. The small fronds are substantial and taper to a needle-sharp point.

CARE. No sun, cool, humid, loamy soil, moist.

PROPAGATION. Divisions, buds, or offsets.

SPECIAL USES. Hanging baskets. Terrariums.

=Sansevieria= _Liliaceae_ Snake Plant

Here we have some of the most fortuitous “sports” in the history of plants. The tall, stiff, ungainly but omnipresent snake plant has produced spontaneously mutant growth that turned into neat, low, bird’s-nest miniatures that are really most attractive. First came the variety named ‘Hahni,’ a flat spiral of broad leaves tapering to a sharp point, dull green marked crosswise with splashy bands of lighter green. Another sport, ‘Silver Hahni,’ abandoned most of the crossbands and plated its green with pewter. Even more striking is ‘Golden Hahni,’ with lavish bands of creamy yellow running lengthwise of the leaf on either side of a center stripe of mottled green. And to top it all, these picturesque plants are just as easy to grow as the rugged species from which they sprang. Flowers, whitish or yellowish. Slow-growing.

CARE. Filtered sun, warm, loamy soil, slightly moist.

PROPAGATION. Division of clumps. Leaf cuttings (three-inch piece in sand, shade, and 65-degree temperature). Makes stolon-like buds that form the new plants.

SPECIAL USES. Dish gardens. Good house plant.

=Sarcococca ruscifolia= _Buxaceae_ Sweet Box

Sweet box is a small, free-branching evergreen with attractive leathery leaves, broad at the stem but coming to a point. Has tiny fragrant white flowers.

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

PROPAGATION. Cuttings.

SPECIAL USES. Dish gardens, indoor bonsai.

=Saxifraga sarmentosa= _Saxifragaceae_ Strawberry Begonia or Geranium

One of the few hardy perennials that will thrive indoors the year round. Round, hairy silver-veined leaves grow in a rosette from the crown, which also sends out slender red stems, strawberry style, with new little plants that root and grow wherever they touch soil. In late spring the fall stems are topped by cloudlike soft clusters of small white flowers. ‘Maroon Beauty’ is slightly darker, and larger.

More miniature, and more tricky, is the variety tricolor, sometimes called ‘Magic Carpet,’ with smaller, basically gray-green leaves, red-rimmed and variegated with wide areas of creamy white, purple underneath. In cool air and sun, the cream is strongly tinted pink.

CARE. Humid, cool, poor soil, dry.

PROPAGATION. Runners.

SPECIAL USES. Dish and sink gardens.

=Schizocentron (Heeria, Heterocentron) elegans= _Melastomaceae_ Spanish Shawl

Mexican creeping perennial with thickly branched stems rooting at the joints, making a plush carpet of tiny, teardrop leaves. In summer the one-inch open-faced, royal-purple flowers seem unbelievably large and rich. This one is very nice in a small hanging basket, but its natural inclination is to creep and it really goes to town when it can cover soil or some sort of porous support such as a moss totem pole. It should be spectacular covering a hanging ball filled with sphagnum moss.

CARE. Intermediate temperature, humid, loamy soil with humus, filtered sun, moist.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings, division of rooted stems.

SPECIAL USES. Small baskets, miniature gardens, ground cover.

=Selaginella= _Selaginellaceae_

Soft, fluffy foliage plants in all shades of green, including metallic, and with all kinds of growth, low and creepy, upright, even climbing. They bear more resemblance to each other than they do to their cousins the ferns.

_emmeliana_--sweat plant--As the nickname hints, this ferny
plant languishes unless it is “perspiring” in high heat and
humidity. In fact, once the fine-lace fronds turn dry and brown,
they won’t be fresh and green again.

_kraussiana browni_--Scotch moss--Soft, symmetrical
cushions of bright-green leaves, slowly spreading into larger
mounds.

_kraussiana (denticulata)_--spreading club moss--Branching,
rooting, creeping stems thickly set with needlepoint leaves.

_lepidophylla_--resurrection plant--Antithesis of the sweat
plant. When the fan-shaped branches have dried out and curled
into a ball, immerse them in water and they will come back fresh
and green as ever.

_martensi_--Young branches stand upright, may drop or creep
with age. The variety variegata has eye-catching white splashes,
splotches, or tips and supports itself on stiff aerial roots
from stems to soil.

_plumosa_--Foamy creeper with short, branching stems
overlapped by foliage of fresh woodsy green.

