wisteria

order: fabales
family: fabaceae
genus: wisteria
species: floribunda / sinensis ??
cultivar: n/a; grown from seed

In autumn 2011 while walking through a garden that was already preparing for winter slumber, my friend collected a seedpod from a seemingly wisteria plant with bare rugged trunks twining against a pergola, and handed it to me. Back home I swiftly pressed it into the old soil in a vacant pot that was lying around in the garden. The seed was quickly forgotten.

In the following spring, my excitement about gardening grew as the ground started to thaw and the bulbs started to flower. Since I was new to gardening in the colder climate zone I was very curious about what grows in the garden. So I went around studying every little green tip that popped out from the ground and also dug out some interesting looking self-sown "weeds" to keep before the mower comes to eat away everything. While going around I discovered the forgotten pot and a sprout in it. After so many months of cold and silent death it's impossible for me to remember anything like that. But thanks to the seedpod that was still lying around it, the beautiful memory came back as a vivid walk of last autumn. After its pinnate leaves had grown to be visible I confirmed it's a wisteria. I'm yet to identify the species. At the moment, I narrowed down the possiblities to W. floribunda and W. sinensis, because these are the most commonly grown species here. I'm not very fussy about this now, as long as the plant stays healthy and beautiful.

Last year the plant grew to be just about 10 cm. I wanted to transplant it to a bigger pot with fresh soil this year but missed the season to do this completely. Nevertheless it has become fuller looking after another season of growth. The pinnate leaves grow in all direction making a nice rounded silhouette when viewed from the top. Even though it hasn't branched out, its pinnate leaf structure makes an allusion to the branches that may develop in the near future. Being able to see plants developing so quickly makes growing them from seeds very rewarding. I gave it a temporary ceramic pot for an immediate improvement in presentation. If I manage to find time to repot it properly next year, I'd definitely give it a bigger container and get rid of the old tired soil.

kiwi plant

order: ericales
family: actinidiaceae
genus: actinidia
species: deliciosa

First published on 09/04/2013:

kiwi plant april 2013.

In the autumn of 2011, I buried 2 pieces of overly ripe kiwi fruits from the kitchen into the soil in a pot outside in the garden. By the following spring, many small hairy sprouts had emerged. After a year of care, they grew to be only slightly less than 10cm. Since it's been said that kiwi plants are not necessarily very winter-hardy, I decided to dig out a lucky one and keep it in the stairwell during the winter, so it doesn't get frost. By November, the kiwi seedlings had already dropped all of their leaves. After a long winter, the lucky one, being in the now warmer stairwell has finally got up from sleep. New buds are breaking into leaves. This year it's going to get lots of food and more light and water than last year. So I hope it can grow a lot more than last year.

>>Update (22/08/2013):

suntanned kiwi plant august 2013.

This year, I moved the one select kiwi plant to the southern side of the house where it's exposed to endless sunlight. There were times where it was neglected and left to dry out completely for some time. It appeared to be quite drought tolerant. As I went to spend 10 days in Italy in late spring, I had a friend take care of our garden. He somehow forgot about this and some other plants for as long as I was absent. The evening I came home, I was horrified by the sight of quite a number of withering plants. All of these plants struggled at varying degrees but eventually came back to life except a small oak. The big leaves of the kiwi plant at that time can be more or less described as crumpled paper balls, dry and dead looking. Following the resurrection, the plant grew a tad more. The hot summer sun has given it a handsome reddish tan. It's as if the veins came alive with blood flowing in them. A smartweed (persicaria) self-sowed in its pot. I thought they look quite good together, so decided to let it stay.

crossberry // four corners // lavender star flower // african starbush

order: malvales
family: malvaceae
genus: grewia
species: occidentalis

Today's subject is an African species from the mallow family, a family that consists of some wellknown members such as hibiscus, cacao and durian. Last year during winter while visiting the family of a friend, his family suggested making a trip to flora-toskana when the days are warmer, which we did early this summer. The exotic plants business isn't far from where they live. From the visit there I got the impression that they much prefer you do your orders online, which is what they actually do. But for me, I like to see what I'm getting, especially if we're talking about sizeable bushes. In the end I brought home this plant together with a small pandan.

This is an evergreen shrub with scandent climber habit and can grow into a tree of upto 6m tall. The purple star-shaped flowers are borne consistently throughout the summer. They are about 3cm across, resembling miniature waterlilies that are held together in cymes. Each flower lasts for only a day, but is quickly replaced with new ones each day. The alternate leaves are a dark dull green, toothed at margin. During the summer growth, I could count upto 2 new leaves per day on each terminal. This is pretty vigorous.

The care tips on a grewia I can advice is to use only lime-free soil and water. Always keep the soil evenly moist. Frequent feeding with organic fertiliser helps it grow and bear flowers. Restrictive pruning can be carried out anytime of the year to keep the spindly branches in order. According to plantzafrica.com, this plant is mostly deciduous in its natural habitat and can withstand the cold down to subzero temperatures. Although, I'm inclined to follow the advice of the Royal Horticultural Society to give it a minimum of 7°C. I haven't come across any devastating infestation of insects, but ants, bees, wasps seem to be very much attracted to the plant.

flowers against foliage.

common gardenia // cape jasmine

order: gentianales
family: rubiaceae
genus: gardenia
species: jasminoides
cultivar: ?

Gardenia turned out to be the most fragrant plant in my garden this spring and summer when it's in flower. While watering it every morning, I'd draw a deep breath with the flowers close to my nose. Ah, that's so heavenly. I enjoy them as much as I enjoy roses. different fragrance, differently nice.

The leaves are dark green and very glossy. They grow in whorls and I must add that I'm very astounded how compact they grow. Some leaves that are hidden inside often have some brown patches or they just dry off if they don't get the amount of light they need. So you'll want to check periodically and remove them so light can reach other leaves. The white flowers are double. Actually, I'd rather describe the colour as ivory which turns creamy as the flower ages. The flower buds take a few days to swell and open. The green tepals unfold revealing the white petals. The flowers last a few days. When they turn light beige, the petals become loose and you can easily remove them with a twisting motion. You can also remove the flower stalk together, but I usually wait until they come off by themselves.

When keeping this plant, it's important to use an ericaceous soil. For my case, I mix the standard ericaceous compost with the japanese kanuma soil to improve airiness. I have my plant sitting on a north-facing windowsill outside, so it doesn't get too much direct sunlight while it's still sufficiently bright. While it's good to keep the plant above 15°C all year round, it doesn't like it too hot. The optimum temperature, according to the result of my research, is in the range of 21-24°C during the day and 15-18°C at night. I feed my plant with organic fertiliser exclusively, because it resents the accumulation of salts. Gardenias can grow to be many metres tall but that will take many years.

There are many interesting species in this genus, which I may or may not want to collect in the future, depending on the availability of space and time I have.