Of course, sun-loving plants in our tropical garden like the Bougainvilleas, Madagascar Periwinkles, White Mussaenda, Euphorbia milii, Ponytail Plant and Yucca, to name a few just love the heat while the Norfolk Pine, Macarthur Palm and Dracaena Lisa had some of their foliage ‘roasted’…poor thing!

Here’s sharing some of our garden photos, taken in February, mostly from our front yard and a couple from the backyard. Enjoy please!

A section of our garden in the front yard, to the right of the driveway and facing the public road.

A section of our frontyard garden

Heliconia psittacorum ‘Sassy’

Bougainvillea ‘Aiskrim’ (syn: B. ‘Surprise’, B. ‘Miss Universe’)

Bougainvillea ‘Millionaire’ and B. ‘Mrs Eva Mauve Variegata’

Calliandra emarginata ‘Red’ (Dwarf Powder Puff, Powderpuff Plant)

Dendrobium phalaenopsis ‘Sonia’

Dieffenbachia bowmannii ‘Carriere’ (Dumb Cane, Spotted Dumbcane, Leopard Lily)

Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Endless Summer’ (Mophead Hydrangea, Bigleaf Hydrangea, French Hydrangea, Hortensia)

Catharanthus roseus, in purplish-pink (Madagascar Periwinkle, Cape Periwinkle, Rose/Rosy Periwinkle, Vinca)

Catharanthus roseus, in white (Madagascar Periwinkle, Cape Periwinkle, Rose/Rosy Periwinkle, Vinca)

Purple Vanda Orchid

Hymenocallis caribaea (Caribbean Spiderlily, Spider Lily, White Lily)

Ixora chinensis ‘Singapore Yellow’ (Jungle Flame/Geranium, Needle Flower) – just to show there’s yellow flowers too, though not in its best form…sorry!

Heliconia stricta ‘Carli’s Sharonii’

An extremely spectacular vine that just loves showing off throughout the year in our tropical heat! When in full bloom, this beauty will be dramatically covered with large trusses of tricolored flowers that are very showy and truly a traffic stopper.

Similar to another tricolor beauty, Brunfelsia calycina, the gorgeous flowers of Rangoon Creeper open white, change to pink, then bright red over a 2-3 day period.

Simply remarkable, you get to see the 3 distinct colours altogether as the vine is a constant bloomer!

I’ve always been very attracted to this vine and many a time, I’m so tempted to get one. My beloved half however, would always turn down my request, saying that we just don’t have a good support to carry its heavy load.

Wouldn’t a chainlink fence suffice? Well, you won’t know unless you try, right? Now, having researched for more insights about this vine and knowing that the flowers are sweetly scented, I’m further enticed to add it to our garden. It will be a lovely replacement for our Shower of Golden Climber that rarely blooms.

I can already visualize it being draped over our chain-link fence with its attractive flower clusters and glorious fragrance. Hmm…keeping my fingers crossed that John will soon buckle under.

Plant Profile, Culture and Propagation :

• Botanical Name: Quisqualis indica L. (syn. Quisqualis densiflora)
• Common Name: Rangoon Creeper, Rangoon Creeper Vine, Burma Creeper, Drunken Sailor, Scarlet Ragoon, Chinese Honeysuckle
• Family name: Combretaceae (Indian Almond family)
• Its name: Quisqualis translated from Latin, means What is that?. Read further about Quisqualis here.
• Origin: Burma, Peninsula Malaysia, New Guinea and the Philippine Islands.
• Plant type: Tropical perennial ornamental vine
• Features: Quisqualis indica, of the genus Quisqualis, is an exceptionally impressive tropical vine, with a few varieties, distinguishable by its flower colour and leaf size. It can reach 21 m in the wild, but generally its length in cultivation ranges between 2-9 m. A large, woody and shrubby climber over pergolas, trellises, etc. and yet can be trained as a specimen shrub.
  It is an evergreen (in the tropics) and rambunctious vine, free branching and vigorous-growing, needing sturdy support.
  Under good growing conditions, it’s typically seen with lush and fresh green foliage on cascading branches with numerous axillary and terminal drooping racemose inflorescence that is simply spectacular.
  Leaves with distinct venation, are oblong to elliptic, 7-15 cm in length, with acuminate tip and rounded base. They are simple and opposite.
  
  It blooms profusely and non-stop too, all year round in the tropics. The original Rangoon Creeper with thorny stems produces single flowers in red while the Thai hybrid has double flowers, and both exude an intoxicating fragrance at night as an added bonus.
  
  The beautifully coloured flower clusters with pendulous trumpet-shaped blooms open first white, then turn pink and end deep pink, bright red or reddish purple over a 3-day period, displaying the various colouring stages altogether on one and the same flower stalk. Very unusual and definitely dramatic too!
  Its fruit is narrowly ellipsoidal, 2.5-3 cm long, with 5 sharp, longitudinal angles or wings. The 12-15mm long seeds are pentagonal (shaped like the fruit-shell) and black.

• Culture (Care): Since Quisqualis indica or Rangoon Creeper is an easy to grow vining plant, it’s now more popularly and widely cultivated as an ornamental vine in the gardens.
  Light: Prefers full to part sun and blooms best with good sunlight.
  Moisture: Water moderately and regularly, keeping it evenly moist. More water during hot seasons and less in cooler clime. Fairly drought tolerant when established.
  Soil: Fertile humus soil with a mix of sand that can retain water, yet well-drained soil.
  Others: Require regular pruning to keep it within control, as well as to encourage more blooms with new branches as flowers appear on new growth. You’d observe newer shoots emerging from the base of the vine – remove them if you’d rather have one main strong stem continuing its growth at the top, otherwise leave them be to promote bushiness near its base. Require fortnightly or monthly feed with a flowering fertilizer to boost flowering. Relatively free from pests and diseases.
  For subtropical regions: Hardiness: USDA Zone 10-12. A tender evergreen that goes semi dormant or die back in lower temperature, but come back when weather warms up in spring. Flowers all summer and fall. Read what the gardeners have to say at Dave’s Garden

• Propagation: Easily by seeds, cuttings and layering. Suckers that emerge from the parent plant can be used to propagate new plants.

