Monthly Archives: October 2009

Root Awakening (10 Oct 09)

Posted on October 11, 2009 | Leave a comment

Here’s a re-cap on the second Root Awakening column for the month of October 2009. As usual, answers to three gardening questions were provided.

The first question dealt with the Indian holy basil. It is known locally as kemangi which is botanically known as Ocimum sanctum or Ocimum tenuiflorum. Two versions are available in Singapore in large nurseries. One has light green leaves whereas another features purplish leaves. To grow this herb from seeds, use fresh seeds as they have the best germination rate. As they are small, they can sprinkled on the soil surface and covered over using a very thin layer of soil. Seeds that are buried too deep will fail to germinate. Plants are best under direct sunshine and in moist, well-draining, fertile soil that is supplemented with organic matter such as compost. You can fertilise plants with a water-soluble fertiliser solution made up according to the manufacturers’ instructions. Prune plants back occasionally to control growth, rejuvenate and to keep plants compact-looking.

The second question was on the topic of growing the English ivy which is a common houseplant sold here in tropical Singapore. They are mostly imported from Holland and Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. The English ivy plant (Hedera helix) is a plant that can be difficult to grow in Singapore due to our heat and high humidity. Plants either succumb to rot or attacks by spider mites. They do better in a cooler environment such as a bright windowsill in your air-conditioned office.

The third and last question dealt with the growing of cycads in Singapore. Cycads can be troublesome to grow here as they are commonly attacked by the cycad blue butterfly which lay eggs on plants and after the caterpillars hatch, they eat up young, developing fronds inside the trunk of the plant. When the damaged leaves emerge, they will appear ‘bald’.  One can opt to spray a pesticide indicated for chewing insects (i.e. caterpillars) at the tip of the trunk when butterflies appear to fly around the plants. For non-pesticide approaches, one may want to protect plants via a netted mesh.

Plants may also be attacked by scale insects whcih appear as white scaled scabs on the plant and these can be eradicated via repeated applications of white summer oil or white oil. Cycads, in general, require a well-draining location to grow. Make sure the location where a plant is grown is not waterlogged as water at the roots can cause plants to die. If the area is too wet, one may want to transplant a cycad to grow inside a raised bed or a large flower pot.

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Interesting workshop on ‘Introducing Native Orchids to Parks and Streetscape‏

Posted on October 9, 2009 | 2 Comments

I attended a workshop conducted by NParks’ Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (CUGE) last week that was entitled ‘Introducing Native Orchids to Parks and Streetscape‏’. It was a very fruitful workshop that was led by Dr Yam Tim Wing and Ms Whang Lay Kheng from the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

A re-introduced tiger orchid (Grammatophyllum speciosum) on a rain tree branch.

In this workshop, Dr Yam briefed us on the ongoing ‘Native Orchid Conservation Programme’, which is an initiative to conserve the germplasm of native orchids of Singapore and to propagate them for reintroduction into appropriate habitats in nature reserves, parks and on roadside trees. The success of this project will see our trees all over Singapore teeming with self-sustaining native orchids that were facing the risk of extinction.

The Native Orchid Display at the National Orchid Garden, Singapore.

This one-day workshop was aimed to enhance its participants’ knowledge and skills on the techniques to plant native orchids on the trees in the parks and streetscape and to recognize and appreciate the conservation efforts to protect the critically endangered native orchid species through a series of short lectures, demonstration and field trips to planting sites such as Holland Road, Tiong Bahru Park and Kent Ridge Park, to observe the conditions and critical success factors to good plantings.

Learning how to mount orchids in a demostration at the National Orchid Garden.

Do look out for this course and sign up for it when it is being offered again in the future! One will surely find it useful and enriching! Participants will get to view the newly set up Native Orchid Display in the National Orchid Garden. One can also get to pick up some general orchid growing skills such as the various ways of mounting orchids on fern bark and onto tree branches and the growth requirements of native orchids.

