Bolivian Sunset (Gloxina Sylvatica)

I caught sight of this plant with the rather strange looking flowers in the nursery, hidden away behind some other bigger plants in the shade.  It  was  in a rather neglected state,  I think the owner  was happy to let me  have it.  So I took  this pathetic looking plant with the  bright orange-red tubular  flowers, and deep green leaves home.  It looked like a rather robust plant that will grow easily,  and  I was  delighted to have it.  Even those days I tend to select robust  looking plants as I did not have much confidence in caring for plants.  Another reason was I did not want to be tied down to caring for the plants all the time.   

The thing I like most about this plant is the really elegant  looking  deep green leaves, aside from the  unusual shape and color of the flowers.  This plant is also known as  the Goldfish plant..... even though  I do not see any similarity between this plant and  the goldfish , maybe  for the  unusual color of the flowers!  As gathered from its neglected state at the nursery, this plant is  rather maintenance free... I have not seen it being attacked by pests, and it multiplies fast  from rhizomes to form  a  rather good  ground cover. Initially I planted it in a container,  then I  decided to introduce it to the ground  as ground cover.  I  noticed how well it grows on the ground. This plant also propagates easily though the cuttings.  New plants grow rapidly, but for the plant to bloom is a different matter. The blooms are not as prolific as those I see on the photos put up at this link- http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/GLOXINIA_SYLVATICA.htm.

I understand that this plant blooms even without much  sunlight, so perhaps  I have exposed these  plants  to too much sunlight.  I noticed that they grow better in the shade, although under direct sunlight they are more stunted.  Spreading by rhizomes, these plants grow in clusters.  During the hot weather these plants  may disappeared only to appear when it was not as hot. I noticed that too much sun causes the leaves to dry up and the stem to eventually wither away. If the soil is left undisturbed, the baby plants will appear again pretty soon. The first time it happened (during Chinese New Year, it was so hot),  and I thought I lost this clump of plants which were  growing directly under the hot sun. So I was pleasantly surprised to see  new plants  appearing shortly after when the rains came. When it was so hot, I did not do much gardening, just watering.

 

Recently  I went on a holiday  trip to Cameron Highlands and I spied this plant growing all over the place,  like a weed!   Why am I not surprised?

Ah yes, before I go off, I just want to share a couple  of   shots  of my lovely dessert rose  (see post  dated  15th October 2010) ...... they looked real stunning this morning! Touch wood, I think this plant is doing okay.  I placed it on the porch when the weather was forecast to have heavy rains for some days,   to avoid it  getting  too much rainwater.  It certainly looks contented in this new location. being sunny yet out of the rain .......!

Red tip Plant (Photinia)

When we first moved here, we noticed that we are really exposed to the afternoon sun, and it can get very hot. So we decided  we should grow a  couple of  big trees that can provide ample shade.  We   bought  a flowering tree (the Michelia Champaca  see post dated  June 26), a   Jackfruit Tree , see post dated Sept 2nd (Growing Fruit Trees Part 2) ), a Mango Tree and this Red Tip Plant which is my husband's favorite.

From a small plant of barely 2 feet tall, this Red Tip plant is growing rather well . Actually this is the second plant we bought. The first plant just dried up after  about 2 months or so. Perhaps it was infected.  Those days  I was  away most times.  My husband bought this plant to replace the other plant.   When it was young it grew up in a tall thin slender shape but we had to keep pruning it to make it grow bushy.  My daughter wanted to shape it into layers. If you notice, the bottom layer is taking  shape.  Now the tree is almost ready for the second layering to be done.

 In this picture, the leaves appeared orangish rather than red.  The new leaves start as red, then gradually orange, yellow, light green and finally dark green. It is quite a nice looking shrub when it is all colorful.

This plant is easy to care for, just got to watch out for caterpillars. Once  I noticed the leaves were under attack by these pests. I did not like spraying chemicals, so I cut off all the unsightly leaves. In no time, new leaves sprout out and the tree seemed to turn all red. 

The tree is rather hardy and robust. I feed some general fertilizer and ensures that is is watered sufficiently. Aside from that, I  just give it some regular pruning to shape it.   

Asparagus densiflorus 'sprengeri' (Sprengeri Fern)

This plant is not a fern and it has no leaves.  Fascinating !   Those bright green soft needle-like foliage are actually stems  and is referred to as cladodes ..  interesting.  Although  the articles I read mentioned that this plant does flowers, I don't recall ever seeing any flowers. This means I really must observe this plant more often to catch the flowers.  I actually have this plant for almost 4 years now.  From a small  pot that my mother gave me,  I have increased its population  as I like this plant very much.  

This plant  is  always green and  real easy to care for.  Recently  I transferred one  "mould " of these plants  (the plants tend to grow as a mould in the container - very compact, see the pictures )  to the ground. I am attempting to see if  it makes suitable ground cover.

There was this one time when  one container of this plant  turned brown on me . I am not sure what happened, I surmised it was either due to lack of water or the plant has grown 'old',  I had placed it  on top of the shoe cupboard ,  away from the other plants, and sometimes I forget to water it.  Now I always keep the soil moist and leave it where there is  some sunlight.  Under too much sunlight, the green turns really light and not so nice looking.  I let the soil dry out  once a while  to ensure the roots are kept healthy   I noticed that  this plant does not like too much watering. 

