November, 1907 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



197 



shoot has a flower stalk on the end of it. 

 Little pickles may be increased easily by 

 planting pieces of the stems. 



THE OLD-FASHIONED " AIR PLANT" 



If you want something interesting to show 

 your friends, grow the so-called air plant 

 (Bryophyllum calycinum). The plant itself 

 has no decorative value, but it blooms about 

 once a year. The flowers are reddish-green 

 with white spots, are about two inches long 

 and are borne in clusters. The curious thing 

 about this plant is that if a leaf is laid on a 

 damp surface it will produce a new plant at 

 each indentation. I have seen leaves pinned 

 to a wall or window casing in the house pro- 

 duce four or five new plants. 



GROTESQUE EUPHORBIAS 



For something grotesque, grow one of the 

 euphorbias, and it does not make much differ- 

 ence which one of the fleshy kinds it is; nerii- 

 folia and antiquorum are good ones. The 

 stems are green, fleshy and three-or four- 

 angled. Some kinds, like neriifolia, have 

 a good crop of leaves; others have but few, 

 in which case they look like bare poles, and 

 some have no leaves at all and are very spiny, 

 so much so that you look a second time to 

 see whether they do not belong to the cereus 

 tribe of cacti. 



The crown of thorns (Euphorbia splen- 

 dens), is covered with short, stout, sharp 

 spines. The young growth is always covered 

 with leaves and the bright red bracts, sur- 

 rounding the flowers, are in evidence most of 

 the year. In order to keep the plant within 

 bounds it must be trained on a form. 



THE FIG MARIGOLDS 



Another class of plants which will prove 

 very interesting indeed, are the fig marigolds 

 (Mesembryanthemum). The leaves of the 

 various species assume very peculiar shapes 



and the color varies from a light glaucous 

 green to very dark green. Some of the species 

 flower freely, e. g., tricolorum and Pomeridi- 

 anum, two annuals. 



M. cordijolium var. variegatum is a half 

 hardy variegated form which is well worth 

 growing as an edging for beds in summer or 

 for rockeries. 



APICRA, HAWORTHIA, GASTERIA 



The apicras, haworthias, and gasterias 

 have curiously shaped leaves. Those of the 

 latter are usually strap- or tongue-shaped, 

 four to six inches long, dark green in color, 

 and covered more or less, with small white 

 spots. In all of the gasterias the leaves are 

 produced in two ranks one above the other. 

 In April and May, and sometimes later in the 

 season, a long flower spike is produced on 

 which are scattering red flowers, which are 



Barbadoes aloe (Aloe ■vera). The showiest of all 

 the succulents when in flower are the aloes, but the 

 plants soon become ungainly 



The fig marigolds (Mesembryanthemums) present 

 many interesting forms of leaves and some of them 

 are showy annuals. Useful for hanging basKets or 

 rocKeries 



rather interesting but do not make much of 

 a show unless one has a number of plants in 

 flower at the same time, in which case mass 

 them. 



The apicras and haworthias have short 

 leaves, one and a half inches long, roundish, 

 taper to a point and are arranged in spiral 

 around a central axis which sometimes is 

 three or four inches tall. 



COTYLEDON, ECHEVERIA 



Another interesting plant which I like to 

 grow is Cotyledon gibbiflora, var. metallica, 

 but known by the florists as Echeveria 

 metdlica. It has some curiously shaped 

 flowers which are interesting but not showy. 

 Its interest lies in its beautiful glaucous 

 purple obovate-spatulate leaves which are 

 sometimes six inches wide and seven inches 

 long; also it forms a big rosette. One 

 plant is enough in a collection. If you wish 

 more, break off a leaf at the joint and put it 

 in sand; in a few weeks a bud will develop 

 at the base. I have, however, seen leaves 



Little pickles (Othonna Capensis better Known as 

 0. crassifolia) blooms nearly all the year round but 

 the flowers open only in the sunshine 



that failed to make a bud. They continued 

 for three or four years to exist simply as 

 rooted leaves. 



A good many cotyledons are used dur- 

 ing the summer for carpet bedding, but 

 perhaps the commonest is C. secunda, var. 

 glauca. This plant is about three inches in 

 diameter and one or two inches high; the 

 flower stalks are always kept pinched out 

 when used as a bedding plant for the flowers 

 are uninteresting. 



SEDUMS 



There are a great many sedums and they 

 are very interesting plants too. The showy 

 sedum (S. spectabile) and the live-for-ever 

 (S. Telephium), are two that are hardy and 

 can be successfully grown outdoors as well 

 as in the house. The commonest sedum, 

 however, is the stonecrop (S. acre). This is an 

 evergreen and may be used as a hanging 

 plant for the stems will hang down over the 

 sides of the pot, or it may be used to fill a 

 window box. I have seen it used thus and 

 stay outdoors permanently. The leaves are 

 very small (one-quarter of an inch long), but 

 they are crowded closely together on the 

 stems. The foliage is a delightfully bright 

 green and in the variety aureum, the shoots 

 are bright golden yellow in the spring; in the 

 variety elegans, the tips and young leaves 

 are a pale silvery color. 



HOUSELEEKS 



The houseleeks (Sempervinum), are very- 

 similar to the sedums. The commonest 

 ones are the common houseleek (S. tectornm, 

 and hen and chickens (S. globijerum). Like 

 the sedums these are best grown in boxes, 

 but the plants must not be allowed to grow 

 too thickly or they won't flower. 



The most interesting one and, perhaps, the 

 best for house culture, is the spider-web 

 houseleek (S. arachnoideum). The leaves, 

 which are short and fat, are borne in rosettes 

 and between the tips of the leaves there are 

 fine, white threads like a spider's web. The 

 flowers are bright red and borne on stalks 

 three to five inches high. 



