GREEN Craftivist

How many fruit trees have you planted from seed?    When the pandemic started and I became engrossed in gardening, I made a resolve to plant fruit-bearing trees and to germinate seeds myself instead of buying from outside seedling providers.  My thinking was that if I am able to germinate seeds from good quality fruits, then I am assured of harvesting the same quality of fruits in the future. I also saw the need to optimize the use of my limited garden space where trees do not have much room to spread their roots and branches, much more to accommodate a tree that does not bear good quality fruits. Not only is it space-consuming to grow a tree. Time, effort and money are involved in growing a tree before it starts bearing fruits. It can be very laborious or expensive if later on you decide to have it cut or uprooted when the fruits are not as good as you expect them to be. I give credit to my mother for growing an avocado tree in her small yard from the seed of...

Do you know how to propagate an African Talisay tree? The African Talisay is an elegant tree ideal for gardens or areas with wide growing  space. It has a straight, slender trunk that can reach very tall heights with radial branches growing horizontally up to 6 feet or more in equidistant layers. Compared to the local variety with oval leaves that are twice the size of the palm of your hand, its obovate  leaves that are a little bigger than your thumb grow very close to each other in every stem, providing shade on hot, sunny days. During  the shedding off season, the leaves turn yellow and the branches may appear wilted after the leaves have fallen, but will nevertheless grow new leaves in a week’s time. It is best to plant it away from the roof or let it grow just below the roof as the fallen leaves may clog up the gutter if left un-swept. Daily sweeping of the ground may be needed as well during this period. I bought a 5-foot tree for a pricey amount with a resolve to p...