Urban Gardener No 28

8/7/2019 Urban Gardener No 28

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thIssue, Vol. 4, No. 1 ISSN 2094-1765 January 2011

HORTICULTURE 2011 held at Manila Seedling Bankby Norby Bautista. Photos by Wendy Regalado

The Manila SeedlingBank at Quezon Citywas again flockedwith garden and plantenthusiasts ascolorful displays ofplants marked theopening of this yearsPhilippine Horticultural

Society Garden Show2011. In cooperationwit the ManilaSeedling Bank

EnvironmentalCenter, the event hasthe theme: UrbanGardens featuringNative Plants and willrun till February 7,

2011 at the Manila seedling Bank, EDSA corner Quezon Avenue, Quezon City.

Top Japanese bonsai garden by Vic De Rona, Left A fernery landscape by George Mendozaand the colorful blooming design by King Louis Plants & Flowers.

The Horticulture 2011 Show featured beautiful garden landscapes designed by thePhilippine Orchid Society / Malvarosa Orchids, The Philippine Native Plant Conservation


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Society, The King Louis Plants and Flowers, The Aroid Study Group, the Hoya StudyGroup and Fern Study Group of the PHSI, The Bonsai and Succulent Society, GeorgeMendoza, Botchie Canicula, Vic De Rona, and the group of Jun Golamco, BongMakawile and Lawrence Chan.

Left landscape design by the group of Jun Golamco, Bong Makawile and Lawrence Chan; Right Hanging garden by Serapion Metilla.

The garden designs weredominated by our very ownPhilippine plant species whichare now used in landscapingin the metropolis. Theseincludes Tree Ferns, BirdsNest Ferns, cycads, aroids,bonsai trees, orchids, Hoya(flowering vines), flowering

and shade trees, fruit treesand not to forget the colorfulplant hybrids.

The show also has a dailylecture series and surroundingthe Exhibit are commercialstalls selling various gardenplants, orchids, bonsai,bromeliads, fruit trees, cacti,and an assortment of gardenaccessories. Visitors willsurely enjoy the familiarpeaceful ambiance withplants. So, do not forget yourcamera and do visit the show,and learn more about ourPhilippine native plants!

A booth dedicated to botanist Leonard Co


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A flowery display by the Philippine Orchid Society designed by Malvarosa Orchids. Left is a display by the

Fern study group of PHSI.


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Growing the Brassia Orchidby Norby Bautista

Brassia orchids are related to theOncidium orchids or Dancing Ladies, thus

they belong under the Oncidiinae subtribe.The genus name Brassia was named afterWilliam Brass, a British botanist andillustrator, who collected plants in Africaunder the supervision of Sir JosephBanks. Its abbreviation in the horticulturaltrade is Brs.

Brassia species and their popular hybridsare common in cultivation, and arenotable for the characteristic long andspreading tepals, which lend them the

common name "spider orchid". Theflowers come in yellow, pale green, andrelated colors with brown bars.

This epiphytic orchid genus occurs in theWest-Indies and tropical central America.

The plants have distinctive large elliptic-oblong pseudobulbs with one or twoleaves at the apex, producing lateral,unbranched many-floweredinflorescences.

Interestingly, Brassia has a very specificmethod for pollination wherein it usesentomophily or mimicry, whereby itresembles a spider usually hunted by thefemale spider-hunter wasps of the generaPepsis and Campsomeris. Mistaken bythe mimicry of Brassia, the wasp stingsthe lip, while trying to grasp its preywithout any success. By thesemovements the wasp comes into contactwith the pollinarium, that then sticks to itshead. By flying to another Brassia flower,this flower gets pollinated.

Water Brassia plants every 2-3 days. Theplant has a pseudobulb which can storewater and food. Overwater will causetheir roots and pseudobulbs to rot. Thuslet the plant dry out completely between


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watering, use small pots with many holes, and broken half-inch sized charcoal as pottingmedium. Repot an divide plants every 2 years or when the media is infested with molds.

It is also a good idea place potted plantsin a humidity tray with pebbles if the airin your home is dry. Good air circulationis also important to prevent plants fromrotting.

Spray Brassia orchids with a diluteorchid fertilizer solution once a week,

usually after watering.