• Usage: Use Rangoon Creeper or Chinese Honeysuckle to cover and decorate garden fences, trellises, arbors and arches.
  Can be espaliered on walls or pillars at porch/entrance to homes and buildings to add interest and provide garden fragrance too. An ideal landscape vine that can be grown on ground or containers and can be trained as a shrub. An attractant for butterflies and bees, not sure about hummers though. Grow in greenhouses or outdoors in the mildest subtropical regions.
  Quisqualis indica is used for traditional medicine in certain regions. Leaves can be used to relieve pain caused by fever while the roots to treat rheumatism. Read more at Wikipedia and Philippine Medicinal Plants on its traditional uses.

Other External links:
Gardino Nursery, Corp
TopTropicals

An attractive evergreen and shrubby plant with dark green foliage that is popularly grown as an indoor houseplant or outdoors, as a specimen. It can be potted or otherwise.

Interiorscapers just love Dracaena deremensis! With statuesque beauty, great tolerance for low light conditions and resistant to diseases, they make excellent plants for indoor decor.

Outdoors, being robust shrubs that thrive on neglect, landscapers love to use these tropical beauties extensively. Like Cordyline terminalis (Ti Plant), Dracaena deremensis are seen to beautify every nook and corner, so to speak.

Count us in too! We’ve been growing Dracaena ‘Lisa’ for decades! But got to know its correct cultivar name recently when we researched to do this article! Haha…we thought it was Dracaena Janet Craig, its close relative.

It’s such a hardy, dependable and fuss-free plant, making it such a delight to have. Moreover, its ability to rid the air of pollutants does impress us so!

Plant Profile, Culture and Propagation :

• Botanical Name: Dracaena deremensis cv. ‘Lisa’ (synonym: Dracaena fragrans)
• Common Name: Dracaena, Dracaena Cane, Dracaena Lisa Cane, Dracaena Lisa
• Family name: Ruscaceae (formerly Liliaceae, sometimes Agavaceae or Dracaenaceae)
• Its name: Dracaena comes from the Greek ‘drakaina’, meaning female dragon, referring to the resinous red gum that exudes from cut stems, when thickened, is supposed to resemble dragon’s blood in European legends.
• Origin: Dracaena deremensis is a native of Tropical Africa and Asia, while Dracaena Lisa is one of its cultivar.
• Plant type: Tropical ornamental foliage plant
• Features: Dracaena deremensis is one of the approximately 40 species of the genus Dracaena, and has many cultivars and sports. These tropical evergreen and woody perennial plants are widely grown for their ornamental foliage and majestic beauty. Leaves come in all shapes, broadly ovate, strap- or lance-shaped and in varying sizes, broad and short, long and slender.
  Blade colour can be solid green or variegated with white or yellow longitudinal stripes or margins. Growth habit is mostly columnar and upright, ranging between 2.4-3.6 m in height but can be trained to be a small and bushy tree by regular pruning. Some cultivars do produce flowers with sweet fragrance, hence attributed to its synonym, D. fragrans. The very popular and dramatic Dracaena fragrans ‘Massangeana’ (Corn Plant Dracaena) with its central yellow variegation on its green foliage is one such plant.
  
  Dracaena deremensis cv. Lisa, a popular cultivar in our country, Malaysia, has solid dark green foliage. Lance-shaped blades are smooth and simple, slender and arching, about 15-30 cm long.
  It looks very similar to Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’ except the later has much broader leaves that are glossier too.
  They are spirally arranged on unbranched stems that eventually become top-heavy with rosettes as the lower leaves wither. Foliage appears dense as the internodes are very close. Hence, when their rangy stems are hard pruned or trimmed selectively at staggered heights, they’d create an impressive and bushy specimen plant for the garden.
  
  
  Similar to other cultivars, D. deremensis ‘Lisa’ has an erect and upright growth habit with clumping stems or multi-trunked. Generally, it grows to about 2.4m tall with a spread of 1m. Nevertheless, this particular cultivar reacts well to hard pruning and are usually seen in bush or tree form.
  Does it flower? We’re unsure…never seen them bloom before!

• Culture (Care): The robust Dracaena deremensis, a low maintenance plant, is so easy to grow.
  Light: Ideally, bright light indoors and semi-shade or filtered sunlight outdoors. Avoid direct sun that may bleach the foliage. Tolerates low-light to shade, but growth will be a tad slower.
  Moisture: Low water requirements. However, water thoroughly when soil surface looks dry, keeping it evenly moist. At lower temperatures, water sparingly and allow soil surface to dry slightly between watering, otherwise over watering in cool environments can result in leaf loss. It enjoys humid conditions, so mist the plant regularly with tepid water to prevent brown tips and yellow edges caused by dry air.
  Soil: Prefers organic and well-drained soil with good aeration and water-holding capacity. Nonetheless, adaptable to a wide variety of soil types.
  Others: Hardly needs fertilizing, though you can feed monthly with a liquid houseplant fertilizer if you wish. Keep foliage dust free by regularly wiping them with a clean, soft cloth. Remove discoloured leaves to keep tidy by pulling downwards off the stem. Tip burn is a sign of insufficient watering, too low humidity, fluoride toxicity or high soluble salts.
  It tolerates severe pruning well and the severed stem can be cut into shorter 10-cm lengths and used for propagation. If older plants become leggy, cut back stem to within 10 cm from base to rejuvenate the plant and promote bushiness as new growth will develop from the cut section. Or trim back leggy stems at staggered levels for aesthetic results. Repot only when plant becomes root-bound. Dracaenas are generally free from pests, but do check occasionally for aphids, scales and spider mites.
  For subtropical regions: Hardiness: USDA Zone 10B-11. In winter, water sparingly and stop fertilizing, but resume in spring. It likes moderate to warm conditions with minimum temperature of 13 degrees C.

• Propagation: By tip cuttings or stem cuttings, the easier and faster method. It can also be propagated by air layering.

• Usage: Excellent houseplant for homes and greenhouses or as interiorscape plant for commercial offices, hotels and malls. Ideal in containers or above-ground planter, or ground-grown in garden beds/borders as focal point in mixed plantings. Perfect landscape plant anywhere! Use it as an accent or single specimen, or use the bushier cultivars as hedges or screen.
  
  
  Last but not least, use Dracaena deremensis to purify or cleanse the air. It is a well-know fact that Dracaenas are some of the plants used in the NASA Clean Air Study that has shown to help remove benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene. Check the list of air filtering plants at Wikipedia.

