garden developed and sold by Peggie Schulz, an attractive plastic
planter complete with soil and planted with fourteen types of seeds.
You simply follow her instructions, add water, and watch the seedlings
germinate and grow. Gradually you remove the plastic dome when the
plants are large enough. At transplanting time, remove the seedlings to
separate pots, or leave a few to mature in the planter. This device is
just about as work-free a method of growing house plants as there is.
[Illustration: Propagation box developed by Peggie Schulz, author
and garden columnist]
[Illustration: Sprouted stem cuttings of dwarf geraniums]
_Stem Cuttings_
This is the most familiar way to propagate house plants, and the
method that works best for most kinds of plants. With the exception
of miniature orchids, stem cuttings can be taken from any house plant
mentioned in this book, and your chances for success are very good if
you have a propagating box for them.
Generally, stem cuttings are the ends cut from branches that are in
healthy, active growth. Each should be more than a mere tip, and have
at least two nodes, or “joints.” The large, bottom leaves are stripped
off very gently and the cut end of the stem is inserted, to about half
of its length, in the propagating medium. When you see evidences of new
growth, or when roots have developed, dig under it with a spoon and
remove it for potting. (Here is the test to determine if roots have
developed: Pull on the cutting, very gently of course. If you feel
resistance you know it has roots which are holding it down.) Pot your
new plant very carefully in soil that is suitable for it; and please,
don’t add fertilizer to this soil.
For stem cuttings, and most other methods of propagation, there are now
certain hormone rooting preparations. They speed up rooting, make it
more certain, and help to develop larger and healthier root systems. Be
sure you get the correct type for softwood cuttings, or indoor plants.
In using these new hormones, follow the directions on the package
carefully.
_Leaf Cuttings_
It is a well-known fact that African violets will reproduce themselves
from a single leaf. However, it is not so well known that there are
dozens of other plants that will do the same. For example, more than
once I have taken a succulent leaf, laid it out flat on moist sand, and
had it grow roots and a small new plant. Leaves of peperomias, and many
other plants, can be cut, with or without a piece of stem, and will
grow bushy new plantlets. Some kinds of begonias will send out roots
from the end of the stem, or new plants from the point above where stem
and leaf join.
Except for some succulents, leaf cuttings are usually inserted with
their stem ends in a moist propagating medium, with their leaves
standing nearly upright above. (Again, you are safer if you have a
propagating box, even though it be a crude one.) When they are well
rooted and the new plants are of fair size, the cuttings are potted
with the old leaves intact. The parent leaf is removed only when the
new plant is strong enough to grow on its own. Of course, in the case
of African violets, where more than one plant is produced at the end of
the stem, the babies must be separated and each put into its own pot.
_Root and Rhizome Cuttings_
Sections of roots are sometimes cut to propagate house and greenhouse
plants, but the practice is more common with hardy garden plants. But
pieces of thickened, stemlike, or rootlike rhizomes can be taken from
many types of indoor plants. Rhizomatous begonias, and rex begonias of
rhizomatous habit, are familiar examples. Each piece of rhizome should
have at least two, but preferably three, “eyes,” or scars from which
leafstems have grown. The piece is placed half in and half out of the
moist medium in the propagating box. Roots grow from the bottom down
into the medium; stems and leaves shoot up from the eyes on top.
_Layering_
There are two general methods of layering, and in each case the plant
is completely rooted before it is cut away from the parent. In “air
layering” a thick stem, or cane, is slit, wrapped with moist sphagnum
moss, and enclosed in plastic until roots are produced. This method is
usually practiced on large, overgrown plants such as dieffenbachias,
and truthfully is not necessary, or practical, for most miniatures.
But ground layering is a safe and sure way to propagate almost any
plant with lax stems, and is particularly useful on temperamental
plants such as some miniature ivies, which are reluctant to strike
roots on stem cuttings. It is very simple. Just pin down the stem, not
too far from the growing tip, in the soil beside the mature plant. If
you like, you can put it in a pot of its own and thus be one jump ahead
by having the roots where you want them. I usually steal a hairpin out
of my “bun,” but a section of wire bent into a _U_ will do. When
the stem has rooted, cut it off on the side next to the parent plant.
Unless it is already rooted in a pot, dig it out and plant it.
_Division of Crowns and Roots_
One African-violet plant may grow several crowns, or main stems
complete with rosettes. Since single-crown plants usually are more
shapely and bloom more abundantly, the extra crowns can be cut off and
rooted like ordinary stem cuttings. This is one of the more popular
methods of dividing an old plant and getting several new ones from it.
