GREEN MATTERS
Lend a hand to these green fairies
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Gently facilitate the creepers on to the moss-sticks and see them bloom in full, says Swathi.V
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Green shade: The climbers can turn dense and offer shade like a portico of the house.
There are hardly any plant lovers would not love to have climbers on their premises. Slender and curvy, the green fairies are sure to steal hearts wherever they are planted.
One more advantage is that one does not need to have a sprawling court yard to tend them. Just a trellis or any other support is enough, as many of them are shade-loving and grow fabulously indoors.
A method to keep the plant short is to train it up using a moss-stick of required height.
“Moss-sticks are made of wooden sticks or plastic pipes. A rough coat of coconut fibre is given over which another thin layer of Sphagnum Moss or Himalayan moss is applied. However, trading in Sphagnum moss is forbidden due to its endangered status.
Instead, one may use fine coconut fibre, though it is not as fine-looking as the moss,” says M.M.Hussain of Plants Land. Use of moss or coconut fibre will help retain the moisture so that the roots at the nodes can take in the food.
Climbers to be trained on to the moss-sticks should be chosen for their foliage and weak stem. Almost all of them are shade-loving. Philodendrons are the most popular ones among them with varied sub-species.
Philodendron Red Duchess, Philodendron ‘Emerald Duke’, P.hastatum, P.melanochrysum, P.wendlandii, Philodendron ‘Painted Lady’, P.Ceylon, P.erubescens, and Philodendron Pink Princess are a few varieties worth mentioning in the species.
Plants such as Scindapsus aureus (Money Plant), Scindapsus aureus marble queen, S.aureus Goldiana, Epipremnum pinnatum, Monstera obliqua, Monstera deliciosa, and Monsteras deliciosa variegata too make good moss-stick plants.
Money plant
“Scindapsus aureus, should it face the south west sun, will grow a thick stem as it climbs on to a tree. As it grows, the size of leaves increases and at one stage, it will stop looking like the ordinary money plant we all know, because the perforations on the leaves become prominent,” says Mr.Hussain.
Syngonium, in its myriad varieties too can make a good moss-stick plant. Syngonium podophyllum, Syngonium butterfly, and Syngonium wendlandii are a few among the species. S.macrophyllum is a variety with much sturdier stem and larger leaves.
“Plants such as Hoya and Ipomoea too are commonly trained onto the moss-sticks,” says Mr.Hussain.
He cautions that the indoor climbers trained up the moss-sticks should never be pruned. Once they outgrow the stick, they should be cut down till the bottom and allowed to re-grow as fresh plants.
“Propagation should be through stem tip cuttings for a stronger stem and larger leaf size. One should prefer a smaller plant for easy training. And also, one should not forget to shift them outdoors for three days in a week,” he says.
Soil for climbers should be extremely porous and damp. A ratio of 50 per cent of red soil mixed with equal amount of well-decomposed manure will render the soil porous enough. Coco peat, together with manure and soil can be used in the ratio of 2:1:1 in order for the pot to weigh lighter. It will also help reduce the watering frequency.
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