_uncinata_--Foliage sparse but shimmering peacock-blue in
shade. The running, branching stems have a ludicrous way of
sending down stilt-like roots into the soil, so they seem to be
running above the soil, not in it.

CARE. Fern culture; warm, humid, humus, shade, moist.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings in pots (several pieces per pot), in spring. Put on top of medium and cover with glass at 70 degrees until roots form at joints. Spores, division of rooted stems.

SPECIAL USES. Terrariums, greenhouses, ground cover.

=Serissa foetida (japonica)= _Rubiaceae_

A boxwood-like plant with tiny white-margined leaves clustered on branchlets. White funnelform flowers to one-half inch long.

CARE. Partial sun, average soil, moderately moist.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings.

SPECIAL USES. Artificial light, dish gardens, indoor bonsai.

=Sinningia pusilla= _Gesneriaceae_

If ever a plant was a miniature, this is it. The tuber is hardly as large as a grain of wheat. The soft round leaves, not even a quarter-inch across, make a flat rosette on the soil in a thimble, or any tiny pot. From the crown arise the thread-thin stems, to the great height of one inch. And from the tip of each stem stands a slim flaring, tube-like flower, pale orchid with violet veins and lemon in the throat. This plant is quite obviously close kin to the familiar gloxinia (_G. speciosa_ hybrids), but you almost need a magnifying glass to compare the characteristics.

CARE. Warm, humid, humusy soil, filtered sun, slightly moist.

PROPAGATION. As for the gesneriads (Gesneriaceae).

SPECIAL USES. Terrariums, miniature gardens.

Miniature of miniatures, delightful _Sinningia pusilla_]

=Streptocarpus= _Gesneriaceae_

When limited growing space frustrates the hobbyist who admires the great, glorious gloxinias (sinningias), here’s a selection of pleasing and precious substitutes. In general these plants are distinguished by the fact that the flower stems grow out from the base of the leaf where it joins its own stem (axil). The flowers are typical gesneriad trumpets, usually nodding; the leaves are mostly rather round and velvety. The following are fibrous-rooted:

_hybridus_--Botanical name for groups of hybrids called
“as complex as the garden geranium,” with quilted light-green
leaves and a wide selection of flower colors. One strain of
particularly attractive low plants, the German Weismoor hybrids,
has fringed and crested flowers up to four inches across, often
contrastingly veined or blotched.

_rexi_--Long-oval, velvety leaves lie very flat. Six-inch
stems hold two-inch funnel-flowers, pale orchid with purple
throat.

_saxorum_--Leafy-stemmed species, the stems branching
continually, making dense mounds of plump, one-inch oval leaves
curled under on the edge and covered with soft silk-velvet. The
lavender-flushed white flowers stand out at the end of wiry
three-inch stems.

CARE. Cool, humid, loamy soil with humus, filtered sun.

PROPAGATION. Seeds (plant in early spring for flowers fall and winter), leaf cuttings, some offsets.

SPECIAL USES. Artificial light.

=Tillandsia= _Bromeliaceae_

There are several entrancing dwarfs and miniatures among these tree-perching bromeliads with curved, leathery, often quill-tipped leaves. For two of the newly listed species (_T. argentea_ and _T. tricolepsis_) I can simply say that the leaf rosettes resemble airy, long-bristled cones; they have not yet flowered for me.

_circinnata_--The silvery leaves, broader at the base,
overlap and form an urn-shaped, tuber-like swelling. Tight, flat
spikes of glowing-orchid flowers in late winter.

_ionantha_--Three-inch tuft of pewter-gray leaves turn
fiery red at flowering time, January-February. The inflorescence
is an incredible paddle-shaped composition of fat, flat, tightly
overlapping bracts, and the plant sends out large violet flowers
day after day.

_stricta_--Shaggy “head” of very narrow, every-which-way
leaves silvered with finest gray fuzz; short-stemmed spikes with
shocking-pink bracts and blue-violet flowers.

CARE. Warm, humid, orchid-growing medium, wire to board with orchid peat. Moist during spring and summer. Dry in dark winter months, when plant is semidormant.

PROPAGATION. Offshoots.

SPECIAL USES. “Log” gardens, tree slabs.

