The Urban Gardener No 21

8/9/2019 The Urban Gardener No 21

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21st Issue Vol. 3 No. 06 ISSN 2094-1765 June 2010

NEW GLADIOLUS VARIETIES LAUNCHEDby Norberto R. Bautista

Puentespina Orchids and Tropical Plants has just recently launched about 20 newGladiolus varieties, giving florists more color to choose from for their flower arrangements. Toshowcase some of the possible decorative options, Puentespina Orchids invited floral designersfrom the Institute of Philippine Floral Techniques. With the guidance of Creative Director Ms.Evelyn Aldaba of the American Institute of Floral Designers, eleven designers treated the gueststo a rainbow display of creativity.

Amsterdam Cantate Cha-cha

It is a popular flower, especially during the month of November. Using Gladiolus flowersas ornaments started more than 2000 years ago, when Greeks and Romans used them tobrighten up important events. At present, Gladiolus continue to be popular in the Mediterraneanregion as well as here in the Philippines. In fact, it is hailed as the most important cut flower.

Gladiolus is also known as the Sword Lily, due to its sword shaped leaves. Its ancientname was xiphium, from the Greek word xiphos, also meaning sword. The Gladiolus flowerrepresented the Roman Gladiators, before the African Gladioli became popular in the West.

The genus Gladiolus, belonging to the Iridaceae family, comprises about 260 species,250 of which are native to sub-Saharan Africa, mostly around the Mediterranean, and South andCentral Africa. About 10 species are native to Eurasia. Through hybridization and selection, the


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old wild species have been replaced by a new assortment which is an improvement with regardsto form of flower, color, flowering time, and resistance to disease.

Chemistry Chinon Copper Queen

Puentespina Orchids and Tropical Plants grows its own line of Gladiolas in the foothills ofMt. Talomo in Davao City, another project that helps the local farmers. Twenty different varietiesin white, yellow, orange, red, peach, pink, purple and green is now available until the end of theyear. The attractive colors combined with an eye catching height that averages between 90 and110 centimeters make Gladiolas perfect as an accent to any interior decoration. The vase lifeextends up to 7 days.

Dawson Deepest Red Essential


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The Gladiolus flower signifies remembrance, expresses infatuation, and also symbolizesfor strength of character, faithfulness and honor.

Fado Flevo Ibadan

Given its arresting beauty, the Gladiolus can stand on its own and need not be combinedwith other cut flowers and plants. The range of colors available is an advantage and can be mixedand matched in every floral arrangement.

Green Star Jester Gola La Jola

For those who would want to grow this plant, here are some cultural tips:

Light. Gladiolus is known for its high light requirement, however, it may also suffers fromvery high light intensity, which causes the decrease of length of the spikes and the quality of theflorets.


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Zorro Burgandy Purple Precious

Watering. Provide enough water during the plants growth up to flowering. Avoid toomuch water in order to prevent diseases. During flowering stage, lack of soil moisture reducesflowering, causes temporary wilting, and plants may produce crooked spikes.

Temperature. The plant can tolerate high temperature (up to 50C) provided there isoptimum air humidity and soil moisture.

Potting Mix. Gladiolus grows best in fertile loamy or sandy soil with pH of 7.0 to 7.5


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Fertilization. Gladiolus requires a higher nitrogen requirement during its growing stage,and will decrease as it approaches its flowering stage. For field planted gladiolus, provide about90 to 135 kg of nitrogen per hectare (ha), 90 to 180 kg of phosphorus per ha, and 110 to 180 kgof potassium per ha. The fertilizer mixture may be applied four times: before planting, during 3 to3 leaf stage (side-dressing), when inflorescence emerges from the leaves (side-dressing) andabout two weeks after flowering (side-dressing).

A florist arranging a Gladiolus artistic creation

Pest and diseases. Some pest that attack gladiolus are aphids, trips, mites, bugsearworm and borers. These pests can be controlled by applying synthetic or organic pesticides.Diseases afflicting gladiolus are scab, leaf and flower spots and Fusarium disease. As much aspossible, do not over-water to prevent occurrence of diseases. Apply fungicides as a propylacticduring rainy season to lessen occurrence of diseases.