Provide the plant with diffused brightlight, but not direct intense sunlight. It isbest that the plant positioned in an areawhere it can receive morning andafternoon light but shaded from theintense mid-day sun from 11 am to 3 pm.Dark green leaves are a sign of lightinsufficiency. Too strong sunlight can onthe other hand cause yellowing of theleaves. Since it is a tropical plant, it

requires warm temperature, but notbelow 16 oC.

The plant can be propagated throughdivision of pseudobulbs. Using a sharp and sterilized pruning shear, divide clumps ofpseudobulbs, each division must have 3 interconnected bulbs. Seal wounds with afungicide paste to prevent rotting. Firmly secure the divided pseudobulb in a new pot andadd broken charcoal. For professional orchid growers, plants can also be propagatedthrough seeds, using orchid seed culture technique.


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Clerodendrum quadriloculare or Bagawak

The Bagawak-morado (Clerodendrumquadriloculare) is one interestingPhilippine tree species due to its unique

pinkish white blooms and its dark purpleunderside leaves. Morado in Spanishmeans purple, which is best describes itsunderside leaf color. It is also often timescalled Bagawak-na-pula the plantbelongs to the Verbenaceae family. InBohol, it is known as Pebrero, as itflowers in February, probably afterexperiencing short-day length or coolerweather. Other English names includesStarburst, shooting star, or fireworksflower due to the appearance of the

flowers.

The very large umbels of pink flowers withlong tubular throats appear like explodingfireworks, thus it is also known asMexican firecracker (though it is not fromMexico which is now very popular). It isargued to be endemic but it is very mucha native of the Philippines. It is a veryinteresting native candidate as a gardenand landscape plant!

Bagawak is a small (2-4 meters) tree, andis often used as a common ornamentalspecies that is landscaped throughoutMetro Manila.. The foliage alone isalready interesting enough as one wouldsee glimpses of the leaves underside tobe in contrast to the dark green upper partof the leaves. The leaves are elliptic tolanceolate in shape. dark green with a richmaroon The small trees even becomesmore spectacular when clusters of flowersappear on the apex of stems. Afterwards,

the pollinated flowers becomes a oval,purplish or black drupe, held by apersistent shiny red calyx.

The plant is deciduous (there is a seasonwhen it looses its leaves); drought tolerantand fast growing. It is also shade toletrantand short-lived. The small tree is used as

a hedge; usually planted in homegardens as an ornamental shrub or tree. It can also be


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potted and used in urban greening. Its leaves are used for healing wounds and for tonicbaths. The plant is a critically endangered species (as per DENR AO 2007-1) andneeds conservation efforts for its propagation and its native habitat protected.

Cultivating the Milflores or Hydrangea

Hydrangea macrophylla, orcommonly known as Milfloresor Mopheads is a deciduousshrub growing to a height of1.5 to 2 meters. It has largeclusters of flowers, 12 cmacross in colors of blue, pink,or white, with broadly ovalsepals.

These plants are garden

cultivated and can grow wild inhigh altitude areas and coolerplaces like in Baguio. It is apopular hedge plant, and alsogrown as source of cut-flowers.It also has medicinal value, itsleaves, roots and flowersconsidered antimalarial,antitussive and diuretic. Itsleaves contain phyllodulcin, asweet substance that can beused as a sugar substitute.

Hydrangea species arecommon and native tosouthern and eastern Asia(China, Japan, Korea, theHimalayas, and Indonesia).

It is an interesting plant as itsflower color -- blue, red, pink,light purple, or dark purple

exactly mirrors the pH of the soil they are grown into. Acidic soils produce blue flowers,neutral soils produce very pale cream petals, and alkaline soils results in pink or purple.

The flower color change is due to the presence of aluminum ions which is taken up bythe plant.

The plant grows in bright light but not in direct sunlight. It prefers a cool temperature,usually growing in high altitude areas for it to flower. Plants can be planted on the soil orpotted. Use a potting mix rich in organic matter, usually a combination in equal parts ofgarden soil, compost and sand. Water the plant regularly, making sure that the pottingmedia is always moist but not too wet. Never allow the soil to dry out or the plant willcollapse or wilt.


