Flora
i had my first taste of sugar apple the other day. and right off the tree out my kitchen window!
it was delicious. sort of a sweet mix between a pear and an apple with very soft-almost-mushy fruit and several large seeds. i might even try out the sea grape tree behind my house when they ripen.
in other botanical news, after rallying back with a full head of leaves, Twig seems to be struggling. not sure if he’s not getting enough light or maybe needs a bigger pot. would love to transplant him outdoors. but am naturally wary of the last haircut he got. then again, it didn’t kill him and the leaves grew back pretty strong.
anyone with a green thumb have any tropical advice?
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September 10th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Your hibiscus needs a lot of bright sunlight, but also a lot of shade. Do you have an area where the sun moves, so it isn’t getting *constant* sunlight? It also needs consistent watering, don’t let it dry out. Also, do not let water sit in its dish.
This plant seems to go through cycles where it appears to be dying, and then it gets better.
Good luck!!
September 10th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I was going to say pretty much the same thing. We have two tree hibiscus that we keep outside during the summer and inside during the Edmonton winter. They’re both extremely finicky plants and tend to drop their leaves whenever we move them. Patience is a virtue with them though, and they have the most beautiful flowers when they come.
Also, don’t underestimate the benefit of a little plant food (ie: Miracle-Gro, if you can get it waaaaaaay down there).
September 10th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Thank you for posting this! I used to have this fruit a lot when I was younger and in Hong Kong. When I moved to Canada, I didn’t know how to explain to my Canadian friends what fruit I was talking about as it is impossible to describe it! We called it “Faan Gwai Lychee” in Chinese – which literally means.. white man lychee :)
September 10th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
its already been said … like darren, i move my hibiscus inside for our cold edmonton winters ~ in fact, its already been moved and is dropping leaves like crazy, perfectly normal … she’s a picky little thing for sure and requires constant checking, watering, not over-watering and when we moved into this house, it took a good year to find her a spot that she liked … hmmmm, may have to try out some miracle-gro, good tip.
yum, fruit trees. i have bags of freshly picked apples waiting patiently for me to peel and core and make applesauce to enjoy this winter. hopefully this weekend :)
September 10th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Hey!! I think I found that missing cat!
September 10th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Man I wish Twig would come around. The flowers were so great. Thanks for the tips everyone. BTW, Twig is doing pretty good considering his mom sprayed him with bug spray that said on it: “Do not use on plants!” LOL ; )
September 10th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
darlene – I used the Miracle-Gro shake & feed last winter, and it worked quite well. We’ve got a nice big south-facing window here on the south side, so I put them on either side so they’d get enough light. They were pretty happy, so I guess I’ll put them there again this year. :)
September 10th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I live in a subtropical climate and have an enormous hibiscus in the yard I kind of wish would go away (one of my dogs loves to feast on its flowers and I worry he’ll get a leaf by accident). Nothing doing- – even the occasional freeze hasn’t fazed this plant and I do nothing to help it out.
Stick it in the ground, it’ll go wild!