Tall plants

Over the winter, an umbrella tree (schefflera) that I was keeping in a pot grew really tall and leggy. A few weeks ago, I decided to cut the top out of it and root it in water. I still had about a meter (about three feet) of stem left in the pot, with its roots and with just one leaf at the top. Rather than put the stem and leaf in the compost, I just set it aside in a place where it would get a lot of light to see what would happen to it. Well, one day recently I notice that leaft buds were growing all along its length. The photo on the left show what it looks like now. Meanwhile, I put the top in water and in just a few days it started growing root. I planted that cutting in a pot too. It's only half as tall as the one in my photo. I can't wait to see what it will look like toward the end of the summer.

Here's another tall plant that I keep in a pot. It's called elephant bush by some. The scientific name is Portulacaria afra and it's two or three inches taller than the Schefflera. I've read that the Portulacaria can be made into a Bonsai. I plan to do just that.