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For optimum growth,apply standard liquidfertilizers every twoweeks in order to makethe plant healthy. Take

note that Hydrangeabehaves as atemporary or an annualplant, meaning theplant that you aregrowing will grow oldand die after a year,thus, gardeners usuallyproduces new batch ofplants from shoot tipsevery season.

Interestingly, its flowercolor -- blue, red, pink,

light purple, or dark

purple exactly mirrors

the pH of the soil.

The Philippine Orchid Society (POS)is now gearing up for the staging oftheir most awaited Orchid Show,with the theme: Greener Living withOrchids. The Orchid Show will beon February 24 March 07, 2011 at

the Quezon City Memorial Circle inDiliman. There will be about 15exhibit booths. As usual, there willalso be daily lectures, commercialbooths, and plant / exhibit boothcompetitions among its members.Come and visit the show and seenew orchids and plants for yourcollection. Bring your friends anddont forget to bring along yourcamera. See you there!

To plant a garden is to believe in the future


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Fertilizing Orchids

In nature, orchids usually get their much needed nutrients from their surroundings throughaccumulated dust, bird droppings, decayed or decomposed leaf litter, and materials accumulatedby ants. During heavy downpours, rain water dissolve these nutrients and are passed on to

orchid roots as dilute aqueous solutions.

However, in cultivated orchids, this is not entirely true as orchids are usually established inindividual pots with charcoal as potting material or just merely on deadwoods or in hanging plasticbaskets. There is not much nutrients in charcoal, and as orchids grow, they would really need themuch needed nutrients from artificial fertilizers in order to maintain their growth and flower, or elsethey are slowly stunted.

With the advent of synthetic orchid foliar fertilizers, supplying nutrients to orchid plants hasbecome so easy, that one just have to dilute them in water and spray them to your plants.Absorption of the nutrients are not just in the roots but also through their foliage!

Orchids need specific macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients in order to grow healthy and vigorous.The three primary macronutrients which are needed in highest amounts are: nitrogen (N),phosphorus (P or Phosphate, P2O5 ), and potassium (K or Potash, K2O). These threemacronutrients are easily depleted due to our natural tropical condition abundant sun and alsofrequent rain and thus readily volatilize (in the case of nitrogen) or are leached out during rains.With this, there is the need for them to be replenished. That is why fertilizers have three numbers,which represent these elements N-P-K.


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Nitrogen encourages vegetativegrowth and is a component of plantproteins, nucleic acids and enzymes.Nitrogen helps to generate the growthof the stems, leaves and vegetativeparts, and promotes the deep greencolor in their leaves. You should use itwhen the shoots are just beginning togrow. However, do not use thesewhen orchid plants are beginning tobloom.

Phosphates is a component of nucleicacids, needed for energy transfersduring photosynthesis and respiration,and the main element whichencourages flowering. Phosporous isessential for the productiveness of theflowers and roots.

Potassium on the other hand,regulates the plants osmotic potentialand part of the plant sap. Potassium iscrucial to help generate chlorophylland aid the structuring of the tissue ofthe flower.

Well-fertilized orchids have more blooms and greener leaves

With these, orchid fertilizers are categorized as Growing (usually color-coded green and has ahigher N content); Blooming (color coded pink with a higher P content); and Balanced (all the

three elements are in equal amounts). Growing fertilizers are often used for seedlings, Bloomingfor mature flowering orchids and Balanced for multi-purpose use. High phosphorus content infertilizers is the factor responsible for stimulating and increasing orchid flowering. The decrease inexcess nitrogen allows for more abundant blooms among orchids.

Aside from the three elements, the plant also need certain micro-nutrients which are needed invery dilute amounts. They are: calcium (component of cell walls), magnesium (central element inthe chlorophyll molecule), iron (needed in the transfer of energy during photosynthesis andrespiration), zinc (an enzyme co-factor and needed in chlorophyll bio-synthesis) , copper (anenzyme co-factor and needed in electron transfer reactions) , and molybdenum (also an enzymeco-factor, and helps in metabolizing nitrates). These micro-nutrients are standard components oforchid fertilizers, usually in very minute amounts, plus a small concentration of Vitamin Bcomplexes.