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Leafy Creations

Posted on October 7, 2009 | Leave a comment

My team have put up a display with a theme on leaves at HortPark’s Lifestyle Corner from September to October 2009. In it, we showcased a variety of popular and interesting foliage houseplants that highrise dwellers can grow in their homes, which included various Ficus and Peperomia species and their cultivars.

There are also a couple of other smaller exhibits that can be found in this ongoing display in the Lifestyle Corner. One of which is how one can use leaves to make decorative items to adorn one’s home. If you happen to have a curtain or a mesh-like surface at home, you can put up a variety of leaves of varying sizes, shapes, colours and textures in a random fashion to add some interest to it. You can modify this concept by using flowers in place of leaves.

Some of the plant materials you may want to use do require a water source and you can provide this via fixing a small glass test tube filled with some water. Such test tubes are those used by florists and are available for sale in the floristry corner in the nurseries located at Joan Road, Singapore. You can fix the test tubes onto your structure by using fine copper wires. To add some novelty, you can even add some food colouring to the water but beware if you are using white flowers as these will change colour as they uptake the food colouring!

There is another idea that you can adopt. As most Singaporeans are aware, dried lotus and bamboo leaves that are sold in our markets are meant for wrapping food in Chinese cuisine but these can be used as alternative materials for creating art.

In an idea that I want to share here, I stuck such leaves on a rectangular piece of styrofoam board to create a leaf painting of sorts. Styrofoam is a very affordable material as well as very light and makes the hanging of your leaf painting much easier. It may be viewed as a little environmentally unfriendly, one can opt to use recycled corrugated board (used to make cardboard boxes) instead. To stick the leaves onto the board, it is recommended that you use hot silicon glue from a glue gun.

Another tip to take note of when making your own leaf painting is to showcase leaf surfaces that have an interesting texture. In the case of a lotus leaf, the underside is a lot more visually appealling as it has numerous leaf veins and bears the cut end of the leaf petiole where one can see the circular arrangement of air channels in the petiole. When making a painting using lotus leaves, I created some contrast by having some parts covered with the leaves that are showing the upperside while on other parts, the undersides.

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Home Concepts Magazine (Oct 09 issue)

Posted on October 5, 2009 | 1 Comment

I contributed an article on edible tropical flowers in the October 09 issue of the Home Concepts magazine. As most of us are aware, flowers are reproductive structures of flowering plants where their main biological function is to produce seeds needed to perpetuate the species. Available in a wide range of forms and colours, flowers have long been admired and used by humans to beautify their living environment.

Broccoli, cauliflower and artichoke are three common examples where flowers are edible and used as a vegetable. Some flowers are used as a spice to flavour food and there are others, such as the chrysanthemum, which possess medicinal properties. These plants are difficult to grow in Singapore’s tropical climate but there is a range of tropical plants that one can grow easily and they too, produce flowers that have food uses.

In this article, I introduced five different types of edible flowers. They include the banana flower (Musa x paradisiaca), torch ginger (Etlingera elatior), butterfly ginger (Hedychium coronarium), spiral ginger (Costus species) and Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica).

All plants featured in the article can be grown in an outdoor garden with a semi-shaded location that has moist, fertile, well-draining soil and protected from strong winds. The red button ginger (Costus woodsonii) and Japanese honeysuckle can both be grown in containers in sunny location in a high-rise apartment.

Before picking any flower, check whether any pesticides have been applied on the plants. One has to observe the withholding period of the pesticide (time interval after application of the pesticide before any part of the plant can be used for consumption).

It is important to consume all flowers in moderation and always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally. They should never replace competent diagnosis or be a substitute for prescription medicine.

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Root Awakening (3 Oct 09)

Posted on October 3, 2009 | Leave a comment

Three questions were provided in this week’s Root Awakening column.

The first dealt with the growing of the florist’s gloxinia. It is a common misconception that the florist’s gloxinia has the same growing conditions as the African violet. This is especially true with regards to its light requirement. Unlike African violets, the florist’s gloxinia require more light to grow well.  It thrives under semi-shaded areas outdoors and indoors, it should be exposed to filtered sunshine for at least 6 h daily. Plants grown under shadier conditions will etiolate, i.e. become lanky and vine-like.

