Stacks of Coins
Saturday, October 24, 2009The coin-like round leaves of Carissa Macrocarpa give it its common name, Coin Plant. During Chinese New Year, this is one of the many popular plants that many nurseries will stock up as many Chinese like to adorn their homes with plants that carry symbolic meanings of good fortune, happiness and prosperity.
Personally, I like this plant due to its remarkably shiny and dense dark green leaves. The more you prune the plant, the bushier and nicer it would look. The only problem I have with it is getting it to bloom.
To date, I have only seen two small white star-shaped flowers, on two occasions. Both blooms were from another Coin Plant that I have propagated using stems from this 'mother' plant. I have however not seen this mother plant bloom before since growing it for more than two years.
Upon checking, I learnt that the plant do bear red fruit. Maybe my garden is too hot for the plant to bear any flowers or fruits. Or could it be that mine is a 'male' plant?
The plant grows in moderate speed. The pic below shows how the plant looked six months ago, just after pruning.
For me, this plant is easy to grow and propagate using its stem. I place my Coin Plant at a spot that receives morning sun in my garden.
Posts
24 comments
How lush it has gotten in just six months.
ReplyDeleteInteresting story behind the plant :)
Brad
Interesting name! And I'm glad to know about the significance of this plant. I hope you're rewarded with more blooms later on!
ReplyDeleteStephanie, thank you very much for your introduction about this plant. That reminds me to look out and start growing this plant for Chinese New Year.
ReplyDeleteLove the symbolic meaning behind this cool plant. Were the white blooms fragrant?
ReplyDeleteCoin Plant... I have seen people growing this plant. And there is another plant called money plant. Another little plant usually sticking itself on coconut trunk is called pokok duit-duit in Malay.... Huh, we are really concerned about financial matters!!.. haha. Have a nice day Steph. ~ bangchik
ReplyDeleteThis plant is really cute. And I totally understand why the Chinese would want it in their house :) I like the shiny leaves..
ReplyDeleteI got a cutting from a friend but I had given it to my office mate since they seemed to love it very much.
ReplyDeleteI had found that there a thorns unside of the leaves. The leaves do not fade and have a unique glossy look just like a coin.
Watch out for scale insect as its very prone to it.
Bangchik - don't forget about the jade plant!
ReplyDeleteCool plant Stephanie! It does look like stacked plants. I would really like to try more plants in the house. I wonder if this would make a good houseplant? I don't have a lot of sun though. Thanks for sharing yet another plant I've never seen or heard of before!
James, yeah careful of those little prickly thorns.
ReplyDeleteWendy, it is a sun-loving plant so not a good choice for houseplant. Jade plant sounds more expensive ha ha :-D
Lynn, I didn't purposely have a sniff but when the flower does shows again, this is the first thing I am going to do... definitely!
It looks a bit like the Jade Plant, but you can see that it is no relation. Does it have thorns?
ReplyDeleteolá,amiga...
ReplyDeletegrata pela visita e comentário...
costumo acordar às 5:00 da manhã,p/fazer caminhada na orla,esperar o sol nascer...é algo que não dispenso...adoro ficar a espera dele aparecer...é pura emoção!!!
NAMASTE!!!
Stacks of coints, would suit real good in my windowscreen ( or my bank account..). I liked your plant, hope you will show us the flowers when they comes :)
ReplyDeleteThese are wonderful... I want to look for these in my neck of the woods now that you shared them.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to follow you to see what you share next!
Happy Autumn - please stop by sometime. You can find me on FACEBOOK at : http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/BGgarden/135719652337
Thank you so much for such a great info.
ReplyDeleteInteresting plant, hope it will bring good luck and lots of bloom to your garden and your family
Happy gardening ! :)
What a beautiful plant. Never knew such a plant existed....
ReplyDeleteThis plant looks cute, it must be the epitome of the money tree! I was growing a Carissa, aka Natal Plum in my garden. The tree had huge thorns and the plums had this milky sticky sap. We took it out! It was an attractive looking tree and the flowers were jasmine like.
ReplyDeletehello stef...
ReplyDeletea green kiss...
have a good week.... the second photo is a beautiful macro....
see you...:o)
Lotusleaf, yes, tiny thorns.
ReplyDeleteTitania, this/mine is most probably a 'Nana' cultivar that's the dwarf variety. The flower was like jasmine also.
Hi Steph. My Carissa macrocarpa is about 10 feet tall and 5 feet wide. Here, we call it natal plum. The fruit is wine-colored, and has a milky white resin that becomes visible when you bite into it. The fruit is quite tasty. The plant is armed with stout spines, so beware.
ReplyDeleteThat is really cool, it really does look like green coins :D
ReplyDeleteI saw one of these at one of our conservatories, and thought it was a really nice plant. Yours looks very happy and healthy!
ReplyDeleteThey are so cute!
ReplyDeleteGlad that you all find this plant nice. I hope the growth of the plant would not change as the dwarf variety, 'Nana' cultivar. Currently, the stem of the plant do not grow long. The height of the plant builds slowly as each leaf grows out. But, those tiny thorns are prickly enough already ;-)
ReplyDeleteI love how the Chinese Money Plant propagates easily, sharing it with friends is so rewarding!
ReplyDeletechinese money plant
snake plant
anthurium plant online
indoor ornamental plants