Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Easy to Care

I love seeing constant blooms in my garden. However many profusely blooming plants that I like, e.g. petunia, zinnia, impatiens are annuals that will need replacements after they grow, bloom, produced seeds and wilted. I try to grow blooming annuals such as Costus and Birds of Paradise. These plants produce blooms constantly and they are tough plants that can sustain hot weather and occasional lack of watering.



I have 3 pots of Costus in my garden. One of the plants have over 9 blooms now. It is a beautiful plant to have as the inflorescence really brighten up my garden. Each bloom can last for a loooong time (over a month). The inflorescence will turn brown over time and I just snip the stalk off to allow space for newer stems to grow. The inflorescence is tough and rainfall does not affect its blooms.

As seen in the photos here, the red, vibrant inflorescence is a spectacular bloom. The long red inflorescence is complimented with bright yellow tubular flowers.




My Costus is fertilized with goat dung manure on a monthly basis. That, I believe, ensure regular blooms are being produced by the plant. When the weather is too hot, the leaves will curled up by afternoon. However, the thick leaves are able to sustain 2-3 days of no-watering in current hot weather. That is another reason that I love this plant. At times, when we are away from home, not being able to care for my plants kept me worrying. It is most worrying in the current hot spell season. Usually I will water this plant once in the morning. These days, watering twice a day is the practice.
I would certainly recommend this plant to anyone who loves regular spectacular blooms in their garden. This plant is also easy to care for any new gardening enthusiast!

9 comments:

One said...

Hi! This is a plant that flowers throughout the year and are very hardy. I have Costus too. They brighten up the garden, don't they?

kitchen flavours said...

The chili red colour of the flower is really a pretty sight! Have never plant this before, flower throughout the year?, perhaps I should consider having this in my garden?...

Blur Ting said...

I LOVE your new look. Very nice!!

Stephanie said...

I am sure it's easy to grow... but probably for you only ha ha... Thanks JC for the tips for growing these plants. I love the photos you take as always... very clear and nice :-D

p3chandan said...

I love Costus bcos of their bright vibrant colour n their blooms really last long!

J.C. said...

Hi One, p3chandan, Costus really brighten up my garden with their vibrant colours and many blooms on a plant.

Hi Kitchen Flavour, try planting Costus. It's easy to find this plant in our local nurseries these days. It produces flowers throughout the year, just like petunia but this plant is hardy and easy to take care.

Hi Ting, thanks for the compliment. Glad you like it.

Hi Steph, glad you enjoyed the photos. My garden is the source of objects for my photography interest. I am glad I have a garden for me to test out my photography interest.

Natti said...

Hi,
J.C. , thanks for visiting my blog. Hope you found it useful. Keep coming back. You have some really nice posts here.

Malar said...

I have costus too! They are really beautiful and care free plant!

Blur Ting said...

When I moved into my apartment, the previous owner left behind one plant. Even though the pot is overcrowded and quite neglected, it never fails to produce flowers all year round. Very hardy indeed.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin
Custom Search