Growing Ornamental Plants
Growing Ornamental Plants
The surroundings serve as the background against which the house is seen. Plants are to the surroundings as furniture is to the house. A house without plants is bare and has an unfinished look. Ornamental plants and trees beautify the surroundings of the home.
Importance of Ornamental Plants
Ornamental plants are those grown for decorative purposes. Flowers are decorative because they are colorful, exciting and beautiful. However, ornamental plants are not all flowering. There are many plant forms which have their own aesthetic quality. Many durable house plants are non-flowering.
Ornamental plants are important aesthetically and economically. Aesthetically, they enhance the beauty of the surroundings. They are used as decorative materials in constructing a lawn, park, plaza and various kinds of gardens.
The raising of flowering and non-flowering ornamental plants is a thriving business in the cities and urban areas. A big volume of cut flowers is sold daily in flower shops to form bouquets, corsages, and wreaths. Among the most popular flowers sold are varieties of roses, orchids, chrysanthemums, calla lilies, . Among the non- flowering ornamentals, the ferns tand asparagus make high sales because they are needed in various flower arrangements.
Classifications of Ornamental Plants
The two major classifications of ornamental plants are those of the flowering and non-flowering types. There are, however, other classifications of ornamental plants based on the following:
1. Lifespan
a. Annual plants whose life span is a year or less. Common examples are
the herbs. Herbs are soft-bodied plants and their stems do not contain
woody tissues.
b. Biennial plants whose life span is two years or less. Examples are
herbaceous plants, whose stems contain some woody tissues and can
reproduce their kind.
c. Perennial plants whose life span is two years or more. These are plants
with woody tissues and sturdy stems.
2. Physical Properties
a. Herbs and herbaceous plants are soft bodied plants. Included in this
group are the flowering herbs like cosmos, camia, Bird of Paradise,
Zinnia, dahlia, aster, petunia, cockscomb, all lilies, sunflower,
gladiolas and orchids.
b. Shrubs or Bushes are woody plants which have many separate stems
that grow directly from the roots. They are smaller than trees. Or
namental shrubs that bear flowers are the sampaguita, bougainvilla,
santan or ixora, rosal, gumamela, roses, and adelfa. San Francisco or
cretons belong to this group because of their lovely brilliantly colored
leaves.
c. Trees are the largest kind of plants with a single upright woody trunk
with spreading branches containing twigs where the leaves are at
tached which form the foliage or crown. Some bear beautiful flowers
like the fire tree, banaba tree, dapdap tree, and the Golden Shower
tree. Some palms are grown as ornamental trees because of their
majestic stature and graceful forms. Some ornamental trees have
lovely symmetrical shapes like the pine tree, fire tree and other conifers. Some dwarf coconut trees and several species of bamboo like the Chinese and Japanese bamboos are grown as ornamental trees.
d. Vines are long, trailing, twisting, creeping or climbing plants which cannot stand alone. Vines need trellises to enhance their attractive ■ forms. Garlic vine, morning glory, cadena de amor and secreto de amor are some of the herbaceous vines grown as ornaments.
