Some neighbors are nice. Below are some of the plants my neighbours (an indian lady and a chinese lady) ; they live across the road, passed to me. Some came in cuttings, some came as baby plants.
One day, the neigbour gave me this baby plant consisting of a tiny bulb and one stalk of leaf. She said she was re-potting her plant and found this baby plant growing beside the mother plant, and would I like to have it. I was very taken by the deep green glossy leaf which is heart shaped. Well the plant grows slowly and right now I have 4 stalks of leaves and this is after 4 months of tender loving care! After some checking around in the internet, I found out that this plant is called "Proiphys amboinensis" (Caldwell Lily or Christmas Lily). Apparently like most bulbous plants this plant is not a good bloomer. My neighbour said she has never seen the plant bloom despite having it for years,. Some gardeners in their blog state they have never seen their cardwell lily bloomed before, while others were lucky to see the bloom in six to eight years period! Well, bloom or no bloom the glossy huge green leaves are attractive enough to charm any beholder . Apparently the flowers come in white clusters, very attractive looking from the pictures I see in the internet. It will be interesting to see if this plant will ever bloom for me. According to the internet source, the flowers will bloom around Nov/Dec period, perhaps that is why the other common name for it is 'Christmas Lily'.
The miniature red crown of thorns. The small deep red flowers are cute. It has been been blooming ever since I planted it. This crown of thorns is easily propagated by a short cutting ( about 4 inches or so). Please read my other blog on this plant.
Ti plants or cordylines are grown for their foliage. The plant looks rather serene and graceful with the dropping long leaves. My neighbor gave this plant to me as exchange for a jasmine plant that I gave her. I planted it on the ground under some shade as it was growing too big for the pot. It kinda of add a tropical look to the garden. No care is required for this plant. It is growing happily in the spot I put it. Recently me neighbor gave me a miniature plant of the same species. Well they look the same to me anyway. This miniature plant seems rather happy in its small pot and did not seemed to show much growth unlike the first plant that was given to me which grew by leaps and bounds within a short period.The leaves are shorter and more pointed.
When my neighbor trimmed her plants, she gave me the cuttings of this plant. This herbaceous plant grew easily from the cuttings. In two weeks or so, it was spouting new leaves. The plant is so colorful and easy to care. This plant is called Coleus Blumei or the Rainbow Plant (pokok pelangi) . So far I have not noticed any pest disturbing the plant. In a container, it looks good.
Snowball Alternanthera is the common name of this plant. The botanical name is Alternanthera ficoidea 'Snowball'. The 'Snowball’ is very eye-catching When I saw my neigbour trimming the plant, I asked for the discards. I used some root hormone and pretty soon I have so many of these plants. The light green leaves have highly varied markings in pale cream' /whitish, ranging from streaks and broad blotches . I noted some pink tint on the new leaves, and some of the leaves can be entirely pale cream. I am a sucker for plants with variegated leaves. This plant bears small white flowers, nothing to shout about. I thought of using these plants as edgings. So far they are happy where I plant them, in partial shade below the gardenia bush. When I have more of these plants, I will plant them as a circle around the gardenia bush.
I was growing a kampong roselle plant that grew very big but never flowered, so no fruits., even after half a year or more. It was bushy and robust. My neighbour took pity on me, and gave me four baby Roselle plant. More of this interesting plant in the next blog.
The leaves of these plants are not unlike butterflies....the stems are abit sticky to the touch. I like this plant alot, and I think it helps to scare away pests especially those that attack my jasmine sambac. So these days I like to twine this creeper to the jasmine sambac plant. So far so good.
Gosh this is a rather long blog....I need a rest. More next time.....!
No comments:
Post a Comment