Spring in Oghi, Manshera

Dieffenbachia Maculata

Dieffenbachias have been in cultivation for a very long time because of their decorative foliage. Spontaneous hybridization has occurred as well as a lot of deliberate breeding and this has made total chaos of the nomenclature. Dieffenbachia maculata is often one of the parent plants of the many cultivars. According to some plant experts Dieffenbachia maculata and Dieffenbachia seguine are so closely related that they should in fact be regarded as belonging to the same species. However, there is one obvious difference: the leaves of maculata are more oblong than those of seguine. They also look more fragile and is more sharply pointed. In the market place, the cultivars are currently grouped according to whether they have larger or smaller leaves.
Dieffenbachia is a fickle plant. Some people can keep it thriving for years, others kill it off in a few months. The problems that a dieffenbachia may encounter and cause it to die off are:
• The tips of the leaves were drooping when the plant was bought. Such plants may not have been hardened off properly and hence cannot at first withstand dry air.
• The plant was bought on the street during the cold season (temperatures below 15°C (59°F)). If the plants collapses and withers within a few days take it back to the supplier.
• Withered or mis-shapen leaves or brown spots indicate a disease: bacteria, viruses or fungi.
• Avoid draught and cold at all times. Tem¬peratures should never drop below 15°C (59°F).
• Never let the plant the plant dry out com¬pletely.
• Water liberally with luke-warm water (at at least room temperature) but never leave the pot standing in water.
• Oil fumes, from fires or lamps, are very detrimental.
• Never place dieffenbachias in the sun, but they like a light position. In a dark position the leaf markings fade
• If the air is too dry the leaf edges will turn brown.

Araucaria Heterophylla

The Norfolk Island pine likes a cool climate. The species is a native of Norfolk Island, north of New Zealand in the pacific Ocean. There it can grow to a height of more than 50m (160ft). The young plants that are kept in the house grow slowly. If looked after well they add a layer of side branches each year, complete with fresh green needles which hardly prick at all.
Put the Norfolk Island pine in as light a place as possible, but out of the sun. Even in a rather dark position the plant will survive for a remarkably long time, although it will then grow even more slowly. Keep the plant dryish and only pot-on when absolutely necessary because Araucaria hates it. After potting on in humus-rich soil (preferably leaf mould and sand), do not feed for at least two months. Feed only sparingly after that. Mist or spray the plant regularly,, or put it outside in the rain, but only when it is about 7°C (45°F) or more. The Norfolk Island pine will get through the winter best at 7°C (45°F) or more, but should not be in a heated room where the air would be so dry that the lower branches would turn yellow and drop off. This is a natural process but once branches have dropped off they will never grow again and the lower part of the plant eventually becomes bare. In warm, dry air this happens more quickly.
To recuperate, the plant, still in its pot, may be dug in outside in a shady spot.

The trees grow to a height of 50–65 m, with straight vertical trunks and symmetrical branches, even in the face of incessant onshore winds that can contort most other species.
The leaves are awl-shaped, 1-1.5 cm long, about 1 mm thick at the base on young trees, and incurved, 5–10 mm long and variably 2–4 mm broad on older trees. The thickest, scale-like leaves on coning branches are in the upper crown. The cones are squat globose, 10–12 cm long and 12–14 cm diameter, and take about 18 months to mature. They disintegrate at maturity to release the nut-like edible seeds.
The scientific name heterophylla ("different leaves") derives from the variation in the leaves between young and adult plants.

Dypsis Lutescens

Dypsis lutescens is a small to medium-sized palm, growing to a height of 6 to 12 meters. It has multiple stems emerging from the base. The leaves are arched, 2-3 m long, and pinnate, with 40-60 pairs of leaflets. It produces offsets, and these can be cut off when mature enough as a propagation method.

It is grown as an ornamental plant in gardens in tropical and subtropical regions, and elsewhere indoors.

Areca palm trees are commonly referred to as the Butterfly palm, and has many other common names. But, the butterfly palm is the most descriptive as to the areca's aesthetics. The leaves curve upwards in multiple stems to create a butterfly look. They are sometimes used as privacy wall or fence. The areca palm is sometimes confused with many other plants in the genus, because of the palm family name,"areca." The areca palm, above all other indoor palm trees, is most commonly found in households.

In its introduced range, this plant acts as a supplier of fruit to some bird species who feed on it opportunistically, such as the Pitangus sulphuratus, Coereba flaveola and Thraupis sayaca species in Brazil.

