My 'Lipstick Vine' has a cleanse

I am going away for a few days, so I needed to attend to some urgent houseplant care. There has been a rapid increase in greenfly-like activity, whilst scale insects are multiplying rapidly. It must be the time of the year, the light and the warmth.

I've found that a good bathe, or even just a rinse with the shower hose, does a lot of good for the leaves of some plants and their future growth and flowering potential.

So I subjected the Aeschynanthus lobbianus to a half-hour ducking in the bath. The plant has recently produced at least an hundred buds, which with luck will cover the plant in these three inch long 'Lipstick' flowers, which will gradually emerge in glorious splendour. But the greenfly gets to the buds first, deep in its receptacles and do their damage. So I am forcing them to let go of their biting grip and go for a swim, I hope. Often if you do this and look closely at the water you can see tiny little organisms dashing about on the surface. They must then take their chance down the plughole. I never use insecticides.

It was dark in the bathroom, so I also tested what happens with high ISO settings and all the strange effects of the water's waveforms. I can pretend I am by the sea watching the waves and the weeds ripple against the shore. Alright, I will come back to earth now. Time to put the Sollya heterophylla or Bluebell creeper through the same process to try to shift the scale insects. My Calathea zebrina would like it too, but will have to wait for another warmer day.

found this online:
Aeschynanthus is a genus of ca. 185 species of tropical herbs. They are found in southern and southeastern Asia, the islands of Indonesia, New Guinea, and the Philippines. They are usually trailing epiphytes with brightly coloured flowers that are pollinated by sunbirds. The genus name comes from a contraction of aischuno (to be ashamed) and anthos (flower). The common name for some species is "lipstick plant", which comes from the appearance of the developing buds of some species of tropical herbs. They are found in southern and southeastern Asia, the islands of Indonesia, New Guinea, and the Philippines.

They are usually trailing epiphytes with brightly coloured flowers that are pollinated by sunbirds. Among the better known species are Aeschynanthus lobbianus and Aeschynanthus radicans. The genus name comes from a contraction of aischuno (to be ashamed) and anthos (flower). The common name for some species is "lipstick plant", which comes from the appearance of the developing buds of some species. A full list of the accepted species and their synonyms can be found in the Smithsonian Institution's World Checklist of Gesneriaceae.