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Messages - Heinrich

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76
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: A wealth of different types of Uvaia
« on: July 14, 2017, 06:23:56 AM »
Solko, thank you, for showing all these different Uvaia and this huge variability. My Eugenia pyriformis plants are from one source only. They are within the range of your fast growing lanceolate leaf type, red leaf type and supposedly sweet type.

77
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: A wealth of different types of Uvaia
« on: July 11, 2017, 06:55:07 AM »
Seeds of a sweet variety of Eugenia pyriformis arrived in January 2016 from availableseeds.com. Almost all seeds germinated. Surprisingly to me, the plantlets showed a large variation, not only in growth rate, but also in plant shape. The variation in leaf pubescence is less distinct.

These are my two tallest plants in tall 3l pots, compared to the two smallest plants in 10cm square pots. June, 2017.


The smallest plant, May, 2017.


This precocious plant flowered in mid June 2017.




78
Hi Luc, of 30 seeds, 27 germinated. I grow them in fine sand. The sand consists mainly of pumice with some zeolite and is neutral. The topping is similar, but coarse. 10 % peat is added to achieve a more acidic soil. In summer, the plants are outside in full sun and I water almost daily, preferably with rain water.

We had a very cold period, this winter. One morning, in the glass house was frost (-1°C/ 30°F) and frozen pots. Five Eugenia mattosii seedlings defoliated. Three came back in spring, but two were lost. All the other Eugenia mattosii didnīt show any signs of stress.

Two of the spring greening plants are shown in the photo. (Plant number one and two, third row). Like many wild plants, E. mattosii shows a large variation in growth rate and possibly other characters.


Plant number six, second row.


79
Citradia, I didn’t give any special attention to the fertilizer and regularly fertilize either with Peters Excel 24+10+10+1 or with Kristalon 12+12+36, and never applied extra phosphorus.

Mikkel, my citrus plants are all fairly small. There wasnīt any plant suitable for pollination.

Cory, I grow around 80 citrus seedlings and have stopped now to germinate seeds, because of space reasons.

80
Here is an update of the Sweetie grapefruit. The first flower wilted and the second flower opened. On both flowers, some of the five sepals, somehow are fused together. Otherwise, the flowers are well developed. I fertilized and applied iron chelate and the young leaves are nicely greening.



81
In June 2015, two of my citrus seedlings flowered at an age of about 18 months. As I returned from holiday, a seedling of a Star Ruby grapefruit surprised me with a beautiful flower. A second seedling, seeds from Ortanique, and the same age, was already finished.

Star Ruby grapefruit and Ortanique tangor


Star Ruby grapefruit


Ortanique tangor


During my next visit to Eugen Schleipfer, our local and well-reputed citrus grower, I mentioned this flowering. He showed me a large grapefruit tree and told me, freely translated from German:  “This grapefruit tree flowered at a very early age, but never again since then. Donīt expect your seedlings to flower again, within the next 10 years.” Well, none of them flowered in 2016 and there are no flower buds in 2017.

Now, this year, a third citrus seedling is flowering for me. I like to eat Sweetie grapefruits, when available during autumn and winter.  Most fruits are seedless, but some of the fruits can have a few, more or less developed seeds. I remember, finding an exceptionally large seed and decided to grow it.  This was around November 2015. Now, this seedling tree surprised me with even two flowers. This photo is from today. The flowers soon will be open. The plant shows some nitrogen deficiency and was only recently fertilized.


Growing citrus from seeds can be very rewarding. Some grapefruit and Ortanique can flower at a quite young age. Are there similar observations with other citrus seedlings as well?




82
Lorenzo, that is fine. Regarding the photos, I can understand your judgement.

83
Ilya, yes, iron sulfate is a useful agent against moss. I have successfully used it on other occasions. However, if the environment doesn’t change, the moss will be back very soon. With citrus, I donīt regard the moss as a problem. When it finely becomes too dense, it is time to repot. As you can see on the photo with the kumquat cotyledons, the moss didnīt become too dense, within 3 ― years. Actually, I donīt even know, if these cotyledons have roots, or if they are just sitting in the peat and moss. Examining these cotyledons may be their end.

84
Lorenzo, sure most citrus seedlings grow like weeds in the tropics. However, it is not so easy in my climate zone. When I sow citrus, it is winter and it is cold. Inside the heated houses, light and humidity levels are low. Therefore, I bag the pots and put them on a heating map. Under such conditions mosses start to grow, often before the seeds germinate. Later, when the seedlings are uncovered and the conditions are much drier, the established mosses stay and give a wrong impression about the watering regime. These seedling are not overwatered. I could improve my results, if I give additionally artificial light, also. I didnīt use grow light technology yet, but may utilize it in the future.

85
Brian and Millet, thank you for your advice, carefully peeling the outer seed coat. I will do it, when I sow some citrus seeds again.

