Garcinia Galore

A few seeds arrived in the mail today and went straight into 4" pots and into the greenhouse on seed mats. It's the day before my birthday, so it was a nice find in my mailbox. They looked to be in good shape. Let's see how they germinate, because I haven't tested my luck with these genera yet.

• Garcinia mangostana (Purple Mangosteen)
• Garcinia brasiliensis
• Garcinia sp. (Vleerackerii)
• Baccaurea macrocarpa (Tampoi)

Mulberry Delight

My tri-graft Mulberry is doing really well. It has lots of little green berry clusters on it, that I hope hang in there to maturity. I don't know anything about this plant, but it seems to take care of itself pretty well. The leaves are large, green and growing quickly. The only concern is that one of the grafts has a bud on it that doesn't seem to want to emerge fully. If it doesn't then it probably won't survive as a graft for through the winter months. Hopefully that pushes out in the next month or so.

Please Pulasan

Well, I think the sun fried my Pulasan,  Miracle Berry (Synsepalum dulcificum) and Abiu (Pouteria caimito). I moved them to the greenhouse for warmth and filtered light, but it might be too late for the Abiu. The Pulasan and Miracle Berry however are recovering. They're pushing a bit of new growth, so I have a bit of hope for the Abiu too.

Farmer's Market Refurbish

A few years ago I planted a Passiflora edulis plant growth from a farmer's market fruit's seed in my backyard against a wall. It slowly climbed up and took over as the dominant species in the back yard. It saw Thyme, and Moss, and finally Dichondra planted between the stepping stones and survived them all. One flower emerged last year, but this year, despite its location (which can't be helped) a flower every other day has opened for the summer. And every single one of them has been finger pollinated by me. And several fruit have set. It's far from a crop, but it will work for a dessert or cocktail once the fruit fall.

New Jabo Growth

My Jaboticaba are doing well it seems. They first just sat in their little water logged pots and did absolutely nothing. But not that the heat of summer, such as it is here in Redondo Beach, is finally causing something to happen. Lots of new little branches and leaves are coming out on my Grimal Jaboticaba and my White Jaboticaba. The Yellow and Red are less active, but there's a bit of growth on those too. Who knows how long before I see flowers and fruit.

No Plant is an Island

I've been trying for weeks not to pollinate my Annona flowers. I collect pollen in a medicine bottle, save it in the fridge, and then wait for the next flower to crack. The lapse between any flower opening in male form to the next opening in female has been more than 24 hours. The general concensus seems to be that stored pollen isn't much good after that, but that hasn't stopped me from trying. And it seems like one of my attempts finally paid off. It's tiny, there's a long way to go, but it's something. I have a tiny little Atemoya 'Island Gem' fruit. Now to keep it hanging on until maturity.

Comfortable and Cozy

I was cleaning out my home including the linen closet, such as it is, and I came across some bed skirts and European pillow covers in a comforter bag. 'I haven't used these ever and I've had them for years...trash.' So I tossed the lot in a pile, and I nearly took them out to cans when I realized that the comforter bag, was clear plastic like a grow tent, and about 2'x2'x2' with a zipper opening. Eureka! I had a mini grow tent and didn't even realize it. So I build a tiny armature out of PVC that I had lying around from another project and in about 10 minutes I had some weak plants in it, under a 24 hour light. It should have been so obvious, and maybe someone has already realized this, but jeez it's the perfect table top humidity controlling tent for suffering plants.

Nom-acado and Mo'

Today was a plant trade day. I picked up a bunch of large plants for which I barely have space.

• Plinia edulis (Cambuca)
• Eugenia luschnathiana (Pitomba)
• Moris alba (White Mulberry), Persian, and Pakistani - grafted Mulberry
• Pouteria hypoglauca (Cinnamon apple)
• Persea americana (Red Russell Avocado)
• Persea americana (Greene Russell Avocado)

In addition to these last two avocados. I recently came to possess 9 Nabal avocados. They're legendary for their size and richness, but I have yet to taste them. They're ripening right now, and you know I will plant them afterword.

Nom-acado and Mo'

Today was a plant trade day. I picked up a bunch of large plants for which I barely have space.