Some plants will eventually make such dense, bushy growth that they not
only look obese and unattractive, but are prey to all sorts of rot.
Root division not only gives these plants a new lease on life, but also
provides several new plants. Remove the overgrown plant from its pot,
and very gently, try to split the matted roots and stems into separate
sections. Do this with your fingers and not a metal instrument. If you
work slowly and with care, several will most likely pull free. If you
can’t do it with your fingers, you may have to resort to a clean sharp
knife, in which case cut down past the stems and through the roots,
making several separate sections. Discard any damaged leaves. Pot up
the divisions, and keep them shaded and protected for a week or so
until they recover from the shock.
_Runners, Stolons, and Offsets_
Many plants are continually propagating themselves by producing new
plants in clusters around the old ones, sometimes at the ends of
underground stolons or above-ground runners. _Saxifraga sarmentosa_ was
named “Strawberry begonia” because it continually produces new plants
on runners, strawberry-style. Episcias and chlorophytums are other
examples.
Any of these offsets make new plants easily. Pin them down in soil,
give them time to root, and then cut them off and insert them in a
propagating box. Next, you pot them. Sometimes you’ll find the roots
have already formed and the new plant is ready for potting and you
didn’t even suspect it.
DESCRIPTION OF HOUSE PLANTS
Some pages back I told you that the question asked of me most
frequently is “How often should I water plants?” A close runner-up is
the question, “Where can I get out-of-the-ordinary plants?” Believe
it or not, that question is easier to answer. Local florists and
greenhouse people often have plants tucked away--something exotic and
special. Most of the people in the industry cherish these plants and
are hesitant to part with them to run-of-the-mine customers. But if
the person is a genuine plant-lover, a sale can usually be made, even
though it is a reluctant sale. Just demonstrate that you are vitally
interested and you will be surprised at what you can buy. Try it.
I have a number of catalogues from mail-order suppliers in all parts of
the country who carry unusual plants, and in a variety that increases
year by year. Do you know where I came upon their names?--from small
advertisements in horticultural magazines. Read those small ads. Often
the advertiser is so small, and so specialized, that he can’t afford
too much space. But he has the treasures you want.
Mail-order plants are naturally young and small. Large plants are too
difficult to pack and ship for any distance. Plants that are small
usually cost less, and you have an extra dividend in the pleasure of
seeing them grow to maturity. You would be amazed at the progress that
has been made in packing and shipping in the past few years. Plants
that I have ordered recently have come through the mails in from
excellent to perfect condition--even plants from the Pacific Northwest.
You simply unpack them--carefully, I’ll admit--water them if necessary,
and keep them out of hot, bright sun and draft for a few days until
they are acclimated to their new surroundings. Should any plant seem
weak or mildly injured, pop it into the propagating box and usually
it will be back on its feet again in a few days. If the damage is too
serious, report it to the post office, the express company, or the
shipper. I have yet to register one of these complaints.
I have been general in the preceding pages of this chapter. Now I
will be more specific and offer a list of plants and their growing
requirements. All of the following plants can be grown in the
greenhouse. But given proper light, humidity, and/or other special
care, they can be grown in the house where you live--even the most
delicate types. The information on culture is abbreviated, but
consistent use of the same terms, I feel is justified. The following
are used in the sections on care under each plant.
_Full sun_
The sun actually falls on the plant for most of the day.
_Partial sun_
The sun touches the plants for only a few hours in the early morning or
late afternoon in summer, but for longer periods in winter (tropical
areas excepted).
_Little or no sun_
Bright daylight is sufficient to keep some plants healthy.
_Temperature_
Any figures that are quoted are for daytime. Night temperatures can
usually drop about five degrees. (Cool is 40 to 60 degrees; moderate,
50 to 70 degrees; warm, 60 to 80 degrees.)
_Humidity_
This is noted if the plant needs more than average humidity (50 per
cent).
_Soil_
The plant may prefer a potting mixture that is _humusy_,
extra-rich in organic matter; _average_, like the potting soil I
have described on other pages; _sandy_, with an extra ration of
sand, or a similar substitute. Or it may be _epiphytic_ and grow
in some suitable medium such as osmunda fiber or sphagnum moss.
_Dry_
Let the soil dry thoroughly before watering.
_Moist_
Water when the soil in the top of the pot feels dry to the touch.
_Wet_
Never allow the soil to dry out.
* * * * *
Methods of propagation are also summarized and, if possible, listed
in order of preference. The terms are the same as those used in the
sections on propagating house and greenhouse plants.
