Mekar Keembung (Balsam Blooms)

Keembung is a typical Malay flower which used to be a traditional Malay garden decor (hiasan laman Melayu). Now, we seldom see them in Malay city homes. Also known as Balsam, this flower can easily be grown from seeds. There are several available colours such as pink, red, white, purple etc. I have them here in pink with shades of red. I wonder if there’s any way I would be able to get the red coloured ones. Any idea where I can buy the seeds or the plant?

This plant is an annual, which means it will germinate, flower and dies within a year or a season. No worries, as it will reappear from self sown seeds. Oh, btw, you can pinch the matured seeds and it will go ‘pop’! The seeds will then become scattered.

For care in our tropical weather, this flower requires watering of at least twice per day. Mulch them to keep the supply of moisture. I usually buy a sack of coconut peat from a nursery distributor for only RM5, which is way cheap. So, be nice to the nursery people. And yes, it really thrives in our Malaysia sun!

I tried adding acidic fertilizer and the leaves became very fresh and green, though no blooms. So, I stopped adding the fertilizer and voila! All the fairies appear like no one’s business. This reminds me of a term in Malay ‘Gila Daun’ (Leaves Crazy), which means too many leaves but no blooms. So, in this case, that would be ‘Gila Berbunga’ (Blooms Crazy)!

I guess you don’t really need to add any fertilizer. Just ensure that the soil is enriched with compost (for e.g. dried leaves, trimmed leftovers, coconut peat, grass cut, etc). Any tip to care for Balsam, you are most welcome to add more  .