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14. Plants for Garden, Terrace, Window Box, Planter

Annuals and many of the biennials and perennials can be grown in and sold directly from 2-, 3-, or 4-inch pots, or started in flats and grown on in pots. Grown and sold in pots (and especially in the organic pots) plants suffer little or no setback when transplanted to the garden, terrace, or window box. The busy gardener appreciates the fact that he doesn't have to plant potted plants immediately. Unlike flatted plants, which tend to grow into a jungle, individually potted plants can be kept for some time in a sheltered area as under shrubs or on a shady porch.

If your greenhouse is small and this is your first year in busi­ness, you may find it advisable to purchase ready-grown stock in lots of 25 to 100 for resale. The more popular plants are rea­sonably priced when you buy in lots, thus enabling you to make a substantial profit, at least 50 per cent, on them. Later, as you discover which plants your customers favor, you can make pro­visions for starting your own crop in the greenhouse, cold frame, or hot bed.

Since new varieties appear—and sometimes fade away—so rapidly, I'm not going to delve into them very much in the following plant notes. I urge you, however, to keep posted on the All-America Selections and other introductions each year. Don't be afraid to be a leader in offering these to your customers, but don't be too quick to discard the old reliable varieties, either.

FOR THE GARDEN

Annual Phlox

The lovely little annual phlox in a vast selection of colors will almost always be among your best sellers. They are useful anywhere. Suggest to your customers that these plants are most effective in the garden when planted in groups of half dozen or more.

To have flowering plants in May, sow the seed in December in a cool greenhouse. As soon as the little plants are large enough to handle, usually in about a month, transplant directly into 2-inch pots of average greenhouse loam. Plants will flower right in these 2-inch pots, but you'll have larger plants and more flowers if you give one more transplanting—to a 3- or 4-inch pot.

Bachelor Button (Centaurea)

This plant with its silvery-gray foliage, bright blue, pink, or pink and white flowers is a great garden favorite. Recommend it for beds, borders, cutting rows, or accent plants.

Sow the seeds in February, planting them ½ inch deep in ordinary greenhouse soil or any seed-starter medium and grow them in the cool greenhouse. These seedlings will be large enough to be sold from 3- or 4-inch pots in May.

Balsam (Impatiens balsamina)

Balsams are old favorites—and they are constantly being improved as in the new rose-, camellia- or double-flowered types.

Sow balsam seed in March in pans or flats of sandy soil. The seed germinates rapidly when grown in 65 degree tempera­tures. Pot into 3-inch pots when the first true leaf shows, usu­ally about 3 weeks after germination. They need lots of light, so grow them close to the glass. To obtain shapely plants remove the first buds from the main stem and side shoots.

Calendula

Calendulas, or pot marigolds, with their bright golden heads, are fine for garden color or for the cutting garden. They thrive in most any soil, and seeds sown in early April will produce large budded plants for late May or early June sales. Grow the seedlings in night temperature of 50 degrees.

Calendulas come in shades of cream, apricot, yellow, and orange. Grown under good conditions, modern calendulas are mostly doubles—regular pompoms. If many single or deformed blooms show up on supposedly doubled varieties, they prob­ably have been grown under too high a temperature.

Castor Bean    (Ricinus communis)

Owners of new homes—especially in housing developments —usually have common garden problems. Foremost among these is lack of shade and the immediate need for impressive-looking shrubbery or plants. The castor bean will fill both of these bills. These plants in one season will grow 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide, with very broad leaves. Suggest using castor bean plants also as patio plantings, boundary line markers, or to add a touch of interest to the new garden.

The beans are large. Plant each one in a separate 2-inch pot in March and grow in the cool greenhouse. In mid-May pot up in 4- or 5-inch pots.

Coreopsis

Coreopsis thrive in a sunny location. With their yellow, orange, red, and near-brown flowers, they add splashy color to the garden and are long-lasting cut flowers.

Start seed in the cool greenhouse in mid-April and you'll have salable plants from 3-inch pots in late May.

Cosmos

With lacy foliage and richly colored flowers cosmos make popular additions to most gardens. Most of them are about 3 feet high at maturity but some of the "Mammoth" hybrids grow to 5 feet. They thrive under the same conditions as coreopsis. Cosmos come in deep rose, rich crimson, white, pink, and orange, with single and double flowers.

Dahlia

Planted early in February, most dahlias will produce flowers from seed the first season. Certain varieties such as Unwins have become favorites for pot growing. You can purchase these in mixture and plant them in early February in the cool house for salable potted plants in May.

