_By the same author_:
ALL ABOUT BEGONIAS
ALL ABOUT VINES AND HANGING PLANTS
BERNICE BRILMAYER
ALL ABOUT
MINIATURE PLANTS
AND GARDENS
INDOORS AND OUT
_Sketches and Landscape Designs
by Fritz Schaefer_
_Additional Art Work
by Kathleen Bourke_
DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC., GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK
1963
_For my family, again and again.
The future is coming closer._
_Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 63-18225
Copyright © 1963 by Doubleday & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First Edition_
CONTENTS
AUTHOR’S NOTE 9
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 13
_Chapter 1_ MINIATURE WINDOW GARDENS 17
_Chapter 2_ MINIATURE GARDENS WITH ARTIFICIAL LIGHT 23
_Chapter 3_ MINIATURE GARDENS IN CONTAINERS 38
_Chapter 4_ MINIATURE GARDENS IN GLASS 53
_Chapter 5_ MINIATURE GREENHOUSE GARDENS 61
_Chapter 6_ MINIATURE HOUSE AND GREENHOUSE PLANTS 74
_Chapter 7_ MINIATURE ROSES, INDOORS AND OUT 137
_Chapter 8_ MINIATURE SINK GARDENS 150
_Chapter 9_ MINIATURE PLANTS, BONSAI-STYLE 159
_Chapter 10_ MINIATURE GARDENS IN THE LANDSCAPE 177
_Chapter 11_ MINIATURE ROCK AND WALL GARDENS 183
_Chapter 12_ MINIATURE POOLS AND WATER PLANTS 199
_Chapter 13_ MINIATURE WOODLAND GARDENS AND PLANTS 211
_Chapter 14_ MINIATURE TREES AND SHRUBS 226
_Chapter 15_ MINIATURE PERENNIALS AND ROCK PLANTS 251
_Chapter 16_ MINIATURE ANNUALS 277
_Chapter 17_ MINIATURE GARDEN BULBS 288
EPILOGUE 299
BIBLIOGRAPHY 300
WHERE TO BUY MINIATURE PLANTS AND SUPPLIES 301
INDEX 307
List of Illustrations
COLOR
_By the author except as noted_
BETWEEN PAGES
Formal garden in a wash-boiler lid 32–33
Tiny tropical garden with pool 64–65
Achimenes, a beautiful gesneriad 96–97
Twenty-three varieties of miniature and dwarf geraniums 128–129
Streptocarpus, Weismoor hybrid 160–161
Rose and miniature rose 192–193
Garden in the landscape 224–225
Rock garden effectively composed 256–257
BLACK AND WHITE
_By the author except as noted_
Miniature geraniums in uniform rows 20
Mexican motif with cacti in window box 21
Child’s cactus garden over radiator 21
Small plants in a lighted bookcase 25
An indoor “jungle garden” 26
Light-case planted with various small plants 28
Light shelves with begonias 29
Kenilworth ivy in gnome strawberry jar 40
Pawnbroker’s planter with ivy 41
Pruning a dish garden 43
Apple-tree root with pocket for plants 45
Miniature plants in fish bowls 54
(_Industrial Photographic Specialists_)
Converting a cider jug into a terrarium 56–57
Commercially produced terrarium (_Russ Stone_) 65
Author’s succulent garden 68
Rampant greenhouse 69
Unusual propagation box 87
Sprouted stem cuttings of dwarf geraniums 88
‘Spaulding,’ bushy dwarf begonia 98
Group of dwarf begonias 99
_Caladium humboldti_ 108
Miniature climber, _Cissus striata_ 112
Ivy meagheri 119
_Helxine soleiroli_ 121
_Leuconeura massangeana_ 123
_Oxalis hedysaroides rubra_ (_Merry Gardens_) 125
Three dwarf geraniums (_Merry Gardens_) 127
Dwarf geranium, ‘Robin Hood’ (_Merry Gardens_) 127
Creeping _Pilea depressa_ 130
Hardy _Saxifraga sarmentosa_ 133
_Sinningia pusilla_, miniature of miniatures 135
A miniature rose grows 146–147
Miniature garden of dwarf evergreens 152
Rock garden in a wash-boiler lid 157
Variety of bonsai trees 162
Bonsai in citrus 163
White poppies in a tiny garden 178
Raised flower bed 186
Saxifraga seedlings 188
Trimmed lemon thyme and ivy 194
Constructing a no-cost pool 204–205
Wild garden in New York City 213
Bloodroot 214
Juniper with pansies 245
Planted cold frame 257
Author in her $00.00 greenhouse 279
DRAWINGS
Dream greenhouse (_Kathleen Bourke_) 66
A fancy to build on (_Kathleen Bourke_) 67
Foliage details of five popular miniature trees and shrubs
(_Fritz Schaefer_) 237
Construction diagram for low-cost greenhouse
(_Hal Gearhardt_) 280
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Naturally, the children’s welfare was the compelling reason for moving
our family out of New York and into Connecticut. But we can’t deny that
we also had visions of more expansive gardening. So we set out to find
an old (meaning dilapidated--not antique), spacious, window-rich house
with acres of neglected land where we could indulge our yen for flower
borders with delphiniums by the dozens, sweeping green expanses of
lawn, even obese bullfrogs on lily pads in a modest lake.
