false aralia

order: apiales
family: araliaceae
genus: schefflera
species: elegantissima

This plant has got gorgeous foliage; and people like to compare it to a cannabis. This particular schefflera species doesn't ramify well. Therefore it's common to find them as group plantings. This group consists of 6 plants. Care instructions: bright location, room temperature and consistent soil moisture. Leave it where it is and do not move it around. That's what I read and what I've been doing since. However, since the day I brought the plant home in March 2012, nothing much has changed. In the summer some new leaves appeared at the top but dried up before they could grow big, either by chance or by design (I have no clue what went wrong). With that, the growing tips were also gone. For a while the plants seemed to want to branch out on many epicormic buds along the stems. Even this was short-lived. The plants decided to abort this action. Soon the autumn came and the winter approached. The daytime got shorter and shorter. Finally the plants have come to their senses and realised, it's also a good idea to grow a bit from time to time, to keep their owner happy. There are finally 2 to 3 decent-sized leaves on the new meristems that extended from the topmost axillary bud (the so-called "pseudoterminal buds") of each plant, except the smallest plant, who decided not to continue with the life journey. So all in all, I'm quite happy now.

There is otherwise little discussion on this plant on the www, except a bunch of people complaining how difficult it is to keep this plant and a few others saying "oh! that's such an easy plant to grow. An absolute beginner!" . So... I'll see what I can report later.

ginkgo // maiden tree

order: ginkgoales
family: ginkgoaceae
genus: ginkgo
species: biloba

first year growth hardened off

This is a ginkgo tree from a collected seed, which I planted directly into the soil in the winter, a few days after the new year's day 2012. I must mention that the fruit covering seed gives off one of the most unbearable odours I've ever known. The plant sprouted very late in the spring, but it grew very fast. While weeding the planting bed, I nearly took it as a weed. I had no idea that a ginkgo tree would grow that fast. On its first year it has already grown to be about 10 cm tall. Its moth-looking leaves have water-repellent property. That makes watering the plant quite enjoyable. It, however, uses the water only very sparingly. So I don't water it often.

In the autumn, following a feeding with a high-potassium fertiliser, the plant's stem became woody. Autumn foliage colour was a pale yellow. The leaves dropped as soon as they changed colour, so I didn't have a chance to capture the seasonal moment. In the winter, there's only one stem sticking out from the soil. I'm going to store it in the garden shed when temperature drops below freezing point and hope for it to come back next year.

leafless ginkgo november 2012

fallen leaves

>>Update (2013):

This year saw a vigorous growth for my ginkgo seedling. It has at least doubled in height and the number of leaves have also increased tremendously. It's crazy that the colour of the autumn leaves are a lot more vibrant with a brazen gold. The leaves are also more deeply lobed as compared to its first year. At the latest next year, this plant is going to branch out for the first time.

florist's cyclamen // persian sowbread

order: ericales
family: myrsinaceae
genus: cyclamen
species: persicum
cultivar: ??

second year in autumn 2012. many flower buds are hidden under the dense canopy.

Florist's cyclamens are cultivars of Persian cyclamens. They generally have bigger foliage and flowers than the wild species. They are winter growing, tuberous perennials. This unknown cultivar has green heart-shaped, finely toothed leaves with lighter marble markings. The nodding flowers have 5 bright pink, reflexed and recurved petals.

I bought this plant in late autumn 2011, while it was blooming. As the flowers were fading in late spring, I brought it outdoors and placed it under our willow tree. The leaves slowly died down, and seed pods ripened. During the hottest months in the summer, the plant, or rather the corm, was just sleeping. I took the opportunity to transplant it into its new pot, with one third of the corm above the soil line. Keeping this zone above soil line, where petioles of the leaves and flower stalks are attached to the corm, not only keeps the plant healthy but also reveals another aesthetic feature of the plant. The plant came back to life during the cooler weeks in late summer. Flowers appeared after the leaves. There must be over 50 leaves and some 20 flowers this winter season. I was worried that the compact thicket of foliage could hinder the growth of flowers. However, as it seems, the plant has been so intelligently designed that each flower finds its way through the narrow gaps between leaves. Also the leaves are designed in such a way that they could divert most of the rainwater away from the centre of the plant.

For cultivation, I try to keep the temperature in the range of 12-16°C whenever possible. I keep the soil moderately moist while in growth and almost dry when dormant. Infrequent feeding with low N liquid fertiliser only began one month after growth resumed, as the fresh potting soil provides sufficient nutrients for the plant's initial growth

seedpods summer 2012

cyclamen going to take shower. late november 2012.

pink abelia edward goucher

order: dipsacales
family: caprifoliaceae
genus: abelia
species: x grandiflora (chinensis x uniflora)
cultivar: 'Edward Goucher'

This plant is a souvenir from the trip to a koi show in the holland city, Arcen this year. As we were driving closer to the border of the netherlands, we noticed that gardens of private homes became more and more elaborately adorned with bouquets of flowers. Once in the netherlands, there were numerous green houses, plant nurseries and garden centres to be seen. The koi show itself was held in a park with nicely done gardens. We were so tempted that we decided to check out a garden centre after the show. It turned out, to our disappointment, that the one we went to didn't have quite the range of plants and gardening products we anticipated. Also, due to the summer heat that hit us there, the entire sales area was so unbearably hot. Some plants were even wilting. Nevertheless, I wanted to get at least one plant as a souvenir, in order not to go home empty handed. The one plant I brought home is an abelia with flowers that look a lot like those of a kolkwitzia amabilis, only smaller. Flowers are bell-shaped, pink with orange throat and are borne along the long, thin arching branches. While kolkwitzias only flower once a year, abelias flower throughout the entire summer and autumn. Flowers are mildly scented.

It's been suggested not to expose the plant to extreme coldness in the winter as branches could be damaged. Keeping it just above freezing will ensure their survival. Unlike kolkwitzias, abelias are evergreen shrubs. Therefore their water demand remains considerably high in the winter, due to the high transpiration rate, especially if subjected to strong wind. It would be wise to give the plant some kind of shelter from strong wind.