86
Brian, did you see occasionally white kumquat seedlings, too.

87
Citrus General Discussion / Citrus seedlings, some odd observations.
« on: April 26, 2017, 10:31:26 AM »
Since winter 2013/14, I raise citrus seedlings of store bought citrus fruits. Here, I want to report about some odd observations, which often didnīt give plants. Usually, I put the seeds in a sand and peat filled pot, bag the pot and put it on a warm place with some light. Raising citrus seedlings plants is an easy task, but sometimes, unexpected facts result in failure.
Germinating seeds are very sensitive to environmental stress and pathogens. If the first and only growing point, the meristem of the shoot between the cotyledons, becomes hurt, there is no other meristem to continue the development.

2 cotyledons of a Meiwa Kumquat seed. Two and a half years old. It gets regularly watered, still alive, but unable to grow. Chances are small, it will ever become a tree.


This winter, I bought some exceptionally large Nagami Kumquats. So, I decided to raise the seeds. Six, out of ten seedlings, showed white leaves with only traces of chlorophyll. These plants are unable to photosynthesize and will die off, sooner or later. I wonder, if these Nagami Kumquats fruits have been treated in some way?


For unknown reason, some seedlings have a big problem to get the first leaves out of the seed coat. It can take a long time for the leaves to emerge and sometimes such seedlings fall prey to rot.
A Nagami kumquat seedling finally came out of the seed coat.


A 3 years old tangor, raised from a seed of Afourer/ Nadarcott. This tree shows a nice curved bump on the base of the stem, telling about its early days, struggling with seed coat.


88
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 56 Tamarillos. Will I miss the relish?
« on: April 19, 2017, 05:07:44 PM »
Today, I enjoyed the last Tamarillo fruit. My fruits didnīt ripen during the winter. With temperatures in the green house below 10°C (50° F), most of the time from November until mid-February, the fruits stayed green and ripened only in March and April, as the temperatures rose.  Compared to autumn fruits, ripened on the counter, the spring fruit were sweeter and more aromatic. Also, they offered more to eat. Now, one could eat the inside of the flesh, but not in the autumn fruits.



Last week, I have potted the plants. However, the trees are slow to recover. There are still not many roots and new leaves and flower buds are just emerging. In May, after the last frosts, the Tamarillos will be planted in the garden again.
If I missed most of the fruits, then only because my wife likes them so much. For me, it is good to know, she appreciates what I am doing.


89
Marcos,
isnīt Psidium guyanense synonymous to Psidium guineense?
http://www.homolaicus.com/scienza/erbario/utility/botanica_sistematica//hypertext/1593.htm
You grow both.
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=19649.msg243286#msg243286
Your photos and taste reports are quite different.

90
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Psidium seeds
« on: December 23, 2016, 04:45:18 PM »
Canīt anyone else?

91
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Psidium seeds
« on: December 23, 2016, 12:32:19 PM »
Michael. Canīt you see the photo?

92
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Psidium seeds
« on: December 23, 2016, 11:25:23 AM »
Recently, I asked Miguel to send some Psidium seeds, and this is what I have got. The different seed shapes and sizes are so distinctive.



Thank you, Miguel, and all of you, who distribute seeds. Thank you, for sharing your seeds, knowledge and pleasure.

93
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 56 Tamarillos. Will I miss the relish?
« on: December 17, 2016, 06:54:15 AM »
Marcos, tamarillos do behave similar to tomatoes.
The 5 fruits, which fall off the tree during uprooting, turned soft and orange, after laying 5 to 6 weeks in the kitchen, on the counter. The taste was surprisingly good. Aromatic with some fine acidity. To compare, I bought one fruit at the store and was disappointed. This fruit was bland with no acidity at all. However, not all of my fruits were so good, either. The fruits didnīt turn orange and soft, all at the same time. The largest fruit ripened at last and was acidic and not very aromatic when eaten. Possibly, it still was too early for consumption. Certainly, the fruits have to have a certain degree of ripeness when harvested. Well, I am very pleased with my tamarillos. The best of all.  My wife didnīt know tamarillo and now she likes these fruits very much.

King, your tamarillos look delicious.
By now, you have probably eaten quite a few and know about the best time of picking. On my trees, most of the fruits are still green. A few turned red, but are still very firm when touched. How is the taste? There are few taste reports of tamarillo. Oscar likes them. I mean, with his experience and knowledge about so many fruits, tamarillo must be a very delicious fruit, when fully ripened. Tamarillo is not readily available here, but can be found sometimes in the delicatessen store, imported from Colombia.

Ripened on the counter and surprisingly good.





The largest fruit. Not so good and too acidic.





94
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 56 Tamarillos. Will I miss the relish?
« on: November 09, 2016, 02:39:38 AM »
Certainly, frost hardiness of Tamarillo was already determined, elsewhere. Also, there may be some variation between different varieties. This estimation is based on my plants.

- 1℃ (30℉) frostbite on exposed leaves only.
- 2℃ (28℉) leaves and fruit stalk die of exposure.
- 3℃ (27℉) stem and branches are seriously harmed. Fruits show cold damage.

