Euphorbia Milii - Crown of Thorns

Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia Milii) are year round bloomers. They can always be relied upon to brighten up the garden. Each inflorescence last for months and they are seldom seen without any floral adornment. This is a tough plant and resistant to common pests such as mealy bugs, thrips and aphids.

This inflorescence of red flowers is tinged with green. Contrast this with ...


this cluster of pure red flowers. This plant has since passed on to plant heaven due to poor drainage of the pot-bound plant.


In the background is a Lantana camara standard.

 

Euphorbia Milii co-existing happily in container with pink Portulaca and pink Torenia fournieri. Its bluish-green leaves are thick and when crushed, bleeds with a white latex.
A single frond of the Philodendron bipinnatifidum is seen stretching out towards it.

Euphorbia Milii is easily propagated from stem cuttings. Snip off a small section from the lateral branches, let the milky white latex dry off for a day and stick it into a rich soil mixture. It will take root in no time. 

This male dawn dropwing dragonfly perched on a dried up twig.

 

The blue and pink flowers in the background are those of Torenia fournieri which self-seeded themselves in containers meant for other plants.

Inle Lake at Heho, Myanmar. This photo taken from the verandah of a lakeside restaurant. This restaurant serves western meals.

Wooden houses built at the edge of the lake are charming and hark back to a rustic, gentler way of life.

Philodendron bipinnatifidum - The Lacy Tree Philodendron

Lacy tree philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum or P. selloum) grows large with enormous glossy leaves that are deeply divided into narrow, wavy-margined lobes. The leaves are held on long petioles and  reach up to 3 ft  long. Older and larger plants develop leaves that are more deeply dissected and more ruffled. For this characteristic, it is also called the Split-leaf philodendron. The plant itself grows to a height of 10 feet or more and a broad spread of up to 8 feet. It requires little care except for the occasional trimming of the lower leaves.

The easiest way of propagating this plant is to simply cut the top section and take at least two strong roots.  This top cutting can then be potted and the old stem which is now leafless will eventually produce new leaves, usually in two to three clusters.

The leaves are broad and lush taking up lots of room in the planter box.


The pinnated leaves are borne on long petioles which extend them high up.

The stem is the central axis of the plant and provides support. However it tends to fall over and sprawl when the plant gets large.

View from outside the dining area

The broad leaf provided ...

a soft landing for a fallen fledgling sparrow. I put it back on the nest above.

Tasha positioned herseif under the Philodendron bipinnatifidum to have a cool  lookout for birds and cats.

 
Here a smaller specimen of Philodendron bipinnatifidum is seen to be equally happy in a relatively small container.

Filtered light through the leaves provide just the right touch of solar nourishment for delicate plants below.

The columnar flower bud emerges from a leaf axil. The inflorescence consists of a 1 ft long white spathe enclosing an upright spadix with many tiny pale yellow petalless flowers.

The robust stem shows typical 'leaf scars' forming an interesting pattern. Stout, aventitious aerial rootlets are seen sprouting out between conspicuous leaf scars. 

A sparrow was seen cracking a seed under the broad canopy of the Philodendron bipinnatifidum.