The Gardenisto

The Gardenisto is passionate about aquaponics, hydroponics, horticulture, and traditional gardening. The Gardenisto shares his knowledge to help other enthusiasts in their own gardening endeavors.

Golden Currant

| January 28, 2014
Golden Currant Flowers
Photo Credit: Keith Knoxsville
A Hen and a Drake Green Teal on the truck bed. Not a limit on anything, but a fun morning out.

Golden Currant

Golden Currant Flowers

Golden Currant Bloom

Golden Currant Green Growth

Golden Currant Breaking Dormancy

The Golden Currant, Ribes Aureum Gracillimum, is one of two varieties of golden currant, Ribes Aureum Aureum and Ribes Aureum Gracillimum.Ribes A. Aureum is a cold hardy, variety of the Ribes A. It requires cold winter climates, lots of winter chill hours to thrive, and does not tolerate heat well.

Ribes A. Gracillimum on the other hand, is less hardy to extreme cold, can tolerate temperatures below freezing but not to the extreme of A. Aureum. It also tolerates heat, and drought, exceptionally well. Ribes A. Gracillimum is a native Southern California drought tolerant plant, and grows well in Southern California chaparral, under oaks, and in southern oak woodlands.

The Ribes A. Gracillimum is an attractive plant, produces and abundance of early spring flowers, yellow in color, aesthetically pleasing and attractive to hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies.

The fruits range in size up to about 1cm, and during maturation change from yellow, to orange, to red in color. The fruit of the Ribes A. Gracillimum is quite palatable. Fruit has been used by Native Americans a variety of ways, fresh, dried, etc. We enjoy this fruit fresh in the Gardenisto garden.

The golden currant can also be grown well in containers that drain well, and pair nicely in the garden with the Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea), another attractive native to southern and central California.

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Dragon Fruit

| January 27, 2014
Dragon Fruit on a Trellis
Photo Credit: Keith Knoxsville
A Hen and a Drake Green Teal on the truck bed. Not a limit on anything, but a fun morning out.
Dragon Fruit LimbsDragon Fruit Trellis
Dragon fruit, or Pitahaya, is the common reference to any of three Hylocereus varieties.

  • Hylocereus undatus: Red-skinned fruit with white flesh.
  • Hylocereus costaricensis: Red-skinned fruit with red flesh.
  • Hylocereus megalanthus

Dragon Fruit is an easy to grow plant in the Cactaceae family. It requires humus rich soil with good drainage to do well, but is fairly tolerant to less than perfect soil. Our Dragon Fruit grows well in zone 9 with very little care. Occasional removal of unwanted limbs may be necessary to trellis or help shape the plant into something manageable.

Propagation is most easily done via cuttings from a parent plant. Its best to allow the cutting to callus and form differentiated cells. Those cells then dedifferentiate into cells specific to roots and rooting. A cutting should also be buried in a medium past at least one row of nodes to promote better root growth. The nodes on a Dragon Fruit can be identified by tiny spines in a lip, on the edge of the plant limb.

The Dragon Fruit is well known for its interesting fruits, but also produces nocturnal flowers up to 30cm.

Dragon Fruit grows most productively on plant limbs that are two or more years old. New growth won’t produce fruit, and very old growth will not produce as prolifically. Commercial farming practices involve trellising or allowing main stalks to grow to a certain height on a post, before they are trained to branch. The branching droops, allowing for easy maintenance, and high yields due to sun exposure.

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StarFruit

| January 27, 2014
Star Fruit Grown From Seed
Photo Credit: Keith Knoxsville
A Hen and a Drake Green Teal on the truck bed. Not a limit on anything, but a fun morning out.

