Easy to Care

I love seeing constant blooms in my garden. However many profusely blooming plants that I like, e.g. petunia, zinnia, impatiens are annuals that will need replacements after they grow, bloom, produced seeds and wilted. I try to grow blooming annuals such as Costus and Birds of Paradise. These plants produce blooms constantly and they are tough plants that can sustain hot weather and occasional lack of watering.

I have 3 pots of Costus in my garden. One of the plants have over 9 blooms now. It is a beautiful plant to have as the inflorescence really brighten up my garden. Each bloom can last for a loooong time (over a month). The inflorescence will turn brown over time and I just snip the stalk off to allow space for newer stems to grow. The inflorescence is tough and rainfall does not affect its blooms.

As seen in the photos here, the red, vibrant inflorescence is a spectacular bloom. The long red inflorescence is complimented with bright yellow tubular flowers.

My Costus is fertilized with goat dung manure on a monthly basis. That, I believe, ensure regular blooms are being produced by the plant. When the weather is too hot, the leaves will curled up by afternoon. However, the thick leaves are able to sustain 2-3 days of no-watering in current hot weather. That is another reason that I love this plant. At times, when we are away from home, not being able to care for my plants kept me worrying. It is most worrying in the current hot spell season. Usually I will water this plant once in the morning. These days, watering twice a day is the practice.

I would certainly recommend this plant to anyone who loves regular spectacular blooms in their garden. This plant is also easy to care for any new gardening enthusiast!