These naïve notions were quickly canceled by the orbital prices of
Connecticut real estate. In order to achieve our principal purpose,
we had to make concessions to the second. The house we settled for is
small; its windows are few and runty; and it has less than an acre
of cultivatable land. It is one hundred feet at its widest, nearly
six hundred feet long, and less than a hundred feet level in any
one expanse. In other words, we got split-level land instead of a
split-level house. But it is charming. Neighbors with great expanses of
gardens and lawns actually envy us for our “natural setting.”
Actually, my favorite landscape architect, who happens to be my
husband, Bob, would be lost if given a perfectly flat piece of land of
equal length and width. He would have no contours to follow and would
probably go fishing. As it is, both of us have plenty of challenges and
the fun of running up and down ridges in our plantings. The acreage is
ample for two persons who have little more than so-called “spare” time.
From this quick summation of facts, it is obvious why we gave up our
grandiose ideas of immense perennial beds, a half-acre vegetable plot,
naturalized bulbs by the thousands. Instead, we’ve learned how to tuck
little gardens into odd corners; to compensate for limited space with
intimate miniature perfection; to hunt for and find the small plants
that are in sympathy and in scale with our small house and landscape.
Cramped growing quarters indoors have even led us to collect miniature
house plants. And when, some sweet day, we have our own personal
greenhouse on the place, it’s bound to be in scale with the rest of it.
Fortunately, we are by no means a minority. More small homes than
large are being built today, and on more small lots. Gardeners
are intensifying their demands for small plants of all sorts; and
hybridists and suppliers are working nobly at filling the need. We
now have four-inch ‘Wee Willie’ sweet William, tiny Twinkle Phlox,
other dwarf annuals and perennials. Some nurseries are beginning to
feature dwarf trees and shrubs. Florists and greenhouses are giving us
minuscule house plants such as _Sinningia pusilla_ and orchids
with one-inch flowers. The charm and intimacy of the miniature is
replacing the magnificence (and oppressive maintenance) of the massive.
There you have the beginning of this book and the reason why it
contains many quite new projects. They would be illustrated as “before
and after,” except that the “after” is yet to be written. Regardless of
how long miniature gardening has been practiced, we feel the greatest
developments are yet to come. Small houses and small plots of land
force us to this conclusion.
Admittedly many of our personal opinions are based on experience and
observations in Northeastern gardens. However, whenever possible we
have included reliable information for other climates. You will, of
course, make your own interpretations and adaptations. This a reader
must always do, no matter where an author lives and gardens. And there
is always your county agent to consult or your local garden-supply
florist with whom to discuss your particular situation. Always an added
pleasure.
PLANTS INCLUDED
As the author, I have used two criteria for including or omitting
plants at the time of writing. I am concerned with those that are
readily available from florists, nurseries, and the suppliers listed in
the Appendix; and those that in my opinion are suitable for miniature
gardens.
Except for the specific art of bonsai, I have not included plants that
are unnaturally dwarfed by pruning or other means. I have omitted
plants that look like miniatures when they are young, grow slowly, but
eventually get out of miniature proportions if given time. I have not
attempted to differentiate between miniatures and dwarfs, nor have
I set up restrictive dimensions. Sizes vary with types of plants. A
miniature orchid may be three inches high, a miniature shrub three feet
or more.
PLANT NAMES
This book has been written by an amateur gardener for other amateurs;
and I have made it as readable and enjoyable as I could. But in the
interests of clarity and accuracy, Latin botanical names are used in
preference to the vernacular. This is the only way to be sure plants
are correctly identified. Popular names are confusing. Kenilworth ivy,
grape ivy, and English ivy certainly sound as if they were related
in some way; but when you use botanical names (_Cymbalaria muralis_,
_Cissus striata_, and _Hedera helix_, you know they are not. By using
the botanical names you are more likely to find the ivy you want in a
reference book or catalogue.
For most plants, _Hortus Second_ has been used as the authority
for identification and spelling of names; but in the interests of
readability, the double _ii_ ending has been reduced to a single _i_.
For a number of plants that have become available since _Hortus_ was
last revised (1941), I have referred to _Exotica II_, by A. B. Graf.
Unless a plant name is complete (genus plus species--plus variety, if
any), it is neither capitalized nor italicized. (The caladium is a
favorite foliage plant.) Complete botanical names are italicized, but
only the generic name has an initial capital letter, even when the
specific name has been derived from the proper name of some person or
place. (The diminutive _Caladium humboldti_ needs humidity.) When you
see a plant name in italics, you will know that this is a recognized
botanical species or one of its varieties, and not a man-made hybrid.
The names of recognized hybrids, seedlings, and mutations of either or
both are not italicized, but are capitalized and enclosed in single
quotation marks (caladium ‘Little Rascal’). Common or popular names are
set in regular type with initial capital letters only for proper nouns,
when they appear in text. In separate listings each word is capitalized.
BOTANICAL TERMS
In order to make a gardening book completely accurate and
understandable, it is almost mandatory to use some so-called
“scientific” terms which should really be as much a part of a
gardener’s vocabulary as “annual” or “evergreen.” The following words
are used in their technical sense:
_Genus_ (plural, _genera_)--A group of plants related to each other
by botanical characteristics. The name of the genus is like a human
family’s surname, Smith, but it is written first instead of last.
