BC Living
Embark on Culinary Adventures: 5 Must-Try Solo Dining Experiences Around BC
You Gotta Try this in April 2024
English Muffins – From Scratch
4 Tips on Balancing a Nutritious Diet with a Side of Indulgence
Choosing Connection: A BC Family Day Pledge to Prioritize Presence Over Plans
Embracing Plant-Based Living this Veganuary and Beyond
Inviting the Steller’s Jay to Your Garden
6 Budget-friendly Holiday Decor Pieces
Dream Home: $8 Million for a Modern Surprise
Travel Light, Travel Right: Minimalist Packing Tips for Solo Explorers
A Solo Traveller’s Guide to Cozy Accommodations
Local Getaway: Relax at a Hidden Cabin along Jordan River
Films and TV Series that Inspire Solo Travel
B.C. Adventures: Our picks for April
Cooking Classes
Sḵwálwen Botanicals – Changing the Face of Skincare
Culinary Fashion: What to wear on “Foodie Field Trips”
Freshen Up your Skincare this Spring with these 9 BC Based Skincare Products
David's recent trip to Peurto Vallarta
Last week I headed off on a trip to Puerto Vallarta, a 10-hour bus ride from here. Basically I went to feel some ocean breezes and get a little humidity, as here in San Miguel de Allende right now we are at the height of our dry season.
In Puerto Vallarta, along with many other tropical seaside resort towns and cities around the globe, this gorgeous shrub is used widely in home gardens and hotel landscapes. One of the many cultivars of Codiaeum variegatum, native to Malaysia and the larger tropical islands of the Eastern Pacific, it is a member of the Euphorbiaceae family, which of course includes poinsettias.
The Codiaeum variegatum needs some special care if you want it to look like this.
In tropical settings it can reach a height and width of 2 m (6½ ft.) or more, and as you can see has eye-catching broadleaved foliage and fascinating little flowers. It is also used quite commonly as a houseplant, but be warned – to have Codiaeum variegatum perform as it does in these pictures, it requires a bit of special treatment:
As with all houseplants, repotting to a slightly larger container each year in early February is beneficial. One word of warning – as with many members of the Euphorbiaceae family, the sap of this plant can trigger rashes on those with sensitive skin.
So if you have this problem, using gloves when handling would be a good thing. If you have a heated solarium off your house this would be a must-have plant.