Gilia

The gilia genus offers several good garden species. I like Gilia rubra (sometimes sold as Ipomopsis); it features rapid growth and tall (3-5 feet) spires of bright red flowers. These make wonderful accent plants to place among low-growing perennials, as iris or hemerocallis, and they are among the most handsome of background plants. Although easily grown, this gilia is not too often seen. Its common names include standing cypress and Texas plume. There are also varieties with blue, pincushion-like flowers.

Sow the seed in early March in light soil. Grow in the cool greenhouse and pot up in 2- or 3-inch pots in mid-April

50. It's a good idea to have something unusual in flower in your greenhouse, if only as a special attraction for indoor gardeners. The passion-flower vine (Passifiora) certainly would serve that purpose. In addition, you can be sure of selling some seeds or plants if you have them ready when the vine is in bloom.   (Photograph by Eugene Rosing)

Monkey Flower (Mimulus)

This is indeed a versatile plant. A semi-trailer in shade, it is good for window boxes, outdoor planters, and hanging baskets. With full sun it grows upright and is excellent for use in the border. The brilliantly colored flowers are light yellow splotched red, or red with yellow markings. Here are flowers to liven a garden throughout the summer.

Sow mimulus seed in January in the warm house. Transplant in late February to 2- or 3-inch pots of porous growing mixture. These will be well established for the spring and summer busi­ness.

Morning Glory (Ipomoea)

The morning glory vines provide a wealth of exciting garden material—to help out in so many different gardening situations. New gardeners need fast-growing material for trellises and fences, as a screening for service areas, or accent plants grown on or near a wall. Morning glories provide all this—and, in addition, produce an abundance of blue, rose, or white flowers.

Sow the seeds in April. They are best planted directly into 2-inch pots of ordinary greenhouse soil. If you have a heating cable in your greenhouse, give some bottom heat as a starter. Lacking a heating cable, start them in a warm greenhouse. As the vines grow, the potted plants can be moved to the cold frame or placed in a cooler part (50 degrees) of the green­house.

Although there are many new varieties, Heavenly Blue re­mains high on the list of favorites.

Nasturtium (Tropaeolum)

Nasturtiums, with their blaze of yellow, orange, and red flowers, are versatile. Plant seeds in early March directly into 2-inch pots of soil. Grow them in the cool greenhouse. The tall vining types are generally listed as "old fashioned fragrant," or "fragrant giants."

Scabiosa

This sturdy and popular annual has fragrant, pincushion-like heads of white, pale yellow, salmon, pink, scarlet, or blue flow­ers; in fact, pincushion flower is one of its common names. Start the seed early in March in the warm house in average green­house soil. Pot singly into 3- or 4-inch pots in April and plants will be well established for May sales.

Schizanthus

Often listed as butterfly flower, fringe flower, and, perhaps most commonly, as poor man's orchid, schizanthus is lovely enough to use in situations calling for a specimen planting. The flowers of this annual, looking like tiny orchids in purple marked with white, red, or deep yellow, are borne in clusters.

Sow seeds in October for blooming or budded May sellers. Keep well moistened and grow in 60-degree temperature. In March, pot up two plants to a 3- or 4-inch pot, pinch out tips to make good branching, stake, and grow in good light.

Summer Cypress (Kochia)

The summer cypress can become a garden nuisance, but if restrained, it is a handsome shrubby annual, wonderful to use in the newly established garden or for special landscaping purposes. This plant with its neat conical growth resembles the small expensive pyramidal evergreens so popular in foundation plantings. Suggest summer cypress for use in temporary founda­tion planting, for fast growing hedges, or specimen plants for the garden. The foliage, green throughout the summer, turns red in fall. I like its other common name, Mexican burning bush.

Sow the seed in March and grow in a warm house. Pot up in 3- or 4-inch pots in late April. The variety most commonly grown is Kochia scoparia.

Stocks (Matthiola)

Stocks are both annual and biennial plants. They are good for the sunny garden and the flowers are marvelous in arrange­ments. Some of the annual types flower 10 to 12 weeks after seed planting. Flowers are white, pink, red, and navy blue.

Sow the seed in March in a porous mixture. Grow in a warm house. As soon as the seedlings can be handled well—perhaps 2 weeks—pot up in 3-inch pots.

