Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Marigolds and Ulam Raja, where do they differ?

When we own a small vegetable garden, none of the plants will miss our attention. In a way we babysit them to the end... Some end up on dinner plate but some are meant for snails, grasshoppers , and caterpillars. Thats how nature prepare itself for continuity , trying to get some form of equilibrium.

As we babysit plants, we become so familiar with the plants. Not only on the flowers, but leaves, the stems, the branches, the color and their smell. A visitor to this blog recently posed a question which in the end, make me promise to myself to see and probe at the differences of Marigolds and Ulam Raja.


ulam raja 1

ulam raja 2

ulam raja 3

ulam raja 4

ULAM RAJA



marigold 1

marigold 2

marigold 3

marigold 4

MARIGOLDS

They look similar, and yet differ in many ways. Ulam Raja exhibits what I term as "leaves upon leaves", and are grown for fresh salad. Marigolds on the other hand are grown to add colors to the garden with their orange blooms. Ulam Rajas are growing fine at the moment but I suspect something not very right with our blooming marigolds, and I will write about it later....... huh.


9 comments:

  1. they are very similar, just a slight difference.

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  2. Hi Bangchik~~ I've been meaning to visit you. Interesting foliage on your two plants. I wonder if the ulam raja has a scent like the marigold foliage does. And I'm curious what the ulam raja flower looks like.

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  3. They look so alike in the photos, I really cannot differentiate between them. Like having identifal twins, only the parents can tell who is who. I'd like to see ulam raja flowers too.

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  4. They really look alike. Only the gardener can tell the difference! The Ulam Raja looks very healthy. Ready to go into your salad bowl? Sorry about the marigold blooms. The heat? I would take not of your next post on this matter. Happy gardening!

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  5. Yes, they do look very similar. I'm looking forward to seeing if the flowers are similar too.

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  6. So is the ulam raja spicy or peppery or what? Looks interesting.

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  7. DIRTPRINCESS, GRACE, BELLE, STEPH, JO, and JANET....

    They are similar but differ. Ulam Raja has smoother texture with taste and scent almost like guava (or jambu batu known locally here). Huh, a nice salad taken raw. Kakdah did ulam raja juice once, blending and straining.... exactly like guava juice, only ulam raja is greener. Ulam raja needs a full year to bloom so I have to wait a while longer for pictures to share.
    Have a nice day,
    ~bangchik

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  8. Are there any other plants that has leaves like ulam raja? I have a plant that has the same shape leaves but the leaves are very tiny. Just wondering if it is ulam raja or something else?

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    Replies
    1. Ulam raja comes from the big family of 'cosmos' which include marigolds. But ulam raja has it's distinctive smell, taste and look. Must familiarize yourself with the real ulam raja before venturing out on other similar plants.

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