Plectranthus...

So, I was at a friend’s house this morning and a plant with variegated leaves caught my eye. I mentioned to Lori that I liked it and asked her if she knew what it was. She said that it had been part of a 4-H project (which she told me about – sounded very cool) but that she had no idea what it was. I then asked her if I could have a cutting of it. She found the scissors for me.




I told her I thought maybe it was related to Creeping Charlie. I had a Creeping Charlie (Plectranthus verticillatus) in California with smooth, plain green leaves that lived outside in a shady corner that I really enjoyed (the plant and the corner), but it looked very little like this aromatic, furry plant. When I got home, I looked it up in my Southern Living Garden Book, and, sure enough, I was right. It was indeed a Plectranthus. I believe it is Plectranthus amboinicus ‘Variegatus,’ also called Cuban Oregano or Spanish Thyme or Indian Mint. It has a rather pungent smell, kind of like oregano and thyme.




One the way home, I stopped to buy, among many other things, some potting soil and perlite. The cashier asked me what “pretty things” I was going to plant. I told her that I kept potting soil on hand, you know, like you keep salt on hand, but that the perlite was for rooting a cutting. (I think I actually still have some in the shed, come to think of it.) She told me, with a laugh, that she gets cuttings and sets them on her dryer without doing anything with them and they never make it. I have put my cutting in a jar filled with perlite and water and put the whole thing in its own little greenhouse made of a Ziplock bag. I know I should have trimmed off a couple more leaves, but I just couldn’t bear to. Oh, and it is sitting on my dyer.


Have a beautiful day!