The owners of small gardens need to utilise every scrap of space and they, therefore, must be more selective in their choice of plants. Climbers and wall plants will provide the answer to many problems for they will add both space and height to congested sites and will bring colour to every available wall. However, enthusiasm should be tempered with discreet understanding for there are climbers which love to be baked into brilliance of flower by hot sun, whereas others must be soothed by moist shade.

I always use a soft string which will not chafe even the most tender bark and, which is perhaps more important, it will rot after a year or two. When indestructible material is used I grow careless about the annual inspection to ensure the stem is not being constricted by the tie. All wall plants must be looked over at least twice a year to make certain the stems are not being chafed or strangled by the supporting media.

I could till a book with a selection of climbing and wall plants but as before will restrict the choice to those which have been proven in the crucible of the garden. There are two species especially suitable for wall culture, butoboth need different treatment.

Few things are harder to make an impression on than a well-seasoned oak stump. It took several heart-rending hours with an axe to convince me of this. Eventually I planted a x jouiniana in front of it and now the stump is hidden by a sprawling network of branches which from July to August are covered by white, lilac-tinted flowers.

Climbers need not be confined to walls. Stumps of old trees, venerable apple or other fruit trees, chain-link fencing, indeed anything capable of supporting the extra weight. For climbers some support will be necessary and modern invention provides a richly varied choice. A well-made wooden trellis, plastic-covered mesh, vine eyes with wire stretched between, or a nail hammered in where required – there is something to suit every depth of pocket.

Some gardeners have an instinct for putting flowers in just the right association with one another and I am fortunate in that for 15 years just such an artist gave me endless help at Harlow Car. C. macropetala, an early-summer-flowering species with large violet semi-double blooms, was her favourite and it was always grown through a wisteria which flowered at the same time. C. montana is the robust, independent, ‘go out and conquer the world’ member of the clan, growing well in any position. I have seen it on walls, potting sheds, thatched cottages, Scots Pine, apple trees, even a ruined church. I grow the white form granditiora , the rose-purpleflowered, bronze-leaved rubens and the pearl- pink, sweetly fragrant Elizabeth. All flower in May and some years a small second crop appears rather apologetically in August.

The weeping fig of Ficus benjamina has small, oval-shaped, glossy green leaves and may grow to a height of 20 ft. in a large pot. Conditions similar to those suggested for the monstera are best. These plants dislike being moved from place to place, so should be left alone when obviously settled and growing well.

Philodendron hastatum, tuxla, Burgundy and lacineatuni are examples. Hederas, rhoicissus and such like may also be grown to considerable size, but they lack the majestic appearance of the plants.

The dry conditions created by the often too-high temperatures of the modern office is the principal reason for plants deteriorating. Exposure to excessive sunlight through unprotected glass can also be harmful to many of the shade-loving plants.

It will cost practically nothing for the typist to purchase a tradcscantia in a pot to decorate the nearest window-sill, but it may involve the owner in a considerable outlay if the entire office area is to he landscaped with indoor plants. The window-sill plant is usually the property and responsibility of the person working in the vicinity and need not involve any expense.

For exposed sunny positions only the really tough sansevieria type of plant is suitable. For the hot office it would also he unwise to select plants which prefer cooler conditions. In particular the ivies and Cissus ant ardica would not be expected to survive for more than a few weeks in really hot, arid situations.

Plants take on tree proportions with many branches when fully developed, and a height of some 30 ft. in dustbin-sized containers is quite possible.

It will cost practically nothing to purchase a tradcscantia in a pot to decorate the nearest window-sill, but it may involve the owner in a considerable outlay if the entire office area is to he landscaped with indoor plants. The window-sill plant is usually the property and responsibility of the person working in the vicinity and need not involve any expense.

Philodendron hastatum, tuxla, Burgundy and lacineatuni are examples. Hederas, rhoicissus and such like may also be grown to considerable size, but they lack the majestic appearance of the plants.

The dry conditions created by the often too-high temperatures of the modern office is the principal reason for plants deteriorating. Exposure to excessive sunlight through unprotected glass can also be harmful to many of the shade-loving plants.

In this way the plant can draw up all the moisture required and there should be much less need to water the actual compost in which the plant is growing. It is easy to care for if treated in the same way as the monstera.

