Gardening<br > on the<br > smallest scale<br >Miniatures in any form have always excited admiration. The ability<br >to create tiny??? elaborate figures out of bits of ivory??? as in Japanese<br >netsuke carvings??? or to capture a scene of glowing splendor in a<br >fraction of a page??? as in medieval illuminated manuscripts??? is a<br >formidable demonstration of artistic skill. Even in matters that are<br >not so esthetic??? miniatures capture attention and excite wonder.<br >About a century ago??? a midget named Charles Sherwood Stratton<br >was rechristened Tom Thumb and was exhibited with great success<br >by the legendary circus magnate??? P. T. Barnum. To this day??? Tom<br >Thumb s stage name is used as a synonym for miniature in the<br >nomenclature of fruits??? vegetables and flowers.<br > This interest in all things extraordinarily small extends logically<br >to miniature plants. Most gardeners are enthralled by tiny rosebuds<br >breathtakingly tinted and furled??? growing on bushes only a few<br >inches tall??? or by a perfectly formed Tiny Tim tomato less than an<br >inch in diameter??? growing on a plant no more than a foot tall and<br >comfortably at home on a dining-room window sill. (The name of the<br >lad who melted Scrooge s heart??? Tiny Tim??? is almost as ubiquitous in<br >the dubbing of miniature plants as that of Tom Thumb.)<br > The two kinds of plants that are the subjects of this book--<br >miniatures and dwarfs--share the attribute of smaller-than-expected<br >s~e. But the diminution of the plants??? depending on their original<br >structure??? is caused by different processes.<br > A true miniature bears genes that dictate smallness in all parts<br >of the plant??? including its flowers and fruit. Such a plant may<br >originate in the sudden deviation from normal growth found in a bud<br >sport--a mutation due to a spontaneous change within the genes that<br >control its growth. These changes can be occasioned by natural<br >causes??? such as ultraviolet light??? or man-made causes??? such as X-rays.<br >If the change is perpetuated in succeeding generations??? a new<br >miniature is born.<br >