Any of the giant mixed strains produce handsome plants. There is also a dwarf 10-week stock on the market. This one, growing to 12 inches, has fragrant, large, double flowers. Mix­tures listed as "column type" bear both single and double flow­ers on exceptionally long stems.

Strobilanthes

Suggest the use of a few strobilanthes (sometimes called conehead) plants to the gardener who has a yen for beauti­fully colored foliage. Although there are several species avail­able, none is quite so handsome and easily grown as S. dyeri-anus. New growth is deep red-purple, older leaves are silvery orchid. Strobilanthes makes a pretty border plant and it adds much to terrace, patio, outdoor planters, or window boxes.

Propagate strobilanthes through cuttings. The purchase of one plant in a 4-inch pot in the fall will give you fifty or more plants in 3-inch pots for spring and summer sales. Grow it in a warm house and keep it nipped out for bushy growth. Stick the nipped out pieces in a propagating case and you'll have still more plants for sale.

Sweet Peas

These fragrant old favorites need to get their first spurt of growth before the weather warms too much. Colors range from purest white through all shades of pink and lavender. Soak the seeds in warm water over night. Plant one seed to a 2-inch pot of rich soil. February is a good time. Grow them right on in the cool greenhouse or, after the plants have started into good growth, say mid-March, move them to the cold frame.

Sweet peas should be transplanted to the garden just as soon as danger of frost is passed. They grow best in cooler weather, which is a special sales approach to use on the gardener who just can't wait as late as May to get his spade in the ground.

Cuthbertson's heat-resistant sweet peas are a good choice for repeat business. These come in all the favorite colors. The Spencer and Zvolanek strains also are well known and thor­oughly reliable.

Zinnia

Zinnias have been so improved that now there are forms for every gardening need. There are the baby zinnias, the bedders, the small-flowered sorts (so good in flower arrangements), the improved "giants," and the cactus types with twisted petal tips.

51. House-plant hobbyists don't always have a specific purchase in mind when they drop into your greenhouse. If your stock includes a wide variety of plants   (sizes as well as kinds), you are more than likely to turn such shoppers into buyers.  (Photograph by Roche)

Flowers range from white through yellow, orange, pink, and red, and multicolored.

Sow the seeds in April in flats and grow them in the cool greenhouse. Prick off and plant singly as soon as they are easily handled—perhaps in 2 weeks. Grow under strong light. Once potted, they can be removed and placed in the cold frame, thus leaving space for starting another crop for the later buyers.

FOR THE TERRACE

Anemone

These pretty bulbous plants thrive in sun or semishade. Their flowers are like thick-petaled poppies, in red, purple, or white. For summer-flowering plants, start the corms (with "claws" pointing downward) in March in the cold greenhouse. As soon as growth shows, pot up in 3-inch pots of porous soil mixture.

Anemones can be started from seeds sown in July, but the imported corms sold in mixture are so reasonably priced it hardly seems worth while to grow them from seeds.

Astilbe

Astilbe features graceful foliage and feathery flower spires. Large clumps can be divided in the spring and potted in 5- or 6-inch pots of sandy soil. They need plenty of water and should be grown in a warm house. Astilbe forces well for late winter-early spring bloom.

Baby's Breath (Gypsophila elegans)

The lacy appearance of baby's breath makes it a welcome addition to the terrace. The freshly cut branches are beautiful in flower arrangements. When dried, they become material for winter bouquets.

Balloon Flower  (Platycodon grandiflorum)

Neat growth, handsome flowers—in bud or bloom—make the balloon flower a favorite with gardeners. It is a hardy perennial with blue, purple, pink, or white flowers. Just before opening, the buds become swollen and resemble balloons, thus its common name. There are single and double flowers; plants to 2- and 3-foot heights, or dwarfs. These make especially good terrace material.

Start seeds in late February or early March in shady loam and grow in the cool greenhouse. Pot up in 3-inch pots about 6 weeks after seed planting.

Candytuft (Iberis)

Flower spikes much like hyacinths, in shades of white, pink and orchid, make these low-growing plants favorites for terrace plantings—especially as a planting to top a rock wall.

Plant seeds in mid-January and grow them in the cool green­house. These will produce flowering plants for sale in May. Sow thinly in flats of soil, transplant to 3-inch pots about March first.

Carpet Phlox (Phlox subulata)

Itis not uncommon to see large areas of terrace given over to this richly colored, spring-flowering perennial. Although you can start carpet phlox—also widely known as mountain pink— from seed, the plants from which you can make divisions are so reasonably priced that it is not practicable for small greenhouse growers to devote space to seed starting. Plant the divisions in small flats of ordinary soil, give them good light and plenty of water. Grow in the cool greenhouse.

