Allamanda: Easy to care and long lasting flowering plant for home – Details and care tips

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The Allamanda plant is a group of semi-climbing, upright growing plants. The most common plant of which is Allamanda cathartica. With proper pruning, they can also be turned into an evergreen shrub-like plant. It needs at least 50 percent light, regularly warm temperatures, and humidity.

Quick Details of Allamanda

Allamanda Buying Instructions

• Buy a bushy plant with lots of branches.
• Leaves of the plant should not have any kind of patches and dry.
• Buy a small plant if you want to grow in flower pot.

Overview of Allamanda

Allamanda is originally from northern South America. They belong to the family of Apocynaceae. They are mostly evergreen trees, shrubs, or vines and contain white latex. The leaves are arranged opposite to one another and the inflorescence is a compound cyme. The flowers have five petals fused and arranged in a bell shape. Some species are well known for their large, colorful flowers as ornamental plants cultivated. Most of the plants produce yellow flowers; A. Blanchetii bears pink.

The name of the genus Allamanda honors the Swiss botanist and doctor Frédéric-Louis Allamand (1736–1809). It is also the official flower of the Kuching North City Hall.

Usage and Advantage of Allamanda

• Used as an ornamental plant.
• Some of the species are used in traditional medicine and are said to be used in treating cancer, HIV, liver tumor, jaundice malaria, etc.

General Care for Allamanda

Soil: They require a well-drained slightly acidic nutrient-rich soil.

Watering: They require very little water during winters. However deep watering ones in a week during summer, making sure that the soil is completely wet helps in the proper growth of the plants. During harsh summers, and while blooming the plants require a lot of water and should be watered regularly.

Light: They are drought tolerant plants and require a lot of direct sunlight. The plants grow and thrive when the climate is hot and there is high humidity.

Fertilizer: A good water-soluble plant food suits the best for Allamanda. The fertilizers can be added during the blooming season. However excess addition of fertilizer can result in the growth of too much foliage which can be harmful to the plant.

Pruning: The pruning can be done just before the new growth appears, mostly after winter or early spring. Cutting the stem back to two nodes helps in the growth of healthier parts. The plants can be pruned in the desired shapes and also the damaged parts can be cut down. Pruning helps in the growth of a healthy and bushier plant. Pruning the interior branches of the plants during the growing season can help in proper air circulation.

Pests and other problems for Allamanda

Some of the common pests and diseases include:

Plumeria Caterpillars (frangipani hornworm): They feed and pupate on the leaves of allamanda shrubs which can result in defoliation.

Spider mites: they cause wilting and defoliation of the leaves. The discoloration is also seen.

Aphids: causes wilting of the plant parts

In cases of attack from a pest a normal pesticide, neem oil, or miticide can be used.

In some cases, the shortage of water results in the wilting of the leaves and roots.

Propagation of Allamanda

Allamanda plants can be easily propagated by stem-tip cuttings. The best time for propagation is during late spring. Clip from fresh growth on four to five inches of semi-hard stem cuttings.it should have at least three or four completely developed leaves at the end. Create a diagonal cut at both ends. Remove the leaves and buds from the bottom half and immerse the cuttings into rooting powder. Insert them into porous soil (either in a bed or in a container) and water moistens the soil surface evenly. Place them away from direct sunlight, in a humid, dry, brightly lit area. Transplant the cuttings once the roots are formed.