Urban Gardener No 27

8/8/2019 Urban Gardener No 27

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27th Issue, Vol. 3, No. 12 ISSN 2094-1765 December 2010

KISSING UNDER A MISTLETOE :ITS ORIGIN AND LEGEND

The original Christmas mistletoe,Phoradendron flavescens, isnative to North America and growsas a parasite on trees. Thoughcommonly seen growing as aparasitic plant, it can actuallyproduce its own food byphotosynthesis. The plant is abranching woody evergreen shrub,with yellow flowers, whichdevelops into small sticky, pearlywhite berries. The plants areactually poisonous.. ThePhilippines has a different speciesof mistletoes, under the genusAmyena, often found in ourforests, with bright red or orangeflowers.

The Christmas mistletoe has along history, and was used before

as a ceremonial plant by the early Europeans. In the earliest times, the mistletoe has beenone of the most magical, mysterious, and sacred plants of European folklore. It wasconsidered to bestow life and fertility; a protection against poison; to ward off evil spirits, asymbol of peace and an aphrodisiac.

The custom of using mistletoe to decorate houses at Christmas is a survival of the Druid andother pre-Christian traditions.

Kissing under the mistletoe was first found associated with the Greek festival of Saturnaliaand later with primitive marriage rites. They probably originated from two beliefs. One beliefwas that it has power to bestow fertility. It was also believed that the dung from which themistletoe grew would also possess "life-giving" power. In Scandinavia, mistletoe was

considered a plant of peace, under which enemies could declare a truce or warring spouseskiss and make-up.

Later, the magical appeal of the mistletoe was modified, with the creation of the kissing ball.At Christmas time, a young lady standing under a ball of mistletoe, brightly trimmed withevergreens, ribbons, and ornaments, cannot refuse to be kissed. Such a kiss could meandeep romance or lasting friendship and goodwill.


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Whether we believe it or not, italways makes for fun and frolic at

Christmas celebrations. Even if thepagan significance has been longforgotten, the custom ofexchanging a kiss under themistletoe can still be found inmany European countries as wellas in Canada. Thus if a couple inlove exchanges a kiss under themistletoe, it is interpreted as apromise to marry, as well as aprediction of happiness and longlife.

Nowadays, the spirit of this old myth has been transformed into the Christian tradition, inwhich, the mistletoe becomes an emblem of Love which conquers Death. Its medicinalproperties, whether real or imaginary, becomes a symbol of hope, especially in uniting thefamily during Christmas. Its significance is parallel to the celebration of the Birth of Christ,which fosters love, forgiveness, unity and hope.


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Chrysanthemums as a Christmas Decoration

Thinking of a potted flowering plant to decorate your home of Christmas? Try pottedflowering Chrysanthemums. Chrysanthemums are one of the most popular flowers in theworld, next only to Roses, and its mass-produced in Baguio, Tagaytay and Davao. Thereare now a lot of varieties with flowers of varied colors and sizes, usually planted in a cleanplastic pot. Aside from being a popular cut-flower, a potted flowering Chrysanthemum couldbe bought from a garden store and decorate it in your home this Christmas season.

The name Chrysanthemumcame from the Greek'Chrys' meaning golden(the color of the original

flowers), and 'anthemon',meaning flower. This namewas given to it by CarolusLinnaeus, a Swedishnaturalist also known asthe father of moderntaxonomy.

Chrysanthemum nowadaysbloom in various forms,and can be daisy-like,decorative, pompons or

buttons. Chrysanthemumblooms also come in ahuge variety of shapes andsizes and in a wide rangeof colors. In addition to thetraditional yellow, otherpopular colors are white,purple, and red. With

these, the blooming plants are good accents and gives living color in the home, alongside


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your Christmas decorations. The Chrysanthemum flower symbolizes fidelity, optimism, joyand long life.

After the Christmas season,Chrysanthemum plants with wiltedflowers can be trimmed and repotted..

Shoot segments could be cut and usedas a propagating material in producinganother batch of chrysanthemum plantsfor next season seedlings. Use a freedraining and fertile soil composed of amixture of garden soil, sand andcompost. Water the plants once a day.

After a few weeks, Chrysanthemumseedlings can be pinched or their shoottips cut to make them bushy.Fertilizing the plant is an important step

in maintaining a healthy plant. Fertilizeusing a half teaspoon of controlledrelease blooming fertilizer once every 2months and discontinue fertilizing afterflower buds are formed. Plants usuallyrespond to a longer period of light,about 12-16 hours for it to bloom.

Check plants for insects and diseases. The plant is often susceptible to leaf spots, Botrytis,Fusarium wilt, and root rot. Thus, do not over water, and allow air movement in the garden.Insect pests like aphids, caterpillars, mites, and white flies can be controlled by regularlyspraying a dilute soapy solution or an insecticide.

