Pruning Adeniums

In order to induce branching, many gardeners do pruning of their valued Adeniums. Pruning itself intimidates many gardeners as can be a tricky issue where many things can get a bit too complicated to handle. So make sure you get all the details right before you actually start pruning! As many will know, Adeniums flower at the growing rosette of new leaves. Therefore, having more branches would mean more growing tips which will produce more flowers!And also, pruning make the Adeniums look more compact the leafy.

When you start pruning, make sure you use a sterilized scissors or shears. This will ensure that a diseased branch you pruned will spread over to the other plants. Make sure it is sharp too, sharp blades make cleaner cuts that heal faster. Make a straight cut to minimise the exposed area of the branch and at an appropriate height, not too low or it will hurt the plant and not too high which make the plant look very weird.

Depending on the growing conditions, Adenium plant will produce one or more (if you are lucky you can get even four!) new growths. You will see new leaves started to emerged and soon enough, you have a good looking Adenium. Don’t just throw away the cut branches, as they can be rooted to become new plants! However these cut branches will not have the large caudex the seed grown Adeniums have.

Dendrobium Orchids

It seems like the flowering season of orchids has arrived! Two of my Dendrobium Orchids are putting out numerous flower spikes, turning my garden from a lush green setting to a colourful and vibrant garden! Both are hybrids and available at many nurseries around Singapore.

 Dendrobium hybrid with “antelope” flowers

Dendrobiums orchids are much easier to grow than their cousins, as they are more hardy and less fussy about their growing environment. Being epiphytic in nature, there is no need to worry about potting media! They typically enjoy lots of sunlight, although some may develop “burn” spots if introduced suddenly to high amount of light.

Flower spikes emerge from the pseudobulbs, usually between or at the sides of the leaves. Flowers that around 2 week to open and they will last for another 4 to 6 weeks.

Flowering Hoya

It has been a long wait since the last flowering of my Hoya nummulariodes. This extremely fragrant Hoya produces 50-cent coin size umbels of flowers. The plastic-like flowers earn Hoya’s common name, Wax flowers, give off very strong fragrance. The fragrance of this particular Hoya is so strong that it is overpowering. It is nice to smell it in the wind but it definitely not if you sniff the flowers under your nose!

An umbel of flowers (Hoya nummulariodes)

Unlike other Hoyas like Hoya obscura and Hoya lacunosa, Hoya nummulariodes is not a frequent flowering plant. It is a very slow grower and has grow less than a centimetre since I got it in January. The pink-centered white flowers are a sight to behold, the translucent centre of the plant, possibly the stamens, resemble stars.

Hoyas generally need 4-5 hours of sunlight and bright light throughout the day to do well. High humidity is also preferred. Hoya nummulariodes is an easy plant to keep and no repotting is needed. Not only a good candidate for apartment gardens, it is a Hoya and fragrant flowers collector must-have plant!

Sinningias

I received this plant from an experienced Gesneriad grower from Green Culture Singapore. It is a miniature Sinningia, as compared to my previous post on the  micro Sinningia “Little Wood Nymph”, it is much bigger than the latter. Sinningia belongs to a big plant family called Gesneriaceae, which also consist the African Violets (Saintpaulia ionantha), Gloxinia and Kohleria.

This plant has very similar leaves in a rosette arrangement as the African Violets. Flurry leaves and stem are nice to touch but delicate too. Water droplets on the leaves need to be removed to prevent “sunburn”. They are grown in the “universal” soiless mix with the wick-watering system.

Wick-watering is not a new horticultural methodology as it has been around for the past few decades. Using the capillary action, water is drawn up to the soil from a reservoir via a “wick”, which can be a cotton string or polyester string. Polyester string is preferred as it doesn’t break down like the cotton counterparts.

Bright-light and morning sun will be optimal for these plants and regular light feeding of fertilizers is preferred. They enjoy high humidity too, which I placed the entire plant in a much larger plastic cup so to retain the layer of humidity around the plant. This is one of the many gardening tips by our experienced growers from Green Culture Singapore.

 

Generally, Sinningias are hassle free and mini plants. Suitable candidate for office gardening. But these plants are hardly found in local nurseries and we got our plants from overseas orders or through the gardening enthusiasts.

Pretty Vining Plant

The Star Glory (Ipomoea quamoclit) is a species of Morning Glory native to South America. This is a long vining plant which can reach a height of 6 metres if grown under ideal conditions! It produces red star-shaped flowers about the size of a 10-cent coin in the typical morning glory trumpet shape.

Red Stars! 

The leaves resembles palm leaves which are deeply lobed, so that they can will not get lacerated by strong winds from their tremendous height. The Star Glory is an easy to grow plant which need at least 4-6 hours of direct sunlight and well-drained soil, makes a good candidate for apartment growers.

Developing fruit 

This is a very vigorous growing plant which hit my ceiling within a month when I planted it! The plant started slowly and picked up speed when it starts to vine. Flowers started to appear in the 5th week, and soon, the plant is decorated with small red stars. Unfortunately, the flowers only lasted a dayand quickly replaced by many emerging blooms! Also a common roadside plant, Star Glory is recommended to beginners too!