Other popular cultivars of Dracaena deremensis, besides ‘Lisa’ are:

• Janet Craig (Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’) – broad and arching, deep green and glossy leaves, and produces strongly fragrant white flowers;
• Janet Craig Compacta – similar to Janet Craig but much smaller;
• Michiko (Michiko Cane) – medium-sized, deep green and glossy leaves, foliage held tightly to its trunks, native of Hawaii;
• Warneckii (Striped Dracaena) – broad but narrower than ‘Janet Craig’ and sharper pointed tips, green leaves with distinctive white stripes;
• Lemon and Lime – lime green leaves with white edgings;

Other External links:
University of Florida, IFAS Extension
Plant Care.com
Plant Care Guru

We’re definitely going to reintroduce Cordylines to our garden again. Gosh, we didn’t realize how gorgeous they can be until we saw this striking variegated pink/maroon beauty at Felda Residence Hot Springs recently!

It sure would brighten up our plot, adding contrast and interest to our current landscape

Ti plants are such popular ornamental foliage plants, grown for their spectacular colours and leaf shapes. They are highly seek by gardeners and landscapers alike for their intense and vivid colours, especially the fluorescent pinks, maroon and reds that sparkle amidst a sea of greens or in a mix-crowd!

In our country, they’re seen almost everywhere, dotting the scenery and widely used by landscapers to decorate roundabouts, highways, road-dividers, public places and elsewhere.

If you desire a tropical setting, Hawaiian Ti is surely one that you may want to consider planting! There are so many cultivars with gorgeous color combinations to choose from.

Plant Profile, Culture and Propagation :

• Botanical Name: Cordyline terminalis (synonym.: Cordyline fruticosa)
• Common Name: Hawaiian Ti, Good Luck Plant/Tree, Ti Plant/Tree.
• Family name: Agavaceae
• Its name: Cordyline is derived from the Greek ‘kordyle’, meaning club that refers to the thickened root. Ti, should be correctly pronounced as ‘tea’, though some prefer to rhyme it with ‘tie’ which is incorrect.
• Origin: Eastern Asia to Polynesia
• Plant type: Tropical perennial ornamental plant
• Features: Cordyline terminalis is one of the approximately 20 species of the genus, Cordyline which was earlier classified as Dracaena rather than Cordyline. Being among the most colourful foliage plants, it is the most popular species of the genus for indoor potted plants.
  Ti Plant is an evergreen tropical shrub that can reach up to 3 meters tall, though generally seen about 1-1.5m high in cultivated plants. It has a fairly slow to medium growth rate and is often confused with Dracaena, but these two plants can be easily differentiated by the way their foliage hug the stem.
  It has an upright growth habit, with slender yet strong and erect trunk in grey to brown that are covered with leaf scars as the lower leaves wither with age. Such that the trunk eventually becomes leggy and top-heavy with just tuffs of foliage at the top.
  But when cut back, the usually unbranched stem will sprout new shoots at the point where it’s severed to eventually present a shrubbier plant with impressive and spectacular foliage.
  Ti Plant does sometimes throw out suckers from the enlarged club-like rhizomes to form a clump.
  Depending on the various hybrids and cultivars, the leaves may be glossy and come in many shapes and sizes. Leaves can be 30-60 cm long and 10-15 cm wide, shaped oblong-lanceolate, elliptic-lanceolate or narrowly oblong with 10-30 cm petioles.
  But it’s the awesome colours and marvelous variegation of the foliage that captures avid admiration. Besides the original leaf colour in deep green, it’s now extensive, ranging from various hues of green, purple, maroon, rose, pink, orange, yellow to white, and wonderfully variegated in many colour combination.
  Ti Plant does flower though seldom seen. Flowers are insignificant, white to purplish and clustered in loose panicles that gradually develop into red fruits.

• Culture (Care): Cordyline terminalis (Ti Plant) is quite an easy foliage plant to grow and maintain. Light, temperature and fertilizer levels appear to affect the intensity of its kaleidoscopic colors on the foliage.
  Light: Bright light or nearly full sun (not direct or scorching sunshine) is best to maintain strong foliage coloration and vigorous growth. Tolerates low-light to shade, but leaf variegation can be affected and become a tad dull due to reduction in light intensity. Constant warm conditions is beneficial.
  Moisture: Water moderately and regularly, keeping it evenly moist. At lower temperatures, water sparingly and allow soil surface to dry slightly between watering. It enjoys high humidity, so mist the plant regularly or stand potted houseplant on a saucer of pebbles filled with water to just below the base of the pot to prevent browning of leaf margins caused by dry air. And, to further maintain humidity for houseplants, keep the leaves dust-free by wiping them with a moist cloth.
  Soil: Fairly fertile and well-drained soil with good aeration and water-holding capacity. A soil pH level of 6.5 is preferred.
  Others: Remove spent or burnt leaves to keep tidy. If older plants become leggy, hard-prune the main stem to within 10 cm from base to revitalize the plant and promote bushiness. You can then use the severed stem and cut into shorter 10-cm lengths for propagation.
  It is recommended that potted plants be repotted every two to three years. Or if it had been repotted to its maximum pot size, topdress it annually by removing and replacing the top 5-7.6 cm of soil.
  Feed once monthly during the growing season, but sparingly during winter, with a general liquid houseplant fertilizer at reduced strength, on the soil but never on the foliage.
  Try to avoid these conditions: dry air, excess fluoride in the water, low light levels and low temperatures will cause browning of the leaf tips and margin, while direct sunshine causes scorching and brown patches on the leaves.
  Cordylines are generally free from pests, but do check for mealybugs, scales and spider mites that may infest it occasionally.
  For subtropical regions: Hardiness: USDA Zone 10-11. Ti Plant should not be subjected to temperatures below 13 degrees C. Water and feed sparingly during winter. Visit Dave’s Garden to read growers’ comments about Hawaiian Ti Plant, especially winter care and those outside the hardiness area who confirmed that plants that die back to the ground do come back after a frost or freeze.

• Propagation: By seeds, though not easily available on cultivated plants. The easiest method of propagation for Cordyline terminalis (Ti Plant) is from tip cuttings or stem cuttings called ‘logs’ that can be started in the soil or in water. Read here on how to propagate Ti Plants.