Growing Cymbidium Orchids

The genus Cymbidium, whose namerefers to the boat-shaped lip orlabellum of its flowers, waspublished by Olof Swartz in 1799 inDianome Epidendri Generis Linn. Itsname is derived from the Greekword kumbos, meaning 'hole orcavity'. It refers to the form of the

base of the lip. The genus isabbreviated Cym in horticulturaltrade. It is commonly called BoatOrchid, and it is one of the bestknown and most widely traded of allgenera of orchids. This orchid ismore popular abroad than here inthe Philippines. This is due to thefact that most of its modern hybrids


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are temperate growing plants, and requires acooler temperature or higher elevation toflower well. However, we also have tropical orwarm-growing Cymbidiums here in thePhilippines. The genus consists of about 52species that are found from Korea, Japan,

China, Himalayas, Taiwan, the Philippines,Southeast Asia, New Guinea and Australia.The Philippines have 6 species and twovarieties, and two of the species are endemic.Our native Cymbidium includes Cymbidiumaliciae Quis., C. atropurpureum (Lindl.) Rolfe,C. dayanum Reichb.f., Cym. dayanum var.austro-japonicum Tayuma, C. ensifolium (L.)Sw. var. misericors, C. finlaysonianum Lindl.,C. gonzalesiiQuis. and C. pubescens Lindl.

Cymbidiums are sympodial, medium to large

sized orchids, about 60-90 cm in height andare closely related to Grammatophyllums.Temperate or cool growing cymbidiums haveerect blooms or inflorescence, with largeflowers, while the Philippine cymbidiumsspecies are warm growing and has longpendulous inflorescence, and medium sizedflowers. The native species also bloomsseasonally.

The plants are variously terrestrial, lithophyticor epiphytic in habit with short or somewhat

elongated pseudobulbs. Each pseudobulbbears a small number of leaves. In mostcases the whole psuedobulb is covered withclosely overlapping sheathing bases ofleaves. The leaves are rather long andnarrow, leathery, erect and curved, rarelystalked. Inflorescence arises from near thebase of the pseudobulb, usually with long,pendulous inflorescence. The flowers arefairly large, sepals and petals about equal andfree, usually spreading. Lip is 3-lobed, the

side lobes erect and close to the sides of the column. In the central part of the lip between them

are two longitudinal keels.

Cultural Requirements:

Light Cymbidiums grows in full sun to partly shaded condition. However, during extreme hotsummer months, provision of 2 layers of net maybe required by some plants.

Watering & Humidity Young plants in active growth needs to be watered everyday, butallowing time for plants to dry between watering. Mature plants would prefer 2-3 days interval


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between watering since, they have pseudobulbs that store water and food. In inducing matureplants to flower, watering rate is usually lowered for a month or two, and only the surroundingcompanion plants are watered to provide humidity. Once the flower spikes comes out, it is thenwatered more often. Allow ventilation and air-movement between plants at all times. Mostplants are usually tolerant to drought.

Potting Technique Small to medium sized Cymbidiums are usually potted on 5 to 10 inchclay pots, with a mixture of chopped coconut husk and charcoal as medium. Gravel or brokenpottery can also be used as potting mix. For larger plants, they could either be placed on 2 feetdiameter or larger plastic pots, in hanging baskets, or usually mounted on live tree branches, ondriftwoods or on large wood stumps elevated about 4-5 feet from the soil, so that its longpendulous blooms can be observed and enjoyed properly. Before potting, remove all dead anddecaying roots, leaf sheaths and leaves. Anchor plants properly on the pot or mount properly ontree branches or wood stumps, so that they will not move. These will facilitate quickestablishment. It was observed that these plants can break clay pots as they overgrow theircontainer. Plants are usually evergreen and seldom loose their foliage . Pseudobulbs maybedivided into 2-3 bulbs each to facilitate propagation and at the same time prevent die backcharacteristics.

Fertilization Fertilize plants in active growth by spraying them with a dilute orchid foliarfertilizer once every week, usually after watering plants. Plants in dormant stages of growth orthose being treated for flower induction are not fertilized. A small amount of slow releasefertilizer may be placed per pot every 2 months. Their active root system tends to growupwards, an adaptation to catch forest detritus for its nutrient requirement.


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Pest and Diseases These plants are tolerant to most fungal diseases and insect pests.Weevils are one of the worst pest of Cymbidiums, and can be controlled by systemicinsecticides against weevils or by sprinkling diatomaceous earth between leaf crevices. It is bestto keep plants dry as much as possible to prevent rotting. Limiting the watering to once every 2-3 days will solve this problem. Apply fungicides like Captan, Ridomil or Bavistin as a propylacticduring the rainy season or when there is fungal disease. Apply Lannate or Sevin only when

there is serious insect infestations.

