Leslie F. Halleck - Tiny Plants: Discover the joys of growing and collecting itty-bitty houseplants

discover the joys of
growing and collecting
itty-bitty houseplants

LESLIE F. HALLECK

contents

preface

I FI COULD TRACE my fascination with tiny plants back to a single moment, it would be my first in-person encounter with a Lilliputian orchid blooming in its native habitat. After college graduation, I headed for an internship in Puerto Rico with the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program. Embedded in the El Yunque National Rainforest, I assisted with research on the effects of Hurricane Hugo, which defoliated the entire rainforest in 1989. One day, while collecting data in a plot that included some large boulders, my eye caught the tiniest speck of pinkish red. As I approached, I realized with budding excitement that I had found a population of incredibly tiny orchids.

They were Lepanthes rupestris, lithophytic micro orchids only found in the Luquillo mountains of Puerto Rico. The flowers, only a few millimeters in size, rested directly on top of the tiny, 1-inch (2.5 cm) leaves. I recall jumping up and downas I am prone to do when I discover cool plants and critters in their natural habitats. From that moment I was hooked on all things tiny. In addition to my formal research duties, I spent the next few months hunting down and studying all the tiny orchids and ferns I could find. In my subsequent travelsto the deep Amazon and Ecuadorian rainforests, as well as sky-high volcanoesmy eyes always sought out the tiniest botanical inhabitants.

Several years after that first encounter, I started building vivariums and keeping species of poison dart frogs and other herps. These small but intense living environments require specific plant species that are both small enough for the enclosure and appropriate for the animals. Once you start building vivariums for tiny animals, you inevitably take a deep dive into tiny plants.

As a professional horticulturist and lifelong plant collector and gardener, I have grown just about everything, in every type of settinga dorm room, college apartment, or rental house; community garden plot; large, residential landscape; my closet; the garage; and in terrariums, in grow tents... you name it. Often, the gateway drug to the gardening hobby is an introduction to houseplants. I worked at a garden center through college, so my rental house was stuffed to the gills with every plant I could get my hands on. Luckily, my roommates, Kimberly and Jen, were tolerant of my plant obsession and did not complain too much about not being able to see out of the windows!

My varied gardening and plant obsessions have also waxed and waned over the years. I have spent some years fully immersed in my vegetable garden and beehives, while others were spent figuring out how to cram every species of blooming bulb or peach-colored English rose into my ornamental gardens. Yet, I always circle back to my love of houseplants, and collecting tiny specimens has brought me a lifetime of joy. I hope they can do the same for you.

I had to dig into an old box of printed film to find one photograph, albeit artistically blurry, of my original, in-person Lepanthes rupestris encounter.

introduction

Join me for a peek into the fascinating botanical world of perfectly petite plants. Learn how to collect and care for these tiny cuties as indoor windowsill plants or as plants grown under glass.

W HEN YOU COLLECT AND CARE for houseplants, you bring both serenity and style to your indoor life. Plant parents fill their social media feeds with millions of carefully curated and styled images of their most treasured plant specimens. What could be cuterand more photogenicthan itty bitty houseplants?

Cuteness aside, tiny plants are the perfect choice for plant keepers with limited space and time. You may live in an apartment or small home and struggle to squeeze large leafy friends into crowded windowsills. If your home is dark, windowsill space with enough light might be limited. Perhaps you want to bring nature into a small office space or green up a corner of your desk. As your space overflows with the climbing Monstera and Philodendron you had no idea would get so big, tiny plants can feed your plant addiction without cramping your botanical style.

Imagine being able to keep hundreds of plant specimens even if you only have a small bit of spare space.

Beyond familiarity with a handful of small succulents, the breathtaking array of micro-houseplants is an unexplored world for most plant keepers. There are thousands upon thousands of tiny plant species to discover and collect. This book is an inspirational introduction to some of my favorite tiny plant species with big personalities.

In Tiny Plants, well dip our toes into the botany behind tiny plants and how they evolved, learn how to care for tiny houseplants, and explore a variety of tiny tropical foliage plants, micro orchids, itty-bitty succulents, and more for your windowsills and to grow under glass. From the most miniscule Philodendron species to the delicate blooms of the minute Sinningia to the teensiest carnivorous plants, you will no doubt discover many must-haves for your indoor plant collection. We will even have some fun with creative ways to style and display tiny plants.

Collecting and caring for tiny plants is a unique and rewarding hobby that is accessible to everyone, no matter the size of your space or level of experience. Whether you are just getting started with indoor plants or are a seasoned collector looking to rejuvenate your plant collection, Tiny Plants will inform and inspire.

A colony of Bladderwort, Utricularia livida