• Usage: An attractive and colourful ornamental foliage plant, that is great in containers or above ground planter, indoors as houseplants or located at the porch, deck, patio and others, outdoors. Excellent too when ground-grown as a shrubby plant in gardens as an accent or striking single specimen, and even as lovely in a mixed planting in garden beds or borders. Differently coloured hybrids or varieties of Cordyline, when grouped and planted together will produce a fabulous kaleidoscope of colours to brighten up any area. Ti Plants, if properly pruned, can be created into wonderful shrubs as screens or hedges. Cordyline terminalis are such magnificent plants, ideal for landscaping, and definitely a shrub that add interest and marvelous contrast, making an impact wherever they’re planted. Some varieties of Ti Plant are also used in floral arrangements.
  In some regions, native peoples use the Ti Plant’s starchy rhizomes for food or simply as famine food and to produce liquor while the leaves are used for cooking and fashioned into Hawaiian hula skirts. The Hawaiians believe that Ti Plants bring good fortune to their owners, hence called, Good Luck Plant, Miracle Plant or Trees of Kings, to name a few.
  Ti Plant has many medicinal uses traditionally too. Its leaves are used to relieve fever, headache, soothe sore back muscles and as a decongestant. Read more at National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) on the medicinal uses and indigenous practices/usage of Cordyline fruiticosa or Ti Plant.

Other External links:
University of Florida, MREC
IPMnet, Central Maryland Research & Education Center
Aloha Tropicals
Floridata

Enjoy some more pictures of Cordyline terminalis (Hawaiian Ti or Ti Plant)!

Last edited: April 23, 2010

We’re absolutely delighted to be maintaining a garden blog here that gives us the opportunity to share online the many treasures seen in our tropical urban garden. They may look very ordinary to some viewers, but every one of our garden ‘babies’ is adorable, special and extraordinary in their own way, and collectively, they provide us our daily dose of abundant joy and serenity.

Let our garden photos speak their thousand words to showcase the beauty and tranquility in our little garden corner with colour and flamboyance. Enjoy!

Bigleaf/Mophead Hydrangea that blooms endlessly year round…such bliss!

Sun-loving Ixora coccinea ‘Dwarf Red’ that flowers year round too in our tropical clime

Torenia fournieri, forever self-seeding and decorating every nook and corner

Wrightia antidysenterica (Snowflake), another plant that flowers all year through.

The variegated cultivar, Tradescantia spathacea ‘Hawaiian Dwarf’, and Tradescantia/Rhoeo spathacea. Amazing to observe that some of the variegated plants have returned to their original form with dark green leaves and dark purple undersides, plants as seen in the background of this photo.

Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum ‘Burgundy’ simply loves a regular haircut…will always reward with abundant flowering within 10 days after a prune!

They were just tiny tots, less than 30 cm tall when added to our garden about four and a half years ago, but looking at them now, we’re absolutely pleased with their current status.

This duo have matured marvelously over the years, almost 1.3 m tall and as wide, with strikingly big, bold and beautiful bipinnatifid foliage.

A little restricted though being container-grown, otherwise these tropical beauties would definitely have been much larger and more spectacular as grounded garden specimens.

Plant Profile, Culture and Propagation :

• Botanical Name: Philodendron bipinnatifidum (syn.: Philodendron selloum)
• Common Name: Cut-Leaf Philodendron, Split-Leaf Philodendron, Fiddle-Leaf Philodendron, Tree Philodendron, Lacy Tree Philodendron, Selloum, Elephant Ear Philodendron, Banana-de-macaco (one of the many Brazilian names)
• Family name: Araceae (Arum family)
• Plant type: Ornamental semi-woody shrub that is native to Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay in Southern America.
• Features: Philodendron bipinnatifidum is one of the most well-known species of the large genus Philodendron, consisting of approximately 1000 species or more. Belonging to the Meconostigma group within the genus that are collectively known as Tree Philodendron species, this tropical rainforest plant with tree-like base can reach incredible height and width (sometimes 7 x 7 m), especially in its natural environment, where it supports itself by climbing trees as an epiphyte.
  In cultivation though, P. bipinnatifidum with a medium to fast growth rate, typically grows outdoors as a large semi-woody shrub between 2-4.6 m tall with an equal width, but much smaller as a potted houseplant indoors.
  
  It is popularly grown as an ornamental or landscape plant for its beautiful and glossy foliage with large bipinnatifid leaves of variable lengths, up to 90 cm long. The dark green leaves are deeply divided into many lobes with undulated margins and display prominent veins. They are held on long arching petioles (up to 1.5 m long) that are smooth and similarly colored as the leaves, emerging closely from the basal rhizome that gradually develops into an upright single tree-like trunk.
  
  The unbranched trunk with a thickness ranging from 6-15 cm in diameter may eventually bend or flop, being top-heavy or aged. It displays characteristic leaf scars created by the discarded discolored basal leaves and sends down to the ground numerous and tough aerial roots for support and to assist in transporting water and nutrients from the soil.
  Typical of an aroid, it produces an inflorescence, consisting of a greenish spathe enclosing a whitish spadix that bears the petalless flowers, but it rarely blooms if grown indoors. More notable and amazing is the flower’s ability to maintain a constant high temperature of 114 degrees F for the 2 days that it is opened, the only one of a kind on earth! Read more about the heat-producing Philodendron flower at UBC Botanical Garden Forums and UCC Biology Department.
  Be aware that the plant contains toxic calcium oxalate raphide crystals that upon ingestion may cause severe swelling and affects respiratory functions.

• Culture (Care): Philodendron bipinnatifidum or P. selloum as it was previously and commonly known, is an easy-to-grow foliage plant that needs little attention, preferring the warm, humid and wet tropical conditions.
  Light: Grows best in dappled sunlight or bright filtered light. Can take full sun or partial shade but not deep shade.
  Moisture: Water moderately and regularly. Soil need to be kept evenly moist but not waterlogged. It enjoys humid and well-aerated conditions. Mist the plant regularly if air is very dry to provide adequate humidity.
  Soil: Grows best in a sandy loam medium that is humus or organic-enriched and can retain moisture, yet drains well. Nonetheless, it is not choosy about soil, any kind will do.
  Others: Remove discolored and withered leaves. Repot in larger container if too root-bound. Be extra careful when handling this plant as the sap may irritate sensitive skin and cause rashes, as well as stain clothing. Feed with a balanced liquid fertilizer fortnightly. No serious pests or diseases.
  For subtropical regions: Hardiness: USDA Zone 9 -11. This is supposedly the hardiest of all philodendrons, though not frost-hardy, where frost or freeze may kill the leaves or whole plant to ground-level, but it will usually come back when warm weather returns in spring. Nonetheless, it’s best to give protection during winter freezes or overwinter indoors.

