Category Archives: Flowering Plants

I didn’t realize that the last time I wrote about the kemuning plant I have was in 2007..pheww..it has been 4 years and I can’t even remember whether the one I have now is still the same plant or I have bought a new one..sigh!

Well, for those who would like to read about the first entry on Kemuning, you can check the link here : Kemuning- Murraya paniculata.

Ever since I moved the current pot of plant to a sunny spot, it has been flowering quite often. Of course whenever I spray with water or when it rains heavily, most of the flowers will fall down. So whenever the Kemuning plant is in the flowering phase, I always try my best to water it gently.

Oh, I’ve read in one of the Indonesian blogs about Kemuning. It says that the leaves could be pounded with few other herbal ingredients, add on water and strained. It is effective as slimming drink. I don’t think I will try but it’s good to know that the leaves and other parts of the Kemuning plant are safe to be consumed and not poisonous.

It has been raining most of the time this December, and I have not been able to do much gardening due to busy daily routine as a mother to an active toddler.

So when the gardenia keeps on blooming, it really makes my day to see the lovely white petals. I like it best when it is not fully bloomed like one in this picture. If only I could pick and preserve it the way it is (well, that’s the use of camera, isn’t it, even if it is only able to capture in picture..heh!)

I was at SIL’s house when I noticed that her neighbor has a very healthy and blooming bush of gardenia at the front lawn. Maybe I should try planting my gardenia on landed soil rather than in a pot. Anyone with experience care to share?

I think what I have here is Gardenia jasminoides. It also known as Cape Jasmine or Cape Jessamine, derived from the earlier belief that the flower originated in Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. Malays call this flower as bunga cina.

Gardenia jasminoides is a shrub with greyish bark and dark green shiny leaves with prominent veins. The white flowers bloom in spring and summer and are highly fragrant. They are followed by small oval fruit.

I have been waiting for it to bloom again after her last bloom in 2007. There were many times that I’ve seen buds coming out but none manage to make it to bloom until last week. I’ve read somewhere that “bud drop” is the common problem with gardenia.

The most irritating problem encountered with gardenias is “bud drop,”when flower buds abort just before blooming. Common causes include low humidity, over-watering, under-watering, insufficient light high temperatures, rapid temperature fluctuations, cold drafts or change in plant locations. In other words, gardenias are temperamental!

From Gardenia Plant Care,

A fertilizer designed for azaleas will also fill the nutritional requirements of your gardenias. Be sure to prune older gardenia stems right after the flowers stop blooming. This encourages new growth as well as more frequent blooming.

This was the first gardenia that bloomed last week. I was too busy to take picture and when I managed to find the time, it was withering away. Hopefully more buds will coming out soon. Next time when I go to ACE hardware, I will check for azalea fertilizer.

I am linking up the fact sheet about Gardenia care from University of Rhode Island Landscape Horticulture Program in case I need to read about common problems in planting gardenia in the future.

I was so happy when this particular pink rose plant I have finally bloomed. The other rose plant which I bought at the same time as her has been flowering many time over the year, but she has not.

I can see that this particular pink one does not have as many petals as the other cabbage rose I have.

I still couldn’t find the correct type of this pink rose. Have been reading through many pages online but yet to find a correct variety and type. But one thing for sure it has the sweet, rosy fragrance. And it is a thorny rose plant as well. Oh, even the leaves are scented as I can smell every time I pruned it.

The next day when I peaked from my living hall curtain, I noticed it has bloom to its full size. I quickly grabbed the camera and snapped its picture. How lovely and big it was compared to the small plant it comes from.

True to my prediction, it only has few petals, but big ones. I am not sure how long it will last. I hope it will bloom again soon!

This picture of my bunga kesidang was taken in early July 2010. I have been waiting for the plant to bloom after her last one in September 2008.

After changing its spot from one place to another, I think it finally finds a good place to grow and bloom again. The plant has been climbing around other plants around it, so I bought 2 coated sticks from ACE hardware to help it creeps. Later I found a cheaper set of such plant holder in Daiso (which I have used for my rose plant, will write about it later).

This picture with the budding flowers was taken in the middle of June 2010. It took about 3 weeks for all the buds to finally mature and bloom to their maximum size. Yesterday since it was raining during night time, I noticed those flowers fell on the ground…huhu!

I picked them up and kept them on the key tray. Its pandan-like fragrance smells very nice every time I need to pick up my house key, a reminder of what a wonderful home and garden I am blessed with.

Remember the post about how I have been wondering whether I should repot my cattleya?

Well, I don’t have the time and I didn’t repot the orchid. But I did spray the liquid fertilizer as often as I can remember.

So, when last week I noticed the purple flowers, my heart just sang..hehe!

You see, the leaves are not really in their best condition but still they managed to bloom a great bunch of flowers for me. This is why I love gardening, just as you thought the least expected happiness will not emerge anytime soon, it surprises you amazingly!

I never know what kind of orchid I grow until it blooms and I want to write about it in this gardening blog.

So after searching and reading through a few orchid websites, I am pretty sure that what I have here is a Vanda.

