Indoor Topiary
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from: Eileen Dague
Posted on: May 10, 1999

I’m looking for interesting plants that would do well inside. The most obvious, Rosemary, seems to be a little touchy.

Actually as long as you don’t ever let rosemary dry out – and give it a sunny spot, it will be anything but touchy. Another good miniature topiary plant is German and Greek myrtle. They too must never dry out! They also like good light. For a coarser topiary you could use bay laurel. This tree is quite easy – keep moist and in reasonably good light and it will do well. The smaller growing scented geraniums make splendid topiaries – same care as the above. Germanders are also very nice. Guavas will give you a similar topiary to bay laurel. Jamaican mint will be pretty and smell wonderful. For miniature Christmas trees pine nut is georgous. For a bonsai type topiary dwarf pomegranate is very attractive. Chinese privet works well. Golden privet could be used if you were willing to dig the pot into the soil for the winter and overwinter it outdoors in a sheltered spot. Santolinas are good as well. The upright thymes make cute tiny topiaries.

Also a couple of years ago I met someone who said that he treated his Hibiscus with a chemical that kept it dwarf. Any idea what that was?

There are a number of commercial products used by the horticultural industry for controlling growth. They are not acceptable for use on edible plants. An example is B-Nine.

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