A number of indoor plants may be propagated by this method, and it is also an excellent way of reducing the height of rubber plants which are getting out of hand. Plants are air-layered simply by removing a section of the outer bark and wrapping a handful of wet sphagnum moss around the exposed area, or by making an upward cut through the main stem and wrapping wet sphagnum moss round the incision.

Relax; it is not nearly so dreadful as the foregoing may suggest. In actual fact the house plant grower is not too much troubled by pests, and if you follow my earlier suggestion about purchasing plants from a reliable source then the chance of introducing pests to your collection of plants is further reduced.

Fortunately, the majority of really poisonous insecticides are not available to the general public, but even those that are considered safe should be handled carefully. Certainly, when handling insecticides rubber gloves should be worn as general practice, and any plants that need treatment, particularly with a liquid solution that is sprayed on, should be treated out of doors.

Plants will vary in the time they take to produce new roots into the moss, but when a good supply of healthy white roots can be seen through the polythene the stem can he cleanly severed a little below the moss ball. Let the cut end dry, remove the polythene and, leaving the moss ball intact, pot the new plant into a pot of its own, using a peaty compost. Water in, then keep on the dry side during the first few weeks to encourage root development.

Inspection of the growing tips of hederas, for example, will often show colonies of greenfly feasting there. Greenfly should he looked for on buds and flowers of flowering plants – the hibiscus is a good example of a flowering plant which is vulnerable to greenfly attack. They may also he found under the leaves as well as on new growth, where they are very easily detected.

A further precaution is to ensure that the insecticide manufacturer’s instructions for. preparation and use of his product are followed to the letter. Often enough only a small amount of the solution is required, but it is better to mix the minimum amount stipulated by the manufacturer and dispose of any surplus rather than experiment with hit-and-miss smaller quantities in the belief that one is being economical. In almost every aspect of plant growing excess can be dangerous, and this is never more so than in the use of pest controls. Mixing insecticides to excessive strength may indeed put paid to the pest, but there is no benefit if the plant should succumb. in the process.