Fuchsia

With their drooping, richly colored, bell-shaped flowers, fuchsias make beautiful potted plants for the terrace, for grow­ing in the outdoor planter, or the cool, well-lighted window garden.

Although you can start them from seed by sowing them in a warm house in the spring, it may be more profitable to pur­chase rooted cuttings, or a few large plants and propagate your own cuttings.

As soon as seedlings show true leaves, and cuttings sprout new leaves, give them weekly dosages of diluted liquid ferti­lizer. One-fourth the recommended proportion is right for seedlings; ½ dilution for cuttings.

The older plants are rested through the winter by storing in a cool place. Start the plants into growth in February or March. As soon as they show strong growth, take cuttings and insert them in flats of good greenhouse soil. If the cuttings are given bottom heat so the soil temperature is about 60 degrees, they will root and be sturdy enough in 3 weeks to pot into 3-inch pots. Encourage growth by growing them on in a warm green­house or by giving them another 2 or 3 weeks of 60-degree bottom heat.

They can be sold directly from the 3-inch pots; or, if you desire larger plants, give them another shift into a 5- or 6-inch pot.

Cuttings taken in September and grown in 60-degree tem­peratures without any bottom heat will produce plants for 4-inch pots the following spring.

Passiflora

The passion flower is a wonderful and "different" vine for terrace trellising. The flower range is from creamy white through lavender, blue, and pink to red. Propagate passiflora during the early spring by taking cuttings and inserting them in any rooting media. They grow well at 70 degrees and can be planted directly into 2- or 3-inch pots. They will flower spar­ingly in these containers, but they can be sold before flowering because as soon as prospective buyers note the name passiflora, they are eager to purchase.

52.   Vines,   especially   unusual   flowering   types   such   as   this   Asarina barclaiana, are in consistent demand for window gardens.  (Photograph by Author)

A Minnesota grower propagates passiflora by the hundreds and still falls short of supplying the demand. My own green­house is so crowded with other things that I lack space for a col­lection of these vines, much as I would like to have them. Un­rooted cuttings sell for 35 cents to a dollar each, depending on the relative scarcity of the particular variety.

Highly unusual varieties can be produced by planting pas­siflora seed—which is somewhat difficult to germinate but can be helped along by an overnight soaking in water. Plant in a light soil and keep in a 70-degree house. Germination takes from 2 to 6 weeks. If you want to grow them on yourself in or­der to have material for cuttings, keep shifting until the vine is in a 5- or 6-inch pot.

In the summer they can be transplanted to the garden; and if your greenhouse can accommodate these big plants, you can dig them in the fall and replant into 8- or 10-inch pots. These older plants will provide you with hundreds of cuttings.

Pinks (Dianthus)

Pinks, so easily grown, and in such a wide variety of colors, are good plants for terraces, bedding, or borders. There are single and double kinds, many having a pungent, clovelike scent.

Start seed in February in the cool greenhouse. Make one transplanting to 2- or 3-inch pots, or sell directly from the flats.

Cottage pinks (D. plumarius) have the richest odor of all pinks. When selling to new gardeners, be sure to emphasize this asset. These plants usually do not flower the first year but are hardy and will flower the second season. There are many named varieties but if you are starting them from seed it is well to purchase a mixture. From a mixture you will get shades of light lilac, rose, pink, and red.

Low-growing Dianthus deltoides has pretty small pink, scar­let, or white flowers with little fragrance. These, too, flower the second year.

China pinks (Dianthus chinensis), the rainbow or annual pinks, grow rapidly from seeds sown in March and grown in the cold greenhouse. Pot and sell from 2- or 3-inch pots or di­rectly from flats. They are not fragrant but their single and double flowers in a wide variety of colors make up for lack of fragrance, and they bloom from seed the first year.

Fragrant-flowered Dianthus grenadina resembles the florist carnation and will produce flowers from seed the first year but is not hardy in northern gardens.

Ranunculus

These daintily flowered creepers make splendid terrace plants. The small double flowers are in shades of yellow. Ranun­culus asiaticus, tuberous rooted, is one of the best. Although it can be propagated by seed, the tubers are plentiful and low priced. Pot the tubers in early January, several to a 7-inch bulb pan or flat of soil. Tubers should be planted about 1 inch below the soil surface. Grow them in the cool greenhouse, or cold frame. When strong new growth shows, pot them in 2- or 3-inch pots of soil.