For most plants, there are short notations on special uses for which
they are especially suited, i.e., growing under artificial lights, dish
gardens, model landscapes, terrariums and other gardens under glass.
Included also are some small tropical trees and shrubs for the small
greenhouse. Among the precious miniatures described in Chapter 17,
varieties suitable for forcing are so noted. Forcing procedures are
also covered.
=Abutilon hybridum savitzi= _Malvaceae_ Flowering Maple
Delicate tropical shrubs with thin, soft, maple-shaped, dove-gray
leaves lavishly splashed with creamy white, and sometimes white
all over. (I’ve never seen it produce the typical dangling lantern
flowers.) It grows slowly, keeps plump and bushy, and is content with a
small pot for several years.
CARE. Full sun, moderate temperature, and average soil kept constantly
moist.
SPECIAL USES. Artificial light, dish gardens, model landscapes,
terrariums.
=Achimenes= _Gesneriaceae_
A large group of utterly charming plants related to, and grown like,
African violets--except that their scaly rhizomes (like minuscule pine
cones) are completely dormant in winter. Most have velvet-soft leaves
and all produce an overwhelming display of tubular flowers flaring
wide-open at the end. None grow to great size. A single rhizome would
probably be happy in a two-inch pot; several are usually planted
together for a bigger show. The following are among the smallest
varieties, upright unless otherwise noted.
‘Charm’--Luscious pink flowers, gold in the center.
_coccinea coccinea_--Trailer with notched, oval leaves and
plentiful flowers of deepest scarlet, half the size of a dime.
‘François Cardinaux’--Flowers in two tones of blue.
‘Little Beauty’--Similar to ‘Charm,’ but in another glowing
shade of pink.
‘Masterpiece’--Flowers royal, reddish purple.
‘Miniata’--Ruffled flowers in changeable violet tones.
‘Misera’--Many small white flowers spotted with drops of wine,
yellow in the throat.
‘Patens Major’--Orange throat blending into rich plum petals.
‘Peach Blossom’--New dwarf with peach-pink flowers.
‘Violacea Semi-Plena’--The only semidouble-flowering variety in
deep, glowing purple.
CARE. Partial sun, warmth, humusy soil kept moist. In late
winter, or early spring, pre-root the tiny rhizomes in a light, porous
mixture such as vermiculite and peat, barely moist and over bottom
heat, or in warmth (65 to 70 degrees). When new growth is about two
inches high, pot in light soil enriched with leaf mold or some similiar
organic material. Pinch out any growing tips or trailers once or twice
to encourage branching. In early fall, after flowering has ended, let
the pot and soil dry out gradually. Clean the rhizomes, and store them
in a polyethylene bag filled with dry peat at a temperature of 50 to 60
degrees. Check the little fellows occasionally. You may be amazed, but
sometimes they’ll send out new sprouts in this dark, dry storage, and
want to be rooted and begin growth again.
PROPAGATION. Rhizomes will multiply spontaneously. Also use
stem cuttings, leaf cuttings, seeds.
SPECIAL USES. Artificial light.
=Acorus gramineus variegatus= _Araceae_
Neat, sweet little water-lover, like a miniature grass, with flat fans
of slender, four-inch leaves striped lengthwise with sparkling white.
It spreads eagerly.
CARE. Partial sun, cool, average soil kept wet.
PROPAGATION. Division of creeping roots.
SPECIAL USES. Artificial light, dish gardens, terrariums.
Pretty bog plant for the miniature garden pool.
=Adiantum bellum= _Polypodiaceae_ Bermuda Maidenhair Fern
Elfin version of the maidenhair fern with ruffly leaflets like
upside-down wedges, the points attached to the dark, wiry six-inch
stems. The foliage is surprisingly dense for such a delicate, airy
effect.
CARE. Little or no sun. Warmth, humidity, humusy soil (lime if
acid), kept moist, and wet in winter. The plant seems to rest in summer.
SPECIAL USES. Artificial light, terrariums.
=Allophyton mexicanum= _Scrophulariaceae_ Mexican Foxglove
Perky combination of oval, dark-green five-inch leaves beneath
upstanding stems bearing several long-tubed, flaring half-inch flowers
of pastel lavender blending into white, violet in the throat. Blooms in
spurts throughout the year.
CARE. Partial sun, moderate warmth, humidity, average soil kept moist.
PROPAGATION. Seeds.
SPECIAL USES. Artificial light, dish gardens.
