Watering: Regular - Plant Encyclopedia Results (Page 4)

A medium-sized tree up to 15 m high, Adenanthera pavonina is native to India and Malaysia. It has been planted extensively throughout the tropics as an ornamental and has become naturalized in many countries.

The tiny flowers are said to smell vaguely like orange blossoms.

The slender flattened pods become twisted as they split open at maturity to release up to 12 brilliant red, lens - shaped, extremely hard seeds. The ripened pods stay on the tree for some time. The seeds are used in necklaces and ornaments, as beads in jewellery, leis and rosaries. They were also used in ancient India for weighing gold. The seeds are curiously similar in weight. Four seeds make up about one gramme. In fact the name "saga" is traced to the Arabic term for "goldsmith".

In Malaysia and Indonesia, the trees provide shade and planted as "nurse trees" in coffee, clove and rubber plantations.

Although the raw seeds are toxic, when cooked they are edible: are roasted, shelled and then eaten with rice in Java, Indonesia. In Melanesia and Polynesia people call it the "food tree". The seeds are said to taste like soy bean. The young leaves can be cooked and eaten, but usually only during famine.

The hard reddish wood of the red sandalwood tree is used for cabinet making. A red dye, obtained from the wood, is used by Brahmins to mark religious symbols on their foreheads. A red powder made from the wood is used as an antiseptic paste. In Ancient Indian medicine, the ground seeds are used to treat boils and inflammations. A decoction of the leaves is used to treat gout and rheumatism. The bark was used to wash hair.

Growing to a height of about 4-5ft, this succulent plant is a member of the same family as Plumeria. Its swollen, often twisted trunk, is pale grey. The leaves are glossy and club-shaped. The flowers appear almost continuously, are trumpet-shaped, and range from white and bright pink to crimson red. It emits a highly toxic sap which in some places is used as a poison for arrows. Adeniums are not generally grown in moist tropical gardens but are often seen as a decorative pot plant; they may also be used in rock gardens. They need full sun and a well-drained potting mixture. Exotic multi-color varieties can be grafted onto the same plant. See other exotic species of Adenium, photo gallery of exotic varieties and Thai Adeniums - milti-colored, multi-grafted.

See article about Adenium.

Adenocalymna comosum (Yellow Trumpet Vine) is a creeper native to South America that is renowned for its beautiful yellow and orange flowers. It thrives in full sun or semi-shade and requires regular water to remain healthy. It is suitable for growing in USDA Zones 9-11, making it a great option for gardeners living in mild climates.

Yellow Trumpet Vine is an evergreen vine and needs support to grow on, such as trellis or wire. Its leaves are small, lanceolate and arranged in opposite pairs. It flowers in early spring producing many long tubular yellow or orange flowers, grouped in terminal plume-like inflorescences. The flowers open successively and display a steady flowering state over several weeks.

If you are growing the Yellow Trumpet Vine in a pot, then it is best to use a well-draining soil with a slow-release fertiliser. In cooler climates, it is best to move the pot indoors in winter to provide protection from frost. To encourage healthy growth and flowering, deadhead any faded flowers, and prune the plant if it gets too large or leggy. A yearly prune will also help to keep the plant from becoming unruly.

With its beautiful flowers, Adenocalymna comosum is a great addition to any garden. With its easy-care requirements and ability to thrive in mild climates, the Yellow Trumpet Vine can be a real showstopper in any outdoor space.

Adiantum is a genus of about 200 species of ferns in the family Pteridaceae, though some researchers place it in its own family, Adiantaceae.

Adiantum has slender black stems and delicate, triangular green fronds.

The plant likes higher humidity but should not be misted.

Species:

Adiantum aethiopicum

Adiantum balfourii

Adiantum henslovianum

Adiantum macrophyllum

Adiantum peruvianum

Adiantum platyphyllum

Adiantum raddianum

Adiantum tenerum

Adiantum tetraphyllum

Adiantum venustum

Adonidia comes from Adonis, the handsome sun god of the ancient Greeks. This is neat looking, compact palm that resembles a dwarf version of the royal palm (Roystonea regia) which it matches in beauty. Christmas palm grows to an overall height of only about 16 ft. By late fall fruit are beginning to ripen and by late December are bright and brilliant red - like ornaments on a Christmas palm! It is a popular landscaping item in the capital of Philippines, which inspires another popular name, the Manila palm.

Christmas palm is moderately salt tolerant. Prefers full sun but will take some shade.

Small stature makes it perfect for use in small scale plantings. It is sometimes closely planted in groups of two or three.

Good specimen container plant. The formal symmetry of Christmas palm is nicely showcased when it is grown in a container. Indoors or out this is a glamourous container plant that can maintain its looks despite hardship and neglect.

The Aechmea is very diversified, hardy, extremely popular, and very easily cultivated in the bromeliad family group. They range in sizes from a very tiny 6 inches, to more than 10 feet in height and 6 feet in diameter. Their foliage colors vary from lime green, yellow, red, burgundy, and black, and incorporates many patterns, spots, stripes, bands, silvering, shadings, and blotches. These patterns often vary form the top of the leaf to the bottom of it. The Aechmea family has large inflorescence and brightly colored, long lasting bracts that holds the magnitude of tiny flowers. Often the colorful berry-like fruits mature for a long time on the flower spike. It's a very healthy, cold and rot resistant plant to grow outdoors fixed in trees, walls, or, in pots in an orchid mix.

Adult plants need a sunny position to become red in the blooming period. In a luminous shade it flowers, but the leaves remain green. The rose bracts persist a long time, and if flowers are pollinated black pointed fruits will appear as shown in the picture. It's curious because, when the plant grows in very shaded locations the leaves become very long, to the point to seem a completely different plant and very elegant indeed, with no weak aspects. However, if it is gradually moved to full sun it blooms and the leaves become red.

This species is a large to giant sized, highly variable, hot to cool growing epiphyte. Like related genera, Aerides are best grown in open slatted baskets. Aerides species require ample water, every day in warm climates. 70% or higher relative humidity is beneficial although the plants can be grown lower. They require bright filtered light with some direct sunlight in the morning, semi-shade area placement is perfect.

Aeschynanthus longicaulis, commonly referred to as Zebra Basket Vine, is a unique, semi-evergreen, perennial, flowering vine native to Southeast Asia. It is an ornamental climber with the eye-catching glossy green foliage, marked with an unmistakable maroon central venation pattern which gives the plant its distinct zebra-like stripe. This tropical vine is perfect to be grown in most climates as an evergreen wall cover or climber on overhead structures.

While growing in its native tropical climates, its preferred position is semi-shade, such as on side of a building or under a tree. However, in cooler zones, the Aeschynanthus longicaulis can successfully be grown in pots and moved indoors in winter, providing they are kept warm. The caring and growing requirements of Aeschynanthus longicaulis are quite simple and easy to follow. It requires regular water in a well drained soil and should be fed with a balanced liquid fertilizer a few times during the growing season.

The Aeschynanthus longicaulis performs best in USDA Hardiness Zone 9 to 11. Given the right conditions and growing requirements, it will attractively bloom in summer with unusual small, tubular flowers in attractive shades of pink, yellow and orange. Combining its attractive foliage and interesting blooms, it's not difficult to see why this vine can make a lovely addition to virtually any garden.

Overall, Aeschynanthus longicaulis offers an unusual color combination and eye-pleasing ornamental foliage and flowers, making it a great container plant for patios and terraces and an ideal choice for planting along walls and trellises. The Zebra Basket Plant, if provided with sufficient indirect sunlight and regular water, will surely make a wonderful show because of its stunning foliage and extraordinary bloom.