Stonecrops—Sedutn and Sempervivum

Most terracing includes steps, ledges, or a retaining wall of stone, brick, or cement. Often the retaining wall is not a com­plete one. It may be of slender stone slabs wedged into the soil with spaces left between the slabs. For the gardener who wants choice, long-lasting material to add interest to any of these ter­race features, suggest that he plant stone crops.

They have thick foliage in shades of gray, green, and rose-tinted green; attractive growth patterns (rosettes, fernlike spires, and slender trailing stems); a bonus of interesting flow­ers, and the ability to grow in poor soil.

You can grow these from seed, giving them the same culture recommended for cactus (page 191). However, the plants of most varieties are reasonably priced and the owner of a small greenhouse may find it more profitable to purchase them in lots of 50 or 100 and retail them. Among my favorite sedums are S. acre, S. album, S. reflexum chameleon, and S. spurium.

Hen-and-chickens is one of the most popular sempervivums. This one, a low-growing gray-green rosette, sends out tiny plants in such abundance it would seem, indeed, to be an old mother hen and her chicks. Cobweb is another attractive sem-pervivum. Gray-green, hairy leaves joined together by a lacy web, plus red flowers, make this an excellent choice for the terrace.

Tuberous Begonias

You can't beat tuberous-rooted begonias for growing in shady areas of the terrace. It's easy to see why they are called mocking-bird flower, for the blossoms come in shapes resem­bling roses, gardenias, camellias, and carnations. The colors are gorgeous, including pure white, all shades of yellow and orange, pink, rose, and red.

If this is your first year with tuberous begonias, you may want to start by offering mature tubers, started in pots. The tubers are reasonably priced—the domestics from California cost more than the imports, but they're usually larger and firmer.

If your started tubers prove to be good sellers, then grow at least part of your next crop from seed.

Sow the seed in February in a warm greenhouse, in a good seed-growing mixture (equal parts of loam, leafmold, and sand). Water the medium before sowing the seed and keep the planting moist by covering it with glass until the seedlings show—in 10 days to 2 weeks. Handle the seedlings as suggested for gloxinias from seed (page 228) and you'll have plants for 4-inch pots in May.

Start tubers in February or March in sand or a mixture of sand and peatmoss. Plant with the hollow side up. Grow in a warm greenhouse, keeping the soil slightly moistened until growth shows. Pot up in late April or early May in 4-inch pots of good porous soil mixture.

Yarrow  (Achillea)

Yarrow, with its ferny gray-green foliage and pretty little pompon flowers, makes an excellent terrace plant. It is tough and will thrive in conditions similar to those given sedums. The flowers make lovely long-lasting additions to arrangements.

These plants usually do not bloom until the second year from seed so it may be more profitable for you to purchase small plants and repot them.

For the Window Box, Hanging Basket, or Outdoor Planter

The popularity of hanging baskets, outdoor planter boxes, and window boxes makes it necessary that you should know a little about the type of plants your customers will want to pur­chase for use in these garden "areas." Almost any of the small vines, or trailers—Vinca ma\or, hoya, wandering Jew, trailing petunias, begonias, and ivy geranium—will do beautifully. The upright geraniums often are depended upon to furnish the bulk of bloom for both types of planters. Most of the small bedding plants also are good.

Asparagus Fern (Asparagus plumosus)

These can be grown from seed but the seedlings are the vic­tims of so many insect pests that it is better to purchase small plants in February and grow them on in the warm house for spring and early summer sales.

Feathery green trailing growth, plus small white flowers which often produce small red fruits, make this a froth of green for the window box or planter. Here it is seldom bothered with pests unless the season is exceptionally hot and dry, then it may become infested with red spider.

53. The year-in-year-out popularity of Pilea involucrata is undoubtedly partly due to its common name, Friendship Plant. The profit-minded grower will always keep an ample selection of such "bread and butter" house plants in stock.   (Photograph by Author)

If you have old plants left over, you can divide them with a sharp knife, potting up the pieces of long white tubers and foliage in 4-inch pots of greenhouse soil. They also make won­derful hanging basket plants for the patio or greenhouse.

Begonia

Nearly everyone knows the little wax begonia (B. semper-florens), with its shiny leaves and white, pink, or red flowers. You can purchase a large plant of the wax begonia and propa­gate most of your own stock through cuttings grown in the warm house, buy small potted plants for retail, or grow these fibrous-rooted begonias from seed. The procedure from seed is like that for most house plants, (page 112).

