catappa // sea almond

order: myrtales
family: combretaceae
genus: terminalia
species: catappa



First story


16 june 2014


For me sea almond is such a beautiful tree, because it has always been there throughout my life before I left home on the tropical Borneo island. I liked that it has huge leaves. I liked that the leaves turn red. I liked that its fallen leaves make the crushing sound when I walk underneath the tree. I even liked its rotting fruits which were once my companion while waiting to be picked up by my father after school. I liked to crush them with my school-shoe-covered feet. I had no idea what the tree was called and like many modern kids, we never bothered to find out.

For a long time I didn't see any sea almond planted in the areas I lived. Perhaps I didn't because I no longer had to wait to be picked up. I became busy with studies, urbanised. This tree never came back to my mind until one day it appeared in my dream. First it was just a vague image, with that I tried everything I could to find out what it is, and I did after several months of research. With the help of the www, I could easily look up details of the plant, and suddenly all the familiar pictures were in front of my eyes! I was rejoiced.

Fortunately I still have my family to visit in that part of the world. Before I flew home the first time in many years I wrote a list to remind myself what I'd like to do and should not forget. Collecting their seeds is on that list. A trip to the beach was all it took for me to gather a few of them. They came past the custom with no problem. When I got home that cold and dark spring in 2013 I immediately burried two seeds with their husks still on into pots of soil. It took nearly half a year for the seeds to germinate, one after another, when the summer was just about to be over. I must mention that the unfurling of the cotyledons provided such a show.

Seedlings were weak during the dark winter months. Both seedlings were attacked by some kind of fungus on their stems. While one gradually perished the other one is still alive at present. It's still alive but it's not doing much. I found some hobby gardeners with very healthy and strong young plants. That makes me really envious. I want to be able to enjoy a big plant too instead of having to worry about the fungus taking over. I burried another seed last week. This time, I removed the thick husk and took out what's looking like an almond seed from within. I'm hoping that it's still viable and that it's going to strike sooner.



unfurled cotyledons.



Update


13 september 2014

topview, september 2014.

sideview, september 2014

The growth of my plant has been very slow. With the onset of summer, I brought my catappa outside in the garden. Unfortunately there were only very few warm days this year. Summer went past with only half a dozen of new leaves. Those few rainy nights that brought the temperature down to 10°C managed to paint some red dots and patches on the leaves. Seeing that the plant didn't perform very well outside, I finally brought it back into my room 2 weeks ago. And since then, it has already grown 2 more new leaves. That's one leaf per week!! Why have I waited so long to make this decision??



R.I.P


2015

It didn't make it through the cold months this year. It's been too cold in my room most of the time since we decided to cut down heating out of ecological reason. Gardening shouldn't have a negative environmental impact. If plants can't adapt to the colder temperature, then we simply won't keep them here. They belong to their tropical homes where they get plenty of sunlight and warmth for free.

With our neighbour's spurges on the south side growing taller and taller, the room has become darker each year. The plant was simply not very happy to be in these conditions for so many months. It finally gave up enduring.

It's a pity not to be able to keep a catappa, which is my childhood tree. But well, I still have many other childhood plants around me that are growing bigger by the day, such as different varieties of frangipanis, a pandan plant, several pineapple plants, a small mango tree and MANY more, which I'm struggling with providing more space for. They have different levels of tolerance for our colder clime here but have been with me for years. Only time will tell if they can be with me indefinitely.

soursop // guanabana

order: magnoliales
family: annonaceae
genus: annona
species: muricata



First Story


9 september 2014

plant with 2 side branches in september 2014.

I must say that I'm very surprised that I haven't written this entry until now, considering that the seed had been planted in early 2013 and by the following winter I already fell in love with its foliage. Soursops are also called "durian belanda" (meaning "dutch durian" in malay language) in Malaysia, so called because the dutch first brought it in from Central America, where it is known as guanabana.

The delicious fruit can grow into the size of a pineapple or a lot of times also bigger. Although the fruit may look intimidating to handle at first, if you touch it, you know the spines are soft and completely harmless. Its skin feels like a piece of leather, which you can tear open and separate from the flesh easily. The flesh is actually many seed-covering pulps that are nicely distributed around the fruits central axis. The fruits are usually picked when ripe and cannot be kept for long. Once opened, it has to be eaten within a day, as it ferments very quickly. I usually like to chill it in the fridge prior to serving. Its white pulps make really tasty drink too.

Seeds have a shiny dark cover, similar to but not as rounded as those of lychee or longan. If the cover is removed, there is a white embryo inside looking like a brain. Save some seeds to start new plants if you like. I would rather save a few too many than too few, because with me the germination rate was rather low. But maybe if I had done scarification on the seeds, the result would have been very different.

Once the seeds strike, they won't be terribly difficult to raise. The tree itself stays rather small despite the large size of its leaves and fruits. Leaves feel leathery and are somewhat shiny as well. When crushed, they give off sort of a sour smell like guava fruit, not unattractive. (I discovered this as I accidently knocked over a bottle of water which landed on the plant.) In fact the leaves can also be used to brew tea. I haven't tried it yet, but as soon as I have, I will report how I like it.

Soursop plant has a moderate need for light. It can tolerate and in fact also appreciate some shade from very hot sun. If summer nights are not so warm, I would rather keep it indoor in a bright room so it can grow faster.

leftmost: the soursop "womb" that carried my plant's embryo in 2013.


dwarf albert spruce

order: pinales
family: pinaceae
genus: picea
species: glauca
cultivar: 'conica'



First Story


6 november 2012


Dwarf Albert spruce is very often used as small indoor Christmas tree and is also seen quite often on graveyards. The dwarf variety has a much slower growth habit than the natural species and its growth is so compact that you can't even see through the conical structure. When new growth emerges needles are fresh green. At this time, you will be able to hug or pet the tree. But once the needles harden, they become prickly.

