CHAPTER X

FOLIAGE PLANTS

The foliage plants depend very largely for their beauty upon making a rapid, unchecked growth and being given plenty of sunlight. In many of those having multi-colored and variegated leaves, the markings under unfavorable conditions of growth become inconspicuous and the value of the plant is entirely lost. Therefore, where the proper conditions cannot be given, it will be far wiser to devote your s.p.a.ce to plants more suited to house culture.

Aspidistra, araucaria, Panda.n.u.s and the rubber plant are exceptions; two of them being remarkable for their hardihood under neglect and ignorance. While many of the foliage plants will live under almost any conditions, it must be remembered, however, that the better care they receive the more beautiful they will be.

_Achyranthes_--Achyranthes are still popular as bedding plants, as they furnish good coloring. They may be used as house plants also, but in my opinion are a little coa.r.s.e. Take cuttings in August for new plants and keep on the warm side and rather dry in winter.

_Alternanthera_--These little plants are unique and brilliant, and a few will be worth having in any collection. They make dense, shrubby miniature bushes a few inches high, very attractively colored. Take cuttings in August; give rich soil, on the sandy side, plenty of light and heat.

_A. versicolor_ has leaves bearing a happy contrast of pink, crimson and bronzy-green. _Tricolor_ is dark green, rose and orange. There are numerous other attractive varieties.

_Antheric.u.m_ (_A. variegatum_)--The foliage is shaped like a broad blade of gra.s.s and very prettily bordered with white. Of the easiest culture, doing well in the shade. Propagated by division. _A. medio-picta_ is another variety, often considered more attractive than the above.

_Araucaria_--The several araucarias should be much more widely known than they are. Their beauty has made them popular as Christmas gifts, but most of the fine specimens which leave the florists during the holiday season find their end, after a few weeks in a gas-tainted, superheated atmosphere, with probably several times the amount of water required given at the roots, in the ash barrel. They are, when one knows something of their habits of growth, very easily cared for. Little water in winter, and a cool even temperature, are its simple requirements.

The araucaria is, I think, the most beautiful of all formal decorative plants. Its dignity, simplicity and beautiful plumelike foliage place it in a cla.s.s of its own. The branches leave the main stem at regular intervals, in whorls of five, and the foliage is a clean soft green, lighter at the tips. Propagated by cuttings from leading shoots, not side shoots.

The two varieties ordinarily used are _A. excelsa glauca_ and _A. e.

robusta_. Some time ago I saw a specimen of a new variety, not yet put on the market, and the name of which I have forgotten. (I think it was _stellata_) The outer half of each branch was almost white, giving the whole plant a wonderful star-like effect.

_Aspidistra_--The aspidistra is the toughest of all foliage plants--if not of all house plants. It has proved hardy out-of-doors as far north as Philadelphia. The long flat leaves grow to a height of eighteen to twenty-four inches, springing directly from the ground. Its chief requirement is plenty of water during the growing season. New plants are readily obtained by dividing the old roots in February or August.

There are several varieties and those familiar only with the common green sort (_A. elatior_) will be surprised and pleased with the striking effectiveness of the variegated, (_A. e. varigata_) and with the spotted leaved _A. punctata_.

_Caladium_--This is another popular plant for which I have never cared greatly myself. It seems to have no personality. Well grown plants, however, give most gorgeous color effects. Buy bulbs of the fancy-leaved section, and start in February or March, giving very little water at first. Take in before the first sign of frosts. When growth stops, dry off gradually and store in warm cellar; or better, take out of pots and pack in sand. Do not let them dry out enough to shrivel.

_Coleus_--The best of all the gay colored foliage plants, but tender. To keep looking well in winter they must have plenty of warmth and sunlight. Root cuttings in August. They grow on very rapidly. Make selections from the garden or a florist's, as they come in a great variety of colors and markings.

_Dracaena_--The best of all plants, outside the palms, for centers of vases, boxes and large pots. Small plants make very beautiful centers for fern dishes. The colored section need to be kept on the warm side.

Give plenty of water in summer, but none on the leaves in winter, as it is apt to lodge in the leaf axils and cause trouble.

