8 responses |
lynne starts with ... Hi Tran Last week or so, I asked about frost protection and I noticed you offered some information regarding the micro climate you've created in moving your plants indoors. That post seems to have disappeared. Since reading your description, I've started moving some of mine indoors too at night. I've also read a few articles on frost protection and this one seems quite good http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1002.pdf I've also removed mulch from all tropical plants and water them (soil and plant when frost is likely). Tran, it sounds like your plants prefer warmth to sunlight. Have you lost any plants since you started keeping them indoors? As in do they still fruit without receiving much sunlight over winter? Plants are ranked according to their frost hardiness but there's little info on how much sunlight they need... | About the Author lynne melb 18th May 2008 12:59pm #UserID: 210 Posts: 56 View All lynne's Edible Fruit Trees |
Tran says... Hi Lyne, Great idea this topic. Many thanks for the attachment. Much appreciated. I am going to apply to mine soon. I started to bring one of my very tropical pot plant (not producing fruit) in my lougne room last year after I lost the first plant few years back. At the time, it was still under cover but the weather was too cold and it did not survise. Anyway, the new one I save last year survise well indoor and I do the same this year until October. I have never tried with fruit trees because it is too trouble to get them in and I am scared worms may come out unless you cover the bottom of the pots. At the moment, I have tall Asian herbs in the laudry as I said some week ago I check temperature and I found it is normally beetween 18 degree to 20 degrees. When they are indoor I only water 1 cup per month. With the short plants I made a stand, place it in a very big plastic bag and place plants in there and open up every couple of days to havest what I need. My tropical chilly plant are still flowering and producing fruit in the bag. I believe if you put your plant indoor near window they should be OK because at night the artificial light we turn on every night for the room does help a bit. I also have one very tropical bamboo in the bathroom for 3 years. It does have flowers but no fruit set. I think bees and butterfly are needed or I may try to polinate by hand and see what happends. My Acerona is having one fruit right now under veranda but the fruit could not get bigger because of the cold weather. It has been like that for 1 month.I reckon under cold weather tropical trees stop growing and the same as fruit. I have lost about half of the fruit trees I started 10 years ago. I now only have Acerola, star fruit, jujube (very happy with this one) babaco, Asian pumelo, lay finger babana,dragon fruit (still no flowers) curry plant, jaboticaba, rose apple. | About the Author VIC 19th May 2008 9:17am #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
|---|---|
lynne says... Oh no, that must've been disappointing - losing half the trees you've planted. Yes it is harder to move established fruit trees indoors. I'm looking to purchase some frost/horticultural fleece and bubble wrap to wrap around the fruit trees. These are sold in the UK and US (I have not found an Aus site) where it's a lot colder than here so hopefully they will protect them. Here is a description of them http://www.gonegardening.com/xq/asp/group_id.20/article_id.72/referer./qx/gg_shop/article.htm I have wrapped the stem of my ducasse banana with towels and bubble wrap (and have noticed new growth even in this past very cold week). Sounds like I should use chicken wire and straw as well http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/bananas-wrap/. I've seen banana plants in Melb but have never seen any fruit on them. I noticed that you don't have cherimoyas in your list of plants. It sounds like these grow well here... | About the Author lynne melb 23rd May 2008 8:07pm #UserID: 210 Posts: 56 View All lynne's Edible Fruit Trees |
| About the Author Laura2 Mt Macedon, Vic 24th May 2008 12:11am #UserID: 764 Posts: 32 View All Laura2's Edible Fruit Trees |
|
Tran says... Lynne,I don't think you need to worry to much about your ducasse banana. I have two types of banana in my garden. The tall one has been in the garden for 10 years, has produced fruits but very skinny fruits and the short Asian one I was given last year from a friend in Cairns is doing very well I have seen babana producing fruit in Melbourne many times. The only trick from my farmer friend is they are very heavy feeders and thirsty too.So this time with the new one, I have given them lots of water from my kitchen and dynamic lifter and the plants are very fat. Winter is comin I don't do anything. Hopefully they give me some fruit this summer (at least 18 months). The tall one has been ignore in the back of garden so I can understand why it does not produce good crop. I do not have cherimoyas because my neibough has one with flowers in May every year but never set fruit because it would be too cold to set fruit. He may have the wrong type. | About the Author VIC 24th May 2008 9:19am #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
lynne says... Thank you very much for your tips Tran. It's good to know that I don't have to fuss anymore over the banana regarding cold protection and thank you for confirming that they do fruit here. A few visitors have expressed doubts. I did see cherimoya fruits at Louis Glowinsky's garden and have heard reports from different people that they fruit here. Yes maybe different variety - I just got knight from Perry's. Will report if it fruits. Also, presumably, your neighbour also hand pollinates. | About the Author lynne melb 25th May 2008 7:51pm #UserID: 210 Posts: 56 View All lynne's Edible Fruit Trees |
Rob says... Lynne, I have kept a banana alive here near Ballarat by putting 4 stakes around it, stapled plastic around the stakes, and at night throw a blanket over the top. Have an empty terra cotta flower pot turned upside down next to the plant, and place a thick candle under it and light it during the evening where a frost is expected. I also do this to a mango. So far all growing ok. Have a small cherimoya that l cover without any heat, but doing ok to date. Have had several heavy frosts over it... enough to freeze the damp blanket stiff. | About the Author Smythesdale 25th May 2008 9:34pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
Anonymous says... Rob, you sure give them a lot of TLC and are brave to grow such tropical fruits in Ballarat's cool climate. Hope you get good results. You must go through a lot of candles. Sounds like bubble wrap, especially bigger bubbles give better insulation than ordinary plastic? Thanks for your reply on the other post. I'll have to get the thicker fleece to avoid ripping - and will try black plastic on the other 2 sides like you. | About the Author 26th May 2008 5:47pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
Anonymous says... Go through a few candles, yes :-) I buy the thick pillar type for $3.50 and get about 9 hours a night x about 4 nights of warmth out of each, so not too bad. Worth it to see a healthy mango with new growth. Still have winter to get through, but will keep doing what l'm doing and hope for the best. Good luck with yours | About the Author 34 Smythesdale 26th May 2008 7:00pm #UserID: 874 Posts: 11 View All 34's Edible Fruit Trees |