Glorious Pink Blooms

My Hydrangea plant has a huge cluster of pink blooms now. I can't help beaming with pride every morning when I checked on it before I leave for work. And they are P-I-N-K!! They are so BEAUTIFUL to look at!


It is said that the soil pH defines the colour of Hydrangea blooms. I guess my soil pH would be alkaline since I have pink bloom. My friend, Poh, who gave me the cutting of this Hydrangea has blue blooms. I assume that the liquid fertilizer that I sprayed on the leaves of the Hydrangea may be the reason for the pink blooms. Usually organic fertilizer (in my case, I use goat dung) will cause soil pH to be acidic (I read this somewhere). Since I didn't use much fertilizer on th soil, I guess that's why the soil pH is alkaline.


What ever the reason, I really love these pink Hydrangea blooms.

March 2011 - What're Growing in My Garden?

I have been on hiatus from blogging lately. It has been a loooong break. Why? I gave the excuse that I am too tired after work to take pictures of my plants, upload them online, follows with blogging about them. Deep inside, I know that I am just being plain lazy. Hee...hee...I am indeed embarrassed about it. Fortunately, I am saying this online and not face-to-face. Or else, you would be witnessing my rosy blush!


Enough about me, let's move on to what I have to share about my garden. Like my blog, I have not been caring about my garden much. But I have added some plants that I bought from nurseries in Sg. Buluh after Chinese New Year. It's hard to resist the temptations to buy plants whenever I drive all the way to Sg. Buluh. My purpose was to get some flower pots. Alas, I came home with more than that! My neighbour commented when he saw me unloading goodies from my car boot, "You already have so many plants in your garden!" My plain reply was, "It's never enough!" Sorry that I have to trouble him with watering more plants when we are away from home. I truly appreciate my next door neighbour and family who gladly offer to water our plants whenever we are away. Thank you my dear neighbour!

HYDRANGEA
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Back to my garden, my Hydrangea has started to show some buds. With the help of liquid fertilizer, it has grown healthily.

This was how my Hydrangea looked when it first started to grow shoots 8 months ago. I wonder if 8 months a bit too long or is it normal duration for Hydrangea to grow into an adult plant? Would any of you who are familiar with growing Hydrangea able to tell me?




Soon, I will have huge Hydrangea blooms gracing my garden! I am overly eager to see this manifest!

ADENIUM
============

Adeniums are displaying their big, bright pink blooms flamboyantly. They even have 2 seed pods to show.



Looking at this big cluster of bright Adenium blooms before I leave for work, makes me start my day on a cheerful mode.




GARDENIA
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I used to blog that my Gardenia buds were falling off the plant before they bloom. Somehow, my plant condition has improved. Lately I have been getting sporadic blooms.




SUNFLOWER
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Sunflowers are still blooming in my garden.




NEWLY PURCHASED PLANTS
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PERIWINKLES
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Periwinkles in pink and white. Their bright blooms are heart-warming!
I only pay RM2.50 for each plant. Instead of spending money on clothes or food, how about spending them on plants! Think about that! For such meagre amount of money, it can buy us happiness!! More so, when the plants can last for months!
Aren't the purchase worthwhile? What do you say to that?



COLEUS & CANNA
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The colourful Coleus were sold for RM4.00 per plant too. They were hard to resist.
I love Canna. So I bought them in yellow and bright pink. The blooms didn't last as it has been raining daily.


Jasmine & Vallaris Glabra
======================

I miss having the fragrant of Jasmine & Vallaris Glabra (in local Malay, Bunga Kerak Nasi) in my garden. I used to grow them in our garden in the old house. But their pots were too big for me to bring them over when we moved. So I left them in our old place.




Celosia / Cock's Comb
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I have been eyeing to get Celosia or Cock's Comb plant after seeing them being used widely for landscaping in my hometown, Melaka. I choose a plant with vibrant red bloom.




