Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Sing the glory of the gloriosa
|
Gloriosas have beautiful vine-like shoots with colourful blossoms
|
DIVINE SPLENDOUR A superb flowering vine
This plant goes by the rather exotic name of glory lily. And it does live up to the name with a beautiful vine-like body and large colourful blossoms. Also called gloriosa, the plant is a superb flowering vine, which climbs by means of leaf-tip tendrils.
Originally from Africa, it belongs to the family Liliaceae. The blossoms of orange yellow or red have artistically recurred petals and are highly prized for flower arrangements and corsages.
Gloriosa is an herbaceous climber, withering down during the dry season with the tuber remaining dormant until the following rains. It is a fragile plant with soft, round, green stems. The bright green, smooth leaves are variable in length and breadth, without stalks and often terminating in spiral tendrils which cling tenaciously to anything they touch. They grow singly or placed opposite, lance-shaped, broadest in the middle and folded over at the base.
The buds are oval pendants with prominent rounded wings. On opening, the flowers present lovely variations of yellow, orange and crimson.
They grow singly on long stems which bend over at the tip. The six long frilly petals bend right back from the small keel lying in each channelled base. The flowers are very showy, waxy edged and three to four inches long, bending backwards to reveal long yellow stamens — altogether an unusual form of inflorescence.
Gloriosas can be grown on balconies, railings or in tubs. The plant requires very rich soil mixed with loam and a little sand. It requires good light and a bit of shade.
Propagation is done by offsets of tubers when plant is dormant. The tubers are very brittle and should be handled with care as they break easily. It takes three to four months to bloom. But with a few months' rest, they can be replanted to bloom again the same year.
CHITRA RADHKRISHNAN
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
|
