Finding fun in growing ornamental plants

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Idariani Tahir began to have a passion for ornamental plants since she was a little girl, when she helped her mother plant maidenhair fern (Adiantum cuneatum) at home.

When she grew up, Ida started to collect ornamental indoor plants, like sansevieria, philondendron and anthurium.

She said that she was interested in growing plants which could absorb air pollutants, as she was concerned about the environment.

"I have many outdoor and indoor plants, which can help refresh the air, such as dracaena, dieffenbachia and aglaonema," Idariani, a resident of Bogor in West Java, said.

Sansevieria, for instance, is a special plant because it has a beautiful appearance. It is easy to grow and does not take up too much space.

"You don't need any special skills to grow this kind of plant. You can place it inside your house for a long time. It is also much cheaper than other ornamental plants," she said.

The owner of more than 1,000 pots of various plants said that her collection of exotic ornamental plants kept multiplying as she took part in some plant festivals and got into the nursery business in 2007.

Last year, she, along with co-writer Maloedyn Sitanggang, published a book, 165 Sansevieria Eksklusif (165 Exclusive Sansevieria).

Similar to Idariani's experience, Fathoni's love of ornamental plants grew since he used to help his mother in the garden when he was a child.

"I first took gardening as a hobby, but then I decided to switch it into a business by opening the B'Green Garden nursery last year in Bekasi. We offer many kinds of Sansevieria," said the 39-year-old.

"I prefer to grow Sansevieria because it is beautiful and easy to grow. I also knew from the internet that this plant could absorb pollutants and refresh the air," he said.

Sansevieria, locally known as lidah mertua (mother-in-law's tongue), are mostly found in tropical and subtropical regions in Africa and Asia.

Generally, they are desert plants, and can tolerate drought and dry air, thus making them very suitable for the office and public buildings.

The attraction of Sansevieria lies in the subtle design on the leaves, consisting of vague horizontal bands and stripes, and the differing color on the edge of the leaves.

Most nursery owners in Greater Jakarta do not have an agricultural background, as they started as hobbyists.

Chandra Gunawan Hendarto said he had no idea about ornamental plants when he decided to turn his reptile business into a nursery in 1999.

"I first tried to grow some Adenium by myself, but it did not run smoothly because I mistreated them. I knew nothing about the plant," Chandra, the owner of Godongijo (green leaves) Nursery in Depok, West Java, said.

After two years of running the 2.3-hectare nursery, he hired some agricultural experts to handle the treatment and production.

He now offers many kinds of ornamental plants, such as Adenium, cactus, Euphorbia, Sansevieria, Bromelia, Aglaonema and Philondendron. However, he focuses his business on Adenium.

"*I chose Adenium* because it is relatively easy to grow and has high resistance to vermin. It doesn't take much space either," Chandra, who now has more than 58 varieties of Adenium, said.

His nursery also has an Adenium salon, offering hobbyists the ability to change or mix the color of the flowers.

"If you, for instance, have a pot of red Adenium and want to mix it with another color, we can help you out by applying a grafting method: slicing a part of your plant and replacing it with our collection," he said.

Adenium obesum or Adenium, according to Slamet Budiarto, an agricultural expert at Godongijo, is native to the city Aden in Yemen.

It is an evergreen shrub in tropical climates and requires a sunny location.

Adenium is typically propagated by seed or stem cuttings. The numerous hybrids are spread mainly by grafting onto seedling rootstock.

Chandra said many customers looked for Adenium because it was not boring.

"Adenium does not bloom every season. It is in full bloom only during the dry season. Hobbyists tend to enjoy waiting for the plant to start to bloom. This is the excitement of growing plants," he said.

In addition, he did not want to only offer plants to his customers through his nursery, but also wanted to educate them about the importance of live plants in their homes.

"In developed countries, like the United States or England, it is common to see people put pots of plants in their homes or apartments. They realize that real plants improve air quality," he said.

However, he said many people failed to cultivate ornamental plants properly. "They think that watering the plants is enough to make them grow. They are wrong," he said.

"Many people spray liquid fertilizer, not knowing that spraying it on the back of the leaves would be more effective to grow the plant, since every plant has stomata or mouths in the back of their leaves."

"People should treat the plants the same way they treat their bodies. Just like us, plants need sufficient sunlight and the right *vitamins', which in this case, is fertilizer."