Exotic balls of pinky blooms

Published on: Sunday, October 25, 2020

By: Eskay Ong

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THESE days, domesticating and cultivating plants from the wild may sound like a wild idea, but seriously, the exotic shades, colour and forms that many of these so-called wild plants possess are enough to keep many a serious gardening enthusiast smiling for days on end, sometimes all the way to the bank. A broad smiling face is certainly a fantastic way to begin the day in a cheerful, enthusiastic and highly productive way.

On the other hand, a home frontyard or backyard littered with dead or sickly plants, or for that matter, any dead or sickly living things including dogs, cats, rats, chickens, hose geckoes, cockroaches, etc., is a sure way to result in a very dull and moody beginning to an otherwise bright and sunny day.

Whichever way one chooses to begin his day, the presence of lively and energetic pets, or vigorously and brightly blooming plants, is definitely a dynamic way to enhance the beginning of the day in a brighter and more optimistic way.

In this respect, garden plants, including the blooming and foliage ornamentals, palms and trees, make terrific items for brightening up the day, raining days included. The plants may or may not necessarily be the usual types that one sees for sale everywhere.

These common plants may include the hibiscus, conifers and angsana trees, with popular creepers and climbers being wedelia, scindapsus, quisqualis, and so on.

Other than these widely planted varieties, it is also a good idea to try out the seldom-seen ornamentals from the wilds.

Let your neighbours say their full about the logic behind the cultivation of such plants that you wish to embark on, as you will be the one with the last laugh. Remember, he laughs best who laughs last.

After all, most of the garden plants that one sees in or around the community, including those grown within neighbouring plots, originated from nature. For instance, some of the best and most expensive orchids originally came from the jungles, when, after a period of acclimatising and refining, including multiple cycles of breeding and selection, the plants that one sees on display or for sale, have become so valuable.

So there is really nothing to boast about who is cultivating “wild” plants and who the “civilised” ones. But believe me, once you have started on something wild, and it gives you terrific results, your neighbours might be tempted to sweet-talk you for more information, or perhaps even to ask for some dedak such as some free planting materials as handouts.

Wild and exotic mimosa

There are many wild and exotic plants in our part of the world, but certainly, one of the wildest ideas is to cultivate, of all plants, the ubiquitous Sensitive Plant or Touch-Me-Not.

Known botanically as Mimosa pudica, the sensitive plant lives up to its name to the very letter. As soon as it is touched, the plant collapses, with the leaves and stalks folding up neatly in a very organised way.

Sometimes, a gentle caress will elicit only a slight response, in which case, only one or two leaves are affected with the others remaining open and erect.

The plant is so sensitive that it is even affected by gusts of wind. Try blowing on a sensitive plant somewhere to see the immediate response that the plant issues.

Sensitive plants are not often used as an ornamental in our country, but in western countries, such plants are treated with much care and love and they are regarded highly as a flowering and foliage ornamental that it often costs quite a bundle to buy a good specimen.

It is common to see nurseries or flower centres selling decorative potted sensitive plants each with several balls of flowers. Some of such pots may be in the form of hanging cascades whereby each pot may carry a single plant but with several large prostrate branches that extend in growth so that they overflow the pot. They certainly appear to be very neat and appealing especially when there are numerous pinkish balls hanging around.

Generally, Malaysians treat the plant more as a weed than anything else, and sadly, it is often blamed for many gardening faults. Even those who have nothing to do with gardening would also put the blame on the poor sensitive plant should anyone’s stockings or skin get scratched by the many thorns that are spread all over the plant, but these are the people who might have eaten some chilli and so deserve to feel the heat.

On a positive note, sensitive plants are not all that bad and wicked as have been wrongly made out to be by the many ill-informed, because on prying deeper, it is clear that the plant has so much positive stuffs to offer.

Firstly, sensitive plants produce exotic-looking fluffy ball-shaped flowers that come in a lovely pink. Such hairy balls usually come in singles but sometimes appear as twin balls or even triples in small clusters spread all over the plant.