_Oncidium_ is a genus of orchids.
_Species_ (plural, _species_)--A plant that differs from others
within a genus, usually occurring in a natural state and capable of
reproducing itself in identical form. The name of a species is like a
person’s first name, Alice, but is written last. _Oncidium pusillum_ is
one of several species in a genus of orchids.
_Hybrid_--Generally the result of fertilizing the flowers of one plant
with the pollen of another; the resulting seedlings are hybrids.
_Mutation_ or _sport_--A variation in any part of a plant that remains
constant when that part is severed and propagated.
The word _variety_, however--although it has a strict botanical
application--has been used more loosely and may often be defined here
simply as “variation.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wonder if anyone ever wrote a book without being indebted to many
persons for some sort of help or inspiration. Certainly, I couldn’t
do it. Subtract the encouragement and time-consuming assistance of my
family, friends, and horticultural acquaintances, and this would be
less a book.
I am deeply grateful to: Fritz Schaefer for landscape designs
and drawings of rare delicacy, and for letting me benefit by his
wide horticultural training and talents; to Kari Berggrav for her
enthusiastic contributions to the manuscript and for all sorts of help
with plants and photographs; to Mrs. John Lee and to F. H. Michaud
of Alpenglow Gardens for their help and the use of their artistic
photographs; to Adolph Adukas of the Julius Roehrs Company for his
talented arrangements of dish gardens; to Kathleen Bourke for her
fanciful drawings and to Elvin McDonald of McDonald and Bourke for
his assistance and advice; to _Flower and Garden_ for allowing
me to adapt material that had appeared in that magazine; to Mary
Ellen Ross of Merry Gardens for her assistance and the photographs of
miniature plants she allowed me to use; and to all the friends and
tolerant gardeners who allowed me to put my camera tripod in the midst
of their plants--Mr. and Mrs. H. Lincoln Foster, Mr. and Mrs. Alex
O’Hare, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Cherry, and our neighbors, Mr. and Mrs.
Henry Fuller. To Ernesta Ballard and Peggie Schulz, well-known garden
writers, and Mrs. N. E. Dilliard of Tropical Gardens, my gratitude for
your assistance. I thank my mother, Alice Gaines, and her keen eye for
catching my witless errors.
ALL ABOUT
MINIATURE PLANTS AND GARDENS,
INDOORS AND OUT
_CHAPTER 1_
MINIATURE
WINDOW GARDENS
In a living room so small that two dogs asleep before the fire must be
roused to let you pass through, monstrous cut-leaf monstera would be
out of place--literally and most certainly no asset. In our house, to
be truthful, anything larger than a three-inch pot begins to get out of
proportion. When we were buying the place, we called it “quaint” and
“cozy.” But when we moved in our favorite house plants, it was just too
crowded for words.
This was the origin of our intense interest in miniature house plants.
But limited space is by no means the only reason why these little
fellows are such cheerful and desirable indoor decorators.
First, of course, there’s the charm of the diminutive--the same lure
that leads some people to collect figurines or doll’s furniture. But
plants are alive and growing; you can pore over each leaf and flower as
it matures to small-scale perfection.
Because miniature plants occupy little space, you can grow more of
them, and in greater variety. Three dwarf geraniums will bloom their
heads off where a single large one might be crowded. Modern, narrow
window sills are adequately spacious for a dozen or so two-inch pots
of colorful cacti. One cattleya orchid can be replaced by several
equally exotic, and much more personable, dwarf “botanical” orchids in
delightful variety. Where full-sized narcissus and “daffy’s” that have
been forced often seem to be just that, “forced,” miniatures fit in,
add gaiety and color, along with naturalness.
Most important, miniature plants and gardens are thoroughly in tune
with today’s decorating trends. They’re in scale with small rooms and
low ceilings, in harmony with the spirit of suburban homes, mobile
enough to facilitate change and rearrangement, even functional because
they’re more carefree. And they certainly go along as we leave last
year’s stark, bare, uncluttered look behind and move toward the warmer,
more personal décor that once more allows us to display snapshots of
the children on the mantel.
Miniature plants are often less costly than large specimens, and
require less care. They grow slowly, require fertilizing and repotting
less frequently, don’t outgrow bounds, and seldom need to be renewed or
replaced.
When I first started to collect miniature house plants, I had no idea
how many were available, or in what delightful and wide varieties.
There are miniatures in almost all of our best-known plant families,
and there are some groups that have almost nothing but miniatures
to offer. There are small-scale trailers, climbers, creepers; leaf
rosettes or bushlets; tropical plants and mountain-dwellers; those
with striking foliage, spectacular foliage, or both. Once you discover
the wealth of Lilliputian plants you can grow in your home, I warn
you, your will power had better be strong, else you never will stop
following this fascinating hobby of raising the little fellows. It will
run away with you before you know it.
WINDOW GARDENS
The window is the place most naturally suited for a living garden. It
is nearest to the fresh out of doors and brings the plants closer to
the environment where they are at home. By creating a transition, the
plants in turn seem to bring the outdoors inside. A window is often,
also, the only place where indoor plants can get the daylight and
sunlight they need to keep in good condition.
