Arundo donax is tall perennial cane that grows up to 6 m tall, but can grow even taller in optimal conditions with enough moisture and as much sun as possible. It grows in all kinds of soil types, can tolerate dry and wet soil, withstands polluted waste water contaminated soil and soil salinity.
Trinidad moruga scorpion (Capsicum chinense) is one of the hottest chili peppers in the world. I’m not sure if I want to taste it, but it’s nice to have such a powerful plant around.
It originates from Trinidad and Tobago. In warm places without freezing temperatures during the winter, it can grow as perennial, but even the lightest frost can completely kill it, so it’s usually acting as an annual plant in temperate climate. Perhaps I’ll try to place it into large pot during autumn and winter and try to keep it alive during the cold part of the year.
[GARD]
Chili was growing slow at first, but got quite vigorous when sun got a bit higher in the late spring. It liked baking in full sun at high temperature, but it also needed a lot of water. I’ve made a mistake and kept it inside the same pot for too long, which resulted in strong and a bit congested root system. When I planted it outside, it took quite some time to actually start growing again – I’m not sure if it was low temperature and excessive rainfall or the fact that it got root bound while still inside it’s pot.
I decided to try growing Eucalyptus gunii and Eucalyptus globulus. The first is supposed to be hardy enough to survive our winters and will eventually go out. Eucalyptus globulus gets damaged when exposed to even moderate frost which makes it an indoor plant. I’ll try it inside for a couple of years and then if it gets too large, I’ll try it outside, perhaps with some luck and winter protection, it might regrow from the bottom of the trunk and roots each spring.
Wet and cool weather made E. gunii suffer and after a while, it got severe mold infection. I removed leaves that were hit the most and placed it inside into dry unheated room to recover. Lack of light didn’t seem to harm them and they remained practically the same for a while. Dry air caused the mould infection to disappear, but soon they got hit by aphids. Especially Eucalyptus globulus started growing actively as soon as it received more light and warmth in an upcoming spring. When there were no more temperatures below freezing, I placed them outside in full sun and they instantly took off.
More to come as this little project evolves..
Each spring or early summer, bamboos start shooting. It’s favourite time of the year for most of Bamboo growers, that anticipate the new season with curiosity.
Many bamboo varieties look similar if not almost identical when they are mature, but most of them, if not all, have unique shoots. To successfully identify a bamboo, we usually depend on unique characteristics – mature shoot appearance offers just that.
I’m growing several different bamboos and I decided to take shoot photos and try to capture their uniqueness.
Borinda fungosa is the first bamboo I owned. I had grown it from seed in 2011.
Shoots are a bit different from other bamboos, because of extremely large culm sheaths of Borinda genus. As they emerge, they seem completely hollow. After a while, they start to look more like other bamboos, when stem starts elongating and fills the empty space inside the shoot.
Borinda is a late shooter, it usually shoots around mid May. It usually (always so far) sets another round of shoots around September which get killed during the winter.
Hibanobambusa tranquillans ‘Shiroshima’ is thought to be a natural hybrid between Phyllostachys nigra ‘Henonis’ and Sasa veitchii. It’s variegation and large leaves make it look spectacular.
Shoots often appear completely pink or white and then, after they get exposed to light, turn into light green, with cream white stripes and pink tanned sheath blades.
Fargesia rufa is clumping bamboo that shoots early. Usually first shoots emerge in early to mid March.
Dense hair on the shoot offer good protection from pest that wakes up early in the spring, like slugs for example.