Taken from how-to-grow-orchid.com:

“The genus Vanda contains many species represented by large handsome plants and a wide variety of beauty in the flowers.

By some growers considered difficult to cultivate, their charm is well worth the supplying of their particular needs and the studying of their habits.

The plants are pseudobulb-less, the leaves distichous (dis-tik-ous), or disposed in two parallel lines along the heavy, erect stem.

The tendency of the stem is to grow up toward the sun, as the surprised amateur finds when his plant reaches the roof and has no more room to grow. The lower leaves frequently drop off.

Thick aerial roots form along the stem and, when smooth, green-tipped, and fat, indicate that the plant is progressing. When they become shriveled and ringed, something is drastically wrong with their culture and vanda orchid care”

I think I’ve had this pot of Vanda for more than 2 years now, can’t really remember where do I get it in the first place.

“This type of plant is a slow grower and needs to be very large before flowering, so that any kind of propagation is a slow and tedious process at best.”

When it comes to vanda orchid care, they are considered sun worshipper. Among the sun-worshipers are the Vandas, natives of India, the Philippines, and some Pacific islands.

They will not thrive without adequate sun, and they must have corresponding amounts of heat and water. Care must be exercised to keep water from remaining in the growing crown.”

As of today, I am still able to enjoy the dark purple flowers. Not sure how long the flowers will last, but from what I read, some says it could last for a month or so.

It is a crime to neglect all my plants, I know that..but alas I have no time and opportunity to lavish any one of them with the old tender loving care.

The cattleya I brought from old home seems to be doing fine until I moved the pot to a new location. Little did I notice that the new position got so much direct sun light during day time..huhu! Thus the sunburned leaves..sigh!

Despite that the purple cattleya still wanted to cheer me up with her blooms.

I am yet to prune the sick leaves since my gardening shears are rusty (see? I have been abandoning all my gardening tools for so long..isk!)

Taken from the page on Problems With Orchids:

Sunburn

Description

Black or black-edged patches on leaves can indicate sunburn. The leaves of some of the Odontoglossum purebred hybrids can become red during the summer.

Causes

Black patches occur when the sun has shone directly on a portion of leaf for too long; it takes less than an hour for the sun to burn the leaves. A little redness in odontoglossums is acceptable, but if they receive too much sun, the leaves will suffer and be prematurely shed.

Cure

Once burned, the mark will remain. Prevent sunburn by sheltering plants from the sun. particularly in spring, when the plants are still in their winter quarters and the sun is becoming increasingly bright.

I’ve had these 3 pots of bougainvillea for the past 6 years. When we moved to this new house, I thought of leaving them, but SIL advised me to pruned all the sharp thorny stems and transported them together with other plants.

So after a few months of adapting to new surrounding and location, they are finally blooming with great flowers.

Info taken from plantoftheweek.org:

“Bougainvillea was named after the world traveler, Louis de Bougainville, who discovered it in Brazil in 1790 and brought it to Europe where it became both widespread and popular.

It is the bracts that make the plant so eye-catching. The actual flowers are located in the center, and are usually creamy yellow.”

From coolexotics.com:

General aspect and origins – Bougainvillea glabra is also known as bougainvillea or paper flower. This vine is native to Brazil. Its woody stems can reach up to 15 to 30 ft (5 to 10 m) long, if not pruned back. Bougainvillea flowering is very showy, and can be of various colors, depending on the different cultivars.

Leaves – Bougainvillea glabra has an evergreen foliage, which can be semi-decidious in colder places. Leaves can be of different shapes, depending on the different varieties, and can be up to 4 in (10 cm) long.

Flowers – Flowers are insignificant, tubular and white-cream. They are surrounded by colorful bracts, which can be orange, pink, purple, red, yellow, white depending on the varieties.

I never know that the actual flower are actually the tiny tubular white inside the colorful bracts. The colorful papery bracts are the reason why people name it as paper flower. This Bougainvillea glabra also known as lesser bougainvillea, is the most common species used for bonsai. (I’ve been meaning to try my hand with bonsai, but Hubby is against the idea..huhu!)

I love this one with its striking contrasting green and white variegated foliage. As of the time I’m updating this entry, it is flowering but I am too occupied to snap some new pictures.

My next mission is to find a pot of Bougainvillea with rich bright red bracts. Will update more if I could find one in the nursery nearby..heh!

Anthurium, from anthos, meaning flower, and oura, meaning tail, refers to the many tiny true flowers that form in the yellow tail-like spadix. (Taken from hawaiitropicals.com)

For many years I grew a pot of anthurium in my garden, but lately the one and only pot of anthurium seems to be dying. So since I went to IKEA a few weeks ago, I decided to buy another pot. As per above picture, it states that the botanical name is Anthurium Acropolis. However once home, I googled and found out that the cultivar acropolis usually has flower in white. The one bought in IKEA is red (??)

Nevertheless I hope this anthurium will last long. I found Anthurium Plant Care Instructions online and I hope I would be able to follow the guide.

Note to myself, don’t overwater the plant! hehe..