But a real window garden is not a motley assortment of plants in pots,
haphazardly arranged (or not arranged at all) or lined up in precise,
military rows. It is an artistic composition, a grouping of plants
with some sound design in mind--an arrangement of plants and their
containers for pretty and refreshing effect. The more natural the
plants look, the less obvious or contrived the lines of the design, the
more decorative the result. This principle is, of course, integral to
all kinds of gardens, indoors and out; but it is particularly vital in
a window where our eyes stray a dozen times a day.
With miniature plants I find it easier to achieve good
composition--much easier than with large ones. There are more elements
with which to work; there is more opportunity to rearrange, a wider
choice of colors, textures, and forms--the possibility of blending or
playing them against each other. I recall a small window in an old
country house, deeply recessed by the width of the thick stone wall.
Three or four large or medium-sized plants might have stood on the
two-foot-deep sill. But there were a dozen or so dwarfs and miniatures
all blended and accented by two small baskets of miniature ivies. The
display was so lovingly arranged and cared for, the effect was more of
a garden than an obvious decoration.
(In a rich selection such as this one, there is a natural danger of
“too-muchness.” Don’t crowd these plants. Just the addition of one
extra pot can spoil the effect of a perfect garden. Miniatures are not
meant to be massed. When crammed close together they can look like a
weedy, unmown lawn. Give each plant enough space to set off its modest
charm, then you’ll find each one doubly charming in its space.)
And so an assortment of small potted plants can be arranged as
effectively in a window as perennials can be in a flower border. There
should be a careful selection and placing of colors for both contrast
and harmony; the interplay of foliage forms and textures; the blending
of plants into one design with eye-catching accents where accent is
needed. For a container, use a shallow galvanized metal tray made
to fit the window sill and painted a matching white. It should hold
about an inch of water with a layer of pebbles thick enough to keep
the pots above the water. The evaporating moisture humidifies the air.
Use miniature plants of several families but all needing approximately
the same amount of light and sun. For color, there are the flowers of
begonias and impatiens; for foliage contrast, peperomias; for accent,
taller plants; with _Ficus pumila_ ascending the window frame and
small-leaved creepers dangling over the edge to soften harsh lines and
blend the garden into the room.
There is equal charm in a collection of miniature plants of the same
general type and of nearly the same size. Neat rows of cacti and other
succulents in small pots look gay and colorful lined up on the sill and
on glass shelves in the window above it--glass, of course, to permit
all possible sun to reach the plants. Between the pots, at irregular
intervals, set a collection of crystal wine glasses or figurines. Or
line up impudent miniature geraniums as in the photograph. Here, the
pleasure comes, not from the artistic composition, but rather in the
uniformity of the rows of small-scale pots and plants.
[Illustration:
Miniature geraniums arranged in uniform rows]
For an indoor version of the outdoor window box, use a box made to
fit on the sill, gaily painted and decorated in the Mexican spirit of
the cacti growing in it. It should be deep enough (about four inches)
for healthy root growth. The cacti are not potted, but planted in the
sandy soil in the box. These indoor window boxes can be of all sizes
and shapes--large enough to cover the sill of a big window plus the
radiator under it; triangular, to fit in corner windows; suitable for
the top of a child’s play table in a sunny bedroom or playroom.
All of these gardens are planned for windows with full sun, or nearly
so. With less sun the choice of plants changes. For example, miniature
gesneriads (African violets, streptocarpus, episcias) might be combined
with ferns and other foliage plants; a selection of the widely varying
types of peperomias would be effective where sun is very scarce indeed.
[Illustration:
Mexican motif with cacti in a homemade window box]
[Illustration:
Child’s cactus garden over a radiator--fine for a playroom]
WINDOW GREENHOUSE
Available light, or sunlight, is the first consideration in selecting
plants for a window area, or in selecting the window for the plants
you have or want. Light can be brighter (it even comes from overhead)
inside a greenhouse that extends out from the window. You can buy these
in all combinations of measurements, ready-made and assembled, or ready
to be assembled. Or you can make them, or have them made, from the
materials sold in most hardware stores for those who build their own
screens and storm windows.
The greenhouse fits flush to the outside of the window frame and is
sealed with a calking-gun after it has been screwed firmly in place.
It may rest on the outside of the sill, or be supported by metal or
wooden brackets on the underside. The top lifts open for ventilation,
and the opening is covered with a screen. Glass shelves permit light
to penetrate fully. A tray at the bottom holds moist vermiculite to
humidify the air.
The window sash can be removed or not, as you wish. You can install an
inexpensive, thermostat-controlled heater for extra warmth in winter.
If the light is right, and if humidity can be kept high enough,
an installation such as this can contain not only all sorts of
window-garden plants, but also many of those recommended for the
greenhouse in Chapter 6.
A window greenhouse filled with growing, blooming plants is an
attractive outdoor decoration on almost any house. Its effect indoors
is always cheerful and refreshing. And it is especially suited for
miniatures. Numerous small plants make a better decorative effect than
a few large ones.
