The December 08 issue of the Home Concepts magazine is out on sale on most newstands and good bookstores! Do grab a copy if you want to get some home decor inspirations to celebrate Christmas with style!
I have contributed an article entitled “Alternative Christmas Plants” in the Garden Treats column in this month’s issue. Many of the plants we buy during Christmas are best treated as display plants which should be discarded after the festive period is over because they are not suitable for growing under our tropical climate. For those of you who want to look for evergreen tropical plants with a Christmas feel, do take a look at the article I wrote, where I also shared the growing tips of two plants.
In the article, I introduced two tropical plants which people can get for display during this time of the year. The first plant is the Chinese Croton (Excoecaria cochinchinensis) which is a pervasive shrub that is so common that most people would have taken it for granted. The second plant is the Sea Holly (Acanthus ebracteatus), which is, on the other hand, rather obscure to most people.
The Chinese Croton, better known by its botanical name by people working in the nursery trade, is a popular landscape plant candidate. The variegated version is a more attractive variety that features white splashes against a green background on the upperside of its leaves. This constitutes the two out of three colours associated with Christmas. The underside of the leaves of the Chinese Croton is deep red and that makes up the third colour. Hence, in one plant you have all three Christmas colours – red, green and white!
Whenever there is a light breeze, I enjoy watching the leaves of this attractive plant as they dance along in the wind. The Chinese Croton is a plant that is commonly used as a border shrub and I have seen it being grown in pots and sold in quite a few nurseries. It is a shrub that can be pruned back to keep its size in check.
I thought it would be nice to be able to circle a small Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla) at the base with short Chinese Croton plants to celebrate Christmas the tropical way…
The second plant that was mentioned in the article is the Sea Holly and like the Chinese Croton, the variegated version, in my opinion, is somewhat more attractive. As its common name suggests, the Sea Holly has leaves that resemble those of the Christmas Holly. It is best to position this plant in a location where human traffic is low because the leaves has sharp spines that can hurt the skin.
For those who are unaware, the Sea Holly is a marginal plant that grows in wet areas such as mangroves and it can tolerate brackish waters! The Singapore Botanic Gardens has some plants growing on the edge of several artificial streams in the Tanglin Core.
Besides being ornamental, these two plants have medicinal properties. However, it is best to not self-medicate using these plants for the treatment of any ailment. Please consult a trained herbalist!
