Asplenium Nidus Fern (Birdnest Fern)

When we were young we love to seek 'adventures' in the rubber plantation behind our house.  Those days we did not have much entertainment,  not even a  TV  set just a small radio so exploring nature was a  favorite activity.  We often see the Bird Nest Fern growing wild on the ground or on the rotting trees trunks - even up on the trees. Perhaps that is why I find it  amusing  that people are so fascinated by this plant and  love to have this plant as a feature in their gardens.  Yes,  I totally agree this plant is fabulous in its grandeur and  as a  garden plant , it has  many  merits.  This fern  is  not only  beautiful  to behold  but  really fuss free.  It just  fits in comfortably with the other plants with its evergreen leaves.  This  fern gives a dramatic and exotic tropical feel to gardens  that cultivate this plant.  I often see people grow  the fern  as hanging plants, thus  giving their gardens a wild tropical look!  Yet it can stand all by itself  in a corner somewhere and still draw attention.   The green leaves are  smooth and  almost leathery to the touch.  They stretch out,  like arms seeking a friendship touch.  I think most people can't resist  touching them  in admiration.   The long leaves can grow up to a maximum of 3 feet apparently.   To care for it,  just ensure  it does not dry out and keep it growing in a location that is  humid, with filtered sunlight and  some space to grow. 

The nursery owner gave this plant to us free of charge since we bought so many plants and garden soil from her the first time.  My husband liked the plant very much.   Initially I planted it in a container,  then I  decided to transfer it to the ground.   That was over a year ago, and it has been growing  happily beside the electric pole, almost covered by the fast growing bougainvillea (post dated : 27th August 2010)   and garden croton (post dated :  23rd October 2010).  

I doubt this plant will ever flower.  Being a  typical fern, spores for propagation can be found on the underside of the leaves. It is a good thing this plant is not invasive as I have not seen baby plants sprouting anywhere in the vicinity !  Apparently the plant can grow taller as it aged.  Well it will be interesting to see that happens as now it looks  almost flat. New leaves grow from the center of the rosette,  old leaves at the bottom will dry and turn brown. Ferns have no stems.  

Ruellia brittoniana, Dwarf Ruella, Mexican Petunia

This is another plant with purple (or violet -blue?) flowers that I find  attractive and pleasing to the eye.  Apparently Purple is a polarizing color people either love or hate.  (see http://www.sibagraphics.com/colour.php) .  If one is a believer in  Feng Sui, purple has a great significance. The color is  said to be excellent for physical and mental healing. It is  associated  with spiritual awareness. Somehow purple has a calming and soothing effect. As a color symbolic of royalty, purple flowers also suggest richness and elegance. When sending purple flowers to someone, it seems you are also sending a message of  pride, dignity and admiration.....!  

Back to the Mexican Petunia,  I noticed that this plant has a mass of tough, fibrous roots.  With such roots I figured it would make as a good ground cover or border in the garden as it never grows higher than 4 or 5 inches tall.  It stays close to the ground.  However,  this plant is not easy to 'tame' - it sprouts all over the place from the seeds it sowed ! Invasive plant......so these days I got the hang of handling them.  I pulled them up if they are growing in the wrong place and replant in the spot where I prefer them to grow - lol !   Now at least I am getting some semblance of order. 

 

My neighbor  liked this plant so much she asked me for some baby plants one day.  She  then planted them in a container and  takes delight in seeing them daily.  It looks good in a round container, as she grows them very compact. Up at the Gunung Jerai Regency Resort, they used this plant as part of the landscaping - so  professionally  done it made me feel as if  I have not used  this  beauty to a better effect in my garden ... :-)  !

This plant as mentioned earlier has such strong roots, it can grow anywhere.  It is  an easy maintenance plant . They grow fast and compact, but once flowering period over, the more mature plants will dry up gradually, but sometimes not noticeable because the younger plants camouflage the dying plant well.  Except for snails, there is no mealy bugs or other pests to disturb this tough plant.   These  plants blooms very well, and a sight to behold - a carpet of purple ! 

I have seen the pink color version in the nurseries and temple grounds, but believe me the washy pink does not enhance the plant like this vibrant purple does.  I have yet to see the white species.  So if you have a choice, go for this color ... but this plant must be controlled if it is introduced to the garden.

Bromeliads

Seeing this unique plant, it is hard to believe they belong to the same family of  tropical plants as the pineapples!  (check out this link  -  http://houseplants.about.com/od/bromeliads/a/Bromeliads.htm).   If the experts say so, we just have to accept it  :-) . Anyway I am a hundred percent sure I won't be  seeing or eating any fruits off this plant..... ! My good friend , Tracy, has a good collection of these plants, they seemed to thrive in her place . The ones I have are taken from her about eight months ago. 

If you look closely at  the two photos below, you will realize that they are actually of the same plant, taken about a month  apart. Somehow the color of the 'flower' just changed from bright orange to washed out yellow.   I am not sure if this is a natural occurrence.  I will have to see if the same  happens to the other plant  (picture above) as well.

 

My friend actually gave me 3 types, but the ones above is the one type that had adapted well. Two others did not seem to adapt that well. One looks like it has gone dormant. It has actually broader curved leaves. I did not take any pictures. They are the Guzmania Bromeliads. 

