Ice cream bean: Will flowers blow into gutter? (forum)

sternus1 starts with ...
Need a shade tree for the yard, considering ice cream bean but worried the pom pom type of flowers will blow into the gutter causing clogging and water fouling. Anybody have an opinion on this?

Time: 15th April 2014 5:06pm

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About the Author sternus1
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BJ says...
Great soil builder, which means it drops tonnes of material and clogging drains is child's play for inga. Just chopped one down that was too close to neighbors house and clogged gutters and had seedlings up there. If it's 10m away you should be fine though. Panama berry makes a great fruiting shade tree, but doesn't fix nitrogen or provide much biomass.

Time: 15th April 2014 10:53pm

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About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas
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sternus1 says...
well, that answers that then. Is the wood any good (hardwood)?

Time: 16th April 2014 7:10am

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BJ says...
I think its softwood? Can cut through it in no time flat with a handsaw. I wouldnt imagine the wood would be good for much, but I'm no wood turner.

Time: 16th April 2014 9:47am

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sternus1 says...
yeah if you can rip through it with a bowsaw it's no good for anything.

Any suggestions for a yard fruit tree that's good for shade? Don't really want to plant a mango because of the root system, was thinking star apple but maybe not fast enough?

Time: 16th April 2014 10:28am

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About the Author sternus1
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JohnMc1 says...
It's going to be very difficult to find something that won't drop oodles of organic material.
No guesses you want a fruit tree? Maybe
evergreen to minimise gutter glogging? Gees, a tough one. Gutter guard, perhaps? That'll give you a much larger choice. Back to the Ice Cream Bean?
The Japanese Raisin tree (Hovenia Dulcis) is a beaut looking ornamental tree,fairly fast growing but deciduous.

Time: 16th April 2014 12:59pm

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About the Author JohnMc1
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sternus1 says...
I have hedgehog gutter brush, flushing downpipes with fine mesh stainless leafguards.

Organic matter going into the tank isn't the problem, its little bits of organic matter decomposing in pools in the gutters which might not get to evaporate before the next rainfall that is the problem.

Those full-faced gutter guards are repulsive. Completely unhygienic. They create a perfect cultivation environment for bacteria, mosquitoes, are death traps for frogs, and should be banned.The reason is that UV light kills germs, and guards that totally cover the gutter don't let any light in. Many of the newer types of filters have UV treatment component for this reason.

Back to the drawing board I guess. I might have to deign to plant a tree that doesn't fruit.

Time: 16th April 2014 1:14pm

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BJ says...
If given decent conditions, Star Apples are among the quickest growing trees. They have outrageously fast growing deep roots, so deep watering to get these established at the right time of year can result in a very quick growing tree. Downside is that they are massive, so I wouldnt want one too close to my house unless I lived in very sandy soil.

I do like the dappled shade of panama berry, but once the lorrikeets discover the tree, you dont get many fruits...

Time: 16th April 2014 2:05pm

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About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas
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JohnMc1 says...
I have the same problem. Once a month or two I get up on the roof and go round the entire gutter system with a good strong leaf blower. The first time was messy, but from then on, it's quick and easy.


Time: 16th April 2014 2:14pm

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About the Author JohnMc1
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Nat says...
Can someone please tell me what is the real ice cream bean. Is it the really long green pods, the smallish brown hairy ones or the one daleys sells

Time: 17th April 2014 4:15pm

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sternus1 says...
None of them are holograms Nat....

The answer is, all of them. There is no 'real' Ice Cream Bean. There are different Inga varieties--many. They don't really vary too wildly.

Buy the Daleys one. It's a good inga, and is less feral than some others.

Time: 17th April 2014 5:30pm

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Original Post was last edited: 17th April 2014 5:30pm

About the Author sternus1
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Mike Tr says...
Inga edulis is the real deal and Inga sessilis is unreal and so is I.marginata. The rest are marginal really.

Time: 17th April 2014 8:23pm

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About the Author Mike Tr
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JohnMc1 says...
Mike, I bought an Inga Edulis off EBay during the week. The pods look to be a metre in length. Can you tell me anything about them? They don't appear to be a lot different than the everyday I.Edulis only much longer.

Time: 18th April 2014 7:56am

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Mike Tr says...
They get way bigger than 1m John.The large fruited ones just have longer fruit of identical quality.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1
Picture: 2
Picture: 3

Time: 18th April 2014 8:40am

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About the Author Mike Tr
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JohnMc1 says...
Holy mother of Inga Edulis. Is that your fruit Mike? I had no idea they got that long.

Time: 18th April 2014 10:02am

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Mike Tr says...
Rusty's sometimes has the big ones like this.Whenever I see the 1.5m ones I grab one.They have more flesh being bigger but the taste is the same.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 18th April 2014 10:20am

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sternus1 says...
The one carlos sells looks good--fat pods that seem to have a lot of flesh around the seed. Might be too tropical for sub, since it comes out of the amazon.

Time: 18th April 2014 10:24am

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About the Author sternus1
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Nat says...
Where did you get the plant from Mike Tr

Time: 18th April 2014 11:12am

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Mike Tr says...
Nat I don't have a tree but just pick up the occasional pod from the market.

Time: 18th April 2014 12:36pm

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Nat says...
Oh ok but if you were to get a tree would you get the long pod or the smaller pod

Time: 18th April 2014 1:02pm

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Mike Tr says...
The bigger fruit are better as there is more flesh Nat. I would just plant the seeds from the biggest pod I could find.

Time: 18th April 2014 1:11pm

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sternus1 says...
Nat there isn't a huge difference between them, as Mike says it's mostly an issue of abundance. As far as Inga's go, the one daleys sells is good. It's also a fully fledged seedling, and you don't have to wait those extra years for fruit. Keep in mind that Ingas probably wouldn't rank in anybody's top tier of tropical fruit; they're novel, but in the end they're little puffy clouds of sugar.

Time: 18th April 2014 4:08pm

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allybanana says...
Interesting seeds Mike Tr they look longer than what i am used to and only one embryo per seed the ones i grew had three embryos per seed. Do you know what species that bean is?

Time: 20th April 2014 12:09am

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About the Author allybanana
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Mike Tr says...
Inga edulis.Most just have all dark seeds but there is a variety of seed colours in some big pods.

Time: 20th April 2014 10:23am

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