Aglaonema Plant: Description, Growing Tips & Uses

                              Aglaonema Plant
Aglaonema Lady Valentine is hardy, low maintenance, air purifier and good luck bringer houseplant. The plant is almost the height of 6-10 inch.The plant almost height of 6-10 inches.The foliage is the colour of hot pink with speckled green. This dramatic foliage makes the plant attractive and fantastic indoor feature plant. This can be found almost 150+ extremely elegant hybrid varieties of different shapes, shades and colors.Aglaonema is also known as Chinese evergreen

Common Name:Aglaonema Lady Valentine
Botanical Name:Aglaonema Modestum
Family: Araceae
Life Cycle:Perennial
Plant Height:6-10 inch
Foliage Colour:Hot pink with speckled green
Flower Colour:Greenish-white
Tempareture: 15 C to 25 C
Light Requirements:Shade, artificial light
Soil Type:Loamy soil
Advantages:Low maintenance

Growing Tips

Aglaonema tolerate full temperature. If the plant is in high light the soil should be potting mix and dry before watering .In lower light soil should be dry completely between watering. The temperature should remain above 60℉. In cold temperature the foliage may damage.Keep the plant full and bushy, remove some of the new leaves as they appear. Do this firmly. As the new leaf grows from and hold the new leaf near its base and gently pull. Scissors should not be used. Otherwise insects can attract. Remove flowers or bracts in the same way. Do not plant it in direct sunlight.

Uses
As a house plant.

Croton Gold Dust - Thin Leaves: Description, Planting, Caring & Uses

                  Croton Gold Dust - Thin Leaves
Croton Gold Dust is a bushy, upright houseplant. The leaves are splashed with green, orange and red with the veins often yellow, depending on the variety. An evergreen shrub that is dense and compact when young. It can become more rounded and leggy when larger. Some cultivars are more green and yellow, while others can be brilliant mixes of reds, oranges, maroon, and yellows. Leaves are alternate to spiral in the arrangement. Leaf shape is also variable with some cultivars being elliptical to oval and others being narrow and linear, while some are even corkscrew.

Common name: Croton Gold Dust

Botanical name: Codiaeum variegatum

Family : Euphorbiaceae

Life cycle: Perennial

Plant height : Upto 7 ft

Leaf Colour: Green

Flower Colour: White

Temperature: 25-35 degree C

Light: Full sun/ half sun

Soil: well-drained soil

Climate : Tropical, subtropical

Advantage: Easy to grow

Planting and Caring:

• Plant the croton plant in well-draining soil to prevent insect and mold issues. If you're planting it in a pot, use a pot with drainage holes, and fill the pot with a mixture of equal parts sphagnum moss and perlite. Outdoors, consider mixing 2 to 3 inches of moss, perlite or aged compost into the soil to aid with drainage.
• Provide the plant with at least six hours of full sunlight each day to maintain the look of the leaves. If it's outdoors, make sure there are no overhanging plants that will block the sun. Indoors, keep the plant in a sunny window, or move it from location to location throughout the day to make sure it receives enough light.
• Water the croton at the first sign of wilting in the leaves, or whenever the top inch of soil feels dry to the touch. Indoor crotons will require more frequent watering ,sometimes every day,than outdoor crotons, which generally need to be watered once per week. A little wilt will not harm the plants, so allow them to dry out between watering.
• Feed the gold dust plants with a liquid or slow-release fertilizer when blooming begins. The fertilizer should have a 3:1:2 ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, this should be indicated on the box or bag in which the fertilizer comes.

Uses:

 Beautiful and popular houseplant.

Croton Petra : plant description, planting and uses

 
                                           
                                                             Croton Petra
Croton Petras are unique houseplants with their vivid colors foliage of vibrant yellows, greens, red and even a little purple. Most houseplants are boring of one shaded green, but no one ever gets tired of looking at the vibrant Croton Petra. This is an evergreen shrub native to India, southern Asia and the western Pacific islands.The croton plant is one of the most dramatic plants. The mature plant height is 7-10 ft.

Botanical name: Croton Petra

Family : Euphorbiaceae

Life cycle: Perennial

Plant height : 7-10 ft

Leaf Colour: Multi-coloured

Temperature: 20-40 °C

Light: Full sun/ half sun

Soil: Loamy, sandy

Climate : Tropical, subtropical

Advantage: Easy to grow


Planting

Plant the croton outdoors in a location with well-drained, humus-rich soil. For indoor growing, use a large container with unobstructed holes in the bottom and a commercial potting soil designed to provide good drainage. Add a layer of gravel to the bottom of the pot to improve drainage even more.