These are the latest from my garden.
How is your garden doing?

New Shoot on Hydrangea

My friend, Aunt Poh Poh, gave me a Hydrangea cutting recently. The cutting dried up and the only thing left of it was a dried, hardened branch. As I didn't need the pot, I left the dried cutting in the soil.

When I need to use the pot to grow radishes, I pulled out the dried cutting and found roots forming. Instead of throwing the cutting, I moved it to the side of the pot. I was amazed to find new shoot growing from it recently. Yahoo!! I will have a Hydrangea plant now! I am taking great care of the plant to ensure that it will develop well.

My Hydrangea is currently sharing a pot with my radishes.

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Facts about Hydrangea:

• Soil
  
  One of the coolest aspects of hydrangea is the way soil affects the blooms. In acid soil the blooms are blue. When it's more limey, the flowers are pink. In neutral soil, the bloom is white. You can literally change the color by adding lime to make blue flowers turn pink or aluminum sulfate to make them turn blue. This is caused by a color change of the flower pigments in the presence of aluminium ions.
  
  
  Because hydrangeas thrive in rich, moist soils, adequate water and composting are a must. With good soil, annual additions of compost, and a good water retaining mulch, little more needs to be added to have healthy attractive plants.
  
  However, if your climate or soil poses challenges, then it may be necessary to more aggressively amend your soil, and feed them, especially in the spring, with a high quality all-purpose (10-10-10) plant food. Use a single application of time-release fertilizer.
  Drainage is important. As with most other plants, moist doesn't mean wet. Poor drainage can lead to sickly plants and eventual death.
  
• Light
  
  Partial shade is ideal, but they can take full sun as long as they have some protection from hot afternoon sun that can toast leaf edges. By the same token, too much shade can result in poor flowering.
  
  An Eastern exposure next to a building or fence provides early morning sun that is vital to flower production, but allows afternoon shade that prevents stressing the plant and frying the foliage.
  
• Water
  
  Water often. If hydrangea is looking wilted, it's very thirsty. If it doesn't get enough water when flower heads are forming, you'll have fewer and smaller blooms later.
  
  Install a drip irrigation system for your hydrangeas. With regular watering they will reward you with lush growth and beautiful flowers.
  
• Pruning & Propagating
  
  As long as they get enough water, hydrangeas are pretty hardy plants and tolerate a fair amount of neglect and untimely pruning. As such, it's a wonderful plant for the novice gardener. Be forewarned though: If you prune incorrectly at the wrong time or take the wrong cuts, you may easily end up with few flowers next year.
  
  Hydrangeas, especially the macrophyllas, don't require pruning unless they get really big. Remove dead wood and spent blooms any time to maintain a tidy plant. Different varieties bloom on old wood (last year's growth) or new wood from the current season. It's important to check the plant tag or identify your variety before you start whacking away. If, for example, yours blooms on the tips of spring growth, do your pruning in the summer after blooming has occurred.
  
  Prune or cut back spent blooms to force development of next year's buds. Thin canes on your plant to develop larger flower heads.
  
  Hydrangeas are easy to root from stem or tip cuttings in late spring or early summer (May – June). Just take a 6-inch cutting of the plant, remove the leaves on the lower 3 inches and put it in a glass of water on a bright window sill. You can also dip the cut end into a rooting hormone. Place your cutting in damp vermiculite in a bright spot (like an Eastern exposure) to allow root formation. Once the cutting is rooted, you can keep it in a pot until ready to transplant outside.
  
  When you plant your hydrangea starts depends on where you live. In areas where winters are temperate and the ground never really freezes you can plant your hydrangeas anytime, though fall and winter are best for fostering a strong root system to support the next seasons flowering. If your climate is colder, you'll need to plant in the spring ... for obvious reasons. Keep your young plant in out of the wind. Mulch it well to protect it through the winter.
  
  (Source: Hydrangea Care)