Friday, June 29, 2018

Tropical Plants

I am from the tropical country of Philippines so I miss  all the tropical fruits that I used to enjoy back then.  I am trying to  grow them here in the US so my kids can see   how the fruits that I introduced to them grows.  I also love growing plants from scrap, it takes a little while for it to  develop into a mature plant but it is worth the wait as you will see it's transformation.  It is more of educational for my kids and  of course a satisfaction for my love of gardening.


1.  Pineapple -   I planted this pineapple from the fruit that we bought from the store.  What I love about pineapple is that you can  chop off the crown and  stick it in the  pot with soil and it will  grow.  If you want a more elaborate way of properly planting it, you can read this article from Wikihow, I just grow it the way my Dad  taught me  when I was a kid.  I have two  pineapple pants now and I transferred  them into bigger  pots.
2.  Calamondin -  This calamondin tree is  a native  fruit in the Philippines commonly known as Kalamansi.  We used it for cooking and  making lemonades.  We don't really use the  lemon and lime that you can find here in the States.  I will talk more about this at the end of the post.
3.  Avocado - Okay, I know that this will be impossible to  grow  here because of winter  but I am trying  anyway for the kids to see.  Avocado is also easy to grow, you just need to put the seed in a pot of soil and it  will perk right up after few days.  The only problem  about this fruit is, it grow as a big tree.  I need to find out if I can  prune it  and maintain it as a small tree as I can bring it inside the house on  freezing season.  Hubby and I love avocado.  He love it for dessert but I love it in salad.
 4.  Taro (Colocasia esculenta) - I grew up eating this plant, both the leaves and the roots.  It's a  common leafy vegetable in the Philippines and other Asian countries.  My Dad  used to cook  it in coconut oil and  put lots of spicy peppers and oh it's so good!  I grow it  because when  I am  homesick and missing my family back, I cope with cooking the  food that my family  love to eat.  You can cook the leaves fresh or you can dry it and cook it. Dried taro leaves  lasts a long time too.
 5.  Moringa or malunggay as we  commonly call it.  It's a very  leafy vegetable  that has a lot of healthy benefits.  You can use it for soup or cook it in coconut milk, yum!   It is a good herbal alternative to relieve stomach disorders, allergies and diabetes. Moringa also aids in liver and eye protection and bone health improvement.
 6.  Lemons - I have few lemon plants.  I grew it from the lemon seeds that I used in the kitchen.  I'm not sure how long  before  this plant bears fruit but I'm excited.  I can't grow them in the yard because of winter weather but I can sure grow it in the pots.  Comes winter though, my living room window is crowded with plants ha ha.
7.  Jack Fruit - we call this langka in tagalog language.  It grow as a big tree but I wanted to grow it  just so the kids can see it.  We bought a piece of  ripe jackfruit from the Asian store last month and I thought of trying to grow two seeds.  It's now coming up although it's  not that big yet, I am excited.  The fruit smells so good and taste even better.
8.  Asian Pear - I fell in love with this fruit  when we lived in South Korea few years back.  They are crunchy and juicy, a tad bit different from the US pears.  I also grow the seeds from the fruit we bought at an Asian store.  I did a research online and I found a farm that grow this fruit in Virginia.  So I am hoping that it can  tolerate the freezing temperature here in WV.  We will see.
This calamondin tree is  a new addition to my potted tropical plants.  I  got it from ViaCitrus.  It's a company that sells  citrus fruits such as Key Lime, Meyer lemon trees, and this Florida Calamondin.  I will find out if their calamondin is like the kalamansi that we had  in the Philippines.  
The packaging is great and it  has specific instruction for the  courier but of course in transit you can never guarantee that it won't be disturbed.  Half of it's soil  went in the  box but it's okay because I needed to transfer it in a bigger pot anyway.
I love that they shipped it right away when you order it.  Within  2 days, I got my calamondin which I think is super fast and awesome!
I put sand at the bottom of the pot  for good drainage as I did not have  pebbles or small rocks anymore.
I hope that it won't wilt while we are gone for a week.  I prepared a small bottle of water  that has  small holes on the lid and will put it beside it.  
I think the best  strategy for this to stay small is to prune it so we will see how it progress in my care.  If you want to  grow a calamondin, check them out at Via Citrus.  They ship fast.
I hope that in the near future, we can convert this  back porch into a sun porch so I will have  a place to put all my potted plants  with a good amount of morning sunlight during the winter.  It would be a costly project but hope to be able to do it.  For now, our next project will be the kitchen.
To better understand what the calamondin is, I found this video on Youtube that you can watch.

Disclosure: The owner of this blog was NOT financially compensated to write this review. I was provided with the complimentary product/s mentioned for testing purposes and to help me facilitate this review but opinions are my own.

17 Smart Readers SAID::

Shabby Chic Boho said...

I love all of your pots, so cute. I am growing a couple of pineapple trees but really want some lemons. I'll have to try them as soon as I get moved to my new apartment.

melissa chapman said...

You grow such beautiful plants and even if they don't have fruit they are great. It is nice that you show your kids their roots so to speak in your planting.

Lisa said...

I've heard that trick about the pineapple before... love the fact that you're actually going on and doing it! I love plats and flowers and like to think I have somewhat of a green thumb. I bet your garden is beautiful!

joannabri said...

I have a black thumb, and no matter what I do I can't seem to even keep a cactus alive. :-( I hate it so much. Thankfully my husband can keep everything alive for me! ;-)

Ashley @Irishred02 said...

I had some plants but our dog tore them up. I wish I could have pretty flowers like this, yours look beautiful.

Gluten Free Lady said...

I do not have the best luck with plants. I would love to sample that moringa and learn more about the benefits.

Glam Karen said...

Wow! It's really nice that you're planting fruits that remind you of home. I'm sure the kids will be excited to see them grow as well. Such a wonderful plan for your garden! Hope all goes well!

Alexandra said...

I used to have plants all over the house. I need to get some more.

Emily said...

I was never into gardening until we purchased our home, then I discovered a love for it. I would love to be able to grow an avocado tree here in Wisconsin, we eat them all the time but it would not last.

Jona Shares said...

Wow, this is so nice. I love how you were able to grow such plants. Also, I love that you have some labels for the citrus one. - Anosa Malanga

valmg said...

I have a less than green thumb unfortunately. I've seen jack fruit in the store, they look like they have a little face. I've also seen Asian pears there.

Jeannette said...

I LOVE tropical fruit! I wish I had your talent to get it to grow (I kill everything I try planting LOL). I think I need to take a tour in your garden and taste from really fresh fruit!

Unknown said...

The satisfaction and happiness you feel when your plant grows is great. You have plenty of amazing plants, best of luck in pruning your avocado.

The Super Mom Life said...

I love plants but I can't keep them alive and neither can my husband. :(

Jenny said...

I wish I could do the plants thing. I have them in my Sims game. Not in real life though. Last time we tried to have a plant, we ended up putting it outside cause it was dying inside the house xD

ricci said...

I love this post!! I would love to grow my own pineapple!! How cool!

Unknown said...

So nice that you're planting all these tropical plants! We grow different plants here at home but I've never experienced planting Taro before. That's really interesting!

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