Who says the summers are dry......
Who says the summers
are dry? Not me! Though, it's not the right time as we are still to experience
summers this year, still, as a prep, I'm putting this post, dealing with a
particular summer beauty -- The Moss Rose, (Portulaca Grandiflora), also
known as 9'o clock or 10'o clock, as it usually blooms at that time in the
morning.
Moss roses, as far as
I know and feel about them, are plants belonging to the the xerophytic group of
plants (the same one, to which the cactuses belong). Xerophytes, according to
wikipedia, are "plants that has adapted to survive in an environment
that lacks average or sufficient amounts of water, such as a desert."
This is because of the hardiness of the moss rose to harsh environmental
conditions. As everyone here might be knowing, that moss roses may live on for
a week or so without actually getting any nutrition, and this makes moss roses
such a loved variety of ornamental plants.
Moss roses, have been
grown into numerous cultivars (varieties), bringing about a change into the
flower shape and characteristics like number of petals, colours, etc., and
that's why moss roses are widely used as ornamental plants. I too, since my
childhood, have been planting moss roses wherever I've been or lived, as their
requirements are not too much and can easily sustain in harshest of
environmental conditions. I have collected three colours of the double variety
of moss roses. The white one, the dark pink one and the mixed (white-pink)
variety. Although the moss rose is an annual, here in India, it blooms in summer
season only, for about five odd months from around end of March to late August
and sometimes into September also. Its low nutritional and water requirements
and not-at-all-fuzzy nature, it may very easily be used in a decorative manner,
can be planted in beds, can be put up in hung up baskets in balconies, window
sills and in pots also. The thing is, just like other plants, the moss roses
also love care, and thrive happily, and can actually produce large flowers.
Here are a few examples:
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White-Pink Moss Rose. |
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White-Pink Moss Rose. |
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White-Pink Moss Rose. |
Nice captures!
ReplyDeleteThanks, magiceye.
ReplyDeleteOh, I do love moss roses. Your photos are lovely!
ReplyDelete