The flowers of the florist’s gloxinia are easily affected by fungus disease when the buds or petals are wet. When one is watering a plant, avoid splashing water onto the flowers or buds. It is also recommended to grow a plant in an area with ample air circulation. Affected flowers and buds should be removed promptly to reduce the likelihood of the problem from spreading.

The next question was about the appearance of mealy bugs on a dracaena plant. Mealy bugs can infest plants that are not healthy or they can come from surrounding plants. First and foremost, make sure your plant is grown under optimal conditions. Healthy plants are less prone to problems. To eradicate pests from plants via pesticide spraying, make sure you cover every part of the plant thoroughly, including the leaf undersides as well as any spaces between leaves. There is also a need to repeat application of the pesticide several times to ensure all progeny that hatch from eggs laid earlier are also eradicated. It is recommended to also check surrounding plants for any signs of infestations as well. Pests from these plants can migrate over at times. They should be sprayed as well if there is any signs of infestation.

The last question was about the growing of mango trees from seeds. It is vital to know that fruit trees, such as mangoes, grown from seeds need to attain their full height and size before they flower and fruit. The fruiting habits of trees grown from seeds can vary as some are more rewarding whilst others may not. It is more reliable to grow grafted fruit trees as these trees have the growing stock of a good fruiting specimen. Grafted trees are generally able to fruit earlier too.

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A Flowering Dracaena thalioides

Posted on October 1, 2009 | Leave a comment

A pot of Dracaena thalioides that was on display in HortPark’s Lifestyle Corner was recently in bloom. It produced two erect spikes of pink flowers that were surprisingly fragrant! The fragrance seemed to be emitted in a big way from dusk onwards as the flowers were faintly fragrant during the day. The appearance of the flowers was reminiscent of those produced by the mother-in-law’s tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata). When I touched them, my hands felt sticky afterwards, probably due to the copious amount of nectar the flowers secreted.

Dracaena thalioides is one plant that has an appearance quite unlike its brothers and sisters in the same genus. In my opinion, it looks more like a cordyline due to its very much petiolated lanceolate leaves. Most dracaenas I have come across do not have such a distinctive petiole! It is commonly known as the Lance Dracaena.

Interestingly, the species name of this plant is derived from the genus Thalia, which is a group of water plants belonging to the prayer plant family, Marantaceae, with superficially similar foliar characteristics. Its genus name, Dracaena comes from Greek for female dragon, which was used to refer to the dragon’s blood trees (D. cinnabari and D. schizantha) as these plants exude a red sap when injured.

Dracaena thalioides is currently classified under Ruscaceae but sometimes put into a family of its own, Dracaenaceae. Some of us may recall that Dracaena thalioides and friends were also previously grouped under Agavaceae and even Liliaceae!

It is what you would term as ‘something old and new’ as it was a popular houseplant back in the past and disappeared after some time when it fell out of fashion. Lately, Dracaena thalioides resurfaced again and I am beginning to see it being offered for sale at some nurseries and being used for landscaping indoors and outdoors.

This slow-growing plant is admired for its lush and attractive foliage which are held erect in loose spiral arrangement. To some of us, it may appear as if the leaves are opening up like a fan. It is a plant that thrives in a semi-shaded location and can be used for mass planting to achieve a lush, tropical look in an outdoor garden.

Like many other dracaenas, it makes a good indoor plant too. It can tolerate deep shade inside the house for short periods of time as a display plant but would appreciate if it can be shifted to an area, such as next to a window or balcony, where it can recuperate while being exposed to filtered sunshine for at least 6 hours daily.

Indoors, Dracaena thalioides can be displayed singly as a specimen plant but more frequently, one often sees several short plants with full crowns of leaves are grouped together inside a long planter box. Grow this plant using soil that is rich, well draining potting mix that is kept most at all times and feed using balanced, slow-release fertiliser pellets. It can be propagated via stem-cuttings, crown division and seeds.

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Posted in Houseplants, Tropical ornamentals

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