The Garden Under Glass

CHAPTER VII THE BEST FOLIAGE PLANTS Aralia With the aspidistra and Ficus elastica this forms a veritable triumvirate which cannot be matched among green-house plants for hardness of Constitution as plants for rooms. None of them is distinctly ornamental in a greenhouse, where they might easily escape notice, but, as they last for a long while, with apparent indifference to adverse climatic conditions, they deserve special culture for house purposes. I knew an aralia which served as a room plant for over five years—-the only interlude of greenhouse occupation being when the family were away. After this the family moved and the plant came into the possession of a cottager, who probably has it now. Aralias can easily be grown from seed, and this is the method advised for amateurs. Ringing or notching of old plants is often resorted to, and those who feel equal to the task could try this method. By working young seedlings along in a warm temperature they can quickly be made into useful specimens ; but to my idea they never look so well in their young stage as when they get a head on them, and all the leaves seem to spring from the same centre, some drooping, some erect, and others standing out horizontally from the stem. 105