Ah yes, when I noticed the plant turning  brown and unhealthy looking,  I pulled out the whole mould of plants out of the pot, and cut off those brown and dried looking stems. Then I replanted  the healthy green ones back to a clean container with fresh soil.  The plant grew well and  eventually  the pot  became 'overcrowded' again.  When this happened,  I pulled it out and then divided it into into clumps to be planted in two different pots.  So  this was how I  multiplied  them . Luckily this plant doesn't grow all that fast !

 Actually these plants look good in hanging pots and it is better to plant them in shallow pots. Their roots do not go deep.

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.

Blue Porter Weed ( Stachytarpheta urticifolia)

This plant is supposed to come in different colors of  red, blue and white .  However blue is the only color I have seen so far.  The porter weed  is  truly a  weed,  it grows wild, but not invasive. It is a native plant of Asia.  This plant is sold in nurseries as well.  It is a rather unusual plant and attractive in full bloom.

I noticed it sprouting  up one day in a corner of  my garden.  I supposed some birds or butterflies must have dropped the seeds.  I can recognized this plant by its distinct serrated dark green leaves. There is another plant that looks very much like  the porter weed, except that its  leaves are duller ,softer in texture  and not serrated. The blue flowers looked almost the same but the stem not as hardly as this porter weed.  Similar to the porter weed, this other plant  also grows wild. I often see this  other plant when we go on walks or hiking.  I do not know what is the name of that other plant and whether it is related to the blue porter weed.

I  dug out the porter weed from my garden and planted it on the other side of the fence.   See how well it grows ?  I have to trim it now and then, but it will grow back just as fast. It is a robust plant , it can stand drought conditions and poor soil conditions.  The stem becomes harder as the plant matures.  Why am I keeping this weed?  Well, this weed is said to have medicinal properties, check this out :-http://www.rain-tree.com/gervao.htm, so it is a shame to kill the plant. It does not take much space, moreover it is quite attractive to butterflies as well, and rather pleasing to the eye as well......!

Baby Rubber Plant ( Peperomia obtusifolia)

No, no..... this baby  has nothing to do with the Rubber Trees [ (Hevea brasiliensis) from which natural rubber is obtained)] or even the rubber plant  (Ficus elastica ),  another ornamental plant .  This plant is a beautiful evergreen, the leaves like petals of dark jade, green and intense, just  the nicest color possible. I have seen some people growing this plant into a small shrub in the shade of a bigger plant.

Admittedly I am guilty of  neglecting to give it the care it rightly deserves. At the back of my mind it has not  demanded or fussed  for  attention. This plant  just remains as it is,  not flourishing,  just quietly waiting patiently for attention.  All I need to do is change its soil medium, I don't know why I keep forgetting !   Right now I just placed it under  the shade where it is  moist and humid.  I have this plant  for almost 4 years now.   My mother gave this plant  to me, when we moved back from East Malaysia.  This was one of her favorites houseplants and she said  this plant  did  not need much care, just to place it in a corner somewhere, out of the sun !

It is time I do some re-potting to allow it to grow back to its former glory of being bushy and alive looking. Now it looks a bit dull.  Even though it looks green, it is definitely not healthy, just surviving !  All I need to do is  to change its soil medium,  which had turned  quite compact over the years.   This plant prefers porous soil for the roots to penetrate easily. It has very soft and delicate root system.  A shallow pot is better, as the roots does not penetrate deep. This plant even though has a herbaceous stem,  is quite a robust plant for all the neglect this past year.  For healthy growth, a porous soil medium is better. The plant is not overly fond of  excess water, the roots will rot eventually if  too much watering.  This plant grows easily from cuttings. Aside from snails, I have not seen this plant attacked by other pests.  This plant apparently makes a good houseplant as well as it also possesses the air purifying properties.

 

Mission accomplished ---- Baby Rubber Plant now has a  new pot and medium !   Perhaps this is why I like blogging --- my plants get the attention after they had been blogged !!! Other wise I tend to forget about them especially those plants that sit in the shade.....!

Agava Americana (Century Plant)

This plant is neither a cactus nor an aloe........ not in any way related  either according to experts.  The Agava plant  is commonly called the Century Plant because legend says it takes 100 years to bloom and die.  Well, that is just a myth as this plant is  now known to bloom anytime from 5 to 25 years, depending on growth and environment factors.  Since my two Agavas ( I have planted two - Chinese saying  -  a pair is good :- ) )  are less than a  year,  what are the chances I will get to put  photos of their blooms on this  blog.....?   So, readers if you are interested to see a picture, you have to surf the net....sorry !

My daughter and I were cycling around the neighborhood one morning when we caught sight of these agava pups. I picked up two of them and brought them home.  They were hardly the size  of  tennis balls when I planted them.  Over the months they have grown to this size......!   I was actually fascinated by this thin tall  stalk like a pole (15 feet or taller) which seems to be shooting up to the sky with the yellow flowers at its tip.   This thin stalk grows from the center of the plant.  The plant grows as a rosette, the leaves are thick and hard with margins edged with sharp spikes.....not a friendly plant at all!  Apparently once the plant blooms, the flowers are good for up to a month.  When the blooms fade, the plant dies as well, but not before it produces all those pups (baby off sets). Interesting, isn't it?

These  plants hardly need any care except for watering when the weather gets too hot. In fact sometimes I forget that they are there growing quietly under the  other plants, almost hidden from view.  They are magnificent to withhold, being so big and dignified. Well I am not sure if they will outgrow the space where they are now. Perhaps I might have to remove one of them.  Luckily I did not plant them within the garden area., and not too close to each other.  Well, it is certainly going to be a long patient wait to check out its flowers.......!