Gardening with Wilson

 Thanks to Richmond, my fellow moderator from the Green Culture Singapore discussion forum, for reminding me to turn on and watch what was on the television last night. At 11.30 pm, the Mandarin info-educational series entitled “City Footprints” or “城市.生命线” was being aired every Tuesday night. Each episode features a story of an individual or community in our city that mirrors and reflects how each responds and reacts to the paradigm shifts that occur as a result of rapid social urbanisation.

 A segment showing Rosalind working in the garden.

The episode that was aired on 29 Dec 08 focussed its attention on Mrs Rosalind Tan, who is now famously known as “Madame Butterfly” of Alexandra Hospital. She is the person behind the great healing gardens of the hospital which earned it a title called “a hospital in a garden.” As her title suggests, she is best known for her work on setting up the first butterfly garden in a hospital in Singapore with the help from local nature groups. The butterfly garden in Alexandra Hospital is now home to more than a hundred species of butterflies.

She runs a butterfly nursery at home. Rosalind collects the caterpillars she saw at the hospital grounds and brings them home where she rears them until they attain maturity. She then brings the butterflies back to the hospital’s gardens to be released. By doing this, she is able to control the feeding patterns of her caterpillars. If left unchecked in the hospital gardens, caterpillars can defoliate entire populations of plants! Hence it is a daunting task as Rosalind has to painstakingly grow certain butterfly food plants and to ensure there is sufficient supply at all times for her caterpillars.

Rosalind at a gathering of the Singapore Gardening Society. 

An avid gardener she is, Rosalind is an active member of the Singapore Gardening Society and in one particular segment of the show featured her with senior members of the society at a gathering held at the hospital. Rosalind explained the ability of the gardening hobby being able to attract people from all walks of life to come together to discuss and share their gardening experiences and plants. As a result of such sharing, each one of us become better gardeners. Rosalind is also ardent supporter of the National Parks Board’s Community in Bloom initiative which promotes community gardening.

Rosalind and Wee Lee both busy with selecting plants for a garden project.

As the old Chinese saying goes, “Behind every successful man, there is a woman.” But in Rosalind’s case, it is the opposite. Mr Tan Wee Lee, who is Rosalind’s lifelong partner and a retired architect has been her pillar of support of sorts. With his professionally trained eyes, he helps Rosalind with her garden landscape design work, photography and choice of plants for her garden projects that she does for both Alexandra Hospital as well as other communities that needed her assistance. Mr Tan also gives the much needed emotional support to Rosalind and understands the heavy commitment she has in her ‘second’ job which she took up after retiring from her earlier, full-time job as a physiotherapist at Alexandra Hospital. What a loving couple!

On the recent Saturday, Andrew Tan wrote a very useful and insightful article that was published on Straits Times Life! on how one can actually decorate a tiny high-rise balcony with plants. As revealed in his article, Andrew is drawing upon his own personal experience where he generously shared with the reader on how he landscaped his balcony on his own that was just seven newspaper broadsheets wide at his new place. I have been to Andrew’s place recently and his balcony garden was a masterpiece that impressed me.

One great tip that Andrew had for apartment gardeners was how one can make the best use of the little precious space in today’s tiny balconies. To maximise space so that one can pack as many plants as he can into a tidy space, Andrew suggested that we do ‘vertical gardening’. In his balcony, he fixed a black aluminium grille akin to those we use for our windows that blended very well with the wall on one side of the balcony. He then hang numerous pots of peperomias and dracaenas onto the frame. The plants he chose were variegated which contrast quite well against the dark back-drop. In effect, one covers a cold-looking wall with plants.

To confer a sense of space to a tidy growing area, one should consider throwing in a couple of  large plant specimens. To do this, Andrew shoved in a dracaena and ficus tree into his balcony. Most of us, including myself, would have imagined that such inclusions would take up whatever available space from the already tidy balcony. The visual effect that was achieved as a result was really astonishing and contrary to our beliefs. Try it to know!

Most of balcony gardeners have the tendency to line their plants along the window ledge in a boring and monotonous row to catch the available light for one’s plants. I still vividly remember the terms that one of my gardening friends once used to call such gardens - ”farm” and “nursery”. Andrew’s balcony garden was a true garden. There is this element of aesthetics as you can see landscaping being done in the small space as shown by the thoughtful layering of healthy plants with different colours, leaf textures and heights.

