Penta, care of a low maintenance plant

Have you dreamed of having a simple-looking plant that looks like a bush, but that its flowers are the center of attention and make your garden a beautiful and beautiful place to admire? Possibly you have been in search of a species that achieves such a thing. The good news is that thanks to the pentas, this is possible.

As such, pentas are not a single species, but it is a name to which around 80 different species belonging to the same family are attributed. So that you can have a space in your garden exclusively to have a good variety of pentas and thus give more dynamism and color to your garden or natural space that you have at home.

One day I bought a penta, a plant with dark green leaves and pink flowers that I chose for my youngest son. Everything happened spontaneously and when I was with my oldest son looking for a gift for the little one who was sick.

We couldn’t find anything nice and then it occurred to me to buy a plant for each of them. The older one chose an Erica while the Penta was the plant chosen for the little one.

In both cases I looked for easy-to-care and evergreen species so that they would then begin to take their first steps in gardening, caring for and studying their own plant.

Would you like to know more details about these beautiful plants? Stay until the end and find out some interesting facts about this plant.

Penta characteristics

The penta is a simple plant that stands out for its flowers that remain both in the spring and in the summer and fall. Another of its characteristics is that it attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, so it is fantastic for children.

The scientific name of the plant is pentas lanceolate and belongs to the Rubiaceae family. Native to Africa and Arabia, It is an annual plant whose spike flowers can be pink, lilac, red or white.. In my case, I chose one of the beautiful, soft and romantic pink flowers.

Notably these plants bloom all summer until late fall. Although there are some subspecies that has the ability to flower basically all year round, but weeks apart.

This is one of the most widely used plants in gardens and open spaces such as squares, natural parks and others, since its height is ideal to be planted on the fronts of houses as well as on the sides of a path.

These species they are more of warm and temperate climatesso they will have great difficulty surviving in cold or icy environments. Unless of course, you have the penta in a pot and protect it from the cold by placing it inside the house.

The only detail with the above described, is that the plant will favor a lot in terms of its flowers, since it prefers the sun. That is why people are recommended to keep them in a semi-shady place or preferably in direct sun.

What most characterizes this family of ornamental plants are its flowers, it is the main attraction. But even so, its leaves are somewhat striking because of the color they have when it rains. In addition, these have a bright dark green color, although this characteristics may vary a little according to the variation of the plant.

The size of this plant is generally around one meter. It may grow a bit longer, but it is a plant that mainly spreads sideways. That is why it is very common to see plants of this type in the form of round or square bushes, depending on the case and the tastes of each person.

Although the most striking thing about the plant are its flowers, its leaves are also, since they have a bright dark green color, although these characteristics may vary a little according to the variation of the plant.

As for the flowers, if you look closely at them, they look very similar to that of a star. They appear in small clusters and in a single cluster there can be up to more than 15 flowers.

Now, being a little more specific about their flowers, it is clear that they grow in the form of a bouquet. What you still don’t know is that each separate flower has a total of 5 petals and each flower can measure up to 8 cm in length.

In some Latin American countries, flowers are often used to make bouquets, flower crowns and even natural necklaces, since the shape of the flowers allows it.

As a curious fact about this aspect, you should know that after a few days of having rained, its flowers inside will have a sweet liquid that can be consumed. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why usually attract hummingbirds and other species in search of nectar.

In another sense, you should also know that there are certain variations of penta with the ability to generate fruit. But unlike what you know about the fruits, these small berries cannot and should not be consumed by people since they are poisonous.

In the same way, these specific species that generate berries, allow the multiplication of the plant by means of its seeds and not by cuttings.

Care

The penta, you need to have quality soil, that is, rich and with good drainage and it needs to have a regular but moderate watering, as it is a plant that tolerates drought. Although this soil will be the most suitable, it adapts to other conditions and this is how it tolerates clayey, sandy and acidic ones.

But as we always recommend, it is best to check the land, so water it when we notice that it is dry. Although this will depend on factors such as the ambient temperature and the humidity of the environment. During the summer you have to avoid as much as possible that the soil or the substrate of the plant dries up completely. But you also don’t have to water the plant by puddling, as this is detrimental to the pentas, since the excess water will end up rotting the plant. So limit yourself to just providing what you need.

If you live in a very hot area, it is best to water once or twice a week. The plant is propagated by cuttings, segments or seeds and the sowing time is from winter. Germination occurs about three weeks after sowing and during this period, it is best to water abundantly, then reduce watering when the plant is developed.

All you have to do (if you are going to plant the penta by cuttings) is take those terminal cuttings of the plant and remove each of the leaves that have its lower part.

Then you must place it in the substrate where it will be planted. Of course, you should keep the substrate moist until the cutting begins to develop its first roots. As for other cares, during the winter the penta requires pruning and also be aware of the whitefly attack.

When you go to prune this plant, you preferably have a hand tool very similar to scissors, but these are special for plants. In this way you will have better control and you can give it a better shape, without having to use pruning shears of great size that in the end will end up damaging the plant, unless you have good control of this tool and it becomes easier for you.

One fact that will help you when it comes to benefiting flower production is that you can help the plant to create new clusters with flowerscutting or eliminating those that are already withered or are about to dry out. This helps the plant to bloom again, although human intervention is generally not required as the plant can do it on its own.

Pentacles are extremely beautiful plants that really change the dynamics of any home or garden. The good thing is that you have at your fingertips the possibility of having a lot of variety, only focusing on one species.