But if a plant collection is to he kept, it should be looked after and removed when, as so often happens, the plants have died and the collection becomes little more than one of flower pots with dry, baked compost and no plants in sight.

Plants take on tree proportions with many branches when fully developed, and a height of some 30 ft. in dustbin-sized containers is quite possible.

Abide by the fertiliser manufacturer’s instructions and better results will be a little larger, and procure a properly balanced potting compost. It is seldom, if ever, that one sees good-quality plants growing in what is often referred to as garden dirt. Composts should contain peat, sand, fertiliser and all sorts of other ingredients if potted plants are to do well.

When using aerosol sprays of any description (other than those for pest control and cleaning) plants should be carefully avoided; better still to remove them from the room altogether.

Like fertilisers, all insecticides should be used as instructed, as that seemingly harmless little extra may well cause leaf scorch and other damage. Pests should be treated as soon as they are seen, as any delay will make their control just that much more difficult.

Calat heel zebrina requires warm, shady conditions – not a plant to choose for a sunny but unheated room. Though the flowers of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis are superb, like many flowering plants the hibiscus is vulnerable to greenfly attack.

When experimenting with new products they should be tried on one plant, or part of a plant, in order to test the reaction. It is much better to he safe than sorry. The majority of plants will do perfectly well (in spite of views to the contrary) in rooms heated by gas appliances provided the atmosphere does not become stuffy; this means that the rooms should be ventilated daily. Draughts can he harmful to many plants, but fresh air on a warm day can do a power of good.

There are also hardy and more tender species available, but those offered for home decoration are, generally speaking, a middle-of-the-road selection which will do better indoors.

Almost all the house plants of taller habit which produce growing stems from which branches and leaves emerge can be propagated by means of top or stem cuttings. A top cutting is the end part of the growth, and with many types of plants (the aphelandra is a good example) it provides the best cutting, while other plants produce growth at the top that is often too soft to be of any real value. Stem cuttings are prepared from single leaves with a piece of stem attached, or simply from the piece of stem as in the case of dieffenbachias.

Often enough, with hederas for example, three or four leaves with a longer piece of stem will be used. In these instances it is usually advisable to remove the lower leaf or two and not to bury the remaining leaves in the compost. Plants resulting from this type of cutting are often fuller and of better quality. In the case of cuttings with smaller leaves (hederas, tradescantias and Ficus pinate) it is advisable to insert as many as six cuttings in a pot. Plants so produced are of much better appearance than those from only one or two cuttings in each pot. Hedcras, being easy to propagate, should be inserted directly into the compost in which they are expected to grow – transferring them from peat to compost is not necessary with the easier plants, and causes unnecessary disturbance of the new root system. However, when rooting cuttings of the larger leaved hederas such as H. canariensis they should first be encouraged to root in peat.

Dracaena massangeana is one of the more impressive foliage plants though space demanding, but good value if the room can be afforded. When freely planted in beds of compost or when growing in their natural habitat they become quite substantial plants.

The leaf is carefully cut away below soil level with a sharp knife – no harm is suffered by the cutting which by then is well established on its own root system, deriving little or no benefit from the parent leaf which played such an important part when young roots were in the process of development.

To produce acceptable plants from such a parent the cutting should be removed with about 5 in. of hare stem attached. With a sharp knife make notches along the stem in five or six places that will be below soil level when the cutting is inserted, and treat the notches and severed end of the stem with a rooting powder. Prepare a potful of J.1.P.2 compost pressed down fairly firmly and make a reasonably large hole with a dibber into which moist sphagnum peat should be gently pressed in with the dibher.

The cutting is then inserted in the peat far enough for the leaves to come into contact with the surface of the compost. Cover the pot with a polythene bag. You may be quite surprised at the good results and the amount of root that develops, not only from the severed end, but all the way along the section of stem that is below soil level at the points where notches were made.

Oleoresin capsicum (`African capsicum oleoresin’) is prepared from the most pungent, small-fruited chillies grown in Africa and some other countries. This oleoresin has a very high pungency and is used exclusively for official pharmaceutical work, but it is employed mainly to impart pungency to manufactured foods and some beverages. His evaluated solely on its content of capsaicin; its colour value is low.