• Plinia edulis (Cambuca)
• Eugenia luschnathiana (Pitomba)
• Moris alba (White Mulberry), Persian, and Pakistani - grafted Mulberry
• Pouteria hypoglauca (Cinnamon apple)
• Persea americana (Red Russell Avocado)
• Persea americana (Greene Russell Avocado)

In addition to these last two avocados. I recently came to possess 9 Nabal avocados. They're legendary for their size and richness, but I have yet to taste them. They're ripening right now, and you know I will plant them afterword.

Exotic (Expensive) Experiments

I posted awhile back about all the unusual seeds and plants that I was getting. Here's what I have in plant form. I shouldn't count my seeds before they germinate. I purchased a couple of Abiu from Puerto Rico and they're really bushy and about 2 feet tall. I really like them, and I hope to just hold on to them and the Pulasan while I'm in this house, because they probably can't survive in their pots outside. The black sapote do really well here, so let's see what those can do in time. The Eugenia are really skinny, and I have no idea what to expect from them. And the achacha is one of the few garcinia that I'll be trying to collect. It should do fine here.

• Pouteria caimito (Abiu)
• Diospyros nigra (Black Sapote)
• Synsepalum dulcificum (Miracle Fruit)
• Eugenia selloi (Pitangatuba)
• Eugenia candolleana (Rainforest Plum)
• Eugenia uniflora x E. selloi (Pintangatuba)
• Nephelium mutabile (Pulasan)
• Garcinia humilis (Achacha)

Anona-mess

The first time I had anything from the genus Anona was in Bali. There I tasted a soursop (A. muricata) and it was delicious. Something like a creamy green apple flavor, but the flesh was really fibrous and it was somewhat hard to eat because of it. Since then, back in California, I've had a few chermoyas (A. chermimola), and they are even better. The flesh of the fruit is more consistent, and the only annoying part is the large seeds (which are ill advised to swallow). Still, I could eat many of them because the taste is so great. How have I not eaten these before moving to CA? Avocados don't grow in other parts of the country, yet you can find those in grocery stores everywhere. Maybe it's only a matter of time for cherimoyas.

Well, now I'm the owner of a few Anona plants, the grafted ones are flowering which of course bring the possibility of fruit. But, these aren't just cherimoyas, these are mostly atemoyas (A. chermola x A. squamosa aka Sugar Apple) and they're said to be even better. To the point where cherimoyas taste bad in comparison! The flowers are hermaphroditic; female in the morning and male in the evening. After the first one bloomed, I collected and pollen and stored it in the fridge for the next flower. Here's hoping it's still good when the next flower opens!

Here's my inventory:

• A. cherimola x A. squamosa; Atemoya 'Bradley' - grafted
• A. diversifolia (Ilama) 'Rosada' - grafted
• A. squamosa (Sugar Apple) 'Super Atis' - grafted
• A. cherimola x A. squamosa; Atemoya 'Island Gem' - grafted
• A. cherimola x A. squamosa; Atemoya 'Phat Pakchong' aka 'PPC' - grafted
• A. cherimola x A. squamosa; Atemoya 'Randhir' - grafted
• A. cherimola x A. cherimola
• A. diversifolia (Ilama) x (A. cherimola x A. squamosa; Atemoya)

Banana Fanna Foe Fanna

I recently acquired a few Musa cultivars. I've never grown bananas, but they're giant herbs so how hard can it be. I have a pair of each of the following:

• M. 'Thousand Fingers'
• M. 'Gros Michel'
• M. 'Dwarf Iholena'

They're little ones, but they seem to be growing already just after potting them, so who knows what they'll turn in to and how fast they'll do it. I think I'll be up potting in no time.

Then I picked up one more that is quite large, and it's a dwarf variety. I don't know what it is, but it's a Thai cultivar.

