There is a flower associated with the childhood subconscious of many generations of Vietnamese people – the five-colored flower. Thanks to its easy-to-grow properties and ability to live in all conditions, this colorful flower appears throughout the countryside and cities. Let’s learn more about this flower!

Five-color flowers, also known by folk names such as four-time flower, guava flower tree, guava grape tree, brooch flower tree,… depending on each locality, the name will have different characteristics. The plant’s scientific name is Lantana camara and belongs to the Verbenaceae plant family . The tree is native to Brazil and some other countries in the Americas.

Thanks to its easy-to-grow properties, the tree has been bred in Vietnam and spread widely in other areas of our country. From the countryside to the city, you can see this flower almost everywhere. It can be grown as a bonsai tree, a decorative ornamental tree, or it can also grow wild on its own, but either way, the tree will bloom brilliantly ^^.

Image of five-colored flowers

Five colors is a woody plant, with a small stem with a diameter of about 2 – 4cm, the average height of the tree is about 0.5 – 1m. For trees that grow wild, thanks to their wild characteristics, the tree can grow up to 1.5 – 2 meters tall. On the tree, if you pay close attention, you will see small sharp thorns, the tree has many branches and branches that radiate around without any rules.

The leaves of the iridescent tree are blue in color. When young, the leaves are slightly green, and when they are old, the leaves turn a characteristic green color. The leaves are oval in shape, with a heart-shaped stem and tapering towards the tip. The leaf surface is covered with a layer of soft hairs.

Image of purple flowers

The reason the tree is called five-color is because most of the flowers of this tree are colored in spherical clusters with many colors interwoven. I think the tree’s other name is guava brooch partly because the scent of the flowers is faintly fragrant like the smell of guava.

This plant has a fairly fast growth rate, is easy to grow and has flowers that bloom all year round. The time when the flowers can bloom is expected to last from June to October. This is only the time when the flowers bloom the most, but if well taken care of, the five colors can bloom all year round.

Close-up of five-colored flower cluster

When mentioning five-colored flowers, the first meaning that must be mentioned is that it represents strength, intense vitality and motivation to rise in life. This can be said because of the characteristics of this flower that always grows lush and luxuriant even when conditions are harsh and without regular care.

Moreover, the way five-colored flowers always bloom towards the sun to show off their beauty is like a symbol for people who are always hard-working, diligent, and forward-looking to the future no matter what the circumstances.

In addition, the five colors are a symbol of harmony in life. Because this colorful flower always knows how to bloom, radiating fragrant petals with colors that intertwine with each other. Although the colors are diverse, they are always balanced and do not confuse the viewer.

In particular, you may not know that five colors are flowers associated with the Vietnamese childhood generation. Beside the bamboo clusters, on the hillsides, the five colors bloomed at the beginning of the village and at the end of the alley, deeply ingrained in the childhood subconscious of many generations.

Flowers with many meanings

Five-colored flowers have many bright colors, the tree flowers all year round and is very prolific. Furthermore, five colors do not require much care, so they are popular for planting as fences, landscapes or creating bonsai trees. Five colors are grown a lot in family yards, gardens, parks… And there is a special point about this flower: the harsher the climate, the more brilliant the flowers.

Five-colored flowers are popular in landscape planting

In addition to applications in landscaping, five colors are also used in oriental medicine.

Five-colored leaves have a bitter taste and cool properties, which have anti-toxic, anti-inflammatory and fever-reducing effects. When bitten by a snake, you can use five-colored leaves to chew thoroughly and apply to the wound to stop bleeding. Because the leaves contain a high amount of essential oils. This essential oil contains many special chemical components. They can help treat snake bites before they can get treatment at the hospital.

The flowers have a cool, light taste and can help stop bleeding, lower blood pressure, treat tuberculosis or hemoptysis by drying the five-colored flowers and then drinking the water. The root of the five-color flower tree has a mild taste and cool properties that help relieve pain and reduce fever. In addition, this plant can also help the body detoxify and cure rashes. Or it can treat dermatitis, swelling, and thirst in diabetes. At the same time, it can completely treat pimples on the body.

Flowers also have many uses in oriental medicine

Select planting land

Soil for planting five colors should be loose and well-ventilated soil, because this will help facilitate drainage when planting plants. Before planting, you can mix organic fertilizer into the soil to increase the nutrient content of the plant.

Planting methods

Five colors is a fairly easy plant to grow, growers can propagate five colors by two methods: sowing seeds or cuttings.

Drills

To grow five colors by sowing seeds, you separate the seeds from inside the ripe fruit. You can plant immediately after separating the seeds, you just need to sow the seeds in the prepared soil and water the soil. After about 4-7 days, the seeds will begin to germinate, and after about 10-15 days, the seedlings will appear and begin to grow.

Five-colored fruit to get seeds

Cuttings

For this method, first you need to choose and cut the same branches from the mother tree. The selected branches should be sturdy, healthy, pest-free and have an average length of about 10 – 15cm. After cutting the branches, put the branches in the pot of developed soil, then water with a light mist to moisten the soil. To help the plant grow faster, you can also soak the branches in a rooting stimulant solution before cutting. After cutting the cuttings, place the pot in a cool, well-ventilated place. Within a period of 10 – 15 days, the tree will begin to grow roots and grow.

Video reference on how to plant five-color flower tree cuttings

Sprinklers

Five-colored plants are very pleasant plants, they can live well in conditions with a lot of water or even little water. If you have time, you can water the plant twice a day. Otherwise, just watering once a day or watering once every 2 days is fine. I noticed that when I was in the countryside, the iridescent trees grew wild, only given water every time it rained, but the trees still lived well and produced brilliant flowers.

Light

Five colors is a light-loving plant, especially able to withstand heat very well. When there is enough light and nutrients, the plant will be green and flower all year round. Therefore, growers can place the tree on the balcony, garden or plant it as a fence as they like.

Fertilizer

Five colors can grow well without fertilizer. However, if you want greener plants, you can use manure or composted cow manure to fertilize, on average once a month. When fertilizing, you need to loosen the soil on the side of the pot and spread it evenly around the pot.

One thing growers need to note is that, although this flower is beautiful and widely grown, the fruit of the five-color tree contains a poison called Lantanin alkaloid, which can cause pain to the person who eats it. stomach, nausea, stomach burning or blood circulation disorders. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention and remind relatives, especially young children, about this issue.