The Averrhoa Carambola, more commonly called the Starfruit for the shape made by a cross-sectional cut in the fruit, is a tropical species of tree native to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The 2 to 6 inch fruits, with 4 to 8 ribs, have a distinct flavor resembling green apple, pears, and grape, with a tart component. The tart component is the result of concentrations of oxalic acid, which is considered harmful to persons with kidney issues. Persons with kidney issues may also, be unable to filter out a neurotoxin found in Carambola Averrhoa

The fruit of the Carambola tree, is also rich in antioxidants, Potassium, Vitamin C, and even exhibits antimicrobial activity. A typical Carambola tree can produce within 4 to 5 years, and has interesting and ornamental leaves.

A variety of named cultivars exist. Propagation from seed is possible, and germination rates vary depending on the freshness of seed, and variety. Some cultivated varieties of Carambola do not have seeds.

The Star Fruit is also an attractive Nyctinastic plant. Meaning it will close up leaves, when it is dark, or disturbed.

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Australian Finger Lime

| December 21, 2013
Finger Lime
Photo Credit: Keith Knoxsville
A Hen and a Drake Green Teal on the truck bed. Not a limit on anything, but a fun morning out.

Finger Lime

Finger Lime 2

Finger Lime 3

Finger Lime 4
Description:
Australian Finger Lime, or Citrus Caviar, is a thorny citrus shrub from the lowland subtropics of Australia. Its a thorny but manageable shrub, that produces elongated citrus fruits resembling a finger. The globular juice vesicles resemble caviar, varying from white to pink in color, and are often used for garnishes.

The Australian Finger Lime is an easy plant to grow, hardy, tolerates a wide range of growing conditions, and its small leaves and oddly shaped fruit make it somewhat ornamental, even for a thorny bush.

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Epiphyllum Hybrid X

| December 18, 2013
Epiphyllum Hybrid X
Photo Credit: Keith Knoxsville
A Hen and a Drake Green Teal on the truck bed. Not a limit on anything, but a fun morning out.
Epiphyllum Hybrid X 1

Epiphyllum Hybrid X 1

Epiphyllums produce what is perhaps one of the most, if not the most beautiful flower in the plant world. The many hybrids produced by both natural cross pollination as and enthusiasts, has led to thousands of unique and exotic looking flowers.

The massive endeavor to catalog hybrids can’t really keep up with the many new and amazing hybrids. There simply aren’t enough eyes to identify and catalog every hybrid cultivar. As such, the hybrid of Epiphyllum grown in the Gardenisto garden, will likely remain an unidentified mystery for a while.

Epiphyllum also produce an edible fruit, similar to the Dragon Fruit. The flavor of the fruits is highly variable, dependent on the hybrid. The Gardenisto hybrid is actually quite tasty, and fruits annually.

In addition to gorgeous flowers and tasty fruit, the plant is fairly durable and easy to grow. Exposing the plant to intense sunlight causes the plant edges to produce an intense redish color on leaves.

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Lychee Hak Ip

| December 16, 2013
Photo Credit: Keith Knoxsville
A Hen and a Drake Green Teal on the truck bed. Not a limit on anything, but a fun morning out.
LycheeHakIpBuds

Lychee Hak Ip Leaf

Description:
The Hak Ip Lychee is a preferred cultivar for its consistently productive nature, small seed, and great flavor. The Hak Ip lychee is also a fairly stable plant for home gardens in California, Florida, and similar climates. Hak Ip, meaning ‘Black Leaf’ in Chinese, refers to the plants dark green, to almost black colored leaves. Like many lychee varieties, propagation is typically done through air layering.

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Blueberry Pink Lemonade

| December 14, 2013
Pink Lemonade Blueberries
Photo Credit: Keith Knoxsville
A Hen and a Drake Green Teal on the truck bed. Not a limit on anything, but a fun morning out.
Pink Lemonade Blueberry BloomsPink Lemonade Blueberry FoliagePink Lemonade Blueberry Foliage 2
Description:
The Pink Lemonade Blueberry is a hybrid of a Vaccinium Corymbosum and Vaccinium Ashei. Developed by Mark Ehlenfeldt, USDA-ARS, it is self pollinating but does better with cross pollination from other Rabbit Eye cultivars. Spring blooms are white and bell shaped. Fruits ripen to a pink color in late July to early August. Foliage turns vibrant colors golden, to pink and red in fall.