This spruce and a dwarf hinoki cypress are the first conifers in my collection. My experience with this plant is a somewhat uneasy one, in that I could not estimate the amount of water that it needs and the right frequency of watering. Sometimes I would let it go almost completely dry and other times I would keep it rather soggy. It has never complaint or shown any apparent sign of declining. It's just that you cannot judge the health of such a conifer before the tree has died for some time. There were times I was almost convinced that the plant was already dead, and yet it wasn't. I know this, because the last time the birds disturbed its rootball, some living white feeder roots were uncovered. My guess is, the spruce is not finicky about watering.

At this time of year, rather unusual for my location, there have already been some night frosts. I'm beginning to move my plants in the garden to their respective winter shelter. Since my small spruce is growing in a small pot, I'll need to think of a way to protect its rooball from freezing completely. Last year, it survived the winter in a windshield, with mulch around its rootball. So I should do the same this year. Though I can't be completely at rest if the winter gets harsh. I wish I had a greenhouse so that I could store my temperate plants just above freezing point.

This plant is a very young plant propagated from cutting. The trunk base comes with a sleeve and lopsided root structure. As I repotted it, the major roots were tilting upwards and gave me a tough time redirecting them downwards. In order to achieve this, I bound the major roots to a piece of flat wooden skewer with jute threads. My original plan was to style this plant into a father-and-son tree. I have given up this because the lowest branch turned out to be a lot higher than I thought. Though I won't remove the branch right away because I think there might still be a chance to use it to style into something different, something less conventional for a bonsai. As for now I'm not worried about putting down a final design. The plant still needs to grow a great deal first. Pruning and shaping will be kept to a minimum.



Update


8 september 2014

fuller looking tree in 2014.

The fuller looking image of the tree makes its old image look ridiculous. Two years ago, I bought this plant and selected branches right away. At that point, I was forseeing a vague silhouette like the one I have right in front of me now. A lot has to change still. The stem and branches have to thicken. Ramification has to improve. Movements of branches will have to be put in place with the help of wiring. Until this time, I think I have to see another 2 growth seasons go by. I wonder if the comparison of its new look with its current one will come as equally shocking next year.

desert rose

order: gentianales
family: apocynaceae
genus: adenium
species: obesum



First Story


14 february 2012


This is also a plant i already knew at my parents' place. As i said, i try to recollect my childhood memories. So this plant has a special meaning to me. Meanwhile there are so many different varieties in the market. However the one with classic flower colour speaks to me most. Which way makes it classic? I call the one with deep pink petals that fades in classic and consider the rest mutations or hybrids.

It's very rare that you find it in stores in germany. One that I saw at a garden centre wasn't looking good and was selling at around 30 eur, which was a bit too high for a price for me. The other one I saw was in a diy store. This one has been raised from a cutting and thus is lacking the caudex, which is the thickened part of the stem. Of course I want mine to have a caudex. Otherwise it doesn't correspond to its name "obesum". I got mine on ebay for a bit more than 20 eur. Poor plant, it had to sit in the dark delivery box for 3 days. The gardener who sold it to me wet the soil before shipping, which he shouldn't have done. Because of that the plant got some rotten roots. Fortunately, it's still alive.

Adenium hasn't gained much fame in Germany, the reason of which, I think, lies in that, it's somewhat difficult to grow. It needs warmth to do well. After the research I did, I can summarise the result as followed:

Temperature: In summer, there's no worries. In colder days, you have to watch out. The plant is in active growth above 25 °C. Below 25 °C there's little growth if any. It sheds its leaves if the temperature drops below 15 °C. Let's set 10 °C as the minimum survival temperature. I keep my adenium above 16 °C. On a sunny day, the room temperature could also rise up to 21 °C, but this has little effect on its growth. If you can afford to heat up a bit more, then I would recommend 20 °C on cloudy days and 25 °C on sunny days.

Water: In summer you may need to water the plant, depending on your soil, every other day or every day. If it's not too rainy outdoor, you can also place it in the open. Adeniums get rootrot easily if the soil is too wet for a long time. In winter if there's no growth, the plant doesn't need any water. However a little water shouldn't be too bad, as long as it evaporates within a few hours. If temperature stays above 20 °C consistently, you can also resume with moderate watering, provided there's also enough sunshine.

Light: As a thumb of rule, the plant is in active growth when the days are longer than 12 hours. It slows down when days get shorter. Since it's very common to expose its thickened roots over time, it's recommended to give the newly exposed roots shade from direct sunlight. Avoid scorching midday sun, because occasionally leaves also get burnt.

The plant has an internalised calendar that tells it when to switch to "slow growth" mode and when to switch back to "active growth". None of the above factors governs this cycle though.



Update


2012

June 2012

Strangely this new bloom has become red rather than pink. Either it has mutated or the ones before this didn't get enough nutrition to become this red.

Top view



Update


6 september 2014

july 2014 flower

If it hasn't been for the mealy bugs that were so persistently clinging onto the plant, I would have been able to capture a moment with over 20 flowers. Instead many flower buds were dropped after the sap sucking beasts greedily fed on the plants.



R.I.P


31 march 2015

I went to Asia for a month in February and left my plants to the care of a friend. Unfortunately I didn't communicate my instructions well enough this time, and the plant which wasn't supposed to be watered at all, ended up being drowned in cold water. When I arrived home, its caudex had already turned yellow and soggy. Rotting had already reached the branches, so there was nothing left to salvage.

I had always thought I'd be devastated if this ever happened. But I was surprised how calm I was when I discovered my dead adenium. Note to my self: the next time you are travelling, make sure to use "do not water" tags on plants like this.