=Alternanthera= _Amaranthaceae_ Joseph’s Coat
Enthusiastically branching, bushy plants with leaves of many colors,
and convolutions, like small, contorted coleus. They’re often kept
dwarfed by regular shearing, so the white flowers seldom form.
_amoena_--Bushlet with crisp, oval leaves haphazardly
daubed with bright shades of red and orange. It seldom tops four
inches.
_bettzickiana_--Tongue-shaped leaves blotched with cream,
yellow, salmon, and red. This is the one that’s used for formal
carpet bedding. Its green-and-gold variety, aurea nana, makes a
round three-inch mound.
_versicolor_--A gnome with gnarled, wrinkled leaves. It is
basically green but brightened with shocking pink and white. It
can grow six inches high, but stays lower if pinched regularly.
CARE. Full sun (for best color), warmth, average soil kept moist.
PROPAGATION. Stem cuttings, division of roots.
SPECIAL USES. Artificial light, dish gardens, model landscapes,
terrariums.
=Anthurium scherzerianum= _Araceae_ Flamingo Flower
This is a baby in a family predominantly of giants, but it won’t
outgrow a three-inch pot for years. This exotic tropical plant has
leaves like varnished green shields and flowers like a golden Jack
preaching from a flamingo-pink pulpit.
CARE. Little or no sun, warmth, humidity, humusy soil kept moist, or
even wet.
PROPAGATION. Division of suckers and seeds.
SPECIAL USES. Artificial lights.
=Babiana stricta= _Iridaceae_
Winter-flowering, South African bulb for forcing in the greenhouse.
Grown outdoors only in frost-free climates. Clusters of red or lavender
fuchsia-like eight-inch stems above fuzzy, slender leaves indented at
the veins. A dwarf variety, ‘Blue Gem,’ has deep-blue blooms.
CARE. Full sun, moderate warmth, average soil kept moist. Plant in fall
for winter flowering.
=Begonia= _Begoniaceae_
There are enough miniatures in this big happy family of plants
to make a sizable collection, and enough variations to keep the
collector fascinated. Botanically, begonias are divided into three
classes--fibrous-rooted, rhizomatous, and tuberous-rooted. Among
the tuberous types, the best-known are the summer-flowering garden
beauties--not available, as far as I know, in miniature. Each of the
other classes contains miniatures that divide naturally into two
general types of begonias with separate personalities, habits, and
cultures. You could almost consider each type a completely distinctive
group of plants, only technically related to the others.
SEMPERFLORENS BEGONIAS
Fondly known as “wax begonias,” and often called “America’s favorite
house plant.” These are bustling, buxom, freely branching plants
with watery stems and crisp, nearly round leaves gleaming with a
high polish. They cover themselves with continual bursts of white,
pink, or red flowers. The furiously flowering singles are the oldest,
best-known, and toughest, often used for edging semishady garden beds.
The semidoubles (crested or thimble type) have a raspberry-shaped
center extending out from a circle of petals. The doubles (rosebud or
camellia-flowered) are fluttery, full-petaled spheres. Foliage may be
clean green, bronzy, or mahogany.
‘Adeline’ (‘Improved Darling’)--Free-blooming soft, single pink;
green leaves.
‘Andy’--Deeper, more luminous pink flowers; green leaves.
‘Little Gem’--Double, rosy-pink flowers; very dark red leaves;
small, slow-growing.
‘Pied Piper’--Baby pink, semidouble flowers, the crest sometimes
touched with gold; bronzy leaves.
‘Snowdrop’--Smallest I’ve ever seen, has never topped three
inches for me, just grows bushier and bushier. Double white
flowers like minute snowballs; dark-red foliage.
_tausendschoen_ (‘Thousand Beauties’)--A group of
green-leaved, single-flowering dwarfs available in red, pink, or
white. Easily grown from seed.
‘Winkie’--Fully double, old rose flowers; masses of dark leaves.
CARE. Partial sun, moderate warmth, average soil kept on the dry side.
PROPAGATION. Stem cuttings (best taken with a branch, so the plants
will be self-branching), seeds (singles), division of root and crown.
MISCELLANEOUS FIBROUS-ROOTED BEGONIAS
Some miniatures are of the angel-wing, cane-stemmed type; some are from
the hirsute, hairy-leaved group; some can’t be categorized.
_albo-picta_--Small angel wing with low, arched branches;
silver-spotted, sharp-pointed slender leaves; clusters of
off-white flowers.
