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Tropic Gardener - by Roger Harris

I cut the top off a pina (pineapple) from the island of Mindanao. Why? Because I want to plant it to see if it will grow. I tried this once when I lived in the Caribbean. Check back later to see if it grows or dies. ...

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Mindanao Pina	Mountain Apple	Gumamela--Form of Hibisucs
Tangerine (or ponkan) grown from a seed.	American who moved to the tropics.

Tropic Gardener

Mindanao Pina

June 14th 2008 11:57

Planted just today.

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Mountain Apple

May 20th 2008 08:40

When I first saw them in this country where I now live, I thought that they would be great for trimming a Christmas tree since they are shaped like little bells. Also, I noticed that stores sold three colors of them, red, pink and green. I did not know whether those three colors were degrees of ripeness or if the trees produced them in those colors. Now, I know that each tree produces one particular color.

When I did some research, I learned that they may also be called Malay apples and that they grow best on higher elevations in the tropics. Trees have been known to get to 50 feet in height at times.

It is not very tall yet, only about 3 feet. It was given to me by a neighbor. At that time it was about 6 inches in height and growing in a tin can. That was a year ago or a little longer. I am happy with it now and can hardly wait until it blooms and gets fruit.

As usual, since my ground is totally limestone, the stump of a mountain that was removed to make this subdivision, I had to bring in topsoil, cow manure and use some fertilizer. I water it well and pull off any leaves that seem to have insect pests or their cacoons.

I want to put up another picture whenever the little tree begins to put on fruit so you can see it. I know, however, that these fruits get little worms in them. I have found some at times.

Do you know what is worse than finding a worm in an apple?
The answer is simple. What is worse than finding a worm in an apple is finding half a worm.

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Gumamela--Form of Hibisucs

February 25th 2008 03:46

Gumamela (Hibiscus)

Can you grow hibiscus, which the locals here call 'gumamela', in limestone? Just take a look at this one.

The land where I have my little garden spot is what is left after they moved a limestone mountain to make way for this subdivision. Thus, there is no natural topsoil on the ground. I have paid local mountain boys around $1 (in Philippine pesos) for each large burlap bag of topsoil they bring me. They also have cows so I buy cow manure to mix with the topsoil. After digging a hole for my plant, I mix the cow manure and soil with a little fertilizer from a local store and fill the hole while planting my plant.

In the case of my gumamela pictured here, I already had used this hole earlier for vegetables and found the soil mix was good, and the sunlight was plentiful enough. I bought a small gumamela since I must be careful about carrying heavy objects since my heart attack. I planted the plant, not knowing for sure what the flowers would be like. The clerk said they would be orange in color. Frequent watering helped the plant to get a good start. Now, however, I don't water it much as I learned that too much water is not good for this type of shrub.

It has about tripled in size after over a year. I had problems with goats getting into my land area until I put up the temporary bamboo slat fence. The goats had eaten a lot of this particular gumamela's leaves so I worried about losing the plant. By babying the plant, I now have this larger and colorful flowering plant. There are always flowers on it. I LOVE IT!!

The limestone absorbs a lot of the water I spray on my plants so I put sufficient topsoil to help hold moisture. Yes, it is possible to grow hibiscus (gumamela) in limestone.

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Tangerine (or ponkan) grown from a seed.

February 24th 2008 11:12

My ponkan plant

In the fall of 2004, I was buying tangerines (or maybe ponkans) to make my own orange juice for breakfasts. I would take the skin off, which is very easy to do with these delightful fruits. Then, I would put them into my blender and whirl it a while and strain the juice and a little of the pulp through a wire strainer.

That was my morning routine. One morning I got to thinking that I was paying five pesos or more for each ponkan (as the locals call them). I used five or six per day for breakfast drink. That was rather expensive, I thought. I decided to save some of the seeds and plant them to see if anything would happen.

From the six or seven seeds I planted in peat pots, a couple of them grew. I babied the little plant for a long time. When it was large enough to cope with the outside world, I planted in it the ground.

You can now see how large it is, compared to me in the picture. It is about three and a half years old now. I really don't know how old it must be to bloom and begin to bear fruit. However, whenever that happens, I can have my own orange juice for breakfast without buying ponkans (or tangerines if that is what they really are).

Maybe they will be sour. I don't know because I don't know if the originals were hybrids of simply regular fruits.

I would be happy for your comments about this. Feel free to visit a great gardening center at: Really Long Link

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American who moved to the tropics.

February 23rd 2008 22:33

Although I was raised on a farm in Indiana, and although I have been doing Christian work overseas most of my life, I am now settled into semi-retirement in Tropical Asia.

I am learning a lot about growing plants in the tropics now. Some of what I learned has been by making mistakes, but some of my knowledge comes from my childhood on the Hoosier farm. Much knowledge about growing plants is transferable. From growing soybeans and field corn to growing gumamelas (hibiscus) and papayas in the tropics is not so great a transition.

Let me take time every few days to share photos and things that I have tried since moving to the Philippines over four years ago.

Check back often to see what changes I have made in this blog.

Roger