PLANTS

ALTERNANTHERA varieties

• PARROT LEAF / CALICO PLANTS. Despite their ongowing nomenclatural chaos, these traditional mainstays of grandma's windowsill are being rediscovered a key to any valid Victorian outdoor bedding scheme or an an antidote to monochromatic daylily or Hosta beds--and especially for disguising a dormant spring bulb bed. Although you need not reach the Alternanthera saturation level of Disneyworld, why not go boldly forth designing your initials out of "Calico Plants" in an annual bed or even a full floral clock (perhaps with the assistance of Iresine & mini Coleus)

ALTERNANTHERA AMOENA BRILLIANTISSIMA

• hile the true "Red Parrot Plant" may no longer be in actual cultivation, this cultivar from Dale Huddleson sports coppery green flame leaves with red tones; pink centers with purplish veins and wine colored splashes. Very slow growing until the heat of the summer.

ALTERNANTHERA AMOENA PARTY TIME

• trongly mounding bright basil green looker with each leaf wildly slashed with pink and magenta highlights--a natural as a basic container companion, soon forming a wide open shrublet of marvelous colors easily blending diverse plants types and colors in any combination; midwinter strawfls at petioles adds to the appeal for those growing this charmer in winter windowsills or hobby greenhouses. Unfortunately, much beloved by slugs--so site accordingly. From It Saul PLants.

ALTERNANTHERA CHRISTMAS TREE [HANSOTI #5] AMARA HP TERR TGH

• Very tiny leaved selection with grayish green foliage thickly held in petite conical mounds. Marvelous very small plants with congested curved leaves nonetheless are stalwart growers; absolutely marvelous in any terrarium landscape--no one will guess the genus of this elfin critter. We will send this slow growing charmer with several sets of leaves--we never seem to have enough.

ALTERNANTHERA DENTATA RED MARBLE "Marbled Christmas Clover"

• Upright bushy habit perfect for any container combination with rounded leaves of burgundy red to eggplant purple strikingly streaked or bordered pink; a plus indoors in winter are the white clover-like strawflowers. Some Florida nurseries, totally ignoring the blossoms, still offer this as a Pseuderanthemum!

ALTERNANTHERA DENTATA RUBIGINOSA [RUBY] Christmas Clover"

• has deep maroon leaves accented by masses of long-lasting ivory popcorn flowerheads lasting all winter-- thus also called "False Globe Amaranth." Old favorite for its prolific winter display; but newly popular for its ease of culture in adding a quick splash of unabashed purple to summer container gardening.

ALTERNANTHERA FICOIDES BETTZICKIANA AFF AUREO-NANA

• Twiggy bushy mound of showy foliage; this "find" of Dorothy Bonitz seems to produce more lime and pink tones on wider leaves than the familiar 'aureo-nana'. Much more compact and mounding than 'Gold Threads'.

ALTERNANTHERA FICOIDEA BETTZICKIANA GOLD THREAD

• Marvelous tuffet of very slim yellow leaves--the "Golden Calico Plant" makes a perfect windowsill pot plant, an excellent addition to the small windowbox or urn; even a wonderful "dot" plant for the small scale summer border, or for hiding that blank space in your rockery left by dormant spring bulbs.

ALTERNANTHERA FICOIDEA BETTZICKIANA RED THREAD

• Excellent tuffets of slim scarlet purple thread leaves--very attractive, yet easy container plant. Perhaps the most popular of the tribe with our customers as it lends itself unstintingly to a myriad of necessary design tasks from topiaries to urns, from windowsill pots to summer rockery covers for dormant spring bulbs, from windowboxes to Wardian cases. It is there to do the job.

ALTERNANTHERA FICOIDEA BETTZICKIANA TRUE YELLOW AMARA

• Low growing "Golden Calico Plant" with very broad solid chartreuse leaves turning bright yellow in full sun when used as a dramatic bedding subject. Very popular, but extremely intolerant of chill.

ALTERNANTHERA FICOIDEA FILIGREE AMARAN

• Carmine bronze ribbon leaves emerge whitish gold then develop a bright bronzy tone as the leaves become more diamond shaped. Petite yet quite easy, forming a very regular pyramidal shape. Certainly the best self-formed dense self-clumping cultivar of the tribe. Newly popular as a terrarium accent; always popular as a petite tuffett of a pot plant on a sunny windowsill.

ALTERNANTHERA FICOIDEA GREEN MACHINE

• Very low carpeting "Puckered Parrot" with clusters of wide very quilted deep green leaves accented with small white straw textured bracts tucked among the foliage year 'round. Much used at Disney World for its richly toned dimpled flat leaves are perfect in the topiary gardens; also popular as a "dot" plant in tropical trough designs.

ALTHERNANTHERA FICOIDEA RED BITSY AMAR

• The truly "Miniature Calico Plant" with tiny elongated maroon and purpled red leaf pairs tightly packed on branching erect stemlets--forming tuffets of redish bronze in full sun. Forms a wide tightly growing mound without pinching. Certainly the darling of terrarium designers.

ALTERNANTHERA FICOIDEA ROSEA NANA AMARA

• Marvelous "Pygmy Parrotleaf" with very delicate-appearing spatulate rose-colored leaves forming a lilac cloud of foliage on the twiggy bushy plantlets; very distinctive lilac tone rendered quite delicate in tone by the filigreed character of the thin leaves closely intersticed--nonetheless an easily grown, quite vigorous Victorian clone unbeaten when you need a showy but easily blending ornamental to beautifully cascade from your urn, basket, or windowbox and make absolutely no fuss about it. Our customers proclaim this to be one of the ultimates in "spill" plants for mixed containers--most successful because its erubescent colors are decidedly heightened when grown in full sun.

ALTERNANTHERA FICOIDEA WHITE CARPET

• Very congested flattened buns of lovely tiny puckered leaves brightly margined bold white. Incredible Indian cultivar famous for fooling plant show judges who cannot believe this is cousin to the "Calico/ Parrot" tribe! The most successful way to introduce a patch of white in your terrarium or tropical trough. Much used in moss topiary as this quilted carpet stays close to the surface.

ALTERNANTHERA POLYGONOIDES PURPLE SELECTION

• "Water Amaranth" Slim purple leaves on branching plant popular in aquatic gardens. Also known as A. sessilis, "Scarlet Hygrophila" Also offered as a. reineckii--as this suggests, a very popular water garden and bedding plant of uncertain origin; most dramatic as a hanging basket item, or (as is quite low statured) a cascading purple carpet in windowboxes or urns especially when the petite white cloverheads of blossoms start to appear.

ALTERNANTHERA POLYGONOIDES WHITE KNIGHT

• "Margined Water Amaranth" Low carpeting habit with each pair of long oval leaves brightly margined white; produces typical white strawflowers late in the season. Perfect in baskets and excellent spilling over in windoboxes.

ALTERNANTHERA PURPLE KNIGHT [HORT]

• Low spreading (or cascading) carpet of glossy crisped wide leaves of metallic purplish tones. Quite attractive combined with container or windowbox groupings--do not confuse this with the far more narrow leved A. polygonoides. Popular for rich color and rapid growth rate. This is available in seed catalogues from time to time under a remarkably diverse selection of names!

ALTERNANTHERA VERSICOLOR SNOWBALL

• Heavily branched stemlets of this "Ocean Froth" plant bear dainty leaves splashed brilliant white. Truly a "White Wonder." Flower inflorescence a froth of white--incredible as house plant, greenhouse showoff, and outdoor summer container accent. (AND: the skirt of Snow White at Disneyworld.)