Areca lutescens is the palm that is most frequently found on the house plant market. The palm is now correctly known as Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, but it is still generally sold under the name Areca. The leaves of the young plants are rather floppy and irregular, but they become more sturdy and regular as they grow older. Areca species are characterized by black spots which form at the foot of the bright yellow-green stem which looks a bit like bamboo with rings where the old leaves used to be. Area lutescens originates in Mada¬gascar, where it is always warm and the golden feather palm is therefore not adapted to low temperatures. Put it in a warm spot where even at night the temperature does not drop below 15°C (59°F). Areca grows best in a very light position out of the midday sun. The potting soil should be kept as evenly moist as possible, so water regularly, but never use water straight from the cold tap as it will give the plant a shock. Mix with warm water to make it tepid or use water which has been standing for some time at room temperature

Cycas Revoluta

This very symmetrical plant supports a crown of shiny, light blue leaves on a thin shaggy trunk that is typically about 20 cm (7.9 in) in diameter, sometimes wider. The trunk is very high to subterranean in young plants, but lengthens above ground with age. It can grow into very old specimens with 6–7 m (over 20 feet) of trunk; however, the plant is very slow-growing and requires about 50–100 years to achieve this height. Trunks can branch multiple times, thus producing multiple heads of leaves.

he leaves are a deep semiglossy green and about 50–150 cm (20–59 in) long when the plants are of a reproductive age. They grow out into a feather-like rosette to 1 m (3.3 ft) in diameter. The crowded, stiff, narrow leaflets are 8–18 cm (3.1–7.1 in) long and have strongly recurved or revolute edges. The basal leaflets become more like spines. The petiole or stems of the Sago Cycad are 6–10 cm (2.4–3.9 in) long and have small protective barbs that must be avoided.

Propagation of Cycas revoluta is either by seed or by removal of basal offsets. As with other cycads, it is dioecious, with the males bearing cones and the females bearing groups of megasporophylls. Pollination can be done naturally by insects or artificially.

for more details source: Wikipedia

The Cycas is not a palm but it is dealt with here because it looks so much like one. The Cycas species are really ancient plants. About 200 million years ago the Cicadaceae were wide-spread in the Triassic period but there are now only eight species left one being Cycas revoluta from Japan and Taiwan. On Java this plant is grown for the edible marrow of its stem, the sago.

Of the Cycas palms, Cycas revoluta is the one most often offered as a house plant. It has a hairy, scaly egg-shaped trunk at the top of which very regularly feathered leaves develop. When the young leaves unfurl they are soft and vulnerable, later they become hard and sturdy each with a spiny tip. When it gets older the Cycas may flower. There are male and female plants. The male plant produces a cone at its centre while the female plant produces a mass of ovaries which, after fertilization, turn into orange- yellow, woolly seeds, about the size of a large bean. These lie open in the heart of the plant and it is therefore called “naked- seeded”. Put Cycas revoluta in a warm, light spot and protect it against the fierce afternoon sun. The old leaves will gradually die off and the new ones which replace them are, each time, a bit longer than the previous ones. The leaves of very old plants can be more than lm (6ft) long. If you manage to keep the plant alive for a very long time, it will gradually develop a small trunk. Only feed the plant when a new tuft of leaves unfurls. Do not pot-on too soon and do not disturb the top layer of soil because that is where important, fragile roots grow. Keep the compost moist, but never wet. This plant, which is not very prone to pests and diseases, may then live for a long time.

Caladium Bicolor

Caladium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. They are often known by the common name elephant ear (which they share with the closely related genera Alocasia, Colocasia, and Xanthosoma), Heart of Jesus and Angel Wings. There are over 1000 named cultivars of Caladium bicolor from the original South American plant.

The genus Caladium includes seven species, which are indigenous to Brazil and to neighboring areas of South America and Central America. They grow in open areas of the forest and on the banks of creeks and go dormant during the dry season. The wild plants grow to 15–35 inches (40–90 cm) tall, with leaves mostly 6-18 inches (15–45 cm) long and broad.

Details on source: Wikipedia

Do not be surprised when the fantastic foliage of the caladium suddenly withers inlate season. The plant is not dying; it is only entering a period of rest. Cease watering and take the root ball out of the pot as soon as all the leaves have withered. The ball contains a root tuber which can be kept dry. For storage, avoid a temperature lower than about 15°C (59°F) because the caladium is a native of the tropical forests of South America. To prevent the tuber from drying out completely put it in dampish peat.