=Tradescantia= _Commelinaceae_ Spiderwort, Inch Plant, Wandering Jew

Most varieties of the inch plants that cheerfully romp all over indoor gardens are, of course, too rambunctious to be called miniature. But there are two species of much more modest proportions and habit.

_multiflora_--Unmistakably an inch plant, but with stems
more threadlike than succulent; small, slim (even quite thin)
leaves plain dark green, tinted purple beneath; and clusters of
tiny white winking flowers. The effect is, believe it or not,
delicate and “ferny.”

_navicularis_--China plant--Curious succulent creeper
with very thick stems threaded through widely spaced pairs of
clasping leaves folded tightly down the center; rose-purple
flowers.

CARE. Easy culture, intermediate temperature, needs fresh air, loamy soil, filtered sun, dry side.

PROPAGATION. Cuttings of growing shoots, seeds, division.

SPECIAL USES. Baskets.

_CHAPTER 7_

MINIATURE ROSES,
INDOORS AND OUT

Men, women, and children; gardeners, nongardeners, and the family cat--everyone is captivated by a four-inch rosebush with precise little leaves and thorns, studded with button-size buds and flowers, twinkling in its pot on the window sill. On her weekly visit the cleaning woman checks on its health and welfare. The baby-sitter has her boy friend come in to see it. The milkman wants to know where he can get one like it for his green-thumbed wife.

But if I had a dime for every eager buyer who has found these midgets disappointingly difficult to grow indoors, I could start building my dream greenhouse tomorrow. There are simply too many floriferous pictures with thimbles to show how cute the flowers are, and too few responsible growers who give specific cultural directions with every sale.

In the garden there’s no problem. These are by nature outdoor plants, mostly sturdier and more winter-hardy than the full-sized hybrid teas and floribundas. For some reason, they even seem to be less subject to the depredations of insects and disease. I can pick handfuls of Japanese beetles from the regulars in the rose garden, but few from the miniatures little more than a hundred feet away.

I’m not implying that miniature roses are impossible indoors. One of the most perfect blooming bushlets I’ve ever seen came to our flower show from a sparsely windowed, steam-heated Brooklyn apartment. I simply want to spread the gospel that, to avoid risking disappointment, everybody should know what kind of cultural conditions they need.

Potted miniature roses are positively precious in cool, sunny window gardens, with rows of matching pots on glass shelves up and down the window, or singles or small groups in mixed arrangements on the sill or in a window greenhouse. Although they are not the most adaptable subjects for growing under artificial light, I’ve known several people who have been successful, particularly when the plants were started under lights from seed.

In a harmonious decorative container, a flowering miniature rose makes a small plant-and-container decoration to inspire the prettiest compliments. With suitable environment a tiny bush can be used as a center of interest in an indoor model landscape. A small greenhouse should hardly be without one of these brightly blooming babies.

Miniature roses have many uses in sink or trough gardens, as single specimens, pairs or quadruplets in formal plantings, even hedgerows kept carefully trimmed. I don’t know whether anyone has ever tried them for miniature bonsai. This would be a process of dwarfing a dwarf; and my mental picture of the proper plant, artistically trained, is enchanting. I must try this, before long.

Outdoors, miniature roses are delightful in all kinds of containers--tubs, strawberry jars, window boxes, and other planters. They’re often used as a low hedge to edge a path, driveway, or the beds of a formal rose garden, or around the base of a birdbath or sundial. In mixed flower borders they’re planted singly or in small groups toward the front. In rock gardens they keep most safely cool and moist when planted low, near the base of the garden; and they show off most effectively with something like a dwarf evergreen as background.

Gardens featuring miniature roses are most often formal in design--round, square, rectangular, the beds divided with geometric precision by narrow strips of grass or gravel paths. A small, formal pool or piece of statuary may be the center of interest. In a sunken garden outlined with an eight-inch brick or stone wall, the planting pattern is particularly pleasing. In raised beds each individual shrublet can be enjoyed at eye level. In a single or double row at the base of a low retaining wall, the plants show off to advantage.

Beds of miniature roses can be carefully arranged strips, or groups of separate colors, or mixtures. They can be edged with shrubs such as dwarf box, perennials such as dwarf lavender, dainty annuals such as lobelia or alyssum. In the center a tree or standard is often used as accent. Or a bed may be backed by a wall, fence, trellis, or arch on which miniature climbers are trained. If the soil is slanted slightly up, toward the center, it is easier to see the plump perfection of each little bush.