• Propagation: Easily propagate by division of offsets or suckers that sprout laterally from the root system of the parent plant and grow them individually as new plants. Can also be propagated by tissue culture (mostly done commercially) or seeds which are rarely available, though one can learn how-to artificially pollinate the flowers to set seeds here.

• Usage: P. bipinnatifidum or Cut-leaf Philodendron make spectacular ornamental or landscape specimen shrub outdoors in gardens, parks and public places, especially where there’s spacious land area. Great as a filler plant for bare spots or in borders under tall trees.
  Excellent in containers as a patio or deck plant, or located at porches, entrances and courtyards as stand-alone specimen or amongst a crowd of low-growing foliage plants.
  Use it too as an impressive houseplant in homes or as a decorative interiorscape plant in public buildings, offices and lobbies or greenhouses.

Other external links:
- Exotic Rainforest
- Floridata
- Wikipedia

Another love-at-first-sight flowering plant that was added to our garden in late April 2006. Within a couple of months, it grew into a very attractive compact bush with lots of dainty-looking tubular lavender-purple flowers in lovely batik design. Very showy and incredibly fascinating!

We got to enjoy its profuse flowering for about half a year until it gave up on us before that year-end. Probably, as a result of too much sunlight or overwatering or even excess trimming in our haste to propagate new plants? We really couldn’t pinpoint the cause of its demise!

Anyway, we’re determined to try growing it once more in the near future, now that we’re better armed with its growth culture as I researched further to write this article. Seeing images of its exquisite beauty has kindle anew our longing!

Plant Profile, Culture and Propagation :

• Botanical Name: Plectranthus ‘Mona Lavender’
• Common Name: Lavender Spur Flower, Mona Lavender
• Family name: Lamiaceae (Mint family)
• Plant type: Herbaceous ornamental shrub. A Plectranthus hybrid developed at Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in Cape Town, South Africa by Roger Jaques in the late 1990s.
• Features: Plectranthus ‘Mona Lavender’ is a beautiful hybrid of parentage P. saccatus (seed parent) and P. hilliardiae (pollen parent) of the genus, Plectranthus.
  A herbaceous and bushy perennial with a rounded, erect and upright growth habit. It is a vigorous grower and can typically grow to 60 cm (2 ft) or slightly more in height and width, but more compact in sunlight.
  Foliage is evergreen and attractive, with glossy dark green ovate leaves (roughly 5 x 2.54 cm) that curl slightly and have scalloped margins and lovely deep purple undersides.
  As stunning are its dainty and tiny tubular two-lipped flowers held in great abundance along numerous tall and erect dark-purplish spikes, more than 18 cm (7 in) long. Blooms are lavender in color and wonderfully speckled with purple markings that seem so exquisitely patterned as some batik fabrics or orchid species!
  It is a prolific bloomer and flowers over a long period throughout the growing season, especially in shortened daylight or shadier conditions.
  Primarily grown for its very showy flowers, it is now popularly and widely cultivated worldwide, in the tropical and subtropical regions, and even as an annual or tender perennial in the temperate regions, due to its easy culture.

• Culture (Care): P. ‘Mona Lavender’ (Lavender Spur Flower) is easy to grow, relatively fuss-free and rewards handsomely with non-stop flowering.
  Light: Best growth in filtered sunlight or semi-shade, but can tolerate full sun (not too strong and harsh though) or full shade.
  Moisture: Water regularly, especially during hot and dry seasons. Be mindful though, not to overwater which could lead to shedding of leaves prematurely.
  Soil: Grows best in moist, humus-enriched, loose and well-drained soil.
  Others: Prune lightly after flowering to maintain neatness and compactness, as well as to encourage denser branching and hence more blooms. Or alternatively, pinch back new stem tips regularly to induce more branching and maintain compact form. Spent flower spikes should be removed. Feed fortnightly with a balanced liquid fertilizer. If a granular fertilizer is used instead, place them away from the crown and water in well to avoid burning the tender roots. No serious insect or disease problems, though do watch out for mealy bugs and mites.
  For temperate regions: Hardiness: USDA Zones 9b-11. ‘Mona Lavender’ is not tolerant of very cold conditions, so should be protected from winter frost and freezes or overwinter it indoors. Plant it in spring if your area is affected by heavy frost otherwise anytime of the year will do for non-frost region. Blooms prolifically from autumn to early summer, when provided with proper culture.

• Propagation: Easily propagated from herbaceous stem cuttings or tip cuttings that root easily in soil or water.

• Usage: Plectranthus ‘Mona Lavender’ is an excellent bedding plant for annual or perennial garden, either planted en masse, as specimen or in mixed plantings. Very ideal in raised planters, containers or hanging baskets to display its colorful beauty at decks, patios, garden porches, windowsills and balconies. Also, it can be grown as a houseplant in bright or shaded sites, and in greenhouses or conservatories. You can even take some stem cuttings including the flowering spikes and use them as floral display in a vase filled with water – not only one get to enjoy the long-lasting blooms, but the cuttings will eventually root and can be propagated as new plants for oneself or presented as gifts. Isn’t that lovely?

Some external links:

• Plantzafrica, SA National Biodiversity Institute
• Dave’s Garden
• Missouri Botanical Garden

Update: July 22, 2009
Sharing photos of potted Plectranthus in abundance at Cactus Valley, Brinchang in Cameron Highlands. Left image is the popular Plectranthus ‘Mona Lavender’ in lavender, while the right image included two others, flowers in white and magenta pink. These two cultivars do not have leaves with purple underside as with ‘Mona Lavender’.

Most frequently seen in garden nurseries in the lowlands is the lavender variety. In fact, it was our first sight of white and magenta flowers…probably these aren’t as hardy as the ‘Mona Lavender’?

Last edited: August 8, 2009

Its foliage is really impressive and dramatic – striped and dressed in beautiful color combination of green, cream and reddish-pink, besides being bold, spiky and marvelously symmetrical! That was what moved us to introduce it to our garden in early 2004.