Orchid fertilizers can be inorganic (synthetic) or organic (from plant extract e.g. fromseaweeds). Inorganic fertilizers are combinations of synthetic mineral salts and are soluble inwater are the easiest to use and most commonly available. Micro-nutrients are usually chelatedso that they would readily dissolve in water. There are also a number of organic orchid fertilizersin the market, and they are often made from plant or animal extracts. With these, always followthe instructions in the label of the container of the fertilizer bought.

Usually cultivated orchids are fertilized once a week, with a dilute solution of fertilizer. Commonly,the concentration is 1 teaspoon of orchid foliar fertilizer per gallon of water. The fertilizer solution


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is most often sprayed on the plants early in the morning just after watering them and in thepresence of light. Bright light allows efficient absorption of fertilizers. However, it is also better tofertilize your plants twice per week or as often with a fertilizer that is half strength or more dilutedcompared to the recommended dosage. Most often, after they have fed on the fertilizer solution,orchids are again sprayed with water 30 minutes to one hour after to remove excess salts.

For flower induction, a blooming fertilizer is usually sprayed one to two months before (in aweekly basis) intended blooming period, however, one has to take into consideration also theblooming characteristic of the orchid, either if they are free-bloomers or seasonal bloomers.Some seasonal bloomers like Vanda sanderiana will need at least 3 weeks of continuous rain forthem to bloom and forPhalaenopsis, a cold temperature for a month or two. Other orchids likeGrammatophyllum, and Dendrobium, would need a dry spell for a month in order to induce it tobloom. Nevertheless, regular fertilization keeps plants healthy, and often times rewards thegrower with abundant blooms. Another form of orchid fertilizer is the one used for root feeding.Usually, they are called controlled-release fertilizers, and have the same composition as thefertilizers above. However, their difference is that they are made into granules coated with a resin.These granules are placed on the surface of the orchid potting mix, usually a teaspoon per pot.As the plants are regularly watered everyday, the water sips through the granules through holesin the resin cover, dissolving the mineral salts inside, and gives out a small amount of nutrientsinto the potting medium. With this, the orchid receives a regular amount of nutrients each time

they are watered.

As orchid absorb nutrients from fertilizers, they use the light energy that comes from the sun toconvert water and carbon dioxide gas into sugars and starches, which become part of their ownshoots and leaves. Minerals play an important role as catalysts in metabolism and also becomespart of plant tissues. Orchids obtain their food primarily through their roots, but in actual practice,orchids can also absorb nutrients though their leaves.

For commercial production of orchids, part of the fertilization regiment is the monthly applicationof magnesium sulfate and also calcium nitrate. Magnesium sulfate makes plants more greeneras it is a component of chlorophyll. It is sprayed once per month on orchids by dissolving 1teaspoonful of magnesium sulfate in a gallon of water. It is not mixed with other chemicals.Another one is spraying calcium nitrate, which makes plants tough and firm. It is also sprayed

once a month like magnesium sulfate. These technique makes very healthy, green, and toughplants for the market. It is just appropriate for orchid growers to create a schedule of fertilizationsor a feeding program for their orchids so that their growth and vigorous health will be maintained.

There is also a danger for orchid fertilizes to burn plants. It is a good advice to always followsteps in the amount of fertilizers to be diluted in water. Too much concentration would burnorchid leaves and root tips. Do not spray fertilizers during hot noon time (10:00 am to 3:00 pm asthe fertilizer solution easily dries up and the residue can burn your plants. Also, fertilize only earlyin the morning, especially in the presence of light so that fertilizers will be absorbed. Do not spraywhen the day is cloudy,instead you may justspray the plants with adilute brown sugar

solution. There is also aneed to flush out excessfertilizer salt deposits inthe pot by watering theorchids abundantlyabundantly once everyweek. Fertilization is alsothe secret in re-bloomingcommercially purchasedorchids.

The Urban Gardener is an official electronic publication (in PDFFormat) of the Plant Biotechnology Project, Research & Devt.Center, Rizal Technological University, Boni Avenue, MandaluyongCity, Philippines. It is published monthly. For more information,

please inquire thru email: [email protected] [email protected] and landline (+632) 534-8267 Local135 or Fax (+632) 534-9710.

Edited by N.R. Bautista January 2011

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

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Urban Gardener No 28

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