Dazzling drapes
This queer creeper certainly makes for dazzling drapes of green, writes
Close up of the leaves.
ALTHOUGH botanically grouped under the sunflower family, Vernonia elliptica does not bear flowers. When unkempt, it looks a lot like a weed. Backinthe1960swhenthelateLeeKuan Yew, former Prime Minister of Singapore, launched the Garden City programme to green the island republic, this fuss-free, quick-growing creeper was widely used to beautify walls of concrete buildings and hide unsightly urban structures. Soon it became known as the Lee Kuan Yew Creeper.
Lately, this hardy plant has been gaining popularity among landscape designers of new development projects who use it in sky gardens, vertical gardens and hanging gardens.
It’s not uncommon to see this curtain creeper cascading gently down the balconies of shopping malls and other commercial centres in the Klang Valley.
The plant is trained to cover an umbrellashaped trellis like a bridal veil at the rooftop Secret Garden of 1Utama in Petaling Jaya, The creeper forms a veil when trained on an umbrella-like trellis.
Vernonia elliptica is also known as the curtain creeper. The vines droop downwards to form a green curtain.
Selangor. This spot is quite popular among visitors as a picturesque location for selfies.
PLANT PROFILE
Vernonia elliptica Vernonia elaeagnifolia, Tarlmounia elliptica
Asteraceae (sunflower family)
Climbing Vernonia, Curtain Creeper,Bridal Veil Creeper, Bombay Creeper, Parda bel.
Its Chinese name is Guang Yao Teng, meaning “bright dazzling creeper.”
In Malay, it is known as Tumbuhan Menjalar Lee Kuan Yew or Janda Merana meaning “suffering widow”. Janda Merana is more commonly used for weeping willows.
The genus Vernonia was named in honour of English botanist-cumentomologist William Vernon (1666-1711). There are about 1,000 species in this genus of flowering, perennial shrubs.
The specific epithet elliptica originates from the Latin word in reference to the elliptical shape of the leaves.
The Asteraceae family is also known as Compositae. Its members include many plants that bear brightly coloured and gorgeous flowers such as the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, aster, dahlia, coreopsis, gazania, cosmos and zinnia.
THE PLANT
Vernonia elliptica is an evergreen
perennial shrub native to Myanmar. A vigorous grower, it produces long, pendulous strands of foliage that hang downwards like a dense green curtain. The stems can extend between 0.5 and 3m long.
The leaves are alternately arranged along a long, slender stem. Young leaf shoots are whitish while older leaves are green. The oval-shaped leaves look like olive tree foliage which explains its other synonym, Vernonia elaeagnifolia.
The species name elaeagnifolia is derived from the Greek words for pure and for olive.
Vernonia elliptica does not produce flowers in Malaysia and Singapore. In other places such as India or Queensland, Australia, clusters of pinkish-white flowers are produced. But there are no fruits.
HOW TO GROW
It can be grown in large planter boxes where it’s allowed to drape down balconies or concrete walls like a live, green curtain.
It will act as a natural screen covering bare walls, fencing framework and any unsightly spaces. You’ll need to do mass planting to achieve the perfectly compact curtain effect.
The plant will not damage your paint or dirty the walls as there are no roots growing out along the drooping stems. Irrigation is applied directly on the soil contained inside the planters and not along the vertical walls.
You can also group a few plants as a standalone in the ground and train them up a round/arched pergola or umbrella shaped trellis. Let the overlapping strings of foliage drape down to form a beautiful veil.
THE STEPS
1. Stem cuttings.
2. Full sun is preferred but it
can tolerate partial shade. 3. Well-drained soil.
4. Requires little water as the plant
is quite drought tolerant.
5. Apply a balanced fertiliser or growing inducer such as NPK 10-10-10 or 15-15-15 at monthly intervals. 6. Regularly trim the ends and unruly side growths to achieve the length and shape you want. This will also keep it to a manageable size. 7. Generally free of
pest and diseases.