This Aechmea Bromeliad (left hand side) has mottled green leaves not unlike the Dwarf Sanseviera (Post dated : 29th October).  However the leaf blade is elongated and the edges have fine spikes, much like the pineapple leaf.  The sanseviera has  very smooth edges.  This bromeliad seemed to take a long time to adapt, it did not flower but it has sprung an offspring or pup as they call it !  Just hope  the offspring will fare better than the parent plant.  Or perhaps I should  think about relocating it or plant it in a pot.   I have planted it  on the ground the way I saw my friend did, but perhaps the soil is too damp and a  bit too shaded for its liking.  

Now, perhaps we can take a look at my pineapples plants just for comparison. These pineapples are planted from the crowns of those pineapples that we bought from the market.  According to Chinese customs, when making offerings to ancestors, a whole pineapple is a must.  After prayers, the crown is cut off and planted. I am not sure if I will get any fruits from these pineapples  that I planted from the crowns, but  I do quite like the attractiveness of the pineapple plant.

I think they are doing okay, aren't they?  Anyway it will  be a long patient wait  to see the fruits. Easier to buy from the market. Pineapples actually take at least a year or more to fruit and ripen, so it is not surprising that they are expensive these days. Pineapples have a lot of healthy benefits as well. Do check out these link :- http://www.oohoi.com/natural%20remedy/everyday_food/Benefits-of-Pineapple.htm and http://www.knowledgebase-script.com/demo/article-283.html. to find out more.

Dracaena sanderiana (Lucky Bamboo)

Lucky Bamboo .... I guess I was  not so lucky as this plant did  not seem to want to grow for me until recently.   I  actually have this plant  for two years now but  it never showed much growth. during its  first year .  Maybe I was a bit  too impatient.

This is the original plant that I grew from a cutting. Since it was growing so slow initially, I thought perhaps the medium is no good, and changed the soil .  I also moved it to a more sunnier spot,  under partial sunlight,  beside my waterlily pot for more humidity.  It fared better.  Earlier, it looked really miserable, perhaps the soil was too hard and I probably watered too much, so the roots get soggy and unhealthy. With the fresh soil mixed with some sand,  I guess the drainage is better and I did not water too much. I guess it likes its new location and there are  baby plants coming up as well by its sides.

I decided to  re locate a baby plant to the  ground under the murraya paniculata (see blog on Jasmines dd : 23rd August 2010).    I thought it would look good as a short hedge beside the murraya; add some color to the area there.   So far  it seems happy there and growing well under the shade. Just that sometimes I forget it is there....lol.

There is another variety that is plain green, but I prefer this variegated plant. This plant is also called the "Ribbon Plant." This plant propagates easily from cuttings.  Like other Draceana, the plant tends to grow straight upwards, so to encourage the plant to branch, it needs to be cut. Baby plants will come up from its roots as well, so when the pot gets overcrowded, re-potting is necessary to maintain a healthy plant.

When Chinese New Year comes around, this plant is sold everywhere.  They like to make this plant into decorations, tied with gold and red ribbons.   For  people who likes to hold on to traditions, this plant makes a good gift as well during  Chinese New Year.  It is listed as one of the good Feng Sui plant to have for Chinese New Year.

ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia)

This is  one 'hot' plant at one time, but  there are people who still love them (me included).  It is a fascinating plant and so easy to care for. However one negative point, it is highly poisonous  (if ingested) and recently people started throwing it out. There were rumors going around that it released poisonous gas as well. I don't understand why people are so gullible. Put it this way, if you have been growing this plant (s) in your home or garden for years and nothing has happened, why react so negatively?  Before this, it was supposed to be a good  'feng shui' plant. At one time people were selling this plant for a very  good price. Grow this plant in a nice oriental pot and it looks pretty exotic. 

As for me the merits of this plant includes:-

1)  The thick fleshy leaves are so shinny and naturally green forever.  When the new leaves come out, they are curled up, slowly unfurled as they appear.It is a nice plant to look at.

2)   This plant is easy to propagate. Just stick a cutting or even a leaf  in some soil and  a baby plant appears. The baby plant has small  hardy bulb like root at its base. Very cute and unusual. 

3) Watering can be infrequent. In fact it can stand drought for a long time, and still do well. The base of the stem is swollen, indicating it is a succulent plant.  The ball like rhizome is like a potato tuber that stores water for its needs.

4) Not much fertilizer is needed to make the plant grow....it will grow at its own pace, very slowly.

5) Direct sunlight (when it is a real hot day) might burn the leaves, so  place the plant under indirect sunlight  is better. The plant also do well indoors. However, prolonged periods without sunlight might turn the leaves light green instead of the dark healthy glossy green. So a touch of  sunlight is good for the plant now and then. Just take the plant to sun it once a while. 

6) The plant is pest free - what a bonus! 

7) Any soil medium that allows good drainage  is good for the plant. 

8) This plant is also called the 'eternal' plant, it will only die from too much water.  If one notices yellow leaves on the plant, it normally means the root has start to rot from too much water. Just pull that particular stem out to avoid the spread of the rot.  Check first that the rot has not spread to other stems.  Keep the plant dry for a week or so. The plant recovers fast. New shoots will  come out  once the plant is healthy again.

This plant has so many merits there is no reason how anyone can fail to grow this plant successful.  One last note, this plant does flower but the flowers are not attractive at all. I am not sure why it bothers to flower since propagation is so easy through using the leaves or cutting.  I am not sure if there are seeds from the flowers. Will check this out next time my plant flowers.....lol!