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Evergreen shrub
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With proper light and shade balance, the Fire Cracker flower can adorn your garden well
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THE ORANGE-RED coloured `Kanakambaram' (in local parlance) may not attract your attention immediately in a garden — as the flowers are not considered to be on par with jasmines, lilies and chrysanthemums — but the Fire Cracker flower, as it is popularly known, has its own charm.
An evergreen, erect sub-shrub, Crossandra infundibuliformis is native to India and Sri Lanka and belongs to the family Acanthaceae.
The plant has slender stems and ovate to lance-shaped, wavy margined, glossy, mid-green leaves 5 to 10 cm long and fan shaped, orange-yellow to salmon-pink flowers 3 cms across.
They are borne in usually axillary cone-shaped four-cornered spikes 10 cms long with downy bracts.
The plant grows up to a height of one metre and flowers throughout the year. It is a small pot plant for homes and long blooming in gardens, when planted in warm places. In the warmer months, it may be put outside, but well sheltered.
Provide moderate to high humidity. During the growth period, water freely with soft water and apply a balanced liquid fertilizer monthly. Water sparingly in winter, only enough to prevent drying out. Pinch out growing points when young, to encourage bushy growth.
Grow in fertile, humus rich, well-drained soil in full sun. They need three hours of direct sun during the day.
Propagation is by seeds or by semi-rip cuttings cut back after every flowering.
Flowers are used for decorating in gardens and adorning the hair.
CHITRA RADHAKRISHNAN
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