(_For suitable plants, please refer to list at end of Chapter 6._)
_CHAPTER 2_
MINIATURE GARDENS
WITH ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
The three tiny rooms of the Greenwich Village apartment possess a
total of two narrow, old-fashioned windows; yet in its darkest corners
bloom some of the most gorgeous gesneriads I’ve ever seen. In similar
fourth-floor quarters on New York’s dreary 41st Street, miniature
orchids and other tropicals make a flamboyant jungle. In an attic in
Levittown, a cellar in Bayside, a heated garage in Westchester, plants
make it look like July in January, living their life cycles over and
over again without ever seeing the sun. The life they must have for
existence is supplied by electricity.
Time was, when windows were the only place in the house where plants
could be grown. But since government scientists first grew corn to
maturity under artificial light at Beltsville, Maryland (back when I
had more interest in boys and dating than in gardening), that picture
has certainly changed. Now, all sorts of plants can flourish in the
most unlikely places. Home decorators can use plants ornamentally
wherever they look best, and create the conditions in which they grow
best. The hobbyist who can’t afford a greenhouse can have a most
satisfactory and inexpensive substitute in unused places in the house.
And a greenhouse owner can double his growing space without adding
another section of glass.
Naturally enough, scientific research in this field has been aimed at
helping florists, farmers, and others to whom plants are a business;
but amateurs have benefited, too. The principle of photoperiodism--that
some plants set buds and flower only when nights are long, some others
only when nights are short--led to delaying the flowering of commercial
chrysanthemums by interrupting the long night with a period of light.
Amateurs have used the same principle to force tuberous begonias
to flower in winter by lengthening the day with several hours of
artificial light.
The discovery and isolation of a light-sensitive enzyme, photochrome,
has been applied to cyclic lighting--a less costly method of regulating
flowering by flashing lights on and off at intervals. Probing the
mysteries of photochrome has also given orchid fanciers a better
understanding of their plants’ blooming habits and has even made it
possible, with some species, to have flowers twice or three times a
year, rather than just once.
If I may be permitted a slight prejudice, it’s these amateur benefits
that make me happiest. I love plants; and I think millions of other
people do. From the windows of my commuting train I see New York
tenement tenants wistfully watering morning glories that pathetically
climb fire-escape trellises. More prosperous Manhattanites spend small
fortunes on florists’ plants to bring the breath of green life into
their sterile apartments; and their disappointment, if the plants die,
is pitiable. Suburbanites have a yen to make a hobby of collecting
plants. And now they can. I know, because I did.
In our roomy, old-fashioned cellar in Bayside we had triple-decker
shelves fitted with fluorescent lights where we grew everything from
begonias (finally, a collection of more than 350 varieties) to annuals
for the gardens out of doors. That was some years ago. The information
about lighting was sparse, inconclusive, and often confusing. Our light
intensity was inadequate, and there were other deficiencies which we
would correct were we setting up that cellar greenhouse today. But our
successes were fascinating, our failures a challenge. And the hours
we spent working with those plants in the cellar often were our only
moments of refreshment and relaxation.
The hobbyist, with his dividends of fun, is not the only one who
benefits from this new concept of light and plants. There is the home
home-decorator, the woman of the house, who finds in plants the sort
of ornament the entire family enjoys. She’d like the graceful lines of
a vine tumbling down from the mantel, jewel-like flowering plants on
the shelf of a corner cupboard, a garden of green atop the room divider
between the living and dining areas. Frustratingly, she discovers that
where the plants are most effective, too often they won’t grow and
flourish. It is usually because there is insufficient light for their
life processes. But now, she can set up a light on the mantel, install
fluorescent tubes beneath cupboard shelves, or let ceiling lights flood
the plants above the room dividers. Such lighting has a double effect,
it enables the plants to flourish, and it gives a dramatic accent to
the décor of the house.
[Illustration:
Interesting combination of bookcase and lights for African
violets and begonias of several varieties]
Artificial lighting is a help even for the casual grower--one who has
only a few plants, whether by happenstance, for the fun of it, or
simply because “a house is not a home” without a plant or two. Table,
desk, and floor lamps can be used to supplement the natural light from
windows. Too often windows are shielded by trees or the house next
door, or perhaps it is winter and there isn’t enough light to keep most
plants in a thriving condition. Just turning on a lamp so that the rays
fall on a plant can lengthen the hours of light enough to bring out
bloom that might otherwise be impossible.
[Illustration:
Tropical plants with controlled light, heat, and moisture make a
“jungle garden”]
Miniature plants and gardens are, of course, shining prospects for
growth under artificial light. They take so little space, and since
there is a limit to the height, width, and depth a single installation
will illuminate, you can make the most use of it if you are growing the
little fellows.
Here’s how the “jungle garden” came to be our source of continual
refreshment and pleasure. Our living and dining rooms, both rather
small, are separated partially by deep shelves. The previous owners of
the place, devout music-lovers, used the shelves for their hi-fi set
and stacks of phonograph records. Our record player--pardon me, our
stereophonic hi-fidelity music box--has its own cabinet, and that left
a gap in the divider between the two rooms. We naturally thought of
plants, particularly the tender tropical miniatures I collect. Since
we still hope to do extensive remodeling, the garden was not built
permanently into the shelves, but was constructed as a separate case.
