Unique flowers – upgrade your garden and enjoy the scenery when your plants have bloomed with these unique flowers.
Unique flowers:
Bee Orchid
An herbaceous rhizome, Bee orchid is a perennial deciduous plant used as an ornamental plant. Its flower grows on a stem in inflorescence and looks like female bees, thus attracting male bees for pollination. Although, some of the orchid‘s flowers reproduce through self-pollination. These flowers are usually small 0.5-4cm and varies in colours such as white, purple, yellow, green or pink for the 3 petals, and black, purple, red, blue, pink, white, orange, yellow, brown or green for the lip colour. It may also have more than one colour in a flower and can be stripes, dots, or shapeless. Bee orchids grow in an alkaline well drained soil and blooms in moist soil. It is best to plant this in autumn.
Dracula Orchid
Also known as monkey faced orchid, Dracula orchid is an epiphytic rhizome leaf plant that is perennial evergreen and can grow in cold temperate climate. It has fleshy linear shaped leaves and its flowers may sometimes resembles a bat shape (Dracula) or monkey face. The Dracula orchid flower comes in black, purple, red, blue, pink, white, orange, yellow, brown or green. It can either have many colours at a time and may also be striped, dotted or shapeless. To grow this plant, you will need a cold temperature of around 5-8 degrees Celsius at night and 20 degrees Celsius in the day plus a large amount of water for it to thrive well.
Monkey Orchid
Monkey Orchid is a perennial evergreen used as an ornamental plant and also grows in cold temperate climate. Its flower resembles the face of a monkey, hence its name. And it can either be in black, purple, red, blue, pink, white, yellow, orange, brown or green in colour. Monkey orchid may sometimes have more than one colour in its flower and may also be in stripes, dots or shapeless. This medium growing plant may be planted in anytime of the year, and can also be planted for indoors.
Bird of Paradise Flower
This plant can grow in tropics, subtropics or Mediterranean climate. Bird of paradise has elliptic shaped leaves growing in a stem that merges to the trunk. Its flowers are colour orange with blue and the base is green with its petals looking like the feathers and the base like the body of the bird. The Bird of Paradise plant requires a cool temperature to thrive, usually not more than -2 degrees Celsius with full sun to half shade. Take in consideration that this is a fast growing plant and can sometimes be aggressive.
Heliconia bihai
Also known as Balisier, Heliconia bihai is perennial evergreen that grows in tropical climate. Its small flower is yellow-green and has insignificant bracts in red, yellow, green, orange, or pink. These bracts grow on the spikes in a triangle shape and are full of water that attracts hummingbirds. To grow this plant, you will need a well-drained rich soil and it is best planted in spring or summer.
Dutchman’s pipe
This is a woody vine that has large heart-shaped leaves and produces flowers that are shaped like curved pipes. Dutchman’s pipe vine grow usually only 10-15 feet long but can get as long as 25 feet in perfect growing condition. It requires a trellis or vertical structure to support the twinning stems and wide foliage.
Iris oncocyclus
Known as the Royal iris, this plant is a perennial summer deciduous plant with narrow half moon-shaped leaves. The flowers of the Royal iris have a hollow area and its petals make a hall that closes at night time. It can be in black, blue, purple, white, red, maroon, or yellow but there can be more than one color in a flower. In order to thrive, it will need a sandy soil and dry summer. Iris oncocyclus is medium growing and can reach a size of 20-70 cm.
Passion Fruit
A perennial evergreen vine, Passion fruit has a unique flower which looks like a clock that is white in the middle with purple color next to the stigma. Its purple-green fruit is oval-shaped, with yellow-orange cover for its seeds and has sour and sweet taste. The best season to plant a passion fruit is in the spring or summer and it requires trellis for support. However, do not plant it near other plants because it is fast growing and aggressive.
Shampoo Ginger
Shampoo ginger is an herbaceous geophyte that is commonly used as an ornamental fragrant plant. It has green linear leaves emerging on a stem in round growth. It also has fragrant bracts in red, yellow, green or orange color and resembles a hive shape. Inside the bracts, small white flowers grow. The shampoo ginger’s rhizome is edible with brown peel and yellow flesh and has a bitter taste. This plant requires moist rich soil that is frost free, that’s why it is best planted during the spring.
Shrimp Plant
Shrimp plant is a shrub with green elliptic leaves sized 4-8cm and flowers that are red or white in cone shape. Its bracts may be a variety of red brown with green, yellow, blue-green, white, blue-purple, or orange pink. This medium growing plant can survive up to -3 degrees Celsius of temperature and requires frost free, rich and well drained soil. It usually blooms in spring, summer or autumn.
Bombax ceiba
Also known as Red silk cotton tree, bombax ceiba is an ornamental drought tolerant shade tree or bonsai that can grow in subtropics, Mediterranean or tropical climate. Its flowers are waxy with five petals, round base and usually red to orange in color. This plant blooms at the end of winter to early spring. Bombax ceiba requires a full sun and small to average amount of water to survive.
