Tuesday 6 October 2015

Growing Cup Of Gold In My Garden

Cup of Gold? I will be rich! Too bad it is not the real gold but its the Cup of Gold vine that is growing in my garden.

I received some stem cuttings of this plant from a friend. I took them back home and stick them into an empty pot with some garden soil. I then placed the pot under some shade and watered it daily.
Very soon new leaves began to grow.
Then new branches began to grow.
I moved the pot from the shade to full exposure of sunlight.
 The branches started to grow tall and I have to cut it back.
I do not have a trellis or proper place for this vine so I tried to keep it short.
 By keeping it short, I was worried it might not be able to flower.
One morning I noticed something different on my plant.
I saw this cute thing growing on one branch.
Is this a flower?
Then it grew to be like this! Its a flower!

Common names: Cup of Gold, Gold Cup Vine, Chalice Vine or Golden Chalice Vine. Scientific name: Solandra maxima.

It is a Mexican evergreen plant. It is fast growing vine. It has thick and woody stems with glossy, leathery green leaves.
 It thrives in moist garden soil with good water drainage. It can tolerates full sun to partial sun. It needs regular watering and fertilizing.
Propagation is through stem cuttings. It blooms all year round.
 It can tolerate pruning to encourage new branches to grow for more flowers to bloom.
This bloom is going to open up any time now! 
A fully opened flower greeted me the next morning.
The flowers open at night.
The flower is a single large cup funnel-shaped flower with purple or brown ridges in the throat. The flower is about 10 inches long x 4 inches wide.
It has 5 long stamens and 1 long style.
When the spent flower dropped off, it left behind the long style.
Roots will grow at the nodes on the stems. It is very easy to root.
So, this was the culprit that fed on the leaves!

Caution:
All parts of the plant including the flower is poisonous. The sap or the juice from the cut part of plant may cause skin irritation. If any part of the plant is ingested, symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dilated pupils, fever and etc.
Immediately seek medical help!
They make promises they don't intend to keep.
Therefore punishment will spring up among them
like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
(Hosea 10:4, TLB)

36 comments:

  1. Nancy, I was wondering if I have ever seen this plant before. Then I was so fascinated by the flower bud and when I saw it bloom, yes, I have seen this plant! The one I saw is quite big, like a tree and I used to marvel at the shape of the flowers. Now I know it is called Cup of Gold!

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    1. Phong Hong, when I first saw this flower I was so attracted to it and I want so much to grow this plant. Then when I saw this plant in a friend's house, I asked for some stem cuttings and my friend gladly gave them to me.

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  2. Belas fotografias e sequência.
    Um abraço e continuação de uma boa semana.

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    1. Thank you, Francisco. Hugs & have a wonderful day!

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  3. Wonderful photos, and great quote. Greetings!

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    1. Thank you, Blogoratti. Greetings and have a wonderful day!

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  4. I really do wish you could grow gold, real gold I would be a rich lady!

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    1. Oh yes! I too wish we could grow gold in our garden! Then we all will be rich, so rich!

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  5. What a nice name for this flower? The flower looks unique before & after it blooms. Nice shot of it. I don't think I have seen this flower before. Oh no, it's poisonous.

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    1. Irene, it is safe as long as we do not consume any part of the plants and to keep it out of reach of children. The buds and flowers are really unique!

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  6. It's beautiful and I knew it would flower because it's in Nancy's garden.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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    1. Thank you, Sandee. I am so encouraged by your kind compliment! Have a great day!

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  7. Hahaha, I have seen this crawler all over my friend's house with the beautiful yellow flowers but I can't recognise the plant when it is standing upright without crawling in your pot. Only when I saw the flower I recognise the plant.

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    1. Mun, I do not have any proper place for it to climb but I wanted to grow this flower. So I have to keep cutting and prevent it from climbing. Am so glad it still flowers.

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  8. Nancy I think you have a big garden. How big is it? Your flowers are great..

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    1. Gosia, it is not a big garden. It is just a small garden and I also used the roadside patch of land just outside my house.

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  9. We have that kind too here in the Philippines! We used to have that kind before in our front yard.

    I thought you're gonna be rich !!! lol, kidding

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    1. Hello Steve, I too was hoping to get rich but this cup of gold plant does not bloom real gold for me!

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  10. Beautiful! You are so good with plants and flowers!

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    1. Thank you, Linda. Hugs and have a beautiful day!

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  11. Poisonous plants? In the garden?

    You've got quite a garden.

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    1. Yes, there are many plants that are poisonous but as long as we are careful it will not be a problem to us.

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  12. How cool. It's like a little surprise one morning!

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    1. Stephanie, it was a very pleasant surprise because it only blooms in the night!

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  13. Nice plant and flower, too bad i have no green fingers... If not, can grow nice nice plant...

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    1. Thank you, Sharon. Keep trying and may be very soon you will have fingers.

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  14. Waaa...that is a gorgeous plant, Nancy! I wish I had more space on my balcony!

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    1. Yes, Sharon. I am also struggling with space in my garden!

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  15. Cup of gold, wow! The bud and flower are certainly unique. But I note that it's poisonous...

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    1. Stacy, I knew it was poisonous but the flowers are too unique and beautiful for me to resist!

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  16. A very nice name for a plant. Beautiful gold yellow flower.

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  17. Dangerous but beautiful plant! Great shots!

    Happy Week to you,
    artmusedog and carol

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  18. Thanks so much for for your detailed description and photos of how to grow this plant from cuttings. You answered all my questions. I have just bought 5 cuttings but wasn't sure if I had to sprout roots in water first. Can also see the growth can be controlled by growing in a pot without inhibiting the flowers. Thanks

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    1. You are welcome. Hope your cuttings will grow into beautiful plants.

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