We are fortunate in having a generous friend who loves to work with
fine wood, and can make cabinets with the precision of the real
professional. The case he turned out is a beauty. It measures eighteen
inches by twenty-four inches inside. The top rests on strong metal rods
at the corners. Window glass slides horizontally in the grooves cut
in the top and bottom, enabling us to open or close the case as need
be. The inside of the top is painted white, thus reflecting the light
from the lamps downward on the plants. We use both fluorescent and
incandescent lights which are mounted on the underside of the top. The
bottom of the cabinet is lined with the heaviest plastic we could find.
At first the case was used as an indoor greenhouse for many potted
plants that need protective warmth and humidity. Several inches of
vermiculite in the plastic lining were kept moist constantly, with the
sides being opened or closed for ventilation.
Later, we filled the bottom with rich potting soil and put the plants’
roots right in it--climbers, creepers, tiny bush-shapes and trees.
This turned out to be more of a “jungle” than we expected. Some
notably delicate residents seeded themselves and started families. A
dainty cissus strung itself langorously from one end to the other. The
creeping fig nearly strangled the frail, whiskery bertolonia. But the
planting was a source of delightful surprises--a bud here, a flower
there, increasing colonies of some delicacies we hadn’t been able to
grow at all, before.
Several years ago a bookcase which I set up in my office as a garden
was the object of considerable attention--how much I never realized
until I dismantled it and gave away the plants. Then, I was bombarded
with questions--and even some complaints that I had taken away this
spot of greenery. From the night watchman up to the president of the
company, people missed those plants. Some even thought I must have been
fired.
There is a little house in Levittown, one which I always enjoyed
visiting. The second floor has two finished rooms, one of which then
was the office-den of the hard-working Elvin McDonald of _Flower and
Garden_. (He has since moved to Kansas City.) His tiered plant table
with fluorescent lights was there for a functional reason, but it had a
decorative value as well. In other homes I’ve seen plants growing by
hundreds under lights in unused bedrooms, single specimens displayed
in shadow boxes with circular fluorescent tubes, decorative gardens
thriving in all sorts of dark corners. With artificial lighting taking
care of the space problem, just about anyone can grow plants.
[Illustration:
The author’s New York office light-case planted with gesneriads,
begonias, and other plants]
However, before your enthusiasm flies too high, consider this sobering
caution. Like anything else, artificial lighting works best only when
it is properly planned and executed. Light must have the quality,
intensity, and timing that plants need. Specific, accurate, up-to-date
information is not always easy to find. Despite many fascinating
discoveries and developments, this is still a relatively new
horticultural principle, and there is still much more to be learned.
Before he begins, the newcomer should locate the very latest and most
reliable information; and the experienced grower should keep posted
on the constantly changing rules. It has been my pleasant discovery
that the big power-and-light companies, ever alert to develop new
outlets for their product, are keenly aware of the possibilities
of artificial-light plant propagation. Many of them are setting up
departments to help horticulturalists. If you are puzzled, try your
light company for information. It may take a few phone calls and
letters, but eventually I know you will find some likeable chap wanting
to help you.
[Illustration:
Light shelves of medium height with begonias of many sizes and
varieties (note miniatures down front center)]
Although it is not necessary to become a botanist, I feel it is urgent
to have a clear conception of how plants grow, and particularly how
they use light. While we can’t all be electrical engineers, it is also
helpful to have some basic facts about electric lights and how they
relate to plant growth. But if it were possible, I think I’d consider
writing the facts I have with invisible ink. Who knows but what today’s
list of rules will be obsolete, and outmoded by new discoveries, before
this book can be published?
_Botanical Principles_
For normal growth and flowering, plants must have light of the proper
sort, intensity, and duration. Thus the leaves can perform their
function of making starch, then sugar--the mysterious process called
photosynthesis. Besides normal growth, plants require an extra supply
of sugar and starch for producing flowers. True, plants need light, but
they also need dark to convert food into energy and growth. And this
means complete dark. It has been shown that if light falls on so much
as a single leaf, the entire plant continues to operate as if it were
day.
For normal growth and flowers, plants require a certain balance of the
red and blue rays of the spectrum. In general terms, blue rays are
especially effective in developing leaves, stems, and other vegetative
growth, and often in greater proportions for seedlings as compared
with mature plants. In general, the red rays keep plant growth sturdy,
regulate the development of buds and flowers, affect the germination of
seeds and the rooting of cuttings.
For normal growth and flowers, different sorts of plants need light of
different intensities--depending usually on available light in their
natural habitat. Again in a general sense, light of more intensity is
needed for flowering as contrasted with the needs for healthy foliage.
But light intensity requirements vary with various types of plants.
For normal growth, and flowers, some plants need dark periods of
greater duration. This is the principle called photoperiodism. By
now a good many plants have been classified as to this requirement,
but there are many others whose needs are yet to be determined.
Chrysanthemums, poinsettias, and Christmas cactus, for example, will
set buds and flowers only when there are more hours of dark and
fewer hours of light. These are called _long-night plants_.