Toad lily
The flowers of a toad lily are described as white with purple dots, white and blue, or yellow with red dots. There are six petals with 3 small inner petals. This plant is used as an ornamental plant and typically blooms in spring, summer or autumn with 2-4cm flowers. In order to thrive, Toad lily requires a moist soil and full shade away from direct sunlight. However, it is susceptible to fungal diseases.
Tillandsia cyanea
This epiphyte leaf plant is commonly known as Pink Quill. The elliptic shaped leaves grow in rosette structure and have sharp edges while its small flowers which are purple violet in color grow in clusters. The pink part of the plant, which is mistaken as the flower, is called the bracts. The pink quill blooms in sping or summer and do well in moist, well-drained soil and full shade.
Christmas cactus
Christmas cactus has green cladodes that turns into woody brown color when it matures. Its flower can be red, yellow, pink, orange, white or purple which has multiple petals (around 15-30) and attracts Hummingbirds. It usually blooms in autumn, spring or winter and requires full shade to thrive. Christmas cactus requires moist frost free soil but can survive a little frost. This is a slow growing plant and can reach 40-100cm in size.
Cockscomb Flower
Also known as Celosia cristata, Cockscomb Flower is an herbaceous annual and ornamental plant. It can grow in the tropic Mediterranean, subtropical or temperate climate. Its leaves, which are oval-shaped, are edible. It comes in varieties of green, red or purple. The flowers, on the other hand, are small and grow in groups in inflorescence with stalks in the shape of comb or brain and come in many colours such as red yellow, orange, pink, purple or white. It blooms in spring, autumn or summer.
Peperomia
Peperomia is sub shrub succulent known as “radiator plant”. Its most prominent feature is its leaves that are green, red, purple, or pink and can be variegate with white and yellow. The leaves have a prominent vein in elliptic, round or heart shape. Peperomia blooms in spring or summer with white flowers in ice-pop like shape. Another plus factor of this plant is you can plant it all year round in a well-draining soil.
Horse Chestnut
The horse chestnut is a perennial deciduous tree with flowers that may either be white pink, red or mix. They grow in clusters; appear wrinkled like a crepe and blooms in spring. A cold temperature is the primary requirement in growing this tree, and it may reach 10-30 meters if well taken care of. Take note though that the horse chestnut is not edible and poisonous.
Aechmea Blue Rain
With its blue-purple with white cone shape flower, Aechmea Blue Rain is often used as an ornamental cut flower houseplant. It unique flowers grow on a red stem in inflorescence while its leaves are green with light or dark patch of color growing in a rosette structure. Its blooming season is in autumn or winter but you can plant it any time of the year. Typical requirements in growing this plant are a warm climate and well-drained moist soil.
Aechmea fasciata
Also known as “Silver Vase plant”, Aechmea fasciata has distinctive green leaves with white or yellow dots or stripes that grow in a rosette structure. This plant can grow in tropical climate and commonly used as an ornamental cut flower plant. It has small purple flowers and bracts that are shaped like a spear and comes in color pink to purple. Winter to early spring is the blooming season of this plant.
Amaranthus caudatus
Amaranthus caudatus has red flowers growing on an inflorescence stalk that is weeping down, giving this plant the name “love lies bleeding plant”. It usually blooms in summer and autumn, and requires moist soil to thrive well. The seeds and leaves of this plant are both edible. Amaranthus caudatus is a fast growing plant and reaches 0.4-1 meter in size.
Calceolaria Herbeohybrida
Calceolaria Herbeohybrida is an annual plant that can grow in Mediterranean, subtropics or temperate climate. It is used as ornamental plant with its green leaves formed into round to elliptic shape and sometimes with serrated edge. The flower of this plant can be red, orange or yellow with dots or stripes. Its shape resembles a bean with a ball-like structure in the middle. Its blooming seasons are autumn in hot climate and winter to spring in cold climates.
Albizia julibrissin
Commonly known as Persian silk tree, Albizia julibrissin sports a fragrant pink-white flower with stamens like needles connecting together like a brush. It is a perennial deciduous legume tree which is used as ornamental plant. The best season to plant it is in spring and it blooms in summer or spring as well. It is easy to grow this tree as it requires nothing special just full sun or half shade and average amount of water to thrive well.
Cyclamen persicum
This autumn to winter bloomer is a perennial deciduous plant with edible heart shaped leaves. It is used mostly as ornamental plant, and can grow in mediterranean, subtropical or temperate climate. Flower varies in red, pink, purple or white. Cyclamen persicum blooms in autumn or winter and requires a well-drained soil and regular weed cleaning to grow well. Autumn is the best season to plant this.
Ylang ylang tree
Ylang ylang or Ilang-ilang tree is a perennial evergreen or semi-deciduous plant. It is mostly used as ornamental plant because of its yellow fragrant flowers with 6 curly petals. It also bears edible fruits that are color purple with small seeds inside it. The ylang ylang tree grows well in highly humid area and can reach up to 5-30 meters. Generally, ylang ylang blooms in spring or summer.