_Dracaena_ (_Cordyline_)--_Indivisa_, with long, narrow, recurved green leaves, is the one mostly used. The various colored sorts are described in most catalogues.

_Leopard Plant_--_Farfugium grande_, better known as Leopard Plant, has handsome dark green leaves marked with yellow. It is of the easiest culture, standing zero weather. Old plants may be divided in spring and rooted in sand. There is a newer variety with white spots, very beautiful. The farfugium is now more commonly listed as _Senecio Kaempferi_.

_Panda.n.u.s_--The Screw Pine is another favorite decorative plant, easily grown. The leaves are two or three feet long and come out spirally, as the name indicates. As they get older they curve down gracefully, giving a very pleasing effect.

The soil for panda.n.u.ses should contain a generous amount of sand. Give plenty of water in summer, little in winter, and be sure that none of it lodges in the axils of the leaves, as rot is very easily induced.

New plants are produced from suckers at the base of the old ones.

_Panda.n.u.s utilis_ is the variety most commonly seen. _P. Veitchii_, dark green bordered with broad stripes of pure white, is much more decorative, a really beautiful plant. _P. Sanderi_ is another good sort, with golden yellow coloring, that should be given a trial.

_Pepper_--Some of the peppers make very attractive pot plants on account of their bright fruit, which is very pretty in all stages of growth from the new green pods, through yellow to bright red. Buy new plants or start from seed in spring. They are easily grown if kept on the warm side. Celestial and Kaleidoscope are the two kinds best suited for house culture.

_The Rubber_ (_Ficus._) This is the most popular of all formal decorative plants. At least part of the secret of its success undoubtedly lies in the fact that--almost literally--you cannot kill it!

But that is no excuse for abusing it either, as there is all the difference in the world between a well cared for symmetrical plant and one of the semi-denuded, lop-sided, spotted leaved plants one so frequently sees, and than which, as far as ornamentation is concerned, an empty pot would be far more decorative.

The rubber requires--and deserves--a good rich soil, and in the spring, summer and fall, all the water that the soil will keep absorbed. Give less in winter, as an excess at this time causes the leaves to turn yellow and droop.

As the rubber is more difficult to propagate than most house plants, and specimens will not get too large for several years, it will be best to get plants from the florist. It frequently happens, however, that an old plant which has been grown up to a single stem, becomes unwieldy, and bare at the bottom. In such cases the upper part may be removed by "topping" and the main trunk cut back to within six to eighteen inches of the pot or tub, and water withheld partly until new growth starts.

The old stem may thus be transformed into a low, bush plant and frequently they make very handsome specimens. The topping is performed by making a deep upward slanting cut, with a sharp knife, at the point you want in the pot for your new plant. In the cut stuff a little sphagnum moss; remove this after a few days and wash the cut out with warm water, removing the congealed sap. Insert fresh moss and with strips of soft cloth tie a good handful over the wound. _Keep this moist_ constantly until the roots show through the moss, which may be several weeks. Then pot in _moist_ earth, not wet, and syringe daily, but do not water the pots for two or three days. Sometimes pots cut in halves and the bottoms partly removed are used to hold the moss in place. August is a good time to propagate.

_Ficus elastica_ is the common rubber plant. The "fiddle-leaved" rubber plant (_F. pandurata_) is another variety, now largely grown. It differs from the former in having very broad, blunt leaves, shaped like the head of a fiddle, which are marked by the whitish veins. Two other beautiful plants are _F. Cooperia_, having large leaves with red mid-ribs, and _F. Parcelli_, with leaves marbled with white. They should be given a higher temperature than _F. elastica_.

_Saxifraga_: _S. sarmentosa tricolor_ is the commonly known strawberry geranium, or beefsteak plant. It has a quite unique habit of growth and is best displayed where its numerous runners have a chance to hang down, as from a basket or hanging pot. The runners are easily rooted in soil. There are numerous varieties, with flowers of red, white and pink.

_Sensitive Plant_ (_Mimosa pudica_)--This is a pretty little green-leaved plant, the never-failing interest in which lies not in its beauty, however, but in the fact that it shrinks and folds up when touched, as though it belonged to the animal kingdom. It is easily grown from seed.