The buds will sprout in March or thereabouts. You can then plant the tuber a few centimetres deep in a pot of fertile compost, with a lot of peat added. Wet the compost and put the pot in a closed plastic bag in a warm spot. In this atmosphere the tuber will produce new leaves. Water freely in summer and feed regularly. Make sure the air is as humid as possible. The foliage is too vulnerable to be wiped with a cloth.

Hybridization of caladium species, often with Caladium bicolor as one of the parent plants, has given rise to many beautiful cultivars. They are usually on the market without a name, with the exception of ‘Candidum’, a cultivar with white leaves and green leaf veins.

Syngonium Podophyllum

The Syngonium is closely related to the philodendron. The more than thirty species grow in the warm forests of Central and South America. Syngoniom podophyllum, the most cultivated species, is a native of Panama and Costa Rica. Maintenance is the same as that of philodendron; a shady position if necessary, but preferably a light one out of the sun. Water sparingly in summer with water at least at room temperature. Never leave the plant standing in water. Give little water in winter. The temperature should be a minimum of 15°C (59°F), in summer as well as winter.
Syngoniom podophyllum is usually on sale as a young plant. It will spread out and hang down unless you give it the support of a moss stick. Give the plant loose, humus-rich soil and feed regularlyin summer. Syngonium podophyllum has given rise to many cultivars.

‘White Butterfly’ is the best- known one, but others are: ‘Emerald Gem’: Arrow-shaped, fleshy green leaves.
‘Emerald Gem Variegated’: Arrow-shaped, thin foliage with a white and light grey pattern of spots. A compact plant. Details on source: http://vegetablegardenplant.com/2011/03/syngonium-podophyllum/

Syngonium is a genus of about 36 species of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical rain forests in Central and South America. They are woodyvines growing to heights of 10–20 m or more in trees. They have leaves that change shape according to the plant's stage of growth, and adult leaf forms are often much more lobed than the juvenile forms usually seen on small house plants.

Details on source: Wikipedia

Monstera Deliciosa

Monstera deliciosa is a creeping vine native to tropical rainforests of southern Mexico south to Panama.

Common names include Ceriman, Swiss Cheese Plant (or just Cheese Plant), Fruit Salad Plant,Monster fruit, Monsterio Delicio, Monstereo, Mexican Breadfruit, Monstera, split-leaf philodendron,Locust and Wild Honey, Windowleaf and Delicious Monster.

This member of the Arum family is an epiphyte with aerial roots, able to grow up to 20 m high with large, leathery, glossy, heart-shaped leaves 25–90 cm long by 25–75 cm broad. Young plants have leaves that are smaller and entire with no lobes or holes, but soon produce lobed and holed leaves.

Wild seedlings grow towards the darkest area they can find until they find a tree trunk, then start to grow up towards the light, creeping up the tree.
Details on source: Wikipedia

  

Epipremnum Aureum (Marble Money Plant)

Epipremnum aureum, also known as the Pothos (once classified under the genus Pothos),Silver Vine, Centipede tongavine, Devil's Ivy and Solomon Islands' Ivy, is an aroid native to southeastern Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia) and New Guinea. It is sometimes mistakenly labeled as aPhilodendron in plant stores.

It is an epiphyte growing to 20 m tall, with stems up to 4 cm diameter, climbing by means of aerial roots which hook over tree branches. The leaves are evergreen, alternate, heart-shaped, entire on juvenile plants, but irregularly pinnatifid on mature plants, up to 100 cm long and 45 cm broad (juvenile leaves much smaller, typically under 20 cm long). The flowers are produced in a spathe up to 23 cm long. This plant produces trailing stems when it climbs up trees and these take root when they reach the ground and grow along it. The leaves on these trailing stems grow up to 10cm long and are the ones normally seen on this plant when it is cultivated as a pot plant.

Source: Wikipedia 

Pilea Peperomioides (Money Plant)

Pilea peperomioides, known as Chinese Money Plant, Lefse Plant, or Missionary Plant is a plant native to the Yunnan province in the south of China. Parasolpilea is characterised by having very round, dark green leafs with a 10cm diameter mounted in the middle on a longstem.

Peperomioides was first collected by George Forrest in 1906, and in 1910, in the mountain range Cang Shan west of Dali in the Yunnan province.

In 1945 the species was rediscovered by Norwegian missionary Agnar Espegren in the Yunnan province when he was fleeing from the Hunan province. Espegren took some cuttings with him back to Norway, by India in 1946, and from there it spread throughout Scandinavia.

Source: Wikipedia