madagascar palm

order: gentianales
family: apocynaceae
genus: pachypodium
species: lamerei

Madagascar palm seems to be quite a favourite plant in Germany. I have seen them pressing against the windows in many houses. This is also a plant that you won't miss when visiting a botanical garden, where they have tall specimens over 10 metres tall and blooming. The salver forming flowers are similar to those of a desert rose or an oleander. They are usually white. For me the more interesting features of a Madagascar palm are its silvery spiny trunk(s) and its shiny narrowly lanceolate leaves.

I knew that a single-stem Madagascar palm seldom branches out at the top before it reaches a certain height. Therefore I took a young plant that was already having multiple basal side shoots, so I can be sure to have a fuller looking plant, even before the plant outgrows the ceiling of my room. After acquiring the Pachypodium lamerei, I also became interested in other Pachypodium species, especially the smaller ones.

For my plant, I use a very light mix of pumice, finely shredded lava stones, the Japanese akadama soil (a clay-based soil) and the common humus-rich gardening compost. The airy mix is good for succulent plants; it dries out fast. In summer I would water the plant every other day. In the autumn I only water the plant once a week. With the akadama soil part, I can easily see when the soil dries out. That's when I water the plant. On warmer days in the summer, I leave the plant outside and bring it back inside when night temperature drops below 15°C. My room has a minimum temperature of 16°C in the colder months, which is good for the plant. Like all dogbane species, many parts are highly toxic. So avoid touching its sap.

>> stolen on the 27th August 2013. had a really hard time knowing that it's no longer there. how will it be treated in the future?

longan tree

order: sapindales
family: sapindaceae
genus: dimocarpus
species: longan

In late August, I organised a barbecue in our garden next to the pond and invited some friends over. Beside satay skewers, chicken wings and wraps of radish and shrimps, I also served a tropical fruit called longan. Longan means dragon eye in chinese language. The name is given to the fruit probably because of its resemblance to an eyeball with the white translucent flesh covering the dark shiny stone. In my hometown, Kuching, the fruit is called "mata kuching" in Malay language, which is translated as "cat's eye". There are theories saying that the city got its name through this fruit, because there used to be longan trees growing on the riverbanks, along which the city is laid out. Like maple, longan belongs to the soapberry family. Other more familiar members include lychee, rambutan, and horse chestnut.

After the barbecue, I saved some of the stones to start new plants with. I planted five stones in a planter, two of which struck after a week and are currently growing healthily. Two more are struggling to develop their first leaves. Acknowledging that it's a bad time to start new plants, I'm still keeping hope that the young seedlings will make it through the long winter months.

dwarf bougainvillea 'vera deep purple'

order: caryophyllales
family: nyctaginaceae
genus: bougainvillea
species: spectabilis
cultivar: 'Vera Deep Purple'

B. 'vera deep purple' in October 2012.

This is a patented Bougainvillea spectabilis cultivar, named 'Vera Deep Purple' registered under Rpboug 327.  It was discovered as a mutated plant in a group of 'Vera Light Purple' cultivar, showing deeper purple bracts. Both of these are dwarf cultivars of the spectabilis species which is marked by their compact growth habit and 'nearly' thornless stems. Also the cultivars are more floriferous than the species.

I acquired this plant in early spring this year, while it was in bloom. The bracts were so compact that hardly any light could get to the leaves. For two months, the plant didn't grow any new leaf, but consistently threw out bracts. I was worried that the plant was quite stressed but didn't know what to do. In the summer I was away from home for three or four days. The morning before I left I submerged the plant in water until the soil became completely saturated. Then I placed it back to its usual place on a sunny window sill outdoors. As I came home, I was surprised to find that the pot was still soaking wet and skipped watering for the next few days. Then the plant started to shed bracts and leaves while the soil was still soaking wet. At this moment I was certain that the plant was suffering from root rot. So I immediately repotted the plant, adding fresh dry soil around the soggy rootball, and moved it to a shadier place sheltered from wind. It took almost two months for the poor plant to fully recover. Now it's full of lush green foliage and since mid September it is also in bloom. The lesson is, never soak a bougainvillea in water.

Although bougainvillea has been said to withstand short term of coldspell down to near freezing temperature, I noticed that the bracts began to hang lowly as the temperature dropped below 7°C. So I would rather recommend to set 7°C as the minimum. If day temperature is permanently below 12°C in autumn, there's no point leaving the plant outdoors any longer. Bring it indoors; provide maximum natural light. Keep cool in winter (15°C is ideal).

march 2013.  plant leafing out on some branches.