Pomegranate

I purchased a Big Red pomegranate from Logees in March 2017. Since then, the plant has tripled its size. The caliper of the trunk has doubled. I just pruned it a few days ago because there was a limb growing really close to the ground. I desire to have a single trunk about 18 inches in height and then to have branching limbs. I will keep trimming suckers that grow too low down on the trunk.

Vanilla Planifolia

This is a vanilla plant that I acquired from an EBay seller around April 2017. It has been a strong and rapid grower, doubling its size in the past 4 months. This has been a much different experience than my first encounter with vanilla when I purchased a tissue cultured plant from Wellspring Gardens. The hard part will be keeping the heat and humidity levels adequate during the winter.

I'm back!

Okay,so I'm not a tropical plant. However I am the author of this blog. I've done a poor job of up keeping my blogs for two years because I have been posting mostly on YouTube. Recently I needed some information about my plants and I returned to this blog for reference. It made me realize how valuable it is to have records of my exploits. Consequently, I am going to try to post more on this blog to help me remember the plant adventures I have taken.

First Dragon Fruit Flower Bud 2017

I found my first flower bud of the season yesterday, June 10. This is about 3 weeks earlier than last years bloom which began July 2. Hopefully I can get 3 flushes of flowers and fruit before cold weather sets in. The Physical Graffiti is blooming first just like last year. The mystery plant seems not too far behind because I can see some nodes that are very swollen. I wonder if any of the others will try to flower too. Things I did differently were I put my plants in full day sun. The plants were on the porch since the beginning of April and moved to full sun around mid April. I used a flood light for night treatment. However, I don't know how effective this was. A document I read suggested light treatment must be used before March or the official start of spring. I probably need to start treatment in mid February if I expect blooms in May. I know my blooms are earlier this year, but the move to full sun could be causative. My friend Vin said his dragon fruit bloomed earlier than mine last year. He suggested I needed to move my plants to a sunnier location.

Mystery Dragon Fruit Flower

The mystery dragon fruit might reveal her true identity in a couple of months.  I discovered a flower button which will develop into a bud and then a flower.  If I'm lucky enough to harvest mature fruit, I can find out what color fruit flesh the plant produces. Of course I'll never be 100% positive as to its variety, but I'll settle for knowing the color of the flesh.  The color doesn't matter to me so long as the flavor is excellent.

On a side note, I have been watching certain areoles on the mystery plant for 2-3 weeks because they seemed to be swelling slightly.  It's amazing how fast the button appears seemingly overnight.  I check my plants daily, and there was no button.  Then, bang!  There is the button.

Dragon fruit flower

Twenty-three days after I spotted the bud, my first ever dragon fruit flower opened.  I hand pollinated and hope my only flower produces fruit.

First dragon fruit flower bud

Thank God!  I have my first indication that my physical graffiti hylocereus (green pot) is officially mature.  I found a small flower bud.  The plant is 2.5 years old.  I have 3.5 years invested in growing dragon fruit.  The first PG plant froze during the harsh winter of 2013.

Red Seedling Dragon Fruit

The little seedling has put on a lot of mass this winter.

Wurtz Avocado

The little Wurtz has finally recovered from shipping and transplanting stress.  It has a multitude of swollen buds that are starting to produce little leaves.  This is the first sign of vigor I have seen in the three months it has been here.  I have tried to take extra care with this plant--using fast draining soil, applying foliar sprays, feeding with organic fish emulsion, maintaining constant and comfortable ambient temps and humidity, and lighting with lamps.

Mallika Mango

Mallika still has not flushed yet.  I have found evidence of more plumping buds. Altogether I see seven buds that are swelling.  I hope the plant will have a lot of vegetative growth.  If it flushes flower panicles, I will most likely have to cut them off.

Wurtz Avocado

I ordered a Wurtz avocado this week from Ebay.  It arrived Wednesday, December 9, 2015.  I am suprised at how non-compact it is.  Wurtz is supposed to be a dwarf tree.  I was kind of expecting more branching along the trunk of the tree and a little less scraggliness.  It is not a bad little tree, it just needs to shape up a bit.  Many of the stems of the tree are covered by a black substance that reminds me of sooty mold.  I'm not sure if this is something I should be concerned with.  Some of the leaves and limbs look a little droopy and dehydrated.  I suppose the plant suffered shock in the shipping process.  I pruned some of the floppy limbs, and I am trying to make it happy so that it will perk up.  A good thing about the plant is the number of buds it has.  The limbs seem to be coved with apical buds.  Whenever the tree recovers or when the spring arrives, it will be interesting to see if all those buds develop.  If so, then it should be one beautiful little tree.  For right now, I have a Charllie Brown tree, which is fitting because it is almost Christmas.</p>

Seedling Red Dragon Fruit

I ate my first dragon fruit this summer.  Unfortunately, it wasn't the best.  It tasted like, had the consistency of, and was the color of a pickled beet.  The sugar content was non-existent.  The fruit came from Nicaragua, so I suspect it was picked before it was totally ripe.  The red varieties grown there are Lisa, Sin Espinas, San Ignacio, Cebra, and Rosa, Orejona.  My little plant will most likely yield fruit similar to these varieties.  At present, the plant is loaded with spines, so it is unlikely to be a Sin Espinas.  I kind of wonder why the people of Nicaragua mostly grow the red varities as opposed to the white and magenta flesh.  The fruit is on top of the Physical Graffiti dragon