Moreover, Dracaena marginata ‘Tricolor’ is a sun-loving plant that is most suited for our tropical garden. A robust plant too that takes to hard pruning with a pinch of salt, producing more stems after each haircut and requires very minimal attention.

Through the years, it stays happy and vibrant in a large pot, located at a sunny spot of our front yard, against a pillar that acts as its backbone whenever it gets too tall for its own good.

Nevertheless, we do allow a couple of its upright stems to grow free reign as high as the pillar, reaching the roof so that it stands out dramatically in our garden landscape. Majestically tall in the background and a wonderful accent all year round!

Plant Profile, Culture and Propagation :

• Botanical Name: Dracaena marginata ‘Tricolor’
• Common Name: Rainbow Tree, Tricolor Dracaena, Variegated Dracaena, Variegated Madagascar Dragon-Tree, Red-margined Dracaena, Red-edged Dracaena
• Family name: Ruscaceae (also listed in Agavaceae)
• Plant type: Ornamental shrub, first found in Japan and developed in Puerto Rico and Florida.
• Features: Dracaena marginata ‘Tricolor’ is one of the loveliest variegated cultivar of Dracaena marginata (Madagascar Dragon Tree) which is a member of the ancient Dragon Tree family originated from the Canary Islands.
  This evergreen tropical shrub has a fairly slow to medium growth rate. It is popularly favored for its magnificent foliage and can grow to approximately 2-5 meters tall and spreading about 1-2.5 meters wide.
  It has an upright growth habit, displaying long, slender and erect to somewhat curving stems in gray that are covered with distinctive leaf scars. Though stems are unbranched, but when cut back, new shoots will emerge and present an even nicer shrubby display with impressive and colorful foliage.
  Leaves that are 30-60 cm long, narrow, pointed and ribbon-like, are borne spirally along the stems and symmetrically arranged, appearing as a beautiful rosette atop the stems that become leggy as the basal leaves are shed. The attractive leaves are smooth-textured and striped in multi-colored tones of green with rosy-red or purplish-red margins and a cream center.
  Red-edged Dracaena is known to bear white flowers though our 5-year old plants have yet to do so.

• Culture (Care): Dracaena marginata ‘Tricolor’ can be easily grown with little maintenance.
  Light: Full sun (not scorching sunlight though) to light shade. Best leaf color in bright indirect sunlight or 2-3 hours of direct morning sun outdoors and indoors, bright light. Too little light causes loss of foliage color.
  Moisture: Moderate water. Though very drought tolerant, regular watering is beneficial and makes it happy, which include humid conditions too. Overwatering or underwatering can be problematic.
  Soil: Prefers fairly moist, fertile and well-drained soil though adaptable to a wide range of potting medium that include a sandy, clayey loam with a mix of peat moss.
  Others: Feed monthly with a liquid houseplant fertilizer. Remove discolored or drooping lower leaves by pulling downwards off the stem. Regular pruning is recommended to encourage bushiness as two or more branches emerge after a stem cut, as well as for aesthetic effects when leggy stems are pruned at varying desired heights to beautify its appearance. Trim back the tall stems to the level where you want branching and leaves to appear. It tolerates heavy pruning well and stems can be used for propagation too. Usually, outdoor plants are hardly affected by pests or diseases, though indoor ones are occasionally bothered by scales, spider mites and mealy bugs.
  For subtropical regions: Hardiness: USDA Zone 10b-11. It tolerates some shade and cooler winter clime but not frost. Protect it from frost or overwinter indoors and during this period, reduce watering and withhold fertilizing or feed sparingly every two months. Pruning and propagating to be done in spring.

• Propagation: Can be propagated by tip cuttings or stem cuttings, as well as air layering. For tip cutting, take a healthy one and remove the bottom one-third of its leaves before planting into potting medium. For stem cuttings, take 2 to 3-inch long central stem sections and lay them horizontally into potting mix and secure with bent wire or push them vertically into soil and firm the soil around them, the latter being the easier and popular method. Sited at a warm and sunny area and with regular watering, new growth should appear.

• Usage: Spectacular foliage plant that is suitable in a large container or raised planter, located outdoors in the garden, porch, patio and the like or indoors as a houseplant or to overwinter in freezing climate. Excellent too, when grown in the ground as an ornamental specimen or accent, or grown en masse in shrub borders, as hedges and screens. Great shrub for landscaping at parks and along roads and highways.

Last but not least, since Dracaena marginata is also named in the list of air-filtering plants that can rid the air of pollutants, as compiled by NASA, I’d assume that its cultivar ‘Tricolor’ probably has such cleansing properties too. So, why not add it to your garden collection, even if not for this probability at least to enjoy its beautiful foliage all year round!

External links:
IFAS, University of Florida
Plant-Of-The-Week, University of Oklahama

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, the single form with the 5-petaled blood-red blooms, is Malaysia’s national flower. It is locally known as ‘Bunga Raya’ in the Malay language. Hence, it is no surprise that this spectacular ornamental shrub is popularly and abundantly grown in our country, especially along roads and highways, lending beauty to the landscape.

Widely seen is the original variety that is decorated with large and attractive red flowers which we have previously grown too.

The last couple of decades though, one gets to enjoy the tremendous range of marvelous colors and variation in bloom formation, especially in garden centres, nurseries and parks, even home gardens. Now, there are thousands of new cultivars (hybrids) and varieties with gigantic blooms in magnificent multi-colored tones with wonderful textures! Simply astounding! I’m so delighted and exhilarated that in researching to write this post, I have been rewarded with the sight of such awesome beauties, mostly never seen before, displayed in many hibiscus internet sites.

Very recently, I discovered a fascinating phenomenon on one of the Tropical Hibiscus bushes scattered around our church compound. This beautiful shrub, decorated with bright and vivid red flowers has certainly been around for ages but I have eyes that sometimes do not see?

Upon close scrutiny, I noticed that it produces two kinds of bloom, one a single with 5 red and ruffled base petals (as in the topmost photo) and the other, a crested single with the same number of base petals but with whitish edges and having a cluster of extra petals (petaloids) extending from the top of the staminal column. Truly remarkable!
Coincidentally, the right picture shows both kinds. Click it to view and enjoy large!

