In the main it is generally reckoned that the more colourful the foliage the more difficult the plant is likely to prove in cultivation, but there are exceptions to almost every rule and the coleus is just that. These plants may he raised from seed or by means of cuttings, but cuttings of named varieties are far and away the best bet as they produce plants in colour and habit which are much superior.

Cuttings of firm young shoots root with little bother at, almost any time of the year, and an interesting and varied collection of these plants’ can quite quickly be built up. When they become too large and overgrown they should be replaced; in fact, it is wise always to have a few young plants coming along for this purpose.

Keeping cyclamen plants from one year to the next defeats many, perplexes many and satisfies a few. At the various flower shows we attend we meet many plant growers who have the most astonishing collection of problems. One lady informed me that she had tried for many years to keep her plants without success and after her experiences that year she had finally decided to give up. It seems that of two cyclamen corms that were kept one grew and produced nothing but leaves and the other corm produced a few flowers, but no leaves at all. It was probably as well that she accepted this.

When anything goes wrong with a citrus plant then the florist, nurseryman and everyone down the line is in trouble. The main reason is that these are expensive plants to buy and the purchaser is more likely as a consequence to seek advice. When first bought, plants normally have an abundance of glossy green leaves, small orange-coloured fruits, green unripened fruit and, for good measure, heavily scented white flowers.

With all these attractions the plant is almost bound to be costly, even if you discount the length of time it takes to bring it to maturity: the longer plants spend in the heated greenhouses of the nursery the more the customer will have to pay for them.

Under natural conditions the potted plants would grow to normal chrysanthemum height, but by use of carefully measured doses of chemical plants,can he restricted to a maximum growing height of some 18 in., which makes them a much more marketable proposition as decorative flowering plants.

These are insectivorous plants with sensitive leaf hairs which, when a fly lands on them, induce the leaf to close up slowly and trap the fly inside. The plant feeds on all manner of insects in this way and an incredible number of gullible people buy this plant fondly thinking that they are going to take it home and sit indoors watching this wonder of nature methodically gobbling up all the flies in the room.

They had grown to some 3 ft. 6 in. in height and, incredibly enough, had lost practically no leaves in this time, while similarly aged individual plants had long since passed their best. Later experiments with equally difficult plants were tried and it seemed proved beyond doubt that the majority fared very much better when placed in larger containers with moist sphagnum moss packed around the pots.

Almost as much a part of the Victorian era as the aspidistra, the hare’s-foot fern is not encountered very often today. Something of a pity, as this is one of the easiest possible plants to grow besides being rather interesting and to some extent amusing. For ferns the leaves are rather coarse and not very attractive, but the rhizomatous growth from which fronds emerge will always attract attention.

These hairy rhizomes creep over the edge of the pot and look fOr all the world like hare’s feet. Kept on the dry side in cool conditions in winter and watered and fed during the summer months, they present few problems. Having acquired one plant it is not difficult to increase by division of the rhizomes in the early part of the year. Grow them in pots or hanging baskets; when planted in hanging baskets they can take on a rather weird appearance in time.

The house plant grower with an experimental turn of mind may well he able to grow on aphelandra plants from one vear to the next if he has at his disposal some simple propagating equipment with which to raise new cuttings. To do this allow the bract to die back and lose its colour before cutting the plant back to a firm pair of leaves.

Growth that appears from the arils of those leaves should he allowed to develop two pairs of leaves of their own before they are severed from the parent plant. A clean cut straight across the stem should be made about half an inch below the lower leaf. Propagate in a pure peat mixture and pot on into a proper growing compost as soon as the plant has rooted through to the sides of the small pot in which it has been propagated.

For the plantsman desirous of obtaining a slow- growing house plant Ardisia could possibly be the ultimate choice. The nurseryman may well sow the seed in the traditional manner in a reasonably high temperature in the spring of one year and find that he is on the board of directors by the time the plant has attained its maximum height of some 4 ft. and is ready to he marketed. Highly improbable, you may feel, but this has actually happened to my knowledge.

Mother bulbs are expensive to purchase, but case of culture and spectacular flowers make them worthwhile acquisitions. Using pots only slightly larger than the diameter of the bulb, potting up should be undertaken in the autumn, J.I.P.3 being a suitable compost. Whatever compost is used it is essential that it should be rich, and not too thin and light.

Propagate by cuttings about 5 in. in length, preferably in spring, but non-flowering top cuttings should present little difficulty at any time provided there is a warm, close atmosphere in which to house them.