While its a rarity to have a pink colored mature blueberry, its not a gimmick. The fruits are of equal quality and character to other varieties, and in our opinion is one of the better varieties. If you prefer a slight tartness to your blue berries, then the pink lemonade blueberry may be a good crop to grow.

The pink lemonade blueberry variety grows well in containers, and is great for the home garden, homesteader, or smallholder. Like most blueberries, it should be grown in an acidic soil that drains well, rich in organic matter, with moisture evenly controlled. The Pink Lem Blueberry should also be grown among a variety of other blueberries for cross pollination, and a better fruit set.

Should you happen to dislike the flavor, the worst case scenario is that it would still be a great ornamental because of its redish fall and winter foliage, white flowers, and pink berries. It would also still be a great talking point for guests in your garden.

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Coffea Catura

| December 13, 2013
Coffea Catura Sprout
Photo Credit: Keith Knoxsville
A Hen and a Drake Green Teal on the truck bed. Not a limit on anything, but a fun morning out.
Coffea Catura Seedling

Coffea Catura Seedling 2

Coffea Catura Sprout

Description:
The Coffea Catura is a mutated variety of the Bourbon Coffea arabica species. Coffea Catura is a prolific producer, faster maturing, compact, with shorter internodes, and is more disease resistant than other Arabica varietals. In our growing experience, even though the Catura is a faster maturing plant, it is not necessarily faster growing. True to most dwarf or squat varieties of plants, the gowth is slow. It will take a few years for this plant

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Coffea Racemosa

| December 12, 2013
Coffea Racemosa
Photo Credit: Keith Knoxsville
A Hen and a Drake Green Teal on the truck bed. Not a limit on anything, but a fun morning out.
Coffea Racemosa

Coffea Racemosa 2

Description:
The Coffea Racemosa is a deciduous shrub up to 3.5m, with short lateral branches, compared to other Coffea Species. It is a less prolific producer of coffee cheries. Coffee cherries of the Racemosa cultivar contain comparatively less caffeine than other commercially cultivated coffee varieties.

Growing Coffea Racemosa:
Its possible to grow Coffea Racemosa indoors, outside in zones down to 9b with special care, and outside in zone 13 without special care. We suggest planting your plant or seedlings in movable containers with a good moisture retentive and slightly acidic medium, treating it as a tender plant, bringing it indoors in cooler weather, and providing moisture and humidity should your climate be devoid of it.

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Coffea Arabica

| December 4, 2013
A Hen and a Drake Green Teal on the truck bed. Not a limit on anything, but a fun morning out.
Small Healthy Coffea ArabicaCoffea ArabicaCoffea Arabica Branching
The Coffea Arabica is the original and most widely consumed coffee in the world. Arabica coffee accounts for roughly 70% of commercial coffee production today.

While you may consume it daily, it doesn’t have to be the only relationship you have with coffee. The Coffea Arabica plant makes a gorgeous house plant because it does not require direct sun. If you live in a zone 9 climate Arabica coffee can be planted outdoors in filtered sun, but should be protected from frost or cold snap.

Coffee is not very hardy to cold temperatures, and do better in higher humidity. They also love a humus rich soil that drains well. They require good amounts of water, but will not tolerate wet feet.

Coffea Arabica leaves are large and waxy, and the flowers showy and wonderfully scented. They have an appearance similar to gardenias. Not surprisingly gardenias are also in the Rubiaceae, or coffee plant family.

While Coffee Arabica can be pruned back to maintain a specific size and shape, more compact dwarf varieties like, Coffea Catura, may be better suited as a house plant.

Propagation can be done by seed. Age of seed, availability, viability issues, long germination times, varying germination rates, and specific germination conditions, make most coffee varieties difficult plants for most gardeners to grow from seed.

Coffee propagation is easily done from cuttings. Our own Gardenisto coffee propagation experiments have yielded a 100% success rate for Arabica, when grown from cuttings.

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