_bartonea_ (‘Winter Jewel’)--This one’s a flirt, flaunting
its leaves and tiny pink-tinged flowers one wintry day,
collapsing completely the next. It can’t bear dry air or chills
but will grow up again cheerfully from the roots. The foliage is
finely scalloped on the edges, washed with russet in the center
and along the veins, and completely overlaid with silver sheen.
‘Dainty Spray’--Impudent dwarf with little angel-wing leaves,
bouquets of face-powder-pink flowers dripping from the drooping
stems.
_dregei_--Maple-leaf begonia with sharply cut,
thumbnail-sized leaves bronzy with purple veins, white flowers.
This is a semituberous type, the main stem swelling to look like
a bulb above the soil at the base. Pinching regularly keeps it
fairly small. May be dormant in winter. The variety macbethi has
smaller leaves completely green, white flowers.
‘Dwarf Houghtoni’--For me, this stays under six inches high
and covers itself with pointed leaves upholstered with sheer,
tawny-pink velvet. The clusters of large white flowers with pink
whiskers are almost too heavy for the branches to hold.
‘Medora’--Miniature angel wing with two-inch, flat
silver-spotted leaves and white flowers. Also available as
‘Green Medora,’ with plain green leaves and watermelon-pink
flowers.
_richardsiana_--Another semituberous maple-leaf type, the
leaves smallest of all and deeply cut almost into lace. Flowers
are faint pink.
[Illustration: Achimenes, one of the most beautiful gesneriads.]
CARE. Partial sun, moderate warmth, average soil kept on the dry side.
The semituberous types take more moisture during the active growing
season.
PROPAGATION. Seeds (for some species), stem cuttings, division of root
and crown.
RHIZOMATOUS BEGONIAS
Here’s where the hybridists are creating the most intriguing new
varieties, because they have more miniature parent species to work
with. The leaf and flower stems grow straight up or out from the
rhizome, a swollen, scarred rootstock that creeps over the top of
the soil, usually sending down roots as it goes. Sprays of trembling
flowers stand well above the foliage in late winter or early spring.
_aridicaulis_--Mounds of tiny, sharp-pointed, lettuce-green
leaves seldom over three or four inches high. Small, white,
two-petaled flowers like fairy pocketbooks.
_boweri_--Better known as the “eyelash begonia” because of
the black stitching around the edge of the lettuce-green leaves,
marked with bristly black hairs. Flowers are small, baby-pink,
and plentiful. This is the seed parent of a whole group of
popular namesakes; star-leaved ‘Bow-Arriola,’ chocolate-stitched
‘Bow Chance,’ dark-complexioned ‘Bow-Joe,’ bronzy ‘Bow-Nigra.’
All have the eyelash edging and pink flowers, and are happy
plants for the window garden or greenhouse.
_hydrocotylifolia_--“Miniature pond-lily begonia” for the
terrarium or shallow basket or pot. Shiny, penny-like leaves
overcast with bronze, dark along the veins; pink flowers on
six-inch stems.
‘Maphil’ (‘Cleopatra’)--Most famous boweri offspring, more dwarf
than miniature, just right for small window gardens and baskets.
The starlike leaves are satiny, irregularly marked chocolate on
chartreuse; the flowers, rich pink.
_mazae_--Bronzy, half-dollar leaves with light veins that
meet at the stem end to make a white eye, wine-red beneath.
Pale-pink, red-spotted flowers.
_rotundifolia_--Very similar to hydrocotylifolia except for
the bronzy cast and dark veins. May be the smallest of all.
‘Spaulding’--Extra-bushy dwarf with medium-green leaves shading
to dark green, edged with whiskers, and oxblood beneath. Showers
of pink flowers.
‘Virbob’--Reddish star leaves with yellow-green leaves, bright
red beneath. Short stems hold the leaves close to the pot.
‘Spaulding,’--an extra-bushy dwarf begonia]
[Illustration:]
In the past few years, Mrs. H. E. Dillard of Tropical Paradise
Greenhouse has introduced a number of delightful new dwarfs and
miniatures. Among them:
‘Baby Perfection’--Star leaves splotched mahogany on green.
‘Black Falcon’--Darkest red-brown star leaves, silvery along the
veins, whiskery along the edge.
‘Chantilly Lace’--One of my favorites, with cupped, chartreuse
leaves stitched with black around the edge.
‘China Doll’--Pointed yellow-green leaves striped brown along
the veins.
‘Kathy Diane’--Pointed oval leaves brown splotched with
chartreuse.
‘Midget’--Nearly black star leaves silvery green along the veins.