Tuberous begonias, and other summer-flowering types, come into flower
when nights are of short duration, and are called _short-night
plants_. Those plants that don’t seem to care one way or another
are called _day-neutral_. For the sake of consistency you might
even call them _night-neutral_. It is also thought that there
is some relation between the duration of light and dark periods and
temperature. Thus it can be seen how much research is yet to be done. A
challenge of course, but that is what makes our scientists great.
_Electrical Principles_
Artificial light is not the same as daylight--it doesn’t have to be.
It needs only to supply the right kind of light (blue and red rays)
of suitable duration and intensity. Because it is constant, and
consistent, the intensity (as measured in foot-candles) does not have
to equal the brightness of a sunny day at high noon. Daylight waxes and
wanes from dawn to dark every day, and may be very dim on cloudy and
rainy days. Artificial light, coming from generators, is not dimmed by
clouds or other external conditions. Duration is controlled by a light
switch, or a time clock.
Incandescent bulbs are an adequate source of red rays for plants, but
give little blue. They get burning hot, are comparatively expensive,
and actually are inefficient to operate. Incandescents are also a
source of far-red rays that delay flowering on long-night plants
and operate in reverse for short-night plants. According to U. S.
Department of Agriculture scientists, incandescent light used as a
supplement to fluorescent light “improves the growth habits of many
kinds of plants, but is seemingly not required by others.”
Until the introduction of the new Gro-Lux tubes in 1961, fluorescent
lamps have given light with more blue than red, and in varying
proportions according to the types of lamps. Fluorescent tubes do not
get burning hot, and they are comparatively inexpensive to operate,
and also efficient. In using the older types, those created especially
for illumination, it is important to come as close as possible to the
proper balance of the red and blue rays needed by plants. For some
plants it has been sufficient to use only fluorescent tubes. For some
of the other types many growers use 10 per cent of the wattage in
incandescent bulbs.
But the new Gro-Lux fluorescent tubes, developed by Sylvania Electric
Products, Inc., are especially for plants and not for illumination.
They give a lavender-looking light made up of red and blue rays which
are carefully balanced to suit plant needs. Growers who have used them
report a spectacular improvement in plant appearance, in plant health,
in faster rooting of cuttings, and in increased flowering. If demand
warrants it, no doubt other electrical manufacturers will introduce
their own brands of fluorescent tubes for plants.
Obviously, in growing plants under artificial light there are so many
variable elements it is impossible--and extremely unwise--to set down
hard-and-fast rules. The types of plants to be grown, whether the
installation is primarily decorative or functional, and the possibility
of continuing research outdating your work, all should be taken into
consideration when any installation is set up and put into operation.
CONSTRUCTION AND INSTALLATION
Again, I must write in general terms. I have neither the knowledge
nor the experience to explain the intricacies of wiring, ballasts,
circuits, and the like. This technical information is available from
your electrical supplier and from equipment manufacturers, and often is
on the cartons in which the parts are packed. Our installation was so
outrageously large we had to hunt up a friendly contractor for help. He
was a sympathetic man who loved plants and was fascinated by the idea
of growing them under lights. Also, he was a cautious person, mindful
of the fact that our electrical system was about twenty-five years
old. And that stamped it as being an antique (as your light-and-power
men will tell you). Since our basement floor was likely to be damp at
times, heavy waterproof cables with special plugs and outlets were
used, and grounded to prevent shocks, etc. Be careful about your
electrical system, especially if you are going to go into anything
as elaborate as our first enthusiasms. Don’t build a firetrap for
yourself. It’s hard on the plants, not to mention the old homestead.
Whether your plants are to be grown in a garden, or in pots on benches,
on shelves, or in a greenhouse-like case, the lineal proportions will
be determined pretty much by the space that is available in your house,
basement, greenhouse, or perhaps, as was in my case, your office. In
small decorative planters twenty-five-watt fluorescent tubes (two feet
long) are used most frequently. However, it is important to use enough
of them, lined up closely to each other, to give a light of sufficient
intensity. In fluorescent tubes the light is most intense in the
middle and tapers off sharply at the ends. Since short tubes have more
end--and less middle--they give off less light. The “shorties” are less
efficient, as your plants will tell you.
[Illustration:
Miniature roses, begonias, a birdbath, and ground cover made
this charming little formal garden.]
The distance between the tubes and your plants also affects intensity.
The closer they are, the stronger the light. If possible, hang your
fixtures on chains so that they can be raised or lowered. Adjust them
to accommodate the taller plants and then raise your “little fellers”
on upended pots, bricks, or boards so they will not be cheated of their
share of light. Please remember, the greater the distance between light
and plant, the more tubes you will need. Distance determines the number
of tubes!
For greater intensity, and efficiency, forty-watt tubes (four feet
long), or even larger, are usually recommended. If these are to be
hung from the top of a case or cabinet, the simple strip fixtures are
sufficient. If there is to be no “ceiling” directly above the lights,
or if it is a decorative arrangement where glare might hurt the eyes
of those who see it, use the industrial fixtures with shield-like
reflectors. (In planning your light-garden, please don’t forget that
the fixtures are a few inches longer than the actual tubes.)
