76th Issue Vol. 8 No.

ISSN 2094-1765

January 2015

BRINGING IN THE FESTIVE MOOD OF THE NEW YEAR

THROUGH HOUSEPLANTS

Phalaenopsis or Butterfly Orchids are one of most popular home dcor for
the office and the home.
House plants make a wonderful decorations and gifts to help a loved ones who
can welcome the new year in style. In the Philippines, one could choose from a
variety of gorgeous tropical plant gifts and wish your friends and family with an
amazing new year. Green foliage plants gives life in the home while blooming
plants adds color. Adding a few colorful and green plants as a decor into the
home will provide a cheery and festive mood in welcoming the new year. Here
are some 10 suggestions for you to choose from.

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Bromeliads.
The bromeliad
group is composed of pineapplelike plants with bright, long-lasting
and gorgeous flowers.
They
range from the small table top size
to the huge hallway sizes. They
are ideal to be placed on corners,
as border to pathways, or grouped
together along with other plants in
entrance doors. Miniatures can
be placed on table tops or on
center tables in the living room.
They are inexpensive, easy to
grow, require very little care, and
reward the grower with brilliant,
long
lasting
blooms
and
ornamental foliage.
Various colors of bromeliad
flowers are spectacularly beautiful.

Flowering Bromeliads (top) are long lasting and versatile house plant with flowers

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Orchids. When it comes to beauty and duration of bloom, orchids will always
come in first place. The arching stems adorned with delicate butterfly-shaped
blooms add elegance to any room. One of the easiest orchids to grow is the
Phalaenopsis. Others includes the Cattleya, Oncidium, Dendrobiums, Vandas
and the Cymbidiums. They come in various flower color, sizes and patterns.
Culinary Herbs. A basket of
culinary herbs, composed of
basil, mint, oregano, rosemary,
dill, parley or others is a nice
addition to the kitchen. Basket
can be seated nicely into
windowsills,
shelves
and
amongst your favorite kitchen
decor on the countertop. Ideal
for people who loves to cook
and uses herbs in their dishes.
(Left) A selection of various culinary
herbs.

Flowering Bulb Plants. Bulb

plants are composed of
Amaryllis and Hippeastrum hybrids, which have underground bulb stems, like
that of the onion, but with bigger and much colorful flowers. Flowers range from
white, yellow, red, pink, and even have variegation. These plants, often called

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lilies, have the ability to bloom indoors. They have flat long lanceolate leaves
with flowers borne on long erect arching stems.

Lilies like the brightly colored Hippeastrums and Liliums are popular decorations

Christmas cactus.
Botanically known as
Schlumbergera is a
small genus of cacti
red, pink or white
flowers.
Most
species
of
Schlumbergera have
stems
which
resemble
leaf-like
pads joined one to
the other and flowers
appear from areoles
at the joints and tips
of the stems. They
are
floriferous
bloomers especially
the cool months of
the first quarter of the
year,
easy
to
propagate and to
take care of.
Poinsettia or Christmas flower. The poinsettia is still a favorite holiday plant
dcor up till January due to its vibrant red flowers. However, there are now other
color variants like white, pink, and also variegated ones. They are long lasting
and very tolerant plants inside the home.
Jade Plant. The money tree, botanically known as Crassula ovata, is also
commonly known as the Money tree, friendship tree, or lucky plant. It is a
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succulent plant with thick fleshy oval leaves and small pink or white flowers. It is
native to South Africa, and is common as a houseplant worldwide. It is often tied
with a red ribbon the plant is commonly placed in the entrance of homes or in the
living room.

The Poinsettia (left) is a favorite houseplant during Christmas, but its use can extend up till
the New Year as its vibrant red color signifies love, and the red color is very meaningful
toChinese. The Jade Plant (right) on the otherhand, is a succulent evergreen which signifies
wealth and life.

Money tree. The money tree is

botanically known as Pachira
aquatica , which is a tropical
wetland or swampland tree of the
mallow family Malvaceae, native
to Central and South America.
Seedlings are the one used as a
houseplant, wherein about three
seedlings are braided together in
the trunk area and tied with a red
ribbon.
It has shiny green
palmate leaves with lanceolate
leaflets and smooth green bark.
Potted
Chrysanthemums.
Potted
Chrysanthemums with plenty of blooms are
gorgeous accents in corners and also as a
centerpiece in the house.
One could
choose from a variety of colors, from white,
light blue, orange, yellow, pink, and red.
The plant will keep on blooming for a
month, as long as you cut the dried flower
stalks and water them regularly.

