On the whole pileas are small, compact plants which will all benefit from having their growing tips removed periodically in order to induce a more bushy appearance. They are also what we might term expendable plants, in that it is often better to make new plants every year or so and dispose of the older parents which lose their shape and attraction if kept for too long.

Cuttings a few inches in length root very easily in standard house plant compost if placed in a warm propagating unit, several cuttings to each pot. When they have rooted and obviously begun to grow the growing points of each cutting should he removed. Grown in moderate light in a warm place they will give little trouble. Feed with a weak liquid fertiliser while in active growth.

Water freely when in active growth and moderately at other times; if suggested temperatures cannot be maintained during the winter months plants will fare better if the compost is kept on the dry side. This advice applies to almost all plants grown in the greenhouse, garden room or indoors.

If a small-leaved, quick-growing plant is required this could well be the one. The cream- variegated leaves are roughly triangular in shape, and the plant has a natural clinging habit which will take it to the ceiling in a very short space of time. “Iso prevent growth becoming too long and thin it is wise to provide some form of trellis support round which the plant can be twined.

The variegated form Sasifraga sarinentosa tricolor is much less vigorous, requiring more careful handling, and will certainly need the higher temperatures indicated above. It will also do better if confined to small pots, as growth is not sufficiently active to justify planting them in hanging baskets as suggested above for the green form.

As small plants Schefflera digiutia and its Australian relative Schefflera actinophyllo are not particularly exciting, but as mature specimens there are few plants with purely green foliage which can match them for elegance. They are easy to manage in light, airy conditions. New plants are usually raised from seed, but hard wood of older plants that have become leggy and unattractive is not difficult to propagate in reasonable conditions.

Not all the bizarre orchid flowers appear in miniature. Among the larger flowering varieties can be found some very curious flowers and methods of flowering. The genus Stanhopea is known for its highly individually styled flowers. In all the species the petals and sepals are drawn or folded back to totally expose the lip.

Pseudobulbs (or false bulbs) are so called because they do not grow under the ground, and unlike the true bulb of an onion the pseudobulb is more like a potato (below). Pscudobulbs are swollen stems which hold the reserves of moisture for the plant and enable it to withstand quite severe periods of drought.

Some may be covered on the outside by the bracts which carry the leaves; others will be perfectly clean from bracts and are green and fresh-looking for many years; others have a protective bract which will remain green until the pseudobulb has matured, when the bract shrivels and dies.

Grown from seed or cuttings, these are useful and colourful plants which will flower for many months of the year in the garden room. Seed is sown in February-March in the conventional manner in well-moistened compost.

The reason for keeping the compost only just moist in winter is that wet compost allied to low temperatures can be especially harmful to many indoor plants, and the stephanotis is no exception.

There is also a white form of this plant which is equally easy to care for. In recent years a number of hybrids have also been developed and there is now a wide colour range to choose from. A lightly shaded position which is also cool and airy should be provided. Feed regularly during the spring and summer and pot on vigorous plants annually using a standard house plant compost which is not too heavy; that is, with a reasonable amount of peat in its make up to prevent it becoming compacted.

These tropical forest plants require a warm, humid atmosphere, but should not be too wet at their roots, so a well-drained compost is essential. To encourage drainage a 2-in. layer of crocks should be placed in the bottom of the pot before introducing the compost, which should he of a peaty nature.

Small, star-shaped flowers are produced in profusion in winter, and there are numerous colours, of which the rose pink is probably best. New plants may be raised from seed sown in good heat in March, or by means of cuttings which root very easily at almost any time of the year if reasonable heat is available, somewhere in the order of 21C. (70F.).

Besides being useful indoor plants they are equally attractive when hardened off and planted out in the garden in the centre of wide beds of annual flowers.

African Violet must surely be the most popular flowering pot plant in the world today. The poinsettia and pot chrysanthemum growers may dispute this statement, but when you consider the vast numbers of African violets which are produced in small pots throughout the year there seems little doubt that they are miles ahead of the poinsettias and chrysanthemums which demand much larger pots as a rule, and so require very much more greenhouse space than the saintpaulia in which to grow.