Bougainvillea. (Bougainvillea species and hybrids; Family Nyctaginaceae). The bougainvillea is a versatile ornamental plant for planting in both small and large gardens. It is highly prized for its beauty and utility. It is named after Louis Antoine de Bougainvillea, a French navigator. Being a native of tropical and subtropical South America, it is well adapted to our climatic conditions.
SPECIES AND HYBRIDS. nbsp The cultivars commonly grown in gardens belong to four botanical species and their interspecific hybrids, viz. Bougainvillea glabra, B. spectabilis, B. peruviana and B. buttiana. The species differ from one another in some characters such as growth, habit, leaf shape and size, colour of bracts and habit of flowering. Many cultivars have arisen as a result of natural crossing between two species, such as spectoglabra or glabra-peruviana hybrids, or as selections from seedling progenies. The variegated foliage types have evolved in nature as bud sports.
VARIETIES. There are hundreds of varieties of Bougainvillea in various attractive colours grown in gardens. The flowers of Bougainvillea are usually referred to the three coloured bracts, and real flowers are small and tubular, with a star-shaped apex that is often inconspicuous and attached to the centre of each bract. The bracts are white, light mauve, magenta, pink, terracotta, deep mauve, red, yellow, orange or lilac. The bracts may be small or large. Some of the outstanding varieties are 'Snow Queen' (white), 'Shubhra' (white), 'Sanderiana' (deep mauve), 'Trinidad' (pale mauve), 'Mrs. H.C. Buck (deep rose), 'Mary Palmer' (bicoloured deep rose and white flowers on the same plant), 'Louis Wathen' (orange), 'Enid Lancaster (yellow with shades of rose), 'Ladt Marry Baring' (Yellow), 'Mrs. Butt' (deep crimson), 'dr. R.R. Pal (brick red), 'Sonnet' (light rosy purple), 'Spring Festival' (medium magenta purple), 'Summer Time' (bright red), 'Partha' (young bracts orange changing to pink purple), 'Tomato Red' (terracotta), 'Sensation' (deep magenta), 'Blondie' (orange turning light rose), 'Isabel Greensmith' (coppery changing to rose), 'Bois due Rose' (biscuit colour), 'Begum Sikander' (white with rose edges) and 'Wajid Ali Shah' (rose). There are also multi-bracted cultivars like 'Mahara' (red), 'Roseville's Delight' (orange), 'Cherry Blossom' (white), 'Los Banos Beauty' (rose). A few important varieties having variegated leaves are 'Rao' (white and green bracts red), 'Thimma' (yellow and green, bracts bicoloured like 'Mary Palmer'), 'Louis Wathen' (variegated white and green, bracts orange) and 'Glabra' (variegated white magenta green). The variegated 'Mahara' - white and green and 'Archana' (variegated 'Roseville's Delight' yellow and green).
USES. The bougainvillea can be used both as a shrub and as a climber. The shrub forms an attractive lawn specimen. It is also grown as a standard. A hedge of bougainvillea is quite common and colourful. It can also be trained on a tall tree, on the trunk of a dead tree or on a trellis, arch, pergola or screen. It is ideally suited for growing in large earthen pots, wooden tubs or cement pots.
PROPAGATION. The bougainvillea is propagated from cutting, layering or budding. For budding, the commonest rootstock is the cultivar, 'Dr. R.R. Pal'. The best time for propagation from cutting and layering is during the rainy season (June-July). Seeds are used only for evolving new varieties. However, many varieties fail to set seeds but seed-setting is better in Bangalore, Mysore and Hyderabad than in Delhi and the Punjab.
PLANTING. The best time to plant bougainvillea is from July to September. The plant may be grown about 1.5-2.5 metres apart but in a hedge, a closer distance may be adopted. At the time of planting, about 8-10 kg of well-rotted cowdung manure may be added to the soil in each pit which is about 75 cm in diameter and 60 cm deep.
The plants do not require much manuring. They should be pruned in June after they have finished their flowering to obtain better blooms in the next season, i.e. in winter (October-January) and in summer (March-June). After pruning, about 8-10 kg of cowdung manure may be applied to each plant, followed by copious watering.
The plant must receive full sunshine for good growth and abundance of flowering. The soil should be well-drained. During peak flowering, watering should be restricted; otherwise the flowers will fall off quickly under heavy watering. The plants usually need more frequent watering during summer than in winter. The plants are very hardy and, once established they grow successfully and flower profusely without much manuring or watering. The plants are almost free from disease and insect pests.