Plant Profile, Culture and Propagation :

• Botanical Name: Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
• Common Name: Tropical Hibiscus, Chinese Hibiscus, China Rose, Rose of China, Shoe Black Plant, Shoe Flower, Hawaiian Hibiscus
• Family name: Malvaceae
• Plant type: Perennial ornamental shrub, native to China and Southeast Asia, though widely grown throughout the tropics and subtropics.
• Features: Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is one of the popularly known species of the genus Hibiscus that comprises of about 250 species. This tropical hibiscus species has about 6,000 registered named cultivars and varieties.
  It is a fast growing evergreen perennial shrub or tree that can reach about 5 meters tall or more. Typically though, garden varieties are about 1-3 meters in height. Depending on the cultivar, growth habit may be dwarfish, tall and upright or sprawling.
  Foliage is mostly medium to dark green and glossy, in varying size, shape and texture. Leaves are broadly ovate or lanceolate, mostly with serrated or scalloped margins and sometimes lobed. Some cultivars have beautiful variegated leaves in green and speckled white and pink or red, such as ‘Cooperi’, ‘Snow Queen’ and ‘Hummer’s Fantasy’, to name a few.
  Flowers on the other hand varies extensively due to the thousands of cultivars and varieties that have been developed over the many centuries and still ongoing currently with increased momentum by hybridizers and hobbyists alike.
  Flower colors are splendidly varied, ranging from a single color or two to many dazzling combinations that are simply astonishing. Shades of color include probably all the colors that are listed in a color chart, ranging from white to pink and red, and from yellow to apricot and orange, to name a few. Unsure whether black and true blue are still excluded to-date.
  Bloom sizes range from miniature 7.6-12.7 cm (3-5 inches) to regular size up to 20 cm (8 inches), with some cultivars (hybrids) as large as 25 cm (10 inches) in diameter. Even the petal formation and textures are extremely varied. Blooms may be single (5 base petals), crested single (with an extended cluster of petaloids at the top of the staminal column besides the 5 base petals), double (extra petals besides the 5 base petals) or cup and saucer double (five base petals with petaloids sitting on it as a cup on a saucer). Petals can be narrow, rounded or broad, smooth or crinkled, simple or ruffled-edged, overlapped, flared or reflexed, with endless possibilities.
  A typical single bloom has 5 petals with a long central staminal tube bearing numerous stamens that surround the style and 5 stigma. Flowers are solitary in upper leaf axils. Though individual flowers that are mostly unscented last only a day, at most 2 days for a few cultivars, the plant produces them in constant succession throughout the year in warmer tropical regions, just perfect for sunny and bright locations.
  Read here to know how incredibly varied the features of Tropical Hibiscus are!

• Culture (Care): Mimic the natural conditions of plentiful sunshine, humidity and rainfall in the tropical regions where it originated, and Hibiscus rosa-sinensis will reward you generously with luxuriant growth and non-stop flowering year round.
  Light: Full sun (hours not too long though, preferably 2-3 hours of morning sun) and heat. Best growth and flowering in hot, humid and wet environment.
  Moisture: Water regularly, and more especially during very hot and dry seasons. Water less during cool and rainy weather.
  Soil: Prefers organic-enriched, moist and a very well-drained soil.
  Others: Prune regularly to encourage bushiness, maintain shape and control shrub size or even to encourage flowering that appear on new shoots. Depending on the vigour and growth habit of the plant type, some may need severe cutting back to about one third of the shrub size or prune a third of the longest woody stems while others just tip pruned. Always use a sharp shear, making a clean angled cut just above a node or eye.
  Replanting and root pruning is recommended every 3 years when a potted plant becomes root bound. Learn how-to at Hibiscus 101.
  Feed fortnightly as Tropical Hibiscus are vigorous growers. To encourage blooming, choose a fertilizer with contents of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in medium, low and high amounts respectively. These are measured in numbers as seen on the label of the fertilizer. However, when plants are hard-pruned, feed them initially with a foliage houseplant fertilizer to encourage healthy new stems and subsequently with a flowering fertilizer.
  Tropical Hibiscus attracts spider mites that cause yellowing leaves, thrips that cause bud drop, and other garden pests such as mealy bugs, white flies and fungus gnats or shoreflies that can deaden your plants. These can be treated with soapy water, neem tree oil or shower the plant with a strong burst of water with a garden hose. Learn how-to control hibiscus pests at Hidden Valley Hibiscus website.
  For temperate regions: Hardiness: USDA Zones 9b-11. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis are tropical plants that can’t tolerate freezes, but potted and with proper winter protection they can be grown anywhere. Learn how-to grow them year round in temperate clime at Tropical Hibiscus site.

• Propagation: The normal method of propagating Hibiscus is by cuttings that root easily within a month or so. Take healthy shoot tip cuttings from current season’s growth or softwood cuttings, the former being most appropriate for an upright single stem if you preferred a standard specimen eventually. It can also be propagated by air-layering, grafting and even raised from seeds. These methods of hibiscus propagation are wonderfully described at Tropical Hibiscus site, with links therein leading you to pictorial illustrations.

• Usage: Nicknamed ‘Queen of the Tropics’, Chinese Hibiscus or Hibiscus rosa-sinensis with such dazzling medley of flower colors is just excellent as an ornamental shrub for landscape plantings, informal hedges, screens or in mixed plantings. It can be easily trained as a standard or espaliered too. Ideal as container plant, especially in freezing areas where it can be easily overwintered indoors in the greenhouse or conservatory, and even simply as a potted houseplant. Suitable to be grown along coastal regions as Tropical Hibiscus is salt tolerant. Also, it’s attractive to birds, butterflies and other insects. The right image shows a skipper butterfly, Suastus gremius resting on the hibiscus leaf.
  Besides its ornamental value, H. rosa-sinensis has edible, medicinal and cosmetic uses. Its leaves, flowers and roots are known to contain certain properties that can be used to cure or relieve many ailments while the juice extracted from flowers is used in China as a shoe-blacking polish and cosmetically to darken the eyebrows or as a purple dye for coloring foods. Read details at Plants For A Future.