Propagation -- Cymbidiums are propagated by division of pseudobulbs. Clumps are dividedinto 2-3 bulbs each Care must be taken that only sterile pruning shears be used. Sanitizecutting instruments by washing them in soap and water and wiping them with 70% ethyl alcoholsolution before dividing plants. Cymbidiums can also be propagated through seeds. Flowersmaybe artificially pollinated and these will form seed capsules within a month. Mature seedcapsules, about 3-4 months old, should be ready for harvest. Seeds are artificially sown in thelaboratory using orchid seed technology, to produce thousands of seedlings in a years time. Agroup is currently doing breeding works to produce warm-growing Cymbidium hybrids forPhilippine setting.

The Money Tree:Bringing Good Fortune into the Home

The Money Tree, or scientifically known as Pachira aquatica is a hardy tree that can varyfrom a small-sized Bonsai to 7 feet tall tree, which can placed on a pot and used as anindoor house plant or be kept at the office. The plant originated from southern Mexico toGuyana and northern Brazil.


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Some interesting theories on where theMoney Tree got its name from is becauseof the fact that it has five shiny evergreenleaves on each branch, which symbolizesthe 5 fundamental Feng Shui elements --Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The

tree is also very commonly sold made upof 5 intertwined trees. The plantsymbolizes good wealth. Most peoplebelieve not only it brings green color intoyour room, but also bring luck and fortuneto any household, business or people youcare.

It is also popularly known as MalabarChestnut, Feng Shui plant, and LuckyBamboo.

The plant is easy to maintain. Water theplant regularly, in order to keep the pottingsoil moist but do not overwater, as toomuch water is not good for this plant. Thesoil should preferably composed of equalproportion of river sand, and garden soil tohelp with the drainage. Keep the tree inmedium light. It can stand sunlight or

shade if it has to, but for optimal growth, a bit of both is recommended. Prune the largeleaves if you would like a lot of new leaf growth.

When trees are permitted to mature on the soil, they produce magnificent cream-colored

flowers, which develop into woody pods containing edible nuts, eaten raw or roasted.


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Repot the plant into a bigger container,if it has outgrown it its previous pot. If ithas really become big, it can be planteddirectly into the soil and grow into a bigtree. In its full maturity, it gives a

spectacular cream-pinkish flowers,producing an woody green pod withedible nuts. Nuts can be eaten raw orroasted. The plant can also bepropagated by stem cuttings or throughseeds. Young leaves and flowers canalso be cooked and used as avegetable.

The Money tree is commonly pest andinsect free, but may occasionally visited by usual house plant pests like mealybugs.Nevertheless, just wash the plant with dilute detergent and clean water.

The plant is truly a ideal home or office plant, as it is easy to maintain, give an ambiance ofgreenery and new life at the same time gives luck and fortune.

The Bat Flower

The strange Tacca chantrieri,also known as the BatFlower, is an exotic tropicalperennial plant from the

rainforests of Southeast Asiaand Africa. It belongs to theTaccaceae plant family and ithas weird looking deeppurple-brown and whiteflowers that at first glance,look like a black bat.Specifically, the center of theflower has an uncannyresemblance to the face of abat. It even has whiskers anda tail. From these striking

flowers, clusters of tinyorchid-like purple pods and

30 centimeter long whiskers hang down. The plant can produce 10 to 12 of these amazing 20-inch flowers in one flowering season.

The Bat Flower reaches its flowering size in about three years. Its an excellent outdoor potplant, and its best placed in shaded, humid places, most particularly under trees. Like manyferns, its lush, green, and heavily veined foliage benefits from filtered light.


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It can be planted in afree-draining, highhumus or compostpotting mix. The potmust be initially placedin a plastic bag until it

germinates. When theseedling reaches twoinches in height, it isplaced in soil in a three-inch pot. As the plantfurther grows, it istransferred to a biggerpot. Aside from dailywatering, the plant mustbe misted twice a day.Fertilize plants with adilute solution of liquid

fertilizer every twoweeks.

While it takes threeyears for the plant toflower, the wait is wellworth it. Once itflowers, it flowers allyear round.

To plant a garden is to believe in the future

The Urban Gardener is an official electronicpublication (in PDF Format) of the PlantBiotechnology Project, Research & DevelopmentCenter, Rizal Technological University, BoniAvenue, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. It ispublished monthly. For more information, pleaseinquire thru email: [email protected] [email protected] and landline(+632) 534-8267 Local 135 or Fax (+632) 534-9710.

Edited by N.R. Bautista December 2010

The Plant Biotechnology Project Committee iscomposed of: Alexander B. Quilang,

Norberto R. Bautista, & Jovita A. Anit.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Urban Gardener No 27

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