The chillies, which may have a moisture content of from 8 to 12 per cent, are next dried in the sun or artificially until crisp, to ease grinding and to prevent the chillies sticking to the grinding surfaces of the mill. In the USA, chillies are dried, before grinding, to a moisture content of from 7 to 8 per cent.

Capsicum oleoresin obtained from the whole fruit contains a considerable amount of fixed oil, originating mainly from the seeds. Pearson (1976) reported a range of 15.5-22.0 per cent in whole chillies. If the fixed oil is to remain in the oleoresin, the latter is liable to become rancid in storage.

It is possible to retard this rancidity with a suitable antioxidant, but for pharmaceutical purposes the fixed oil should be removed by, for example, repeated extraction with cold ethanol, in which the fixed oil has little solubility. The colour is much reduced but the capsaicin is concentrated, and the commercial value of the oleoresin is increased accordingly.

Reports of yield values are meagre, but Naves (1974) stated that chillies, extracted with dichloroethane, gave 8.7-16.5 per cent of the oleoresin, according to quality. While oleoresin capsicum from African chillies is used in many commercial food products where only pungency is desired, one of the most widely used oleoresins is that obtained from the somewhat milder capsicums which enter into the formulation of red pepper, providing both pungency and colour.

As can be seen from the descriptions above, colour value and pungency, as well as the yield of non:volatile extract, are the most important properties of these oleoresins. Provided that the fruits have been harvested at optimum maturity and well dried, crucial factors in the extraction of the oleoresins are the state of subdivision of the dried fruits and the nature of the solvent.

Aglaonema is widely distributed in South East Asia. 16 to 2eC. (6o to 70F.). The suitable temperature for Aglaonema is less than 16C. (60F.); for a short period this may do little harm, but it is essential to provide adequate warmth if these plants are to do well.

Aglaonemas are mostly of compact habit and deserve to be more popular than they are at present. Specialist nurseries list several varieties, but on the whole they tend to be neglected. A few, such as the species Aglaonema commutatum, have rather dull foliage, so the hick of interest may be quite understandable.

When buying plants in flower it is best to select those that arc more backward in order to get the longest life possible from them. The ideal stage is when the pink bract is a little above the water level in the urn. Plants that have developed to the stage where the blue flowers in the otherwise pink bract are fully open should be avoided.

Though expensive, if purchased at the proper stage of development, A. rhodocyanea will give anything from eight to ten months of pleasure before the bract eventually deteriorates. The high cost merely reflects the time taken by the nurseryman to bring the plant to maturity, at least five years from seed under normal conditions.

Aechmeas belong to the bromeliad family, and an essential part of their culture is to ensure that the water reservoir formed by the leaves is kept permanently topped up with water. This may take on an unpleasant odour in time, and it is therefore advisable to change the water completely every six weeks or so. Only a little water requires to be given to the actual compost, so that it is just moist and never saturated.

The time can be reduced by adding carefully controlled amounts of chemical to the water in the reservoir, but it is not the sort of treatment that can be recommended to the householder owning just one or two plants.

Another pest that ruins the appearance of affected plants. Easy to detect but very difficult to kill off completely once they have made a home in the tangled branches of such climbing plants as stephanotis and hoya. One is often invited to visit the greenhouse of an enthusiastic amateur and see the wonderful range of plants being cultivated under one roof.

A mild attack of scale is not too damaging, but if left unchecked they multiply quite rapidly and will completely cripple the plant in time. They also leave a sticky deposit on leaves and stems which does nothing to improve their appearance.

Do this by wrapping a piece of polythene around the pot so that the soil cannot spill out, then dip the plant in the insecticide and swish it around to ensure that all leaves and stems have been well saturated, not forgetting first to don rubber gloves. Keep the plant out of the sun and allow the foliage to dry naturally before replacing in position.

The important thing with these pests, as with all others, is to keep on top of them, as they are much more of a problem once they have become established. The good grower practises a policy of prevention rather than cure – possibly a simpler task on the nursery than in the living room or kitchen. But it does, nevertheless, pay to keep a watchful eye for unwanted visitors on one’s plants.

A fortune must be spent annually by growers of all sorts of plants in their efforts to keep red spider mite under control, so there is no lack of material when choosing an insecticide with which to treat them. It would be foolish to list the insecticides that are available as they are changing and, we are told, being improved upon all the time. The helpful plant retailer will be the best person to consult in order to obtain advice on the current popular product. Thereafter, follow the manufacturer’s directions, and be sure to thoroughly saturate the undersides of plant leaves. In order to discourage attack from red spider a moist environment should be maintained around the plants and dry atmosphere and arid conditions should be avoided.

