Last July, I traveled to Quito and picked up a whole lot of trees and plants for the garden while I was there for a week. You guys helped me pay for them as a birthday gift and that was amazing as I was able to purchase all the trees on my list and also get a few more. Let’s take a look at how they’re doing now.
Mangosteen - The tiny mangosteen tree was inexplicably attacked by the dogs where I was staying in Quito. While playing, they ripped it out of its bag and chewed on the roots. I put it back in its bag with most of the dirt and hid it in the back behind bigger plants. Back in Mompiche, I immediately repotted it into a bucket, coaxed it along, and gave it as much love as I could but it finally succumbed to its injuries and died. The plan is to get hold of another mangosteen tree this year and protect it from harm until it arrives in Mompiche to be planted safely in a sunny spot in the garden.
Uvilla - The goldenberry plants both died. I have no idea why. I kept a close eye on them and couldn’t seem to save them from gradually shriveling up. Was it too much water? Or maybe not enough? Maybe they didn’t like the pots I put them in, or the place I put them. It’s hard to say. I have seen uvilla plants around here before so I know they’ll grow. I’m going to get more uvilla plants and try again once some of the bigger trees are established.
Clover - Unfortunately, there were no survivors…
Dandelion - I got three good salads out of this plant before it carked it. I have no idea why it died. How do weeds like that even die? LOL. It could have been cats, so I’m not ruling out feline interference as a possible cause of death.
Strawberry - I brought two strawberry plants back to Mompiche. One of them survived. They were both living in exactly the same conditions in the same place with the same everything else. One is thriving and the other one didn’t make it. I can’t explain this. I plan to get more strawberry plants this year and pot them downstairs. Hopefully, they’ll also enjoy the similar conditions of the surviving plant and choose life.
Vanilla Bean - One of the plants is thriving, climbing up the wall and attaching itself to everything it passes. It’s doing really well. The other was eaten by a blue crab that made its home close by in the garden. I did my best to protect all the plants from crabs, but they’re wily creatures when they are hungry and nothing is totally guaranteed. So far, the surviving vanilla bean is very happy where it is and I hope to get two or three more in the future to put in the same place—with a little extra crab-proofing this time around. Well, that’s most of the bad news from the garden out of the way…
Yellow Dragonfruit - This plant is thriving. It’s still in a big bucket and climbing up the brick wall faster than I imagined it would. One small part died off, but the rest of it is taking the wall by storm. Right next to it, a passionfruit is also taking off, but this will have a season then die off and leave the dragonfruit to continue on its path. The passionfruit is also providing support for the dragonfruit and they coexist in harmony. I’m delighted at the progress of this plant.
Black Grape - As soon as it arrived home, I put the black grape in a huge bucket with sandy soil and loads of fertilizer and it took off immediately. It has a whole wall to climb up and while it’s going a little more slowly than I expected, it’s going well. There was a slight setback when a cat attacked it, but it recovered after I adjusted a few branches and pointed them in a better direction. This plant loves where it is, which is perfect because that’s exactly where I wanted it to grow. Eventually, it will become part of the kitchen wall.
Mulberry - The mulberry is going crazy. Its leaves are huge and it fruits frequently. I often stop by to eat several berries before the birds get them. This is a happy plant. It’s still in a large bucket, but will be moved into the ground over the next couple of months. I think it likes the spot I chose so there it will stay.
Pomegranate - It just flowered! The flower is a pretty pink and looks quite delicate. I was so thrilled to see this flower while I was pottering around in the garden last week. This means it’s happy and healthy. It’s also time for this tree to go in the ground. It will be too close to the mulberry where it is, so I’ll have to choose another spot, but I think in the same general area it will do well.
Rose Apple - The rose apple is doing well. It had a slight setback when the top branch was broken off somehow. I don’t know how it happened. A bird landed too hard? HAHAHA! Who knows, but it recovered from that little incident and is now throwing out branches in all directions. I still don’t know exactly where I will put it in the ground, but I’ll be looking at spots for its permanent home over the next few weeks.
Black Fig - I ate the first fruit of this tree a few weeks ago and now there’s another fruit. That’s a good sign that this tree is happy. I have plans to move this tree and its other fig brother to a section of the garden on the kitchen side of the house where I think they’ll both be happy and thrive, producing plenty of fruit for both me and the birds.
Brown Fig - While it hasn’t produced any fruit yet, it looks good. The trunk split right at the base, so it’s gonna be a two-for-one situation when the tree gets bigger. The branches will essentially become two trees and hopefully double the fruit. Transplanting is still in the planning stages. This will need to be a careful two-man operation so there’s no damage to the tree.
Jaboticaba - This tree is thriving. It’s going to be some time before we see any fruit. Typically, the tree can take up to 8-15 years before fruiting directly on the trunk. It looks happy, but will also need to be moved before the big bucket it’s in starts to limit root growth. I have yet to choose a specific place in the garden for it to have a permanent home, but I’m working on that now.
Verigated Oregano - This plant is doing really well. I repotted it and put it upstairs on the plant balcony. I’m about to separate some of it out and replant new sections in new pots to ensure its survival. I’ve been adding it to all kinds of foods and using it as often as I can in cooking. It’s been great to have in my herb garden.
Miracle Fruit - This little bush is still in its smaller bucket and almost ready to be moved into a bigger bucket. It will stay in a bucket because that’s the best way to protect a small plant like this from crabs. For now, it’s happy and thriving. At first, it didn’t like the place I had it in the front garden, then I moved it to a semi-shaded spot in the back garden and it’s doing great. It hasn’t fruited yet, but I have no doubt it will when it’s ready in about 2-3 years.
All in all, the Birthday Tree project was hugely successful despite a few small setbacks. Those of you who sponsored a tree or some other plants last year have helped change the face of the garden and also made a bunch of birds and insects happy. When the trees are bigger, I suspect the local iguanas and possums will also enjoy them. It will still take some of the trees several years to fruit and produce seeds so we can in turn reproduce more trees and plant them around the village, but we have taken the first few steps.
Other trees doing well in the garden at the moment include the starfruit, the rollinia deliciosa [a.k.a chirimoya], the cacao trees, and also the lime trees. This year, I hope to pick up some more trees and plants, mostly to replace last year’s losses, but also add a couple of new ones to the list. I’ll keep you posted on how they’re going. Meanwhile, let me know if you’d like to put your name on a tree in my garden this year…