Tuberose. (Polianthes tuberosa L.; Family Amarylidaceae). The tuberose is a native of Mexico. Its leaves are long, narrow, linear and grass-like. The flowering stalk emerges from the centre of the leaves. The flowers are tubular, single or double, white and highly fragrant. Usually, the single-flowered varieties are more fragrant than the double-flowered ones.
Tuberose can be successfully grown in pots and beds, on borders and as shrubbery. It is also used for cut-flowers which last long and are highly prized for their delightful fragrance.
It is grown as a commercial crop for cut-flowers near Madurai in Tamil Nadu, in Bangalore (Karnataka) and also near Calcutta in West Bengal.
The bulbs are planted in September-October in the plains. The flowering takes place during summer and the rainy season (April to September) in the northern plains and in May-June in the hills. The plants thrive well in a well-draineds and sunny situation. They can also be grown in partial shade. After flowering, the flowering stalk should be cut down to encourage the production of more blooms in succession. The bulbs are left undisturbed in the ground and occasionally they are separated and replanted.
Marigold. (Tagetes erecta L. - African marigold; Family Compositae). T. patula - French marigold.
The African marigold is a native of Mexico and the French marigold is from Mexico and South America. Because of their being cultivated easily, wide adaptability to varying soil and climatic conditions, long duration of flowering and attractively coloured flowers of excellent keeping quality, the marigolds have become one of the most popular flowers in India. They are commonly grown in gardens, both in the urban and rural areas, and are cultivated commercially for use as cut-flowers, particularly for garlands. They can be successfully grown in pots too, and are used in mixed borders and beds. The dwarf varieties of French marigold are grown in window-boxes, hanging baskets, rockeries and as edgings. They are also ideal for growing in a newly planted shrubbery to provide colour and for a planting in blank spots in the garden. The dwarf French marigolds can also be grown effectively in drafts and along paths or driveways.
AFRICAN MARIGOLD. It is generally tall with large double globular flowers which are lemon, golden yellow, primrose, orange or bright yellow. There are also the nearest-to-white marigolds, though not pure white. There are also dwarf varieties having large double blooms. The varieties belong to two main types, namely the carnation-flowered with medium-sized carnation-like double flowers and the chrysanthemum-flowered, tall or dwarf, growing with fluffy and shaggy flower-heads like an incurved chrysanthemum. There are also the giant-flowered uniform and vigorous F1 hybrids, producing large globular fully double ruffled blooms in profusion and are ideally suited for cut flowers and garden display.
FRENCH MARIGOLD. It is mostly dwarf, early-flowering and compact with dainty single or double blooms, borne freely and almost covering the entire plant. The flowers may be yellow, orange, golden yellow, primrose, mahogany, rusty red, tangerine or deep scarlet or of a combination of these colours. The flowers may be self-coloured, spotted, striped or botched.
INTERSPECIFIC HYBRIDS. Interspecific hybrids between the diploid African marigold and the tetraploid French marigold have also been evolved. These interspecific hybrids are triploids, with intermediate characters, early flowering, medium tall, bushy with double flowers of delightful colour combinations of red and gold or pure yellow, orange, bright and rich mahogany scarlet.
The Single Signet (Tagetes tenuifolia). This is a dwarf type of marigold. It is bushy, with five lace-like foliage and covered with small single orange, yellow or lemon flowers. A dwarfer variety, 'Pumila', is very compact. The single signet marigold is ideal for edging and rock-gardens.
CULTIVATION. Marigolds can be successfully grown in different types of soil and climate. The French marigold grows best in a light soil, whereas the African marigold requires a rich, well-manured and moist soil. A well-drained soil and a sunny situation are essential for both types of marigolds. They can grow in almost all seasons, except in very cold winter, as they are susceptible to frost. The seeds are sown in May-June in nursery-beds or in shallow seed-pans or boxes. Seeds can also be sown in September-October and in February-March. In the hills, the sowing is done in March-April. After about a month of sowing, the seedlings are transplanted into beds or pots. The plants should be grown in a well-prepared soil which has received a liberal application of cowdung manure or farmyard manure. The French marigolds should not be heavily manured; otherwise, they may produce excessive vegetative growth, resulting in poor flowering. As soon as the first flower-bud appears, the shoot is pinched to make the plants bushy and compact. In general, the marigolds are hardy and almost free from diseases and insect pests.