Dwarf evergreens, particularly junipers, are popular backgrounds for miniature rose gardens. Upright types with symmetrical pyramid, column, or cone shapes are often used as accent--for example, a matching specimen of one of the dwarf varieties of _Juniperus communis_ in the exact center of each formal bed.

Miniature or not, rose gardens are most often conceived in formal design. But to me, the cheerful dwarfs are more friendly when planted informally--popping up at the base of a tree stump or boulder, spotted here and there in the rock garden, a few at the top of a flight of small steps.

TYPES OF MINIATURE ROSES

The tight buds may be as big as the eraser on a pencil, or as tiny as a grain of unpolished rice, and the flowers may be single, semidouble, or double. The doubles may be formed like a hybrid tea or be full-petaled and fluffy, in clusters like a rambler rose. Some varieties stay very dwarf and bushy, from four to six inches tall; others are more robust, with larger flowers, and may grow to ten inches.

Climbing miniature roses are usually sports of bush varieties, with supple canes four or five feet long that can be trained on low fences, walls, trellises, or arches. Otherwise, every part is in perfect miniature scale.

All of these types are recognized by fanciers as authentic miniature roses because they grow on their own roots. And so is the rare tree or standard grown with a single trunk-like stem that is kept free of side growth, then pinched at the top to form a crown and symmetrical head. But standards that are budded or grafted onto the stems of other root stocks (which most of our American miniature tree roses are) are excluded by the experts, which is a matter of concern only to the serious collector.

INDOOR PLANTING AND CARE

Since miniature roses seldom spend the summer indoors, they are usually purchased in fall or winter from the local florist or greenhouse, or by mail from house-plant or miniature-rose specialists. Pot-grown plants are most likely to succeed indoors because their roots are not disturbed unduly. Except in Hawaii and Arizona, mail-order plants arrive with the soil ball complete about the roots, the stems cut back to about two inches. They start growth almost immediately, and flower within six to eight weeks.

If you have miniature roses in the garden, you can root cuttings in early fall and force them into winter bloom indoors. Or you can dig the plants, pot them, and give them their necessary dormant rest before you bring them indoors for forcing. Sink the pots to the rim in soil, in the cold frame or in some spot protected from severe winter weather. When the temperature dips low, mulch with salt hay, straw, evergreen branches, or the like. In late December or January, after six weeks or more of dormancy, lift the pots and bring the plants indoors. Prune back the leafless stems and water sparingly until new leaf buds appear.

After they have flowered indoors all winter and spring, I always plant my miniature roses out in the garden and let them resume their natural outdoor growth cycle. I may root cuttings, or I may bring others indoors the following fall; but I have never tried to force a plant a second time without letting it live at least one year in the garden first. I have heard that some growers (probably city dwellers or others who have no outdoor garden facilities) simply let the plants rest outside in summer--on a shaded ledge or in a window box with moist peat--prune them severely in fall, and grow them again. I haven’t heard how many years a plant will take this unnatural treatment or how much it suffers from missing its cool fall nap.

_Soil_

A fairly heavy potting soil packed quite firmly in the pot seems to help keep the plants small without sacrificing foliage or flower. One expert recommends a mixture of two parts garden soil, two parts humus, one part moderately coarse sand, with a light sprinkling of superphosphate or bone meal. When I use my ready-prepared potting soil, I always add sand, and sometimes some humusy soil dug from immediately under the leaf mold in the woods.

_Potting_

I’ve used both clay and plastic pots with equal success, always of the shape with the greatest depth, as miniature roses are naturally deep-rooted. Each pot has the usual layer of rocks or pebbles in the bottom for drainage. Small, newly purchased plants usually start off in three-inch pots, are shifted to four-inch pots before they become severely root-bound. Some larger varieties may take larger sizes.

_Sun_

This is one of the three important cultural requirements. Miniature roses must have sun if they are to bloom. A minimum of three hours is sometimes set, but I should think this amount would be applicable only to midsummer or to mild climates. In winter the plants need all the sunshine they can possibly get.

_Temperature and Humidity_

Second in importance is a cool 65 degrees or even much lower (maximum, 70 degrees), and third is the humidity which keeps the plants at their best. Leaves curl and dry, buds and flowers drop when the air is hot and dry. Miniature roses should not be set anywhere near a heater or radiator of any kind. Unless the air in the growing area is really cool and moist, set the pots on moist gravel or make some other provision for increasing humidity, as outlined on pages 76–77. It even helps to cover the plants with a tent of plastic every night, and let them emerge only for the day.