Propagation.. Gladiolus may be propagated by seeds, corms, cormels and by planttissue culture. As much as possible, use only disease-free corms and cormels. To preventdiseases from developing, treat cormels with hot water (about 53 to 55C) for 30 minutes.Chemicals like Captan, Thiram or Thiobendezole can be added to the water. Before treating thecormels, soak them in a warm water (32C) to soften the husk and remove all those that float. Putclean cormels in sacks or net bags then, immerse them in hot water with the chemical for 30minutes. After the treatment, immerse the sacks containing cormels in a container with runningwater for 10 minutes. After air-drying, store cormels under low temperature (20 to 5oC) for at

least three months to break their dormancy. When the root buds swell, they are no longerdormant. To get uniform germination, soak cormels in water two days before planting them. Uselarge corms for cut flower production. Use a planting density of 13 to 17 corms per meter rowdistanced at about 20 cm apart or wider for sandy soils.


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Disseminating Information on Urban Agriculture

at the Barangay Level

The Urban Agriculture Project Research & Development Center of Rizal TechnologicalUniversity, in coordination with the RTU Extension Office, the Graduate School, and the local

Barangay Office, extended the technology on urban vegetable gardening in one of its adoptedbarangay Barangay Highway Hills, last February 2010, and after which, gave away startervegetable seeds..

Mr. Norberto Bautista of the Urban Agriculture Project of RTU brought the technology ofUrban Vegetable Gardening in the Barangay Level at residents of Barangay Highway

Hills, Mandaluyong City.

A Bonsai & Suiseki Show to be staged at the Quezon City Memorial Circle


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Growing Cacti and Succulents

Some are very cautious in growing cacti in their home as their thorns and spines aresafety hazards for children, plus the superstitious belief that since cacti live in desertsand arid places, it brings unhappiness like a desert in the house and family. However, inthe contrary, these plants are a source of inspiration as they grow in the harshestconditions, and still smiles with flowers, fights hard life all alone, and in the home, it cansurvive for a month without water. Furthermore , not all have thorns or spines, they are

certainly great additions for garden decorations, as they resemble different sizes, shapesand textures, they grow for lesser space, less soil, less care and less water. A lot ofthem are curiosities and weird looking, which makes them more worthy of collecting.

The local plant commercial sector have a wide variety of cacti and succulents theordinary gardener and plant enthusiasts can choose from, and quite surprising some ofthese species or cultivars are quite cheap and very easy to grow. They are perfectplants for a beginner as cacti and succulents are hardy, and tough plants. Thoughcactus plants are definitely not some of the more beautiful plants of the floral kingdom


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but they certainlycontinue to steal thehearts of many peopleand are in fact one of themost collected plantspecies around.

The Cactus familyincludes some of thestrangest plants theworld has ever seen.They have no leaves,instead have a succulentbut photosynthetic stemprotected by spines orthorns. Buds or eyes inthe stem can bring forth surprisingly colorful and showy flowers. Their shapes andmanner of growth are also weird or strange. Some species maybe minute, mimicking

stones or boulders, while some may grow up to 20 feet tall. Not all cacti are round inshape, as some mature ones may develop like a tall column, tree or with bush-likeshapes, or may create entire clumps or cushions in the ground. There are also somespecies which are epiphytic and climb trees or walls like vines!

Cacti and succulents are easy to grow. They usually prefer a sunny or brightly lightedlocation, and prefers a soil type that is loose and sandy (a combination of garden soil,sand and a little gravel) and the pot should have excellent drainage. The plant needs apot just small enough to accommodate its roots, with its body mostly just above the soilline. The plant is usually watered sparingly, about only once per week. For optimumgrowth, fertilize the plant with a general purpose fertilizer, like that of the complete 14-14-14 once every 3 months.