P. Update

With Memorial Day behind me, it's time for a Passiflora update. Things aren't as magnificent as they have been in years past. Partly because I had to defoliate in order to build the new pergola - a necessary evil. Partly because I've lost many species/hybrids to the last winter during which it seemed the sun would never return. Fortunately, anything that has survived this long, should continue to survive for at least the summer and fall. Here's the inventory:

Large Containers:

• P. holosericea 
• P. × belotii (P. alata x P. caerulea) 
• P. 'Manta' (P. xiikzodz × P. coriacea) 
• P. racemosa 'buzios' 
• P. caerulea 
• P. malacophylla 
• P. pittieri 
• P. 'Blue-Eyed Susan' (incarnata × edulis) × (incarnata × cincinnata) 
• P. parritae 
• P. actinia

In the Ground:

• P. edulis 'flavicarpa' 
• P. caerulea 'Constance Eliot' x P. loefgrenii 'Iporanga'
• P. tarminiana 'Bailadores'
• P. quadrangularis
• P. tarapotina "C"
• P. manicata
• P. pinnatastipulata
• P. mucronata 

Small Pots and Greenhouse Plants:

• P. discophora 
• P. poryphretica var. angustata 
• P. 'Blue-Eyed Susan' (incarnata × edulis) × (incarnata × cincinnata) 
• P. ornithura 
• P. malacophylla 
• P. macrophylla 
• P. sublanceolata 
• P. ovalis 
• P. edulis x ? 
• P. laurifolia
• P. lingularis
• P. mollisima
• P. 'Blue Bouquet' 
• P. racemosa 'buzios' x ?
• P. malacophylla x ?
• P. gritensis
• P. morifolia

Planted at a Friend's

• P. macrocarpa 
• P. edulis (Orange Fruit)
• P. caerulea

On the Way

• P. 'Kew Gardens' 

On the Way

• P. macrocarpa

Not Just Jaboticaba

I've recently been turned on to Jaboticabas...Jabuticabas...OK, this is why I don't like common names. Myrciaria...wait..they're Plinia now? The world outside Passiflora is confusing; just as confusing as Genus Passiflora I guess. It did take me a couple years to get it down to where I didn't sound like an idiot talking to the botanical bunch.

Anyway.

Jabos are a fantastic looking tree. They have bark that peels and gives the branches and trunk a mottled look like a Eucalyptus, but the grand part is that the flowers emerge from older growth including the trunk. They can cover it in little white puffy flowers that eventually turn into spherical fruits. It basically looks like the tree has third degree necrotic burns. That's not an appetizing analogy, so let's say it looks like grapes. Apparently the flesh of the fruit have a grape like texture covered by a thicker skin. And the taste is really good too, but I have yet to eat a single one. Nonetheless, I find myself, thanks to the generosity of a plant friend, with four plants and I'm looking for the fifth. Right now I have a large Plinia grimal (Grimal Jaboticaba), a small Plinia aureana (White Jaboticaba), a small Plinia x (Red Jaboticaba), and a tiny Plinia glomerata (Yellow Jaboticaba). As I said, I need the Plinia vexator (Blue Jaboticaba)...'cause I collect things.

In addition to the Jabos I picked up a Pouteria lucuma (Lucuma) and a Inga sp. (Ice Cream Bean). I don't know much about them yet. I'm excited to learn. And, I was given a couple of Diospyros nigra (Black Sapote), some Anona species and hybrids, and some rare banana varieties like 1000 finger Musa and Michel Gros Musa. I have no idea how well they'll do in my current yard. Hopefully I can keep them going until they're big enough to fruit at least once.

It was a fun weekend potting all of these plants. Now comes the hard part. Waiting to not kill them all.

Pergola Raze and Rebuild

The old pergola that I originally purchased from Target rusted through. The posts in particular had large holes lined with red iron oxide and were buckling under the weight of the beams. When I originally purchased it, I had mistakenly assumed that the painted steel would hold up in my environment. I was obviously mistaken, and only 7 or so years later I was forced to pull it down and drag it to the curb in pieces for the recyclers.

I was left with a dirty pad of concrete that's approximately 10' x 10' square. There had been a hot tub on it at some point with a prior owner, but I wasn't going to revert back to that. I had enjoyed the pergola too much while it was standing and keeping my vining plants aloft and in the sunshine to cast a green hue over whomever sat below. So, the only logical choice was to have another. However, as I had discovered the first time, finding a pergola with a compatible footprint that wasn't too ornate was a challenge. I was left with no choice; build one...maybe I could even save money too?