_Watering_

Keep the soil always moist, never soggy and muddy, never dry and caked. As a humidifier and refresher, mist the foliage as often as you can.

_Fertilizing_

A balanced soluble house-plant fertilizer (never one with high nitrogen content) can be fed in half-strength solution every three weeks beginning about three weeks after a freshly potted plant begins active growth. Or you can use any special rose food according to directions and at half the strength recommended on the package. The idea is to encourage the plant to grow and flower, but not stuff it with so much nutrition that it gallops gaily up to nondwarf size with leaves only.

_Pruning and Grooming_

I seldom prune miniature roses indoors except to cut off cleanly any stems that may have been accidentally broken or that may grow unattractively long or misshapen. I do try to douse the plants in slightly sudsy water, to clean the foliage, every few weeks; and I pick off faded flowers promptly. Actually, instead of being in continual bloom, these plants usually flower for a few weeks and then take a short rest before they send up buds again.

_Insects and Disease_

Again, preventive spraying is all I’ve ever done. I use my handy house-plant aerosol bomb almost every week. If disaster should strike, I’d probably use the special rose spray or dust I use on the regular garden roses.

OUTDOOR PLANTING AND CARE

In all except mild or warmer climates, bare-root plants bought by mail from nurseries or garden-rose specialists should be planted in early spring, when vigorous root action and growth are beginning. Potted plants or any that come complete with a soil ball around the roots can be planted almost any time the garden soil is not frozen. But in sections where winters are severe, I think spring planting is always safest. In fact, in Connecticut I like to give new plants a longer growing season their first year by starting them a few weeks early, in pots, indoors or in the greenhouse.

_Location_

Plant miniature roses where they will get at least half a day of summer sun (a full day is best) but where it is possible to keep the soil suitably moist. Avoid low, muggy pockets where air does not circulate freely or where water can collect and make the soil muddy. Good drainage is vital. In cold areas, select a spot sheltered from icy winds by a wall or low shrubs.

_Soil_

To help keep them dwarf, miniature roses need a fairly heavy soil, but not, of course, too clay-like. Dig down at least ten inches, to prepare for the deep-growing roots, and improve the soil you remove with whatever is needed before you replace it around the plant. Clay-type soils will need the addition of sand, for drainage, and leaf mold needs rotted or dry cow manure or other humus to lighten the texture. Sandy soils need humus to help hold moisture. In even average fertile soil, miniatures appreciate an extra ration of humus at planting time.

The ideal soil for miniature roses will pack firmly around the roots, yet won’t cake and crack in the sun. It drains perfectly, so excess water does not stand around the roots, particularly in winter. Yet it holds enough moisture so that the roots don’t dry out so fast you can’t keep up with the watering job. Soil should also test neutral or slightly acid (_p_H 6.0), never extremely acid. In acid-soil areas, apply a light sprinkling of horticultural lime each winter.

_Planting_

Plant miniature roses about a half-inch deeper than they were before, and far enough apart so that they will have room to spread as wide as they will be tall. Crowded plants have no individual beauty, but they are prime targets for mildew. If the weather turns sharply cold or dry and windy after planting, protect the plants by mounding up soil around the stems. Remove it gradually as spring days grow balmier.

_Watering_

Miniature roses suffer seriously from drought, and will drop their buds and flowers after only a few days of hot, dry weather. Keep the soil constantly moist, and spray or mist the foliage once or twice a day. A mulch of pebbles, a mixture of half soil and half peat (peat alone packs down too heavily), or something similarly porous, will help keep the soil cool and moist.

_Fertilizing_

Light feedings of organic fertilizers such as bone meal or cow manure once a year, in early summer, are usually recommended. Or supply small amounts of a balanced garden fertilizer, or special rose food, in late spring and again in early July. A weak solution of liquid manure is also good and can be fed about twice as often.

_Pruning and Training_

In early spring, when new growth is first beginning to show on bush types, shorten all stems severely. I usually cut mine back to a uniform four inches. And of course, cut out cleanly any dead or mutilated branches. Make every cut just above a new shoot or leaf bud. Otherwise, pruning is limited to keeping the bushes shapely, removing faded flowers, and occasionally thinning the growth of old plants to admit air to the center.