One fruit was exposed outside, during a frosty night. The temperature went down to - 3℃ (26.6℉). Left fruit exposed to frost, compared to an unexposed fruit. The peduncle was soft in the morning. The fruit skin slowly became brown not until days later.



95
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 56 Tamarillos. Will I miss the relish?
« on: November 04, 2016, 05:38:43 PM »
Thank you for your encouraging comments. They give me hope, there is still a change, for at least a small harvest.  I will try to ripe some on the counter. Are Tamarillos climacteric, just as Tomatoes?

Nullzero, your instruction for ripening Tamarillo in the garage is very convincing. Thank you, I may set up such a system in the future. That should give a decent crop. For the moment, I prefer a simpler handling, even though it fails.

Because I have no experience about the hardiness of the Tamarillo fruit, I decided to defoliate the plants, before the frost does likewise. In case the fruits are as frost tender as the leaves, the fruits soon may be lost. I uprooted the plants and placed in 2 containers (roughly 7 gal). Now, I can bring the branches inside a frost free greenhouse. There is no change to protect them outside, because our winters can be very cold. I know, stems and branches will survive inside, without roots and leaves. However, it is the first time they bear fruits.



Tamarillos, lost during uprooting.




96
Tropical Fruit Discussion / 56 Tamarillos. Will I miss the relish?
« on: November 03, 2016, 04:21:22 PM »
Seeds of a store bought Tamarillo were germinated in February 2014. In spring, eight plantlets were planted in ground in the garden. In autumn, after the first frost damaged the leaves, the plants were pulled out of the soil and the defoliated stems with a few roots only, were placed close together in a single pot with peat. During the winter in a frost free greenhouse, one of the plants developed some stem rot and the lesion was cut out. This top cutting was easy to root in spring and resulted a ninth plant. End of March, the stems were planted in individual pots and fertilized. Again in May, the plants were planted in ground in the garden. First flowering plants could be observed in August 2015. After the frost destroyed leaves and flowers in autumn, the stems were overwintered again. In March, this year, stems were potted and fertilized and new leaves and flowers appeared in April. Soon after, the plants were planted in the garden. Due to the cold weather in spring, it took until June for fruits to develop. Since August, all new shoots and flowers were removed to focus the plants on fruit ripening. Two of the nine plants stayed fruitless. Now, seven Tamarillo plants (including the two clonal plants) bear together fifty-six well developed fruits.
What shall I do? Ice and snow are only a few days ahead and the fruits would need four more weeks of nice and warm weather to ripen. I am not prepared, to singly pot the plants and grow them in the greenhouse. That would give me greenhouse grown Tamarillos. Thatīs not what I want. I would prefer Tamarillos grown in my own garden. The final goal is to be independent of a greenhouse. It should be possible to overwinter the stems even behind a windowsill in a cool room, or similar. Potting and fertilizing in spring, doesnīt need a greenhouse either.
Tamarillos are subtropical plants of higher altitudes and like to grow in mild and warm weather. The leaves are fairly frost tender, but stems not so much. A second important feature is the shallow root system. Stems can be pulled out of the soil, without much roots, and handled like cuttings during the winter. Without leaves, the plants are not prone to pests. In spring, soon new leaves and a root system develop. With summers a while longer and frost a little later, Tamarillos can be successfully grown in a temperate garden. To breed for a more precocious variety, would be a further goal.

Tamarillos in my garden. Some exposed leaves are already frost burned.



Ripening would need a little more nice and warm weather.



97
Thank you Huertasurbanas. Great news. I will take extra care of this plant.

98
I had a closer look. New growth is not so different. The green and large leaved type, seems slightly more pubescent and has longer hairs.



99
Seeds were obtained in January as a sweet variety. I was the opinion, the seeds descended all from the same mother plant. However, looking at the plants, this may not be the case.

To learn about the plants, I like to treat some plants differently.  The small leaved plant spent the summer outside on a sunny balcony, since end of May. The two large leaved plants have been inside my attic appartment with vertical daylight, until the end of August, when I put them on the balcony, beside the small leaved plant. The difference just canīt be all environment. All three plants experienced some cold nights, lately. However, only the small leaved plant responded strongly, with leaves turning red.




100
To germinate Ugni seeds, I usually sow the seeds the same day of harvesting. I sprinkle the seeds on peat and let the pot ouside until the weather becomes freezing cold in December. Then, the pot will be put in a cold, but frost free glasshouse. Treated this way, seeds germinate very reliable with rising temperatures in early March. I prefer slow release fertilizer. Last year, the seedlings became very crowded at the end of the growing season. Therefore, it is better to separated the seedlings and pot them in June.

My large leaved Ugni was bought from Eugen Schleipfer as Ugni molinae. He propagates it with cuttings. It is a great variety and certainly deserves to be named. I am not sure if it is the 'Big Burning Pink', which I have purchased a few days ago.

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