The answer: no, or at least, hardly. But, the end product is something I'm proud to have built. My Lego training as a kid really paid off this time. The project was the largest that I've tackled from demolition to reconstruction, and even though I didn't save any appreciable money on it, I'm quite pleased with the end product.

The first thing that I did was order the pine 2x8s from Home Depot along with the 4x4 posts and the deck blocks. I didn't want to buy pressure treated or cedar or anything like that in an attempt to save money. I had decided to paint it white to match the vinyl trim on the house anyway. I cut the boards to size on a Friday after measuring the heights and lengths of all of the components. I didn't have a blueprint, but I had watched enough YouTube videos to have a general assembly of the members in mind. 96" for the overall height, and then a little overhang for the bearers and rafters...9.5" seemed like a good cantilevered length. So, all my 2x8s were 130" long with a little 45° cut on the end leaving 2" of the original height. It was productive day, and I still had the rest of the weekend ahead of me to sand and maybe even paint if I wasn't too tired by Sunday.

There was just one issue. The deck blocks that I ordered had a small piece of wood adhered to the top. One is supposed to toe nail into it for the supports, but I decided that it would be too difficult for me to do that and try to plumb the posts by myself. I needed the blocks that have straps, so I would return to Home Depot that Friday night to pick them up. I didn't feel like loading the old ones up. They weren't very expensive, but they were very heavy. I'd figure out how to get rid of them later. Besides, this weekend was about progress. I was one of only a few people milling about Home Depot in the late hours. It's a weird place to be at 9 PM. A young couple was hanging out in the aisle in which I had located my new blocks. They seemed to just be casually discussing something with regard to bricks. Every so often one of them would, with crossed arms, point at something with one of his or her feet. I had picked four deck blocks out and awkwardly loaded them up on my flat bed cart before they had decided on whatever they were deciding. After checkout, I wheeled my cart to my car, popped the hatch and realized that I needed to lift these 75 pound blocks up much higher than the cart height, and "gently" put them in the back so as not to punch a hole straight through my little car's trunk.

I was tired from the sawing earlier. I was too concerned with the car and not enough with my back.

I barely made it into my car and considered driving straight to the hospital. I had hurt my back playing volleyball before, but never to the degree that I had just strained it. But I'm stubborn, and I drove home instead. It took me 5 solid minutes to heave myself from my car and hobble to the door from the garage to the house. Ice. I was locked into a hunched position; unable to straighten up fully I pulled myself painfully from the couch and to bed in a forced fetal position. The next morning I couldn't get in the shower. I was too crippled to do anything more that weekend except wear my back brace...the one I should have been wearing all Friday.

Remarkably, I was able to go to work on Monday, albeit quite gingerly. Furthermore, by the subsequent weekend I was back at the build. I sanded the pine boards on Saturday, and it did take all day even with my new belt sander. I primed with pine sealer and painted with satin white exterior on Sunday. And I distributed the boards on blocks and saw horses in my outdoor parking spot to be assembled the following weekend. Or, actually in two weekends since I would be out of town the next. I hate unfinished projects, but my hands were tied.

During the first week, I managed to get two coats of a faux granite epoxy paint on the concrete slab and the second set of deck blocks. I wanted it to fully cure before I set about walking around on it. I moved the deck blocks into position and strapped the 4x4 posts on by the time I had to go out of town that weekend.

 After the second week, a week I spent in the desert working long and physically exhausting hours...I was sick...but not so sick that I couldn't tackle the assembly. I was too eager to erect my pergola to let some sniffles stop me. I had devised a away to use clamps to keep the bearers up while I bolted them to the posts. It worked really well, and I had the first set up in no time. By the time the second set was up, I knew that I would finish it all in a day. The rafters went on last, toenailed to the bearers with a Kreg jig that I picked up, and by the end I was standing back to admire it next to the massively warped 2x8 that I had prepped but luckily not needed in the assembly.

This weekend I'll be caulking all of the joints, doing some touch up painting, and prepping the PVC fittings that will be used to create curtain rods. After that I can hang the lights and it's finished. I'll need a new patio seating set and outdoor rug, but it already looks the way I envisioned. Good.

Soon the Passiflora will be climbing back up, and I'll be enjoying living in Pergola-tory once again.

