Monday, October 4, 2010

Rangoon Creeper

Quisqualis Indica is also known as Rangoon Creeper or Chinese Honeysuckle.  It is a vine with red cluster flowers, the colours varies from white to pink to red, and is very fragrant.  This plant can be found in Philippines, India and Malaysia and is mainly used for traditional medicine. The roots, flowers, leaves, seeds and fruits, can be used to treat various ailments such as diarrhea and rheumatism.  







This is a perennial climber plant which needs a wall or fence to climb.  I plant this in a pot and place it at my front porch where it gets full sun. This plant needs a lot of water especially when it is very hot, just like today, I need to water it twice.  The flowers are really fragrant, almost similar to our local jasmine.  When it starts to flower, the whole plant will be full of blooms, like it is blooming now. It is indeed beautiful when this happens! My plant is about 6 ft high but it is not very big.  Usually after the flowers faded off, most of the leaves will turn to yellow and will soon drop off too. (Just like autumn, ya??). I will then prune and cut off the dead wilted branches and soon new leaves will grow, followed soon after by another batch of blooms.  Anyone of you have this plant?  Does this happen to your rangoon creeper?  A few of the houses in my neighbourhood grew this plant on the ground, their plant is so much bigger and lush!  

This rangoon creeper of mine has faithfully blooms thousands of flowers these past eight years of so. Even though it is not big in size, but it makes its presence known each time it blooms.




26 comments:

  1. This is a very beautiful creeper. One of my neighbours grow this. I notice it doesn't have seeds, right? It's amazing to know that it has been blooming for 8 years living in a pot. Do you change the soil?

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is a nice Rangoon Creeper you have. I prefer it your size as the bigger plant can get very messy. I have seen some that grew out of control along fences. The blooms are really attention-drawing!

    Thanks for your comment in my blog. My paternal grandma is a Nyonya. I used to go for Sunday service in Seck Kia Eenh Temple. Now that I live in USJ, I go to Subang Jaya Buddhist Association. I didn't manage to go to the Nasi Lemak Kukus shop as it was in the fasting month. Passed by it several times in the morning and afternoon but the shop was closed. I assume it was only open in the evening for breaking fast. Will check it out on my next trip home. Thanks, orang Melaka! :o)

    ReplyDelete
  3. The flowers are gorgeous! The different shades makes it even more special.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Was wondering where to reply to your question. Do you have an e-mail which I can use? Mine is onenezz@hotmail.com. You can create a kitchenflavour one for this sort of usage if you don't want your private mail to be known. Fyi, I was given a book called 1001 plants last year. When I saw your question, I decided to bring the book out. It was a good thing because I have never used it and actually have forgotten about that useful book.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The flowers look so pretty! I bet the flower will give excellent smell for the passerby!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi One,
    It is a little bit confusing. According to Wikipedia, these plants has fruits and seeds, but I have seen neither. Will keep a very close eye on this batch! Actually it could be more than 8 years, maybe 10! Yes, I have changed the pot maybe only two or three times!
    Yes, I do have a kitchen flavour email, kitchenflavour@yahoo.com (will add that to my profile later, thank you!),now that you know it is a curry plant, any information on this book of yours about this plant?

    Hi J.C.
    I agree with you! Some of these plants can get out of control. Instead of beautiful, it gave a very messy look!
    Hey, remember to try the mee rebus at the same stall as the nasi lemak. My recommendation, eat the mee rebus there and tapau back the nasi lemak with the sambal packed separately. We sometimes do that!

    Hi Autumn Belle,
    Yes, the different shades of the flowers make it very unique and special.

    Hi Malar,
    Yes, I can smell the fragrance when I hang out my laundry to dry at the porch, and sometimes when it is windy and the plant is full of blooms, I can smell it too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love these creepers..want them for my garden, next target! Yes you are right they can be messy when you plant them along the fence, so I prefer to have them in a pot like yours kitchen flavours..

    ReplyDelete
  8. That is a beautiful plant. I wish I could have a plant like that here. I have just the spot for it.
    Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi...