I learnt alot from the earlier visit to Andrew’s place as well as from this recent article and the information gathered proved to be tremendously useful for me now as I have just moved into my new house where, for the first time in my life, I have a decent balcony to do gardening.

Lily gave her first gardening talk at the library Saturday afternoon and the topic she touched on was on hoys, something that was very close to her heart. She has been growing this group of vines for the past decade and has accumulated a lot of knowledge about their cultivation and growth requirement which Lily shared with the members of the public who came all the way to this library on western Singapore to attend her talk.

Lily’s first talk on hoyas was given at Jurong Regional Library.

The room was largely filled and I saw quite a number of familiar faces. Many thanks to Yong Kuan who came and also helped to take the pictures that I have put up on this blog. Quite a few members from the Green Culture Singapore discussion forum, such as Richmond and Teresa, were present to listen to Lily. I caught a glimpse of a handful of staff from the National Parks Board (NParks) too. Abby was also at the library where she brought along some seeds, such as those of the hoya, that were given out to the public to try their hands on to germinate at home.

The great turn-out at Lily’s talk.

Despite this was Lily’s first public talk given at the library, she did so like a ‘pro’. The presentation was well-paced and filled with enticing colourful photographs of hoya flowers. It was also delivered systematically and hence easy to follow for both novices and experts. Most importantly, this gardening talk was not overtly botanical as it can appear to be rather dry to some members in the audience. Sufficient notes about the botanical aspects of hoyas had been dispensed to ensure a basic know-how.

At the end of talk – Lily was handing out the Hoya feather-light seeds from Abby and answering questions that the audience might have for her.

With Lily’s talk, we ended a year’s worth of gardening talks that were brought to all plant enthusiasts as a result of a continued collaboration between NParks, National Library Board and Green Culture Singapore. We will get to see Lily, myself, as well as, a few more other members from various organisations coming on board next year to share our knowledge on plants, gardening and wildlife around us! Keep a look-out for our talks and do come to support us!

It was as if I was trying to run after a leaving train… Over the Christmas holiday, I have managed to churn out two feature articles that were put up on the Green Culture Singapore website for my members to read.

Since the year is coming to an end and that the website still lacked articles for the month of November, I thought I should convert and elaborate two originally shorter write-ups that were published on this garden blog  into articles for the website, since not every member would have visited this garden blog.

The information published on some of the posts here may still be informative and enjoyable to read for those who has not visited this site.

1. Getting to know the beautiful Hibiscus acetosella

Hibiscus acetosella is a Hibiscus species that is unique in its own way. Noted for its distinctive, deep red-purple foliage that consists of deeply lobed, palmate-shaped leaves, H. acetosella is a striking addition to any garden. Besides being used as an ornamental plant, it also possesses food and medicinal uses. Read this article written by Wilson to find out more!

URL – http://www.greenculturesg.com/articles/nov08/nov08_hibiscusacetosella.pdf

2. Make Your Own Plant Sign

Want to have plant signs that are made of stainless steel that were used to display the names of plants in places like the Singapore Botanic Gardens and HortPark but cannot afford to make some for your garden? Read this feature article written by Wilson where he shows you the steps that you can follow to make similar plant signs using very affordable materials!

URL – http://www.greenculturesg.com/articles/nov08/nov08_planttag.pdf

The Costus laterifolius I bought last year has finally produced some blossoms for me! This uncommon African Costus species first came in as a small division and due to the long shipping process, all the leaves fell off from the stems and what I was left with was a miserably bald and sad plant. I spent much effort to get it to grow to its current size now.  I think my plant is still young after referring to the information that was posted on Dave Skinner’s website. The stems on mature plants can grow up to about 3 feet and longer!

My Costus laterifolius in bloom!

What is interesting about this Costus species is that it is epiphytic in growth habit as most of the other species we have here are all terrestrial! I grow it in a soilless mix that is very porous in consistency. When the plant is hung up in a hanging basket, the long arching stems hang down so elegantly!  The small oval-shaped leaves with sharp tips are a glossy green in appearance.