With the local garden club like the Cactus and Succulent Society of the Philippines, it iscontinuing its objectives of inspiring garden enthusiasts and plant collectors to grow andpropagate these very unique plants, to propagate them for business, and to be a firmpillar in the botanical study of these group of plants.

Cultivation of the Birds Nest Fern

The Birds Nest Fern, or scientificallyknown as Asplenium nidus, is a species offern in the family Aspleniaceae, native to

tropical southeastern Asia, northernQueensland in Australia, Hawaii,Polynesia, Christmas Island, India, andeastern Africa. It is one of several closelyrelated species known by the commonname Bird's Nest Fern. It forms largesimple fronds visually similar to Bananaleaves, with the fronds growing to 50-150cm long and 10-20 cm broad. They are


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The Urban Gardener is an official electronic publication (in PDFFormat) 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:

[email protected] or [email protected] anlandline (+632) 534-8267 Local 135 or Fax (+632) 534-9710.

Edited by N.R. Bautista June 2010

The Plant Biotechnology Project Committee is composedof: Alexander B. Quilang, Norberto R. Bautista, & Jovita A.Anit.

light green, often crinkled, with a black midrib, and exhibit circinate vernation. Sporesdevelop in sori on the underside of the fronds. These sori form long rows extending outfrom the midrib on the back of the outer part of the lamina (frond). The fronds roll backas they brown and create a massive leaf nest in the branches and trunks of trees. Thereare now a lot of leaf form variations, which interests collectors.

The habit of this fern can be epiphytal or terrestrial, but it typically grows on organicmatter. This fern often lives in trees like a bromeliad, where it collects water and humusin its leaf-rosette. It thrives in warm, humid areas in partial to full shade. The plants arecommonly sold as house plants, or landscape plants.

Cultivation Notes

Light. The plant prefers medium light all year round. The should never be exposed toneither bright and direct sunlight nor dense shade.

Temperature. The plant group thrive in normal room temperatures, and could notwithstand temperatures below 60 oF

Watering. Water plants regularly as often as possible during their active growth, andmake sure their potting mixtures is thoroughly moist.

Fertilization. Fertilize plants using a dilute solution of orchid fertilizers once a monthduring their active growth.

Potting Mixture. Use a mixture moist and chopped coconut husk and charcoal inpotting Asplenium nidus.. Repotting is needed only when the root ball becomes sodense and crowded, and one may necessarily break the pot in order for the plant to berepotted. This is due to the fact that its roots cling firmly to the pots.

Pest and Diseases. Asplenium nidus is often severely attacked by nematodes, whichare often deposited into the leaves of the plant from infected bird droppings. Thesenematodes infect the parallel veins of the leaves, causing longitudinal brown streaks inthe leaves. These pest can be controlled by spraying the plant with Furadan insecticide.Be careful during application of these insecticide since this is a toxic chemical. Duringrainy season, spray fungicides like Captan or Dithane as a propylactic in order to preventfungal and bacterial diseases in the ferns fronds.

Propagation. Asplenium nidus canbe propagated only by spores.Under its fronds, numerous dustlikespores can be collected and

sprinkled on moist soil or on pre-boiled and cut asplenium fern roots(paslak) lined-up (about an inchthick) in a bottom in a clear plasticcontainer. The fern spores willgerminate into prothallus within 4-6months, and grow into miniature fernplants within a year. It is very


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important to keep the moisture and humidity inside the plastic container in order toprevent drying of the plants and place the container in an area with diffused light.

Growing the Snake Plant or SansevieriaBy Norberto R. Bautista

These plants are commonly calledwith such names as snake plant,mother-in-laws tongue, devilstongue, good luck plant, lucky plant,and bowstring hemp. Sansevieriasare popular plants and are easy togrow. They grow comparatively slowbut these plants last for years, withminimal care. There are variousvarieties of two main types: the tall-growing plants with stiff, erect, lance-shaped leaves and the dwarf-growing rosette forms. The tall-growing types are decorative ingroupings, where they can be usedto provide compact vertical contrastwith different kinds of lower-growingbushy or rosette plants.