They can be seen with a small magnifying glass mostly on the undersides of leaves, and pin-prick holes in the leaf are an indication that red spider mites are present. Red spider seem particularly partial to some plants, of which Iledera canariensis is one. When spider is well established small criss-crossing webs can be seen on the undersides of leaves, and as they drain the sap- from the plant the leaves become light brown at the edges and the plant takes on a generally dry and hard appearance. Where the growing conditions are very hot and dry the risk of red spider becoming a nuisance is very much increased. Finally, a pest that attacks the roots of plants is root mealy bug. It is not often encountered but is sometimes seen on plants which remain in the same pots for long periods, bromeliads being good examples. Araha elegantissima is another.

Whatever else may he said of the ivies there is no lack of choice, and they can he adapted to many uses other than growing in very hot conditions. As far as possible a maximum temperature in the region of 16 C should he the aim, as higher temperatures will almost inevitably result in leaves drying out and in time falling off.

Red spider is often responsible for leaves gradually turning brown and shrivelling from the outer edge; inspection of the undersides should be made when such leaves are noticed. II. canariensis (II. Claire de Marengo), H. maculara and H. Goldleaf are the larger sorts that one is most likely to meet. These are essentially more upright plants and should be grown on canes or against a wall for support.

Ivies may he used for almost every purpose, as trailing plants, upright plants on stakes, climbing plants against the wall or, very effectively, as hanging basket plants. In this respect they may he used in conjunction with other plants, or as individual specimens filling the basket.

Besides being weeds they have their uses and can look reasonably attractive as pot plants, and are very little bother. When plants become overgrown it is best policy to replace rather than trim them to shape. Prepare a potful of J.I:P.3 compost, moisten it, then scatter a few trimmings on top – plants will be replaced almost overnight.

Heptapleurum Arbor Icoia is something of a miniature schefflera, with similarly shaped leaves that are smaller and more compact. It also branches quite freely when the growing top has been removed, so is better suited to the room where space is limited.

One of the very best as a climbing plant is Hedera Jubilee (Golden Heart), which makes a rather thin and scraggy pot plant, but when the golden foliage is seen against a wall in the sunlight the effect can be most appealing.

The house plant grower is only likely to come into contact with the anthuriums and, of these. For preference they all require very hot, humid conditions, which will mean a temperature consistently higher.

A spacious propagating case will then be required to house these large and somewhat spiteful cuttings – all the ananas have vicious spines along the edges of their leaves and need careful handling.

Another propagating method is to cut away the top of the mature fruit with the tufted rosette and allow to dry before placing it firmly on top of a propagating bed, or potful of suitable propagating mixture. It will reduce the chances of rotting if the mixture is covered with a fine layer of sand on which the fruit may rest.

This is simply made from a slatted wood base, covered with a layer of good sphagnum moss; the plant is then placed in the centre of the moss and. more moss is built up around the roots to the neck of the plant. Stiff wire bent in the fitshion of hairpins will hold the moss in position. As roots appear through the moss the procedure is to add fresh moss as required, so there is no need for conventional potting. It will help if the moss is soaked in fertiliser solution over Aphelandra raft it is a simple business to construct a larger base on to which the existing raft is placed with a layer of moss in between the two. Grown in this way in a humid greenhouse you’ll have your friends believing that you have acquired some super new variety.

Again, A. andreanum is not a plant for the beginner, though it is seen much more often than the previous one. And if the actual plant is not familiar there is ample opportunity for seeing the flowers, which are stocked by most better class florists. The flowers have a prominent spadix with spathes that -vary in colour from. white to deepest red with almost every shade of exotic pink in between.

From a small collection of these plants one may expect flowers almost throughout the year, though the blooms may be few and far between in winter. To get the best from the flowers it is usually necessary to employ some form of support to keep the flower stalk erect. This can be a slender cane to which the flower stalk is tied immediately under the spathe, or a piece of stiff wire with an open loop at the top in which the flower may rest. Cut the cane or wire to the correct length before inserting it in the compost, as the spathe may be damaged if the support is longer than the stalk itself.