The pink balls have been the cause of many a hard-learnt lesson by curious kids who would swarm around such plants to pluck at the blooms or fondle two or three hairy balls in their palms, thus ending up being pricked in one way or another, and if at any time the balls are squeezed or squashed, that’s the end of the game.

Of course, freshly opened blooms are attractive and eye-catching especially if the balls are big and of a rich pink, and usually, they are by no means not beautiful to look at.

Secondly, the sensitive plant is often grown on purpose particularly along the perimeter of certain compounds to keep out snakes and other large slimy creepy crawlies from slithering in.

It is believed that the thorns that grow in all directions are able to keep the creatures from worming their way in since it is possible their scaly and smooth skins may be ripped to varying degrees. It is also believed that the pain and agony inflicted on such unwelcome visitors may be a strong deterrent to stop uninvited visitors from sneaking in.

Thirdly, the physical behaviour of sensitive plants is indeed curious with their peculiar responses to gentle caresses and soothing touches.

Some inquisitive people may choose to hunker down for hours near to a thorny plant with a few bottles of a favourite brew in hand for the sake of seeing how the response of the plant to various stimuli such as cooings, fondlings and caressings is like. This is not surprising in view of the fact that the majority of the other plants do not respond in this way, no matter how hard or rough they are handled.

Fourthly, the sensitive plant is a member of the Legume Family, and in this respect, it helps to fix nitrogen thus serving well its remarkable ability to enrich the soil on which it is grown.

There may also be a long list of other medicinal and non-medicinal uses both traditional and scientific in which some people have found them to be of benefit but as these are outside the purview of this article, it is best to consult the relevant experts for anyone who is interested in such fields.

Planting and control of sensitive plants

Sensitive plants are easy to propagate but in reality, few people are bothered to do that as the job would be easier done by cats or goats or even human legs. This is because the thorny mature fruit pods tend to get hooked easily onto those hairy structures, thus helping greatly in dispersing the seeds over a much larger area.

Moreover, the topsoil that one buys, or the potted or bagged plants that one carries home, may also be infested by seeds of the sensitive plant, in particular if the area from which the soil is collected was once contaminated with the plant.

Basically, propagation is not a problem as the thousands of seeds produced are easily germinated. Once the fruit pots are mature, they dry up and turn dark brown before splitting and dropping to the ground.

Seeds take to the soil very quickly, and soon huge numbers of seedlings appear. These start to lengthen and with numerous branching, they very quickly extend to spread over a large area.

As the new plants mature and bloom, a lot more seeds are subsequently produced, and these continue to produce more and more plants by self-propagating from the parent plants. In a badly infested area, a field of thickly-grown sensitive plant may smother other plants including grasses and low ground covers.

It is a visual turn-off for anyone attempting to cross such a plot since the thorns do not feel comfortable when brushed against tender skins as well as thick hides.

This is especially so in cases where the plants have increased in great numbers and expanded in thickness which may reach a metre deep. In such a situation, even field mice, snakes, frogs or the toughest crooks may find it a tough job to slither their way across unless they have the deepest resolve and most unflinching will.

Interestingly, sensitive plants will grow anywhere on all soil types including marginal or disturbed lands, sandy or clayey soils, etc., as long as they are not flooded or perpetually waterlogged. They do not need care or attention, and require zero maintenance, which means that cultivating sensitive plants is truly a breeze.

In the typical garden, control of the sensitive plant is not a problem. Just don’t use a lawn mower to cut grass after the flowering and fruiting season as that may serve rather well to spread more seeds around a larger and larger area.

The best time to trim is at the pre-flowering or early flowering stage, and at this stage, anything can be used including lawn mower, clippers, backpack grass cutters, hedge trimmers, etc. Even a pair of pruning shear may be used by cutting off the plant neatly at or just below the collar. After this, a regular inspection once a month or so should be sufficient to keep the thorns away from pricking anyone.

- The writer may be reached at: [email protected]