Brighten your Garden with Oranges, Yellows and Pinks.

Ixoras.

This is an I love it or I hate it plant.

My mum loves them. I must admit I verge on the opposing side. Why on earth would I write about them if they are on my not so favourite list?

Well as with many things these plants have grown on me over the years and as with many plants there seems to be a time and a place for them.

Ixoras are native to the tropical and subtropical areas throughout the world, with many of them in Tropical Asia. These plants typically can't handle frosts so if you are in a frost prone area these may not be for you. Some Ixoras are more prone to being cold affected while others can handle a little bit of cold.

Ixoras have dark green leathery leaves and produce large clusters of tiny flowers in the summer and autumn. The more common Ixoras usually have orange, gold, pink or red flowers. Ixoras prefer acidic soil and usually like a little shelter from our blazing summer sun. In saying that I have seen many gorgeous Ixoras growing in full sun and full shade.  They don't mind being in pots or the ground.

I find the four most popular Ixoras are 'Prince of Orange', 'Pink Malay', dwarf orange and dwarf gold. Ixora williamsii is also popular as it has red flowers but it really dislikes the cold so is not commonly grown in Ipswich.

Prince of Orange has fiery orange flowers and can grow around two meters tall. The dwarf orange and yellow grow to around 1/2 metre. These look amazing in pots but I have seen them in gardens  trimmed into a hedge and they look stunning when in flower. You can hardly see their green leaves.

My favourite Ixora is Pink Malay. Why do I love it? Not just because it gets covered in pink flowers but because it is so hardy. This Ixora is absolutely amazing; growing to around a metre it can handle full sun and shade. It can grow in pots or the garden and I have seen it successfully growing in a shopping centre car park. Yes that's right, a shopping centre car park. A place that has no good soil, no mulch, no care, only rain fall and it looks glorious. This is why I love this plant.

Ixoras like all my plants get fertilised with Organic Link and Triple Boost. I use Searles' Peat 80 potting mix for pots and Searles' garden soil for gardens.

There is a grub that likes to destroy your Ixora flower heads. There are a few ways to combat this - You can mix neem oil in with your fortnightly Triple Boost or I sometimes use Searles' Bug Beater. Eco-oil would also work. Sooty mould can also form on the leaves. This can be caused by scale and ants. Give your plant a really good soil drench and use a soil wetter if necessary. Fertilise and spray with Eco-oil. In a fortnight or so you should be able to hose off the soot and hopefully the ants would have dissipated.

This autumn brighten up your dull spots with shades of orange, yellow and pink.