The common names of this plant, pick-a-back plant or mother of thousands, are derived from the way in which young plants develop on the older leaves at the point where the leaf joins the stalk. The weight of these new plants pulls the leaves down so that they have a trailing appearance, which looks attractive when the plant is in a hanging basket.

The lime-green foliage is covered with fine hairs, making it look. downy. T.m. ‘Taff’s Gold’ has leaves mottled pale green and yellow. Small, greenish white flowers are produced in late spring to early summer. This species originates in coastal western North America.

Size: Height 1 ft. (30 cm).

Light: Any except intense noon sun or deep shade.

Temperature: Cool to normal room.

Moisture: Keep moist from spring to fall. In winter, apply only enough water to prevent the soil mix front drying out.

Feeding: Use standard liquid fertilizer every two weeks in spring and summer.

Propagation: Choose well-developed plantlets and pin them down into a pot of soil, or detach them and push the stalk into the soil, keeping the leaf in good contact with it.

Special needs: If a tolmiea outgrows its alloted space, it can be planted outdoors and replaced indoors by a young plantlet.