New Crop

I recently attended a LA Plant Trade Exchange meeting in Cerritos. The group is another Facebook group that I was introduced to through a Passiflora friend. Again, these plant people are so nice. I left with a bunch of citrus, that I plan to turn into juice.

Now I'm hooked on exotic fruits. I have some incoming seeds and plants now. I'm excited to try some new genera and potentially try some exotic fruits if all goes to plan.

• Goji Berry: Lycium barbarum
• Abiu: Pouteria caimito
• Black Sapote: Diospyros nigra
• Miracle Fruit: Synsepalum dulcificum
• Kiwi Berry: Actinidia arguta
• Red/Yellow Cocona: Solanum sessiliflorum
• Bacuripari: Garcinia macrophylla
• Cherimoya: Anona cherimola
• Yellow Jaboticaba: Plinia glomerata
• Belimbing Hutan: Baccaurea angulata
• Pitangatuba: Eugenia selloi
• Pulasan: Nephelium mutabile
• Achacha: Garcinia humilis

Update: Later in the same afternoon that I wrote this, I received my abiu, black sapote, and miracle berry plants from 7Heads in Hawaii. They were not inexpensive, but they arrived quickly, and in the best packing container I've every seen. The box was modified with twist-ties, plant had a little newspaper in the pot and aluminum foil over that, then the whole thing was slipped in a bag and tied into the box. There was a hot glued ramp to keep the pots from slipping around. They really want their plants to arrive in great condition. And they did!

Passiflora Pittance

It has been awhile since the last post. That's because I've been very frustrated with my yard and myself. The former is not conducive to growing. The light during the last autumn, winter, and early spring is negligible. It works satisfactorily for those Tacsonia that like filtered light and cool temperatures. In the summer, the light situation is rectified, but the heat from the patio itself is intense, and for the potted plants, it can be too much. Then, there are my mistakes. I, like many others, over water. And I contributed to killing a large part of my collection. All in all I lost some gems including my treasured P. cirrhiflora. *sigh* On the plus side, P. parritae is doing well. I don't think I've watered it since I potted it after the PSI meeting last year. A little rain came down, but nothing from me, and it's doing very well in the low light. I remember a couple of years ago when I was away for the entire month of August. I had a P. parritae then, and I set up a drip watering system to hopefully keep it alive. Much to my surprise, it was gigantic when I returned. Knowing that, I think it's time that I put away the hose and watering can, and just give minimal water through a drip line from now on. One more thing on that note; I drilled holes in all of my plastic pots along the sides to enable extra moisture to escape and air to circulate a little bit. That was my idea, so I hope it's not a horrible one.

So, here's what I have remaining after the winter of death.

Large Containers:

• P. holosericea 
• P. × belotii (P. alata x P. caerulea) 
• P. 'Manta' (P. xiikzodz × P. coriacea) 
• P. racemosa 'buzios' 
• P. caerulea 
• P. malacophylla 
• P. pittieri 
• P. vitifolia 
• P. misera 
• P. 'Blue-Eyed Susan' (incarnata × edulis) × (incarnata × cincinnata) 
• P. parritae 
• P. sublanceolata
• P. actinia

In the Ground:

• P. edulis 'flavicarpa' 
• P. caerulea 'Constance Eliot' x P. loefgrenii 'Iporanga'
• P. tarminiana 'Bailadores'
• P. macropoda
• P. tarapotina "C"
• P. manicata
• P. pinnatastipulata

Small Pots and Greenhouse Plants:

• P. discophora 
• P. poryphretica var. angustata 
• P. 'Blue-Eyed Susan' (incarnata × edulis) × (incarnata × cincinnata) 
• P. ornithura 
• P. malacophylla 
• P. macrophylla 
• P. venusta 
• P. sublanceolata 
• P. pinnatastipulata 
• P. ovalis 
• P. edulis 'Orange Fruit' 
• P. edulis x ? 
• P. mexicana
• P. laurifolia

Planted at a Friend's

• P. macrocarpa 
• P. antioquiensis
• P. caerulea

On the Way

• P. lingularis 
• P. mucronata 
• P. 'Kew Gardens' 
• P. 'Blue Bouquet' 
• P. gritensis