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Citrus Plant.
The
citrus plant, usually
Calamondin
(Citrus
madurensis) is a small
mandarin like plant
from Southeast Asia,
which is commonly
grown for ornamental
purposes. This variety
is widely cultivated in
the
Philippines,
Hawaii, United States
and Europe and is
often given as a gift
during the Chinese
New Year to signify
good luck. The leaves
are small and dense,
giving the tree a fine
textural appearance,
and the fruits are
small,
round
and
orange at full maturity. Widely used as a house or patio plant, the fruits are very
sour when eaten raw but can be processed into preserves and jams. The plant
is usually used in Chinese communities, but it is becoming popular here in the
Philippines.
With all these plants, one can make your home as vibrant and warm for the
coming of the new year. Bright colored plants or with those blooming plants
creates a welcoming ambiance both for the homeowner and also visitors and
friends. Aside from their aesthetic beauty, they also absorbs carbon dioxide and
detoxify fumes inside the home. They also give life and a sense of cheerfulness
inside the home, which is what we really be as we welcome a new start for the
coming 2015 and leave the past behind.
The Coralberry Plant is a familiar
plant used as a lucky charm for the
New Year is the Coral Berry, or
scientifically known as Ardesia
crenata. This is due to its attractive
red berries which is also a symbol
of prosperity, continuous growth,
wealth and fortune.
The longlasting berries, which hang down in
clusters, are quite showy as they
ripen and turn to shades of coral
and finally bright scarlet.
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The Coralberry, is also known as

Christmas berry, money plant,
spiceberry, coral bush, and hen'seyes. Its leaves are dark green,
thick, glossy, and have tightly
waved edges The flowers are
small, white or reddish, fragrant,
and form clusters. The fruit is a
glossy, bright red drupe. The seeds
are able to germinate under a
dense canopy and are dispersed by
birds and humans.
This attractive shrub produces
abundant, long-lasting, coral-red to
scarlet berries, which stand out
against
dark-green,
serrated,
glossy leafy background. As an
ornamental plant, it can be planted
on 6 -12 inch pots, however, when
the plant matures, it can grow from
a height of about 6 to 10 feet tall
usually on a large clay pot or
planted directly to the ground.
OTHER POPULAR PLANTS FOR THE NEW YEAR
The Pineapple is one of the
mainstay fruit for both Filipino
and Chinese celebrating the
New Year. The sound of the
word Pinya is almost the
same sound in Chinese
which means let the good
fortune in. With this simple
and literal meaning, the
pineapple has always been
used as a decoration to
welcome the New Year.
Aside from the ripe edible
fruits,
even
the
small
immature inedible fruits as
used for decoration, even the
itchy or somehow toxic dwarf
ornamental pineapples.
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The Lucky Bamboo, or Dracaena sanderiana, with its other variegated forms and
arranged in groups, is a favorite affordable welcome plant for the New Year.
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Another table-top plant is the potted Pony Tail or Bottle Palm - Beaucarnea
recurvata (left) and the Creeping Juniper Bonsai type Juniperus horizontalis.
Bonsai trees are welcome plants as the growing leaves signifies new vitality and
growth in the coming new year.
Succulent mix like that of
Kalanchoe, Aloe, Agave, and
Sansevieria
are
nearly
indestructible as they are very
hardy
and
will
withstand
neglect.
However, do not
expose them to too much sun or
too much rain, as they will rot.
They are best planted on glazed
decorative pots, with sandy soil
as medium and top-mulched
with
sphagnum
moss
or
medium sized gravel.
Red Aglaonemas hybrids has become
very popular and affordable nowadays.
This plant may someday replace the
Poinsettias and can be ideally placed in
shady or semi-exposed lighted areas. The
red color gives life to monotonous lazy
corners of the house or office. It is very
easy to propagate, cultivate and maintain.

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Various species of flowering orchids are ideally displaced near glass windows exposed to
filtered light. Whats good about some orchids is that some has mild fragrant scents, thus gives
a very unique fragrance inside the home or office. For Plant Decoration ideas inside the
home, some of the shade
tolerant plants like aglaonemas,
Heliconias, Ficus, English ivy,
Orchids,
Philodendrons,
Dieffenbachia, Candle Tops,
Syngoniums, Ferns, Palms, and
many others are sure significant
plant displays indoors as they
give life inside the home.
However, they need tender
loving care for them to thrive
inside the comfort of your home.
MAY THE PLANTS BRING
JOY & EXCITEMENT FOR
THE NEW YEAR!!!
The Urban Gardener is an official electronic publication (in PDF Format) of the Plant
Biotechnology Project, Research & Development Center, Rizal Technological University, Boni
Avenue, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. It is published monthly. For more information, please
inquire thru email: rdc_rtu@yahoo.com or plantbiotech_rtu@yahoo.com and landline
(+632) 534-8267 Local 135 or Fax (+632) 534-9710.
Edited by N.R. Bautista January 2012
The Plant Biotechnology Project Committee is composed of:

The Urban Gardener

No. 76
Alexander
B. Quilang, Norberto R. Bautista, & Jovita A. Anit.

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