Asystasia gangetica flowers attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
Some cultivars are sweetly scented.
The flowers have a diameter of about 1- 1.5 inches.
They are white, yellow and purple flower varieties.
They are white, yellow and purple flower varieties.
“Asystasia gangetica - Chinese Violet from Mafia Island”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on May 27th, 2011.
Scientific name: Asystasia gangetica
Synonym: Asystasia coromandeliana
Common name:
Chinese Violet, Coromandel, Creeping Foxglove, Ganges Primrose, False Snapdragon
Chinese Violet, Coromandel, Creeping Foxglove, Ganges Primrose, False Snapdragon
Family: Acanthaceae
Origin: Mafia Island (part of Tanzania's Spice Islands)
Category: Perennial, herbaceous ever-flowering creeper
Photograph taken at the Rooftop Secret Garden of 1-Utama
The leaves are light green, oval-shaped and pointed at the ends.
The seeds are stored in pods which explode when ripe.
The stems root upon touching soil.
Propagation can also be in the form of cuttings.
A. gangetica do not require a lot of water.
They will bloom prolifically in filtered shade but you can also grow them under the full sun.
In the picture above, A. gangetica is grown as a dense spreading ground cover. The taller climbers on the left are Duranta erecta and Bougainvillea is on the top right.
Here at the Secret Garden of 1-Utama, Dr. Francis Ng also grows them in mixed planter boxes like the one above or as a stand alone in round, vase-shaped containers.
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| So close, you can touch it. It won't sting! |
Bees just love the Asystasia gangetica flowers. Even at the rooftop 7 floors up!
This is my entry for Fertilizer Friday, thanks to Glenda at Tootsie Time, here.
Dear Autumn Belle, Love your bee pictures. The little violet is very pretty. P. x
ReplyDeleteAB, Your close-up of the bee is fantastic! I like the way the garden is designed. Still haven't figure out where this garden is.
ReplyDelete1 Utama has become your No.1 lepak place haha. Nice flowers.
ReplyDeletePam, I think the pretty violet will suit an English garden design too.
ReplyDeleteOne, you can click on my page titled, 'Rooftop Garden'. I have written a post about TSG and how to get there. There is also a Rainforest and Giant Water Lily pond on the lower ground floor of 1-U Shopping Centre.
Milka, the Secret Garden is like a living encyclopaedia to me, also my 'Gardening Academy of Further Studies'. While others are busy spending money downstairs and shopping, I am at the rooftop, doing self-study and learning about the facts of life from the birds and the bees, haha!
The Secret Garden doesn't talk or give lectures, but nature teaches me in a way that I find very inspiring.
Very pretty and the close up photos are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteCher
One day a floor, so the bee took seven days to reach the rooftop.
ReplyDeleteSuch a dainty looking flower!
ReplyDeleteThe color is intoxicating! The bees must really like it....good that you got some photos of them enjoying it.
ReplyDeletenow those are adorable! Very dainty looking and bright!
ReplyDeletehave a great week friend...thanks for the visits and the links!!!
Would always associate you with 1Utama..haha lovely bee and flowers. tQ
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty flower Autumn. I love the look of it spilling over the wall. Great pictures!
ReplyDeleteI am a sucker for a purple flower, and this one is gorgeous!! The last shot is spectacular
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous garden, and a cute pic of the bee!
ReplyDeleteVery pretty, I love the color.
ReplyDeleteThe images are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI do want to go to Secret Garden someday for some ideas!
Very pretty. I like the fact that this plant can climb pretty high.
ReplyDeleteThe Chinese Violet is such a pretty purple color, and I love its place of origin--mafia island! The close-up shots of the bees are really great. Thanks for visiting my garden site!
ReplyDeleteWe should make it a point to visit the garden that you mention the next time we are in KL... nice pics!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos! It is so nice to find a fellow gardener! I am a new follower! Stop by and see what I have blooming!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely flower. What a great photo of the bee in the flower! The rooftop garden sounds like an enchanting place, a feast for the eyes.
ReplyDeleteNow i am confused if the one we have is Asystasia, and i thought it is gangetica, but now i am having second thoughts.
ReplyDeleteA. gangetica is certainly food for the bees.
ReplyDeleteI have the white flower variety but lately it hasn't flowered. For almost a year now, I have them planted all over different soils, different lighting but no flowers. Any idea what is wrong with the plant?
ReplyDeleteIf your plant is healthy, try applying a flower inducing fertilizer.
DeleteI hadn't thought about adding commercial flowering fertilizer since I planted them together with other plants. The African daisies, sunflowers, periwinkles and hibiscus are flowering, just this plant that hasn't. I originally got it from the wild, uprooted and transplanted at home, it bloomed for only a month. The rest of the plants, I grew from cuttings. Both the parent and children plant don't bloom. It looks very healthy but some plants have grown bigger than normal leaves, I'm afraid it has taken on an invasive character.
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