Category Archives: Gardening

Gardening

Home Garden – Jungle Flame (Ixora Coccinea)

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Continuing my series, this post is about the Jungle Flame plant that we recently bought.

The Jungle Flame, scientifically known as Ixora coccinea, is a vibrant, evergreen shrub native to Southeast Asia. Commonly referred to as Flame of the Woods, Jungle Geranium, or Maui Sunset, this plant is celebrated for its clusters of small, tubular flowers that bloom in shades of red, orange, yellow, and pink, providing a striking display throughout the summer months . 

What makes the this plant stand out are its dense clusters of small, tubular flowers that come in shades of red, orange, pink, and yellow—resembling tiny flames, hence the name. It blooms year-round in tropical regions, attracting butterflies and hummingbirds.

Scarlett Jungle Flame (Ixora Coccinea)
Scarlett Jungle Flame (Ixora Coccinea)

The pot is Persillade from Ikea.

I keep this plant in direct sunlight, on our south-facing balcony, where it receives bright sunlight 2-3 hours a day.

This plant requires low maintenance, however, pruning the branches triggers growth and maintains the desired shape (Like a hedge).

I water it five times a week. It’s essential to keep the soil consistently moist but let the top soil dry out between waterings. I reduce the watering frequency if it rains.

I fertilise it every 2 months or when it shows signs of growth.

You can read more about this plant here.

Gardening

Home Garden – Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)

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Last 4 years, I had been avoiding getting plants for our home here, because our stay in Bangkok felt temporary. Having realised now, that we’re not going anywhere any time soon, I decided to dive back into gardening. First up, Golden Pothos.

Golden Pothos, scientifically known as Epipremnum aureum, is a beloved houseplant known for its vibrant heart-shaped leaves that can bring a touch of nature indoors. Often referred to as “Devil’s Ivy,” this plant is praised for its adaptability and low maintenance requirements, making it a perfect choice for both novice and experienced gardeners. In India, it is more well-known as the money-plant.

It is native to the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific.

I have written about them before & I discovered that we already have one in our house here, that my wife has been neglecting.

Epipremnum aureum (Golden Pothos)
Epipremnum aureum (Golden Pothos)

This one is in a glass pot, on our living room shelves, indirect sunlight.

Hanging Epipremnum aureum (Golden Pothos)
Hanging Epipremnum aureum (Golden Pothos)

This one is in a hanging configuration, hanging in our south-facing balcony. There it receives direct sunlight 1-2 hours a day in the evenings.

This plant requires no maintenance at all.

I water the outdoor one thrice a week and the indoor one twice a week, reducing the frequency for the outdoor one if it rains.

I fertilise when it shows signs of growth which is mostly during spring and summer.

You can read more about this plant here.

Gardening

Home Garden – Calibrachoa Hybrid

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Ever since I moved to Bangkok, I have avoided buying new plants, because I always assumed that this was a temporary arrangement. I bought 1 Palm but that’s it. As it has become more clear that I will be here for a while, I have started considering buying some plants here. Last weekend, I got a Calibrachoa Hybrid.

The Calibrachoa Hybrid, is an evergreen short-lived perennial. Here’s a good website with more information about this plant.

Calibrachoa Hybrid
Calibrachoa Hybrid

This plant consists of a lot of dense flowers. My flowers have pink petals and orange centers.

I keep this plant in full sunlight all the time.

The Calibrachoa requires no maintenance at all.

I water it every other day.

I fertilise it every 2 months or when it shows signs of growth.

Here’re some good tools which will help you with your gardening.

Gardening

Home Garden – Slash Pine

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The Slash Pine, also called Longleaf Pitch Pine is a fast-growing evergreen conifer which is found in swamps. Here’s a good website with more information about this plant.

Slash Pine
My Slash Pine

This plant consists of drooping branches and thin hair-like leaves, which turn brown after winters and then fall off.

I keep this plant in partial sunlight all the time.

The Slash Pine requires no maintenance at all.

I water it between once a week during peak winters and thrice a week during peak summers.

I fertilise it every 2 months or when it shows signs of growth.

Here’re some good tools which will help you with your gardening.

Gardening

Home Garden – Christmas Tree

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The Christmas Tree, also called Norfolk Island Pine is an evergreen multi-layered pine native to Norfolk Island. Here’s a good website with more information about this plant.

Christmas Tree
My Christmas Tree

I have had this tree for 8/9 years now. It was quite small when I inherited it from my parents (They moved to another city) but its growth has accelerated since I moved it to a bigger pot.

I keep this plant in partial sunlight all the time.

The Christmas Tree requires very little maintenance. The only maintenance I do is, I cut off 1 layer of branches from the bottom every year, which promotes growth at the top layers. With proper manure, this tree grow 1/2 layers on top every year. It is good to rotate the pot (and the tree) by 90 degrees every month, so that any slant developing because of sunlight direction gets corrected.