Other External links:

• International Hibiscus Society
• The List Fiend – Lists & Lists…
• Hidden Valley’s Hibiscus Catalog
• Hibiscus World
• Fancy Hibiscus
• Hibiscus Paradise

More photos of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, grown in our garden and elsewhere:

‘Madeline Champion’ - reflexed, ruffled single; apricot with crimson eye and pink veins

‘Madeline Champion’ - reflexed, ruffled single; apricot with crimson eye and pink veins

‘El Capitolio Sport’ or ‘Salmon El Capitolio’ - 4″ miniature, fringed, crested single; apricot with red center and pink veins; sport of ‘El Capitolio’

‘Sylvia Goodman’ - 4″ miniature, fringed single; cream or peach-yellow with red eye and white aura

probably ‘Eurilla Sunshine’ - 6″ overlapped, ruffled single; rich yellow/gold with carmine eye

Unidentified - 6″ single; yellow-orange with dark crimson center

Unidentified - 6-7″ overlapped, ruffled single; orange with carmine center

Unidentified - single; light pinkish white with magenta pink centre and pale pink veins

‘Morning Glory’ - 6″ overlapped, ruffled single; rose pink with reddish pink eye and white edges

‘Dainty White’ - 3-3.5″ miniature, single; white with orange stamens and creamy yellow stigma

Unidentified - 5-6″ crested semi-double, white with pink and creamy veins, yellow stamens

‘Bob’s Delight’ - 4.5-5″, ruffled double; pink

‘Christopher Howie’ - very large 7-9″ single; fully overlapped, heavily ruffled and tufted, cardinal red or rose red

‘Christopher Howie’ - very large 7-9″ single; fully overlapped, heavily ruffled and tufted, cardinal red or rose red

Unidentified - 5-6″ ruffled single; magenta pink with deep red center

Unidentified - 5-6″ ruffled single; medium pink with a white tinge and deep red eye

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis ‘Cooperi’ - 5-6″ single; deep carmine pink with white petal edge and deep red eye

‘Archerii’ - 4″ miniature, reflexed, ruffled single; blood red

‘El Capitolio’ or ‘Variegata’ - 4″ miniature, crested single; blood red with white petal edge

Unidentified (probably ‘Rose Sensation’) - 4″ miniature, ruffled double; blood red

Last edited: 20100529

A stunning sun-loving shrub with clusters of tubular-shaped flowers in various gorgeous colors, mostly from vibrant orange to scarlet, blooming all year round in our tropical country, Malaysia.

We’ve been growing the cultivar ‘Salmon’ with beautiful brilliant orange blooms since late 2005, first on the ground and then transplanted to a container when we found that the roots were rather invasive. Poor thing, it did not survive the stress as a portion of its roots had to be severed.

Not wanting to be deprived of such a beauty, we bought another young plant without hesitation that cost us only RM2.00 (sooo…cheap!!) and planted it into a container right-away. A fast-grower that has been blooming its head-off ever since and delighting us so!

Plant Profile, Culture and Propagation :

• Botanical Name: Tecoma capensis (synonym: Bignonia capensis, Tecomaria capensis)
• Common Name: Cape Honeysuckle
• Family name: Bignoniaceae
• Plant type: Ornamental perennial shrub or quasi-climber, native to Mozambique, South Africa and Swaziland. Now widely cultivated elsewhere in the tropics and subtropics.
• Features: Tecoma capensis is the only indigenous South African species out of approximately 12 species of the genus Tecoma, with the rest originating from Arizona to the Andes in South America. Like the Podranea ricasoliana, it is a rapid-growing rambling shrub with long stems, or quasi-vine (vine-like) reaching 6 meters tall or more with support and spreads as wide or even wider if unchecked. With age, it can become woody and straggly if unpruned. It has fairly invasive root system below.
  Foliage is wonderfully evergreen in warmer regions but semi-deciduous to deciduous in colder regions. Glossy green-colored leaves are pinnately compound, with opposite pairs of ovate to roundish leaflets that are 2-5 cm long and have coarsely serrated margins.
  Cape Honeysuckle is a prolific bloomer that flowers all year round in tropical conditions, and from late summer to winter in colder climate. It starts blooming when young, bearing 5-6 cm long tubular-shaped flowers in fairly large clusters at terminal stems, held above the foliage. Colors vary from brilliant orange to scarlet or reddish-orange, light yellow to apricot and salmon, in marvelous contrast with its medium to dark green foliage.
  Inedible fruits are produced in long and narrow seed pods up to 25cm in length, containing many winged seeds and will split open when fully ripe to self-sow readily.

• Culture (Care): Tecoma capensis can be easily planted without much maintenance, though pruning is something it cannot do without.
  Light: Full sun to light shade, but grows and flowers best in full sun.
  Moisture: Medium water requirements but plenty in very hot climate. It is moderately tolerant of drought once established.
  Soil: Fairly moist and compost-enriched soil that must be well-drained. It is adaptable to poor, sandy soil and tolerates salt spray.
  Others: It can take hard pruning. Prune regularly after flowering to control size and reshape into a shrubby bush, as well as to encourage new growth and abundant flowering. As a climber, its stems and branches need staking or tied to a support. It benefits from a monthly feed with a balanced fertilizer. No serious pests or diseases.
  For temperate regions: Hardiness: USDA Zone 9-11. Need protection in frosty areas. It will bounce back from the root system in warmer climate even though killed in winter. Prune back in late winter or early spring to promote new growth and flowers.

• Propagation: Easily by seeds and semi-hardwood cuttings or layering which it does naturally. Low-growing branches will root easily when in contact with soil and can be severed to start new plants. In the warmer tropics, propagation can be done anytime but in cooler climates, seed should be sown in spring or during summer, as with cuttings and layering.

• Usage: Excellent as an ornamental flowering shrub for hedges and screens, especially over chain-link fences or espaliered on a wall or cascade down a garden wall. Suitable to be trained as a climbing vine with support at porches, trellis and arbors. Its vigorous and sprawling growth habit makes it ideal as a ground cover, covering vast areas especially on steep slopes and rocky banks. Ideal too for xeriscaping or seaside plantings. It can be grown in a large container as a specimen shrub outdoors or overwintering indoors in frosty regions and for greenhouses. Cape Honeysuckle can be planted to attract hummingbirds, butterflies and bees to one’s garden.
  Its powdered bark is known to be used as a traditional medicine to relieve pain and sleeplessness.

Some cultivars of Tecoma capensis include the following:

• ‘Apricot’ – apricot or light coral-pink flowers
• ‘Aurea’ – yellow flowers
• ‘Coccinea’ – scarlet flowers
• ‘Salmon’ – bright or vivid orange flowers

External links:
South African National Biodiversity Institute (PlanzAfrica)
CoolExotics
TopTropicals