Growing Variegated Araru Plants In My Garden

I can't remember how I come to have the Araru plants in my garden. At one time I even have to pull them out from the ground and got rid of them because they have grown out of control. But somehow this plant chose to stay and after a while a new shoot came out of the ground and revealed its presence in my garden once again.

Actually I quite like this Variegated Araru plant for its mixture of dark and light green and white or light beige shaded leaves. The only way is to dig this plant out from the ground and plant them in a pot so that it doesn't grow out of control like before.

 Saw this Araru plant growing beside my Ambra or Kedondong plant. It could have sprouted from a rhizome that I have left behind in the ground.

I dug it out and temporary planted it in a black plastic bag.

At that time I have not decided what to do with the plant.

To keep or to give away....

Araru is also known as Ararao. Its scientific name is Maranta Arundinacea.

It grows well in normal garden soil with good water drainage.

 It can tolerate full sun and it is also resistant to pest.

It is easy to grow and maintain without any fuss.

The stems are straight and slender. 

I have decided to keep this plant and have transferred it to a pot.  

Besides the fine roots, there is a very young, tender rhizome growing from the base of the plant and a new shoot has started to grow from the tip of the rhizome.

From my visit to the Perak Herbal garden, I came to know that Araru plant has medicinal uses.

• To cool down body heat - drink the juice extracted from the rhizomes.
• To treat itchiness - juice extracted from grated rhizomes is used to apply onto affected areas.

Araru is said to be edible and is grown for its starch extracted from the rhizomes. To read and find out more about Araru and its many uses, you can go and check it out at www.stuartxchange.com/Araro.html.

We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.

(1 Timothy 1:8, NIV)