If the case which you may be planning can be enclosed, at least on
three sides, it will be easier to maintain the needed humidity. If
the enclosing sides are opaque, they--and the “ceiling” above the
lights--should be treated so the light rays are bounced back and the
plants receive the extra benefit. In our cabinets we usually applied
several coats of flat white paint on the inner surfaces. But once,
under the blandishments of the aluminum industry, I lined a cabinet
with their foil. It was plain foil, not the crinkled sort, so I did my
own crinkling. Then I smoothed it out and fastened it in place with a
staple gun. Plain foil, like high-gloss white enamel, seems to reflect
the light every place except where it should be, on the plants.
In one of the installations we had at our place on Long Island I found
it impossible to put in enough fluorescent tubes for the plants we
wished to grow. Since they were day-neutral varieties, we made up for
the lack of intensity by increasing the length of time the lights were
used. Up to a point, increasing the light-hours will help to compensate
for the lack of intensity--just to a point, however, and then the old
law of diminishing returns takes over. Plants must not be under light
so long that they fail to get their necessary periods of darkness. It
is as essential as sleep is to a human being--perhaps more so.
OPERATION
In planning a light installation try to squeeze out a few extra dollars
for an automatic timer. It will help to guarantee success for the
operation. You’ll have a certain peace of mind if you tend to be
absent-minded. No more will you fret through a P.T.A. meeting, a movie,
or a concert wondering if you turned off the lights on your plants.
The timer will have done it for you. If you happen to have an enclosed
case--one tight enough to conserve the humidity--you can very easily
go away on a short trip (a day or two at most) and feel confident your
pets will not suffer. If you have postponed buying a timer--actually,
they are not expensive--and have to leave your plants for a day or
so, it is better to turn off the lights completely. They’ll suffer
less than if the lights are going full blast. But for peace of mind,
particularly that of the plants, we’ve always used automatic timers.
At one time we had three of them. When I was ordering one from a
mail-order company, my husband was buying me one as a birthday gift.
And at the very same time the electrical contractor who redid out
light system donated one in the interests of our begonias. We had them
popping on and off at all hours of the day and night. We even hooked a
percolator into one for the morning coffee.
As I look back over our experiments of a few years ago, I find
there are more plants which are day-neutral (night-neutral if you
prefer) than plants which are short-night or long-night. For these
day-neutrals, fourteen to sixteen hours of fluorescent light (of
sufficient intensity) every day, all year round, will keep them happy
and thriving. They won’t know the difference between winter and
summer, spring and autumn, Florida or Long Island. That has been our
experience, but now I find opinions vary on whether hours of light
should be lengthened or shortened in spring and autumn for these
seasonal changes. (There is still plenty of room for experimentation.
For instance, the light requirements for many plants are still to be
worked out--even for closely related plants within various types.)
Some growers, those who specialize in plants for which they know the
light requirements, turn on the lights at dawn and turn them off at
nightfall. This is a year-around schedule. Others who have plants of
assorted types, or of undetermined light requirements, maintain a
constant fourteen-hour growing day. And they are often surprised by
even second, or third, bursts of bloom. A nice surprise, if you ask me.
INTENSITY
Here again we find the needs of plants vary and fluorescent-light
setups vary accordingly. If possible, measure the light in your growing
area. The readings of a photographic light meter--the same instrument
you employ in your photography--can be translated into foot-candles. Or
you can get a meter that registers foot-candles. For advice, consult
your camera dealer, or check with your local power-and-light company.
Here in Redding we find the Connecticut Power and Light Company vitally
interested in artificial-light plant propagation.
Again “in general,” house plants that require “full sun” when grown
in a window need 1200 to 1500 foot-candles of artificial light, and
for fourteen hours a day. Foliage plants will get by with 500 to 600
foot-candles. At about 1000 to 1200 foot-candles many plants, and I’m
thinking of begonias and gesneriads in particular, will be robust and
floriferous.
Should you find it difficult to figure light intensity as suggested
above, you might follow the formula worked out by an old friend on
Long Island, Elaine Cherry (Mrs. Norman Cherry, the wife of one of
our engineering friends). Her formula is easy to follow. “A single
forty-watt tube will serve a space approximately four feet long by six
inches wide.” Small plants that need intense light can be set up close
to the tubes.
Here is a tip--ever notice how your television picture is dim but
brightens appreciably when you take a dust rag to the surface of the
glass? The same is true of your light fixtures. Wipe them off now
and then. Clean tubes give more light than dusty ones, and new tubes
give more light than old ones. When a tube darkens at the ends, that
means it has seen better days and should be replaced. According to
Mrs. Cherry, it is a good policy to replace tubes after five thousand
hours of service and not wait for the dwindling light to curtail the
rays your plants need. While you are at it, it’s smart to insert new
starters.
TYPES OF TUBES
Until the introduction of the Gro-Lux lamps, we had to choose types
designed primarily for illumination. And there were as many choices
and combinations as there were tube types. In a private and somewhat
limited survey, I’ve found that when only one type of tube was used,
cool white was to be preferred. In combinations of equal or two-to-one
proportions, some growers use daylight and natural tubes; others prefer
daylight and de-luxe warm white. And there are those who go for cool
white and de-luxe warm white. Those who supplement their lights with
10 per cent incandescent light seem to favor all daylight fluorescent
tubes.