_Tradescantia_--This is otherwise known as spiderwort, Wandering Jew, Creeping Charles and under other names. It is a very pretty running or trailing plant, of the easiest culture, its chief requirement being plenty of water. Cuttings root easily at any time. There are several varieties, among them being _discolor_, a variegated leaf, and _Zebrina multi-color_, the leaves of which give almost a rainbow effect in their wonderful diversity and blending. For those familiar only with the old green variety it will prove a great surprise.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Panda.n.u.s Veitchii_, the Screw Pine. The soil for this family should have a generous amount of sand]

[Ill.u.s.tration: The rubber plant (_Ficus elastica_), perhaps the most popular of all formal decorative house plants]

_Zebra Plant_ (_Maranta zebrina_)--This is another easily grown decorative plant with tropical looking, large leaves. While usually listed as _Maranta zebrina_, it is really a calathea and the plants of this genus show a variation in their markings unsurpa.s.sed by any.

Zebrina and most of the varieties, of which there are many, should be grown in the shade, with plenty of water and a minimum temperature of sixty degrees all the year. _C. pulch.e.l.la_ and _C. intermedia_ resembles _C. zebrina_ and can be grown in a cooler temperature. Do not allow the plants to flower. Increase by division.

CHAPTER XI

VINES

A number of the vines make very excellent house plants, though one seldom sees them. This seems rather strange when one takes into consideration the facts that they are easily grown and can be used for decorative effects impossible with any other plants.

If there is one particular caution to be given in regard to caring for plants in the house, it is to _keep the foliage clean_. Naturally a vine that runs up the window trim, and maybe halfway across the wall to a picture frame, cannot well be sprinkled or syringed; but the leaves can be occasionally wiped off with a moist, soft cloth. Keep the pores open; they have to breathe.

_Cissus discolor_--This altogether too little known vine has the most beautiful foliage of any. The leaves are a velvety green veined with silver, the under surfaces being reddish and the stems red. It is a rapid grower and readily managed if kept on the warm side. New plants may be had from cuttings at almost any season. _C. antarctica_ is better known and easily grown.

_Clematis_--This popular outdoor vine is sometimes successfully used as a house plant, and has the advantage of doing well in a low temperature.

Cuttings rooted in June and grown on will make good plants, but the best way will be to get at the florist's two or three plants of the splendid new varieties now to be had.

_Coboea scandens_--The Coboea is sometimes called the cup-and-saucer flower. It is very energetic, growing under good conditions to a length of twenty to thirty feet. The flowers, which are frequently two inches across, are purplish in color and very pretty. They are borne quite freely.

The coboea is easily managed if kept properly trained. As the plant in proportion to the pot room is very large, liquid manures or fertilizers are desirable. Either seeds or cuttings will furnish new plants. The former should be placed edge down, one in a two-inch pot and pressed in level with the surface. They will soon need repotting, and must be shifted frequently until they are put in six-or eight-inch pots.

_Coboea scandens variegata_ is a very handsome form and should without fail be tried.

_Hoya carnosa_--This is commonly known as the wax plant on account of its thick leaves and wax-like flowers, which are a delicate pink and borne in large pendulous umbels. It is easily cared for; give full sun in summer and keep moderately dry in winter. Leave the old flower stalks on the plant. Cuttings may be rooted in early spring in pots, plunged in bottom heat.

_The Ivys_--The ivys are the most graceful of all the vines, and with them the most artistic effects in decoration may be produced. I have always wondered why they are not more frequently used, for they are in many respects ideal as house plants; they produce more growth to a given size pot than any other plants, they thrive in the shade, they withstand the uncongenial conditions usually found in the house, and are among the hardiest of plants suitable for house culture. And yet how many women will fret and fume over a Lorraine begonia or some other refractory plant, not adapted at all to growing indoors, when half the amount of care spent on a few ivys would grace their windows with frames of living green, giving a setting to all their other plants which would enhance their beauty a hundred percent.

The English ivy (_Hedera helix_) is the best for house culture. A form with small leaves, _H. Donerailensis_, is better for many purposes. And then there is a variegated form, which is very beautiful. Large cuttings, rooted in the fall, will make good plants. _Hedera helix arborescens_ is known as the Irish ivy and is a very rapid grower.