Like some of its relatives, the Costus laterifolius has this curious habit of being able to produce flowers terminally on a leafy stem or basally on a short leafless stem or direct from the rhizome at soil level. My  specimen of Costus laterifolius did both for the first time!

The single flower produced terminally that was open.

The terminal inflorescence – one flower has opened while two more are in bud. 

The terminal flowers of  Costus laterifolius are produced from the leaf axils that hang down in clusters like Christmas lights!  The lip (labellum) is a bright yellow color which is somewhat similar to that found on Monocostus uniflorus. Each flower features reddish spots on the stamen as well as on the corolla tube. 

The basally produced flower that was opened on the same day as the terminally produced one shown above. 

The buds of basally produced flowers.

The flowers that are produced basally can be difficult to spot if the plant is grown in a pot with a tall rim. To make things worse, basal flowers can be totally forgotten when the plant is hung up above eye level!  The basal flower that was opened luckily managed to perch itself over the rim of the pot and hence was able to reveal its full glory. The basal flowers and terminally produced ones look alike and sizes were similar too. Unfortunately, the beautiful flowers of Costus laterifolius do not last beyond one day.

Just early last week, I received yet another email that reported an interesting plant discovery by Mr Keneric Ng from the National Parks Board (NParks).  This time, he spotted an unusual form of papaya tree (Carica papaya) that was found growing in a wasteland in the vicinity of Farrer Road.

Keneric’s new find - an unlikely beauty growing in a wasteland.

All the papaya trees I have come across have green petioles. What was so different about this papaya tree that Keneric had documented was that it has purple petioles. This is the first time that I have been told that such a papaya existed! This feature somehow made this papaya tree look a little more ornamental that its all-green counterparts. In fact, I have always thought that well-grown papaya trees with their umbrella-shaped crowns  that feature large palmate leaves do make stately statements for a tropical garden.

Purple coloured petioles appear to not be restricted to papayas only. It can also be seen in cassavas, except that in this case, the petiole may be coloured red instead of purple.

With this morphological feature in mind, I recall that it is not unique to just papayas. The common cassava that we eat in desserts and a source of tapioca flour also has cultivars that have either all-green petioles or those that has red/purple coloured petioles.

A female flower of the papaya which usually occurs singly or in a small bunch consisting of a few flowers.

From the look of the flower this purple-petioled papaya plant had produced, it could either be a  female plant or a hermaphadite and hence, it has the ability to produce fruit. I wonder whether will the fruits of this plant be purple or green when young and would they turn orange when ripe?

Take a look at the two pictures of similar-looking papaya plants below (accessible via the URLs) which I managed to find via the Google search engine that were put on the New York Botanical Gardens’ Ethnobotany and Floristics of Belize Photo Gallery:

Male plant with flowers in sprays – http://www.nybg.org/bsci/belize/Carica_papaya_1.jpg

Female plant with green fruits – http://www.nybg.org/bsci/belize/Carica_papaya_2.jpg

In November, I was informed of the wonderful floral show put forth by a specimen of Euclinia longiflora that was seen growing in the vicinity of Adam Road.  Many of us who would have easily and quickly drove past this plant and missed seeing it. But many thanks to the sharp and observant eyes of Keneric Ng from HortPark, National Parks Board, who managed to take some pictures which I have now the opportunity to post them on this blog to share with everyone. 

Euclinia longiflora  at Adam Road that was in bloom.

Commonly known via various names such as African Tree Gardenia or simply Angel’s Trumpets (can be confused with Brugmansia!) due to the shape of its flowers, Euclinia longiflora is a member of Rubiaceae, the plant family that our coffee plant belongs to! Do take note that Euclinia longiflora is also known via another synonymous botanical name, Randia macrantha.

A closer look at the trumpet-shaped blooms of Euclinia longiflora. 

This plant is native to Tropical Africa and near where it was spotted, the plant was found growing under a taller tree and was about 4 m tall in height. When left alone, the plant can grow into a tree of about 7m tall! The plant produces very attractive, light green, glossy foliage that is reminiscent as those found on the coffee plant. It can be grown in a large pot as a houseplant and like most other ornamental flowering shrubs, it must be given direct sunshine for 6 hours daily to encourage the plant to bloom.

