164 



HOUSE PLANTS 



long; also it forms a big rosette. About 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 vv^ill develop 

 at the base. I have, however, seen leaves 

 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, 

 for the flowers are uninteresting. 



SEDUMS AND HOUSE LEEKS 



There are a great many sedums and they 

 are very interesting plants too. The showy 

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

 {S. Telephiurri), 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 in filling 