In order to retain their rich colouring, which is almost entirely cream with touches of pale green, it is essential that plants should enjoy the lightest possible position. On account of the light factor plants grown entirely indoors are rarely as good as those given greenhouse or garden-room conditions. Sun protection is only necessary on the very hottest days. In good light more mature plants of three to four years of age will take on the most exciting pinkish-red colouring in the centre of the bract. With the variegated pineapples the great moment comes when, after some three or four years, a pineapple develops and begins to emerge from the centre of the rosette.

There are a number of Gardenia available, but this is the species most frequently met with. Healthy plants develop into compact bushes of glossy green leaves, producing double white flowers with an almost overpowering scent during the summer months, and for this reason alone they are worthy of inclusion in a collection of plants.

When they have attained reasonable size the seedlings can be planted directly into 5-in. half- pots filled with a mixture similar to that suggested for saintpaulias. For most of the squat plants that are similar to gloxinias the half-pots are proportionately right, and plants seem more attractive. After flowering the fbliage will die down quite naturally, and water should be withheld and the tubers kept dry until they are repotted in the spring.

Propagate from seed sown in good heat in February, or from offsets of older tubers when they are potted.

Light and airy surroundings plus standard house plant treatment will ensure success. Being fairly rapid in growth they should be potted on annually using J.I.P.3, and a little extra feeding will help. Easily propagated from seed sown in heat in March, or from cuttings taken with a heel of the old wood in the spring.

Growing plants of reasonable quality presents few problems to many saintpaulia owners, but they are often perplexed by the fact that otherwise healthy plants are reluctant to flower. Much of this is due to the fact that most fertilisers manufactured for indoor plants contain a very high level of nitrogen in their make up, and foliage plants do particularly well on such a diet.

And, with reasonable care, it does seem to be almost indestructible, and to almost thrive on neglect. The most dangerous enemy of the sansevieria is the over-zealous owner who feels that he or she must be foreVer watering, watering, watering. Having very thick, fleshy leaves the plant is able to go for long periods without attention.

It has been my contention for many years that the most important single requirement for the successful growing of saintpaulias indoors is adequate light. A sunny window-sill, with protection from strong, direct sunlight only, is the ideal position, and the kitchen window-sill for preference as there is usually less curtaining, so more light there.

The arrival of orchids in Europe came about with the age of exploration, and it was the ships’ captains who saw a lucrative deline in bringing back many strange and exciting tropical plants from the new worlds being discovered.

The genus Cirrhopetalum was first described in 1830; there are about 3o species, and not as many hybrids. Elizabeth Anne `Bucklebury’ AM/RHS is one of the most successful hybrids in the genus and was raised by a famous old firm, Stuart Low Co., in 1969. Its parents are Cirrhopetalum longissima and C. rothschildianum.

Originally it was the wild species which were cultivated, but within the last 130 years the raising of man-made hybrids has taken priority. Many of the species are in a sorry state, being almost extinct in the wild, as their habitat is being rapidly destroyed, but at the same time greatly sought after in collections, where they have become rare items indeed.

Moreover, being an artificially-produced plant, the resulting hybrids are immediately more vigorous and therefore easier to grow. A further advantage is that those artificially-produced hybrids have grown up in a controlled environment, and unlike the jungle plant it has not had to withstand the rigours of importation and adjusting to unnatural conditions.

The pseudobulbs have been reduced to such an extent they are barely visible, and are stem-like in appearance, being short, and thinner than a pencil. The tcrcte (cylindrical and tapering) leaves, on the other hand, are long by comparison and have become much fattened. They will snap like a young carrot if mishandled.

This species must always be grown in this natural fashion, and when it blooms from the apex of the pseudobulb, the usually single, large and heavy flower will lack the necessary support to hold itself erect. It will droop vertically, hiding most of its beauty, although not its fragrance, carefully shielded between the two blucygreen leaves.

Smaller, almost non-existent, pseudobulbs will require heavier, more fleshy leaves to compensate. A pseudobulb may support a solitary leaf, or numerous leaves. The gigantic Grammatophyllum wallisil ‘Burnham’, one of the largest species in the world, the long sugarcane-like pseudobulbs flanked for most of their length by huge leaves.

They prevent water vapour from collecting on the surface. They are also bristly and must greatly deter marauding pests. This type of protection can also be found on the Hower stems of most paphiopedilums and a few masdevallias.