A freshly opened flower that is white in colour. It turns yellow as it ages.

The flowers of Euclinia longiflora are mildly fragrant, turning a pale creamy yellow as it ages. The throat of each flower measured about an amazing 25cm long! It is held at one end via a distinctive sepal, which may come in handy when identifying plants from the Rubiaceae family. Members of this family also feature persistent stipules that can be found on dormant and newly emerging growth points.

The distinctive sepals that held the flowers of  Euclinia longiflora.  

Note the appearance of the persistent stipules found on dormant growth points in members of Rubiaceae.   

Emergent new growth wrapping a flower bud protected with the same persistent stipules. 

Euclinia longiflora can also be found in one of our public parks and as you can easily guess, two specimens can be gound growing at HortPark’s Irrigation Pond and Floral Walk.

The last Root Awakening column for Year 2008 was published today in Straits Times Life! In it, Lily’s talk on growing hoyas have been mentioned too. Members of the public can now have a chance to find out more about this delightful group of flowering and fragrant plants.

This week, answers to three questions were provided. The first was about the recommendation of plants for the office while the later two were on edible plants.

It is a good thing if one has a working desk near a sunny window in an air-con office. The sunshine that shines in offers a multitude of selection of plants that can be grown. One should take advantage of the lower temperatures to grow some temperate or subtropical flowering plants. Even at a temperature of 25 deg C in a typical office, one can grow African violets, fuschias and pelargoniums quite well. These plants are flowering plants that provide a colourful working environment via the wide colour pallete of their flowers.

The next question was about the growing of chilli plants in a high-rise apartment. Chillis are sun-loving plants and one has to be able to provide at least 4 to 6 hours of direct sunshine to have healthy and rewarding plants. It is best to locate them in an Eastern or Western location in the house where direct sunshine is available. Watch the number of hours that the sun shines in as architectural features of the apartment, such as overhangs at the windows, can shorten the duration.

The last question pertained to leaf miners which are relatively common pests in citrus and various shrubs grown outdoors. Usually the infestation is minor and one can just physically remove the infested leaves and throw them away accordingly, without having to resort to the use of chemicals.

The Blue Ginger plant is a popular ornamental landscaping plant for the tropical outdoor garden. The plant produces attractive, three-petalled flowers that are bluish in colour with small yellow centers. Flowers are borne on a terminal spike. The entire flower spike when still in bud looks very much like the one produced by a blue hyacinth bulb. For those of us who are more imaginative, it may look like a bunch of grapes, except that is held upright!

A much ought-after plant by tropical plant connoisseurs, the Blue Ginger plant constitutes one of the small number of plants that features the cooler blue colour in its flowers. The floral colours of most other tropical plants are more on the ‘warmer side’ which include red, yellow and orange.

 The beautiful flowers of the Blue Ginger grown in HortPark.

The common name, ‘Blue Ginger’ is, in fact, a misnomer. This plant is botanically known as Dichorisandra thyrsiflora and it is not a true ginger at all. It is a member of the Commelinaceae family and its relatives include the Boat Lily (Tradescantia spathacea) and the Wandering Jew (T. zebrina).

It got mistakened to be a ginger probably due to the entire plant’s resemblence with a Spiral Ginger (Costus spp.). The Blue Ginger plant produces tall stems with leaves that are arranged in a spiral manner that is similar to the growth habit of Spiral Gingers. Although both the Blue Ginger and a Spiral Ginger both do not emit an aromatic smell when they are injured, they can be easily told apart because the latter plant produces flowers that are borne on a cone-like structure of bracts.

Unlike a Spiral Ginger which belongs to the genus Costus, the Blue Ginger produces flowers that are borne individually on a flower spike attached to it via a distinct stalk. Costus flowers are produced on a cone-like structure of bracts and they peek out from a space between two overlapping bracts.

For those who know Hokkien (a Chinese dialect) and do a bit of cooking, the name “Blue Ginger” may lead one to think that the plant is the Greater Galangal, which is botanically known as Alpinia galangal, a true ginger belonging to the Zingiberaceae family. This cooking ginger is a common spice that is used in this part of the world and the confusion arises because its Chinese name ”南姜” is pronounced as “Lam Kiew” in Hokkien and its pronounciation sounds similar if one is to say “Blue Ginger” using the same dialect.