Most Sansevierias have an attractivemarbled pattern on the foliage. Theleaves arise directly from a thickrhizome that runs just below thesurface of the potting medium. Everyleaf is tipped with a narrow awl-shaped point, and care should be

taken not to damage it. A leaf with a broken tip stops growing. Flowers, which appear onlyerratically, are whitish or yellowish, narrow petaled, in clusters on an erect spike, and oftenfragrant.

There are manySansevieria speciesavailable in the market.S. cylindricalis a rare, tallgrowing species, withcylindrical leaves about 1inch thick and upt to 3feet long, fanning outfrom the narrow base.

Plants are rigid, ribbedlengthwise, and darkgreen cross-banded withgray-green when young.

S. liberica has thick, stiffleaves up to 3 feet long,striped lengthwise, withwhite bands of almostpure white.


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S. trifasciata, or mother-in-laws tongue, has 12 to 18 inch tall dark green marbled and slightlyspiraled foliage. The species itself is not a popular indoor plant, however, it is among its variousforms and variants that the sansevierias became popular.

S. zeylanica has gray-green leaves, with dark green cross-bands. They are 24-30 inches long,channeled with a V-section and arranged in a rather loose spreading rosette.

How to grow this plant.

This plant is relatively easy to grow and reproduce, and could tolerate neglect. It is ideal foramateur gardeners.

Light. Sansevierias like bright natural light, and prefers outdoor full-sun conditions. They canalso tolerate a certain amount of shade, like for example in a indoor location near a window or ina shaded portion of the garden, without detrimental effect on their growth. However, the plant willstop growing if they are forced to live in poor light for a length of time. Plants that has been livingin a shady location should not be moved to a sunny location without gradual acclimatization orelse it will result to leaf burn.

Watering. Water plants sufficiently, about once every 3 days. They will prefer a semi-aridcondition, similar to how you treat your cacti. Over-watered plants tend to rot and cause theleaves of tall-growing types to topple over at the point where they join the rhizome. To preventrotting to rosette types, do not let water settle in the center of plants.

Temperature. These plants are native of the tropics, thus it will thrive in normal warm Philippinelowland setting. Take care not to subject them to very low temperature, below 55 oF.

Potting Technique. Use a quick draining potting medium, one recommendation is a mixture ofequal parts of course sand, garden soil, and coconut coir dust. Ordinary soil mixed with sand willalso do, and place plenty of broken clay-pot fragments at the bottom of the pot for easy drainage.

Sansevierias do not mind having cramped root conditions, and so can be left undisturbedin its pots for several years. Fleshy, usually cream colored roots will often appear on the surfaceof the potting medium, but these plants do not need to be repotted unless they crack their pots.Ideally, they should be repotted before they reach that stage. For upright growing plants,repotting is advisable if the leaves occupy most of the pot surface. Use clay pots to uprightgrowing plants since they tend to be top-heavy.

Fertilization. Apply only half strength of fertilizer to your sansevierias, maybe about 4 granules ofcomplete 14-14-14 or controlled release fertilizer per pot per month, or incorporation of organicfertilizers like compost. Do not over fertilize.

Pest and Disease Management. Plants may occasionally be attacked by caterpillars or weevilswhich gnaws the sides of the foliage. Hand-pick them or spray organic or synthetic insecticides

to control infestations. Do not over-water to prevent rotting of plants.

Propagation. These plants can be propagated through leaf cuttings or dividing overcrowdedclumps of leaves. For leaf cuttings, which is a slow method, whole leaves are cut using a sharpknife, and then leaves are chopped into 2-inch long segments, remembering which point is upand which point is down. Plant several of these pieces together in a small pot. In time, youngshoots shoots will appear. One disadvantage of these method is that yellow bordered varietieswill not pass their characteristic leaf coloration to their offspring when reproduced through leafcuttings. Another way is to detach offsets from the rhizomatous rootstock and pot them in aseparate pot.

The Urban Gardener No 21

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