    Very nice flower and fragrant too. I also have this huge plant!
    I plant it on the ground at my orchid garden. The hybrid plant from Thailand have more flower and the flower also more bigger than Malaysia species. What you have now is from Thailand.
    Last time i have both, but now only from Malaysia. My garden cannot occupied both of them, so i gave this plant (Thailand variety) to my friend.

    What ever...happy gardening to you.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This plant never fail to captivate me. I love the fact that its generous in flowering. The Tmn Tun Dr Ismail wet market has pegolas that has ragoon creeper all over. The plant is grown from the ground. Beautiful when in bloom!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Like you, I love my Rangoon creeper for their lovely blooms and subtle fragrance. The only downside is that they look rather frazzled once it has been lashed by our harsh tropical downpour.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have the rangoon creeper too. It's a lovely fragrant plant.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi p3chandan,
    You can get the seedlings very easily from the nursery. I bought mine years ago from Sg. Buloh.

    Hi Miz Helen,
    Yes, this is a beautiful plant, I think that it won't survive in winter though. You could try.
    Thanks for visiting!

    Hi Orchid de dangau,
    Nice of you to drop by and follow. I really appreciate it. Thank you! I have not seen the species from Malaysia before. Interesting!

    Hi Stephanie,
    I have not been to the Tmn Tun market for years! The beautiful bloom must be a sight!

    Hi Elsie Xie,
    Yes, and the blooms stains the floor too! Luckily it is a temporary stain! Thank you for visiting!

    Hi Keats The Sunshine Girl,
    Yes it does give a pleasant fragrance. Nice of you to drop in! Thank you. Hope to see you again. Have a lovely day!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yes,I do have this plant n its blooming right now...but my blooms are a lot slimmer than yours., I notice that the flowers in your blooms have multiple petals..mine are one single! Maybe you have a hybrid variety...mine are the Quisqualis indica.

    Yes, the more you trim the plant the more it grows in many awkward ways. Mine is a climber it becomes difficult to contain it during the rains which is now in India.

    I love the blooms though! at night its pale fragrance attracts many moths... during the day, sun birds, tailor birds, butterflies, bees, flock to it..!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hey, your rangoon creeper looks so lovely. I love it's fragrance..

    ReplyDelete
  16. Beautiful.
    I hope my newly sown Rangoon Creeper will look like yours.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi, I just love the Rangoon Creeper...problem is, I don't have one. A friend in Kelana Jaya has a really big bush, amd the fragrance must floors me. She have me some cuttings but sadly they dried up before I could plant. I live in Sabah and can't seem to find them in nurseries. I have seen some in gardens while driving by but none of my friends have them. Until I get a plant of my own, I'll just remember the lovely scent of Vera's flowers. Thanks for sharing your picture.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I have a baby vine that is getting it's first buds this week, I live in So, California, this is the first time it will be blooming for me I can hardly wait to see it and smell it. How long does it bloom for? My email is angelhairr1@verizon.net if anyone wants to reply to me... Tell me more and if anyone has pictures I would love to see them... Thank you Rainpetals

    ReplyDelete
  19. Although it is beautiful, it is very invasive, comes up everywhere.....

    ReplyDelete
  20. May I know how to plant this rangoon creepers?

    ReplyDelete
  21. I just bought this plant. May I know what size of the pot do you use?

    ReplyDelete
  22. My plant is a year old. Initially the leaves were big, dark green and gave out lots of flowers but since 1-2 mnths its not flowering and even the leaves are small. It turns yellow and dries out. What should I do

    ReplyDelete
  23. Trying hard to find seeds, where do I look and how do they look, need to propagate for friends...

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hi,how is ur Rangoon creeper after 7 years from that post ☺
    Plz mam , can u tell us what fertilizer u add to kept blooming and grow healthy
    Thanks so much if u reply or not :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. How long does it take to grow mine (30cm tall) to a 6ft like yours?? Can't wait! Waiting for them to become pergola!

    ReplyDelete
  26. My tree is going through the same issues you mentioned, The leaves are turning yellow and some have brown spots and holes in them. I am following you advice and trim off the dead leaves and branches. I hope this is the solution because I love this tree! Thanks for your advice.

    ReplyDelete