Top Layer

During Christmas, we bring it indoors for a week and the family has fun decorating its branches with ornaments. Just make sure to remove the ornaments after a few days, or that area will stop growing leaves.

I water it between once a week during peak winters and thrice a week during peak summers.

I fertilise it every 2 months or when it shows signs of growth.

Here’re some good tools which will help you with your gardening.

Gardening

Home Garden – Dwarf Umbrella Tree

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The Dwarf Umbrella Tree, also called Schefflera Arboricola is an evergreen multi-stemmed shrub native to China. Here’s a good website with more information about this plant.

Dwarf Umbrella Tree
My Dwarf Umbrella Tree

Slowly, the leaves spread out and form a sort of canopy, which gives it the name.

I keep this plant in partial sunlight for 3/4 hours a day.

It requires very little maintenance except deadheading some branches.

I water it between once a week during peak winters and alternate days during peak summers.

I fertilise it every 2 months or when it shows signs of growth.

Here’re some good tools which will help you with your gardening.

Gardening

Home Garden – Chinese Windmill Palm

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The Chinese Windmill Palm, also called Hemp Palm is a short stemmed perennial plant of the Arecaceae family which originally came from the tropical and temperate mountain regions of China. Here’s a good website with more information about this plant.

Chinese windmill Palm
My Chinese Windmill Palm; winter 2019

The leaves of the plants grow in layers and resemble a traditional Chinese fan, hence the name. In fact, these leaves have been used to make hand-fans and manuscripts in ancient India and other South East Asian countries for centuries.

A traditional hand fan made from a dried palm leaf

I keep this plant in partial sunlight for 3/4 hours a day.

The Chinese Windmill Palm requires very little maintenance except deadheading the branches at the end of every winter season, when all the leaves fall off and new leaves start emerging from the inner layers; leaving the plant without any leaves for a few (scary) weeks. Eventually, the leaves do grow back, one at a time.

Summer 2020, notice the stubs left from the older branches/leaves

I water it between once a week during peak winters and alternate days during peak summers.

I fertilise it every 2 months or when it shows signs of growth.

Here’re some good tools which will help you with your gardening.

Gardening

Home Garden – Slender Goldshower

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The Slender Goldshower, also called Thryallis is a long stemmed perennial plant which typically flowers all year round. Here’s a good website with more information about this plant.

Slender Goldshower
My Goldshower

The plant is lush & dense with green leaves which gradually turn yellow. The flowers are tiny, yellow in colour and grow in clumps. When they fall off, the floor is covered with yellow (golden) leaves and flowers, hence the name.

I keep the plant in direct sunlight for 3/4 hours a day.

The Slender Goldshower requires very little maintenance except deadheading the branches.

The Flowers

I water it between twice a week during peak winters and every day during peak summers.

I fertilise it every 2 months or when it shows signs of growth.

Here’re some good tools which will help you with your gardening.

Gardening

Home Garden – Moss Rose

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The Moss Rose is a short stemmed perennial plant which typically flowers during late spring and early summer. Here’s a good website with more information about this plant.

Moss Rose
My Moss Roses

This pot has 2 different plants, one with orange bloom, the other with white bloom. At the peak of its bloom, it reached 15-20 flowers of both colours and the entire pot was covered with flowers, densely packed.

Moss Rose

This plant requires very little maintenance except pruning of dead branches. No fertilisation is necessary.

I water it between twice a week during peak winters and every day during peak summers.

Here’re some good tools which will help you with your gardening.

Gardening

Home Garden – My Philodendron

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I inherited a money plant (a type of philodendron) from my parents when they moved to to a different city. I re-potted it into a much bigger pot, mixed and matched it with a few different species which resulted in the below.

Philodendron
Philodendron Cluster

This pot is neatly tucked away between my bedroom window and the air conditioner, and has three different plants.

The big, dark green leaves belong to a species of Golden Pothos, which has only 4/5 leaves per plant right now, but are bigger than average money plant leaves, about the size of a ternager’s hand. One cut of this plant also lives in the middle pot of the bottom row of my plant wall.

The smaller, dark green leaves belong to another species of Golden Pothos, which most people can relate to as the common money plant.

The smaller, light green leaves belong to a species of Heartleaf Philodendron. Two cuts of this plant also live in the left and right pots of the bottom row of my plant wall.

View from bedroom

You can cut off branches and pot them and they grow into full-sized plants, as long as there’re some roots left.

These plants require little to no maintenance. The only thing I do occasionally is use cable ties to prop up its branches and attach them to the moss stick. Eventually, the cable ties can be removed once the plants roots burrow into the moss stick.

This pot is kept in partial shade and the plants get 2/3 hours of sunlight late afternoons during the summers and no direct sunlight during the winters.

I water them once a week during the winters and alternate days during the summers. Although they don’t require much fertiliser, I fertilise them every 2 months, which encourages leaf growth.

Here’re some good tools which will help you with your gardening.