Equally good for window boxes are the hanging basket types of tuberous-rooted begonias. The single or double flowers range from white and yellow through pink, salmon, and red.

Dracaena

Most gardeners think of dracaena as a house plant but it makes a good tough item for outdoor planting in summer. And you can always tell your customers it serves double duty. When the window box season has finished, it can be dug up, potted, and used as a house plant.

This is another item I believe is best purchased as small potted plants. You won't want too many to start with—prob­ably no more than 2 dozen—and they are low priced. D. fra-grans has green leaves but many varieties have striped and speckled foliage. There's D. Massangeana with a wide golden stripe along the leaf midrib; D. Godseffiana, with flecks of white on its foliage; D. Goldieana has green and silver foliage; and D. Sanderianq, a slender plant, with glossy green leaves margined white.

If you have plants left over, you can propagate more from tip, stem, or root cuttings struck in a propagating bed or case. They must be grown in the warm house.

Heliotrope

The dwarf form of heliotrope, with its heads of blue or white flowers, makes a wonderful plant for window box or planter (and is fine also for bedding or as an accent plant).

Heliotrope is easily grown from cuttings taken in the fall. These are sold in pots the following spring. Grow the cuttings in any medium you prefer, in a warm house. As soon as they are well rooted you can plant them in 3-inch pots of greenhouse soil. When the plants reach the height you want, cut out the top so the plant will branch.

Hoya Carnosa

Often called the wax plant or Swedish ivy, this plant with its heavy, glossy, green or variegated leaves and huge clusters of waxy white or pink flowers makes a marvelous summer window box plant. And it, too, serves double duty. In the fall it can be brought into the house and used in a hanging basket or trained up the side of a window.

It's best to buy this one as rooted cuttings; pot them in rich soil, and grow them in the warm house. You probably won't want to start out with more than twenty-five. If you keep some over and want them to flower in your greenhouse, do not take tip cuttings. The blooms form on the tips and after the plants have flowered, they will produce a second-year flower crop on these same tips.

Pandanus

Here's another plant which doubles for window box and in­door garden. The green foliage is bordered or striped with white or yellow.

As a starter, buy un-rooted cuttings and root them in flats of light soil mixture at 65 degrees F. When they are rooted, in about 3 weeks, pot in 3-inch pots. Plants started in March are ready for later spring sales.

Thunbergia

Although generally reserved for greenhouse decoration, thun­bergia makes a good trailer for the window box. Its flowers, produced freely throughout the summer, are white, cream, orange red, and in shades of blue-purple.

Thunbergia, called clock vine, is easily propagated through cuttings or seed sown in the spring in the warm house. Pot up into 2-inch pots as soon as the cuttings or seedlings can be easily handled.

Wishbone Plant (Torenia)

Small gloxinia-like flowers in white and yellow, plain yellow, or blue and white, and tiny green leaves, plus a trailing habit when grown in partial shade, make the wishbone plant unusual material for the window box, planter, or hanging basket.

In warmer areas of the country, this one is handled as many northern gardeners handle pansies.

Sow the seeds in March in loose soil and grow in the warm house. Do not let seedlings dry out—they may not revive. As soon as you can handle them, perhaps mid-April, plant them in 3-inch pots of porous soil.

Umbrella Plant (Cyperus alternifolius)

Green umbrella-like growth makes this plant most attractive. For your first year's sales, obtain small plants and sell them retail. If you have leftovers you may want to grow one or two for specimen greenhouse or house plants. Transplant them to a size larger pot.

You can propagate these by sowing seeds in a propagating case, giving them plenty of moisture and bottom (cable) heat of about 70 degrees, or through root divisions of the older plants, taken in March, and handled just like the seeds.

Vinca

Vinca major is perhaps the most commonly used vine in the window box, and it is tender. (Vinca minor or periwinkle is the popular, hardy, evergreen groundcover.) Vinca majors small variegated leaves on slender stems make it a pretty plant to trail over the edges of a box.

Since it usually takes a full year to grow salable plants from cuttings, it is better to purchase rooted cuttings, about a month before the beginning of spring sales. Pot them up in 2-inch pots, grow them in the warm house, and keep the soil thoroughly moist at all times.

There are a few improved forms with somewhat deeper variegations than the species major. These are listed as "highly colored," "richly variegated," or "improved" varieties.

Leaf loss may be due to a too high temperature and lack of water.

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