Shui Mei

Shui Mei (Wrightia religiosa) is a very popular garden plant favoured by the experienced gardeners. The plant is known for its stunning fragrance and they flower all year round. There are a few hybrids or cultivars of this plant, and the most sought after cultivar is the Double Petal Wrightia religiosa.

Double Petal Shui Mei

I managed to get a pot of Double Petal Shui Mei from Ji Mei a week ago. The plant is small but to my delight, it is flowering profusely! It is also a popular plant for bonsai, as this plant can be pruned and shaped.

Some senior gardeners told me that removing all their leaves will induce flowering which I have yet to try! I visited some of their gardeners and amazed by the curled branches of this plant! They told me that this curled branches are made by curling it under the hot sun when the branches are soft. And indeed the plant looks gorgeous!

Fragrant Shrub..

I bought a small shrub of Aglaia dupperreana from a night market during the Chinese New Year season which was recommended by the nursery staff as a very fragrant plant. And indeed, it is extremely fragrant!

               Small yellow inflorescences!                        Sweet-smelling Flowers

Recently my plant has been flowering profusely and bear flowers on every branch! The flowers are yellow and oval in shape, with no distinct petals. Look like a bunch of berries, the fragrant from these flowers is hard to describe. It is more of a very fruity and berry-like fragrant, rather than the typical flora scent.

The fragrant lingers around the area and as the wind blows, the scent of it is heavenly! Even my neighbours came out to take a look of this plant! Aglaia dupperreana is an easy plant to grow, and they need at least 5 hours of direct sunlight and lots of watering. Their leaves are in the shape of elongated ovals and thin.

I would say this is a plant you must have if you like fragrant and flowering plants!

Flowering Hoya…

This Hoya obscura is a cutting I got from Wilson three months ago. I am surprised by this plant, although its a cutting, it flowers for me the third time! I potted it in an equal mix of long-fibre sphagnum and perlite, with watering every day.

                                                   

                                                                               Hoya obscura

Just like it cousin Hoya lacunosa, the umbels of flowers resembles miniature Tu-Tu Kueh. The leaves are leathery and stiff.When grown under good sunlight, the leaves can bear a hint of red, which makes the plant look very attractive!

                  A pair of young leaves                                 Can you see the new shoot?

Also, the plant started to put out new shoots and leaves from the existing leaf nodes and even on the flower spike! Special thing about Hoyas is that new flowers will grow from the same flower spike over and over again, and after a long time the spike looks like cordyceps!

Moonflower!

Moonflower, or Moon Vine (Ipomoea alba) is a flowering vine related to the morning glory. The flowers are white in colour and of considerable size.  They can grow vines which are  of many metres long and ideal to grow on fences.

                                                  

Moonflowers are very fast growers. They can produce flowers on the 2nd month when the seeds are sowed. The flowers only open at night and will shed away by morning. The fruits will eventually developed and seeds can be harvested.

         

                Emerging flower                                                  Developing fruit

They are relatively easy growers and can do very well in various growing conditions. Bright light to full sunlight and daily watering are basic conditions for these beautiful plants. They can be planted in pots too and you will need a climbing frame for them to twine.

My Garden with new plants!

I have recently added some more plants to my small garden and they are growing very well. Remember my Ying Yang beans? Actually the correct name is Butterscotch beans! They have been losing their leaves and tendrils were turning yellow. Looking at their present state, I added a generous amount of growth fertilizer to the soil and they started to grow with new energy! More leaves were formed and they started flowering again!

Same goes for my Capsicum plant. The fruit stopped growing and remain green in colour for quite sometime, only after adding the fertilizers, the fruit finally ripen and turning yellow! My recent additions were the Pinto bean plant and the dwarf pineapple plant. Pinto beans are also known as “pearl beans” to grocers and they are seasonal vegetables. Their pods were red and speckled with white and green. The beans itself is almost pure white, with streaks of pink, hence its name “pearl beans”.

                          Ripe Capsicum                                               Pinto Bean seedling 

I got my dwarf pineapple plant (Ananas nanus) from my aunt who had been very successful in growing this plant. The flower is smaller than the typical pineapple plant and their fruits are small and unsuitable for consumption. There were small pups growing from the mother plant and my aunt picked one of them for me to grow! I potted them up in a draining and open mix and placed it side by side with my veggies. Hopefully one day I can blog on their flowers and new growth.

                 

                Dwarf Pineapple Pup                                                    Rosemary

My Rosemary plant finally got a bigger home after growing in a 3-inch pot for so long. The roots were almost “ate up” the soil! Rosemary is easy to grow if you keep them dry and a good amount of light. Many had failed and the common reason is the moisture in the soil is just too much for them.

                                                          More cherries coming up! 

My Barbados Cherry shrub, grew a lot of leaves over the past few weeks and I gave them a nice haircut! It was a pleasant surprise to see them flower again! This time, I got four fruits forming instead of just one during the previous flowering season. I guess hand pollination is still important as my area don’t really have natural pollinaters around.