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Monday, June 1, 2009

Musical Notes In The Garden



I think I've struck a right chord with this shrub
called Musical Notes. I bought it as a small plant
last December thinking it to be a variety of Cleome.
The person at the nursery couldn't tell me what it
was. There were a few blooms and the sight of the
long stamens was enough for me to decide it had to
come with me!



It was only recently that I found out, after googling
like one possessed, that it is actually a plant which
comes from the same family as the Bleeding Heart Vine.
It's Clerodendrum incisum a.k.a Musical Notes, Morning
Kiss, and Witches'Tongue.

The buds look like musical notes, hence the name. Here,
the buds are just starting to open up.





In full bloom. The blooms,in this case, lasted only for
a day. It made me wonder whether the wind and rain that
very night hastened their fall!!



Clerodendrum is a genus consisting of 400 tropical and sub-
tropical trees,shrubs and vines, and herbaceous plants
primarily from south-east Asia and Africa. Their general
characteristics include showy flowers and a lack of
tolerance to cold. The origin is Africa and it belongs to
the family Verbenaceae. Clerodendrum incisum can be pro-
pagated from cuttings and suckers.



I wonder how I didn't see the similarity. I also have
two other members of the same family blooming right now!!



Like white strands of thread, the short-lived blooms lie
scattered on the ground. The shrub is growing in full sun
although I've read that it does well in partial shade too.
It's growing pretty fast and for support I've planted it
next to the Cordyline.



But as the last blooms fall, the new buds appear and the
cycle continues. It's showtime again, folks!

22 comments:

Katarina said...

Such a pretty little flower with the unusually long stamens - your pictures make my heart beat faster. -Thanks for sharing.
Katarina

joey said...

Love the musical notes ... your garden sings with beauty! Happy June Gardening, Kanak.

Anonymous said...

Well, I learned something new today. I've never seen anything like your musical notes plant. I am so glad you "had" to have it and shared it with us.

Prospero said...

You know, I think this would be a good plant for me (zone 9-11). I think it's from Zimbabwe.
Now if it could just play something from Rachmaninoff...

islandgal246 said...

Interesting plant Kanak, is it a climber or does it remain a shrub? Very pretty flowers..tra lala lala lala

Kathy said...

oh my Kanak what a very pretty shrub you have there, the flowers are exquisite and do look like musical notes but once opened it looks like a ballerina, dancing to the music no doubt. happy Monday, Kathy.

Wendy said...

What a pretty plant. Love those white flowers. It sort of looks like a fern uncurling (except for the colour). Musical notes - nice name too!
You are so full of information. I don't see how you can keep it all straight! LOL!

Thanks for sharing. If I lived where you do, I'd have bought it too!

My Mother's Garden said...

Hello Kanak~
Lovely post today! The photos of the stamens unfurling are so pretty. I, too, got one of the musical note clerodendrum plants last year and just love it. I've been told it's an easy plant to root. I plan on rooting them this summer.

My Mother's Garden said...

Meant to include:
Happy June gardening! ~ Karrita

Anonymous said...

What a unique flower, the name is so fitting. :)

Stephanie said...

Hi Kanak, I have not seen this plant before. Musical Notes is really beautiful :-D I like how the flower blossoms. And the bleeding heart vine pink variety you showed here is gorgeous too. Btw, I just got a small plant of dwarf pink ixora. TQ for your recommendation!

NatureStop said...

Kanak, the name musical notes is so apt.Have never seen it before.Thanks for sharing.This time for sure we will visit you during the day to check out your garden:)

Shailaja said...

Pretty flowers, and they surely don't deserve that name -- Witches'Tongue! Clerodendron walchii (also known as Nodding clerodendron)has white flowers, too, with extra-long white stamens on long hanging sprays. The leaves are dark green and glossy.

Shailaja said...

Oh, I spelt it wrong -- it should've been Clerodendron wallichii. Check it out!

ShySongbird said...

I'm not sure how I found my way here but I'm so glad I did! You have a lovely blog and your garden is obviously lovely too. I have looked back at some of your older posts and they all have some beautiful photos.

What a lovely name Musical Notes is and how well it fits the plant! I also loved the unusual shot of the Gray Hairstreak on the previous post.

Sunita Mohan said...

Is that what they're called? I had no idea! Thanks for doing the research, Kanak.
Actually, the other names are quite interesting as well, arent they?

Chandramouli S said...

I remember seeing these at the Horticultural society - they had it trimmed like square topiaries and in full bloom they look so lovely in a row!
What sweet flowers you found, Kanak! Musical notes! That's so apt a name!

easygardener said...

I like the name - Musical notes! Long stamens do make a flower look extra special, adding a certain delicacy I always think.

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

Good Morning Kanak, beautiful flowers and leaves, it really has a very unusual look and name.

Take Care

Tyra

Unknown said...

Sorry I took my time in responding...but I LOVED reading all your comments!

Katarina...totally agree about the stamens.

Joey, thank you so much!

Mildred, talk about love at first sight!!

Prospero...I'm listening.......and thanks for that bit of info.

Helen, it doesn't have tendrils going every which way but it does need a bit of support.

Kathy, loved your description. Thanks.

Wendy...aptly put. I thought they reminded me of some other plant. Now I realise they resemble ferns unfurling.

Thanks Karrita. Glad to know you've got one too. And I think there'll be less of planting in June but my "winged blooms" are adding a lot of colour! Happy June gardening to you too!!

Racquel, thank you so much!

Steph, happy to know about the Ixora. And I think other kinds of clerodendrum would be a good idea. When I looked up Musical Notes I came across a beautiful plant of the same family. If I remember right it's Ugendense (or something like that. I'll have to check again).

Ruby/Arun....you'd better!! How about lunch?!

Thanks Shailaja, I did come across it while reading up on clerodendrums. Now my aim is to add more of them to my collection. I felt exactly the same about Witches' Tongue too:)

Shy Songbird, I'm so glad you visited. And thanks for all your kind words....will be at yours soon. Thanks once again.

Oh yes, Sunita...they sure are! But the best part was finding out about some other members of the same family. I must get them!!!

Chandramouli, I'd love to visit the Horticultural Society. That'll surely be on my must-do list the next time I visit Chennai. The topiary sounds interesting.

EG, so true. They do make the flowers look delicate.

Tyra, thank you so much! Happy days!

tina said...

That is the coolest shrub! Musical notes indeed! It is gorgeous. I've heard of clerodendron before. I bet they all smell great and truly are beautiful.

Unknown said...

Hi Tina, I didn't get any smell although I sniffed hard:) But I just can't get enough of them...of taking pictures of them!! I'm truly besotted!