Place it where it will receive six to eight hours of bright, unfiltered sunlight each day. Provide shade from direct summer sun during the hottest part of the day.

Maintain a consistent temperature between 60 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Outdoors, avoid low spots that may become very cool on winter evenings. Move container-grown plants indoors when the temperature becomes too high or too low.

Irrigate moderately and infrequently, allowing the soil to dry out between waterings. Water about once per week for outdoor plants. During the winter, water less often, keeping soil moist but not wet. Spray the leaves of indoor plants with lukewarm water once per day.

Fertilize it about once per week with liquid fertilizer. If the plant seems to be stunted or suffering from a nutritional deficiency, increase fertilizer quantities slowly, since too much can cause the leaf colors to become dull.

Uses:

Croton  oil has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat severe constipation, heal lesions, and is used as a purgative. It is used as a liquid bandage, as well as for other medicinal purposes, by native peoples.

Eucalyptus/Nilgiri : Plant description, Propagation, Uses

                                 

                                  Eucalyptus/Nilgiri 

Nilgiri is a midium sized, tall, fast growing tree and reaches about 25-50 meter tall, and 2 meter in diameter. It is native to Austrellia, Tasmania and nearby islands.This is also called "gum tree", "red iron tree". Leaves are covered with a bluish white bloom. The adult leaves are alternate, and are 6-12 inches long and 1-2 inches broad. It flowers are white, cream, yellow, pink, or red in colour. The woody fruits or capsules are roughly cone-shaped and have valves at the end which open to release the seeds, which are waxy, rod-shaped, about 1 mm in length, and yellow-brown in colour.


Botanical name: Eucalyptus

Family: Myrtaceae

Life cycle: Perennial

Plant height : 300 ft

Leaf Colour: Green

Flower Colour: White, cream, yellow, pink, or red

Temperature: 20-30°C

Light: Full sun/ half sun

Soil: Loamy soil

Climate : Tropical, subtropical

Advantage: Easy to grow

Propagation:

• It grows well in deep, fertile, well drained loamy soil with adequate moisture.
• It is propagated through seeds, soft wood cuttings and semi hard wood cuttings. At the time planting it must be taken into account that ts roots are not broken. It needs water before and after planting. It requires full sunlight. 

Uses:

• Eucauellyptus wood is used as fuel. 
• Apart from the fuel it is used as the pulpwood in the manufacture of the paper as well as raw material. It is used as the poles for the construction of huts and houses. It is used in making plywood, doors and windows. 
• Essencial oil is extracted from the leaves. Which is used as ayurvedic treatment 

Gondhoraj/ Cape Jasmine: Plant description, Planting and Its uses

                          Gondhoraj/ Cape Jasmine

Gondhoraj flower(in Bengal ) is commonly known as Gardenia plants or Cape Jasmine is native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, Madagascar and Pacific Islands. .This is very common only for its strong sweet scent of their flowers, which can be cultivated as a house plant. The plants grow from 2 to 8 feet tall and wide, depending on the variety. Most gardenias grow into a round shape with dark green, glossy leaves and white, fragrant flowers that bloom from mid-spring into summer.They are evergreen shrubs and small trees. The flowers are solitary or in small clusters, white, or pale yellow, with 5-12 lobes.

Botanical name: Gardenia jasminoides

Family: Rubiaceae

Life cycle: Perennial

Plant height : 2-8 ft

Leaf Colour: Green

Flower Colour: White

Temperature: 20-30°C

Light: Full sun/ half sun

Soil: Loamy soil

Climate : Tropical, subtropical

Advantage: Easy to grow, evergreen, fragrant


Planting:

Plant in spring or fall, spacing plants 3 to 6 feet apart. Have the soil tested to determine pH, and if necessary add the recommended amount of sulfur to reduce the pH to between 5 and 6. Dig a hole only as deep as the root ball and 2 to 3 times as wide. If soil is in very poor condition, amend the soil that remove from the hole with a small amount of compost. Otherwise don't amend it at all. Carefully remove the plant from the container and set it in the hole. Fill the hole half full with soil, then water it well to settle the soil and eliminate air pockets. Let the water drain, then fill the remainder of hole with soil and water thoroughly.


Uses: 

• The plant is basically used for decoration purpose at home garden. 
• Its fruits are also used in traditional Chinese medicine for their clearing, calming, and cooling properties.