The leaves of the Blue Ginger are arranged in a spiral manner around its tall stem which is similar to that seen in Spiral Gingers.

When it comes to its growing conditions, the Blue Ginger can be taken care in a way that is similar to that with Spiral Gingers. The Blue Ginger is a plant that prefers to be grown in cooler and shadier conditons. Semi-shaded conditions with filtered sunshine would be most optimal. Plants become sun-burnt easily if they are grown in under direct sunshine. Under shady conditions, the plant produces leaves that feature a beautiful silver stripe.

The plant is, however, not an easy plant to bloom under Singapore’s tropical lowland conditions. One has to find the ‘right’ cool and shady spot where the plant likes to grow in. The Blue Ginger plant likes to be planted in a humid and windless location. Its roots should be moist and not soggy wet. During the cooler, wetter months at the end of the year like now, the Blue Ginger can be persuaded to bloom.

The plant is propagated vegetatively the same way like what can be done with Spiral Gingers. A long stem can be cut into shorter sections with several internodes and these can be stuck into some well-drained soil placed in a shady and protected location like what is commonly done for propagation via stem-cuttings.

This hibiscus relative that I saw recently made the location where it is now growing in Singapore seemed as if it was autumn in the tropics!  The deeply lobed, palmate leaves found on the plant are deep red in colour and they looked so similar to the red leaves of Japanese maple trees in the autumn season.

The plant is botanically known as Hibiscus acetosella and is known by various common names such as the False roselle, Red-leaved hibiscus, African rosemallow or Sorrel roselle. Without much doubt, it is a member of the hibiscus family, Malvaceae. 

This is the first time I have seen such a magnificient specimen with my very own eyes. I have not seen it being sold commercially in our local nurseries. One other occasion that I have seen it in Singapore was in a community garden’s medicinal plant section.

I am personally very impressed with its deep red leaves and unlike its flowering relatives loved for their blooms, H. acetosella is appreciated for its deep red-purple foliage that is quite rare amongst the many ornamental plants we can find around us. It confers a great contrast with green and silver-leaved plants.

Interestingly, it was stated in PROTA’s (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) database that H. acetosella is probably an amphidiploid species possibly originating from hybridization between H. asper and H. surattensis.  An amphidiploid species is a tetraploid that possesses two sets of genomes coming from different parent stocks. A handful cultivars of the red-leaved form are available but a green-leaved variety is said to be in existence too.

Although the plant I saw and photographed was not in bloom, the flowers of H. acetosella have been described to feature pink or yellow petals with a base that is red-purple or wine-red in colour. Each flower that is produced singly between the leaf axils easily gets hidden away by the leaves of a plant with a dense canopy. Flowers are reported to be self-pollinating. Both the flowers and fruits bear much resemblence as those found on the true roselle, H. sabdariffa.

The flower of H. acetosella (Courtesy of Ms Rosalind Tan).

Hibiscus acetosella grows a rather fast-growing woody shrub and it can be propagated via seeds and stem-cuttings. Plants are best grown under direct sun to ensure the production of stunning red foliage and a compact growth habit. Like most other shrubs, H. acetosella prefers to be grown in well-drained, moist and fertile soil. Several plants can be grouped and grown closely together to obtain a bushier appearance, such as to form a hedge or a small colony. Plants should be periodically pruned and pinched to encourage branching and prevent straggly growth.

The young leaves and shoots of H. acetosella can be consumed as a vegetable.  The leaves which remain red even after cooking are mucilaginous and more sour to taste than the true roselle. Hence it is not a leafy vegetable suitable for serving to quite a lot of people. The red flowers can be infused to make a tea, in a  similar way with what has been done with the red calyces of  the true roselle. The root is edible but insipid and fibrous.

The plant possesses some medicinal properties. In Angola, an infusion of the leaves in water is used as post-fever tonic and is also used to treat anaemia. In East Africa, children with an aching body are washed in cold water to which some mashed H. acetosella leaves have been added.