Finding delight in beautiful golden candles
SOMETIMES we struggle to look for something different to plant in our gardens. Many gardens tend to look the same these days as landscape designers stick to the latest favourites.
That was the problem faced by one of my friends recently. Then she decided to check with me if golden candles would be appropriate for her garden.
This got me thinking about this lovely shrub, which was an old-time favourite in local home gardens.
Sadly, it is no longer in fashion. This week I would like to reintroduce this delightful plant with beautiful foliage and showy golden flower bracts that will make a striking addition to any landscape design. Background
A native to the Americas, golden candle is known botanically as Pachystachys lutea and belongs to the Acanthaceae family. It is also known as lollipop plant or golden shrimp plant.
This is a great houseplant that can also be a showy bush with good luxuriant foliage. It is related to Justicia brandegeeana, which has colourful bracts with actual flowers emerging from the bracts being small and less prominent than the bracts.
Golden candle is a beautiful evergreen that has attractive and broadly lanceolate, dark green leaves. The leaves contrast well with the erect terminal inflorescences with rich golden yellow bracts bursting with a profusion of yellow powdered, white flowers. These will appear almost continuously throughout the year, so gardeners can enjoy practically non-stop flowering. In pots golden candle is equally striking.
This is not a fussy plant, so it does not require a high level of light to flower. It is a most rewarding and reliable plant with lush foliage. Just follow a few requirements and you will likely be well rewarded. Planting tips
Light is needed for photosynthesis as well as normal flowering. Without several good hours of sunlight, plants tend to grow leggy and will need pruning to lower the plant’s height so that the foliage will again thicken up.
In our tropical climate where it rains most of the time, moisture and humidity levels are ideal for the plant’s foliage if planted in the open. However, remember this is not a drought resistant or even tolerant plant, meaning it does not store extra water for its needs and therefore cannot stand dehydration.
So be sure to give the plant sufficient water with regular watering. Keeping the medium moist will ensure the plant thrives. During severe periods of afternoon heat, you might want to consider spraying it occasionally to improve conditions. Be sure to check that the plant is not allowed to dry out.
When it comes to feeding, how fertile the soil or planting medium is should be assessed from the beginning.
Be sure to apply a basal dressing with the necessary inputs – NPK plus organic manure and compost will rid you of the trouble of having to add in fertiliser frequently.
You might want to consider some P fertiliser to boost flowering if you notice that the plant is not flowering well. A better and faster response can also be obtained by using foliar sprays, while adding some slow release pellets would also simplify the chore of feeding.
You will need to protect golden candle from mealybugs, scale insects and spider mites. During the dry season, whiteflies, aphids and spider mites tend to multiply quickly and they could quickly become a problem, so be on the alert.
When the plant is beginning to flower, pinch the tips occasionally. Ensure that you prune back the plant hard after flowering.
This will encourage more branching shoots and lead to denser blooms in future. Otherwise you may end up with straggly looking plants.
For propagation, you can just cut the firm terminal shoots and use these for new plantings.
Golden candle is ideal when used for hedge growing and also to create borders in the garden.
You can use them to surround the base of some pots that may be looking a little tired due to age or that those that might be stained by algae and fungus.
This method of encircling pots is ideal when the soil condition cannot support plantings.
Will you introduce golden candles to light up your garden? Send me an email if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. Happy gardening.