Subtropical Garden in Carmel Valley

The Manila mango plant I bought from Home Depot in a 1-gallon pot 2 years ago has several almost-ripe fruits on them. The label from Home Depot indicated it is " Manila " variety. However, They don't look like the yellow Manila mango you get from the supermarket (especially the oriental supermarkets) since they have lot of spots and appear to be more greenish-yellow. I am not sure about the if I should trust the Home Depot label since the plants are often mis - labeled . I am just thrilled that the plant has done well enough to fruit. It was like 2 and 1/2 feet tall when I planted it. Now it is about 6 feet tall. The tree is quite ornamental too. The new leaves are red and contrast very prettily against the mature green leaves. It has a tendency to have too many buds from the joint, so I have to cut a few new growth off to avoid over-crowding. I have not seen any insects or disease problems so far even though aphid, mealy bugs and giant white flies have b...

The fruits of feijoa The fruits of feijoa ( Acca sellowiana or used to be Feijoa sellowiana ) are ripe and falling to the ground right now (see the second picture ). A few are still on the bush (upper picture). The fruits are oval in shape and green in color. It is really hard to tell if they are ripe. So, I just let them fall from the bush and collect the fruits. Feijoa fruits have a very unique fragrance and flavor, kind like tropical guava with distinct taste. Unlike guava, the skin is hard. So, I usually cut the fruits in halves and scoop out the white flesh with a spoon. I have a single bush for 2 years and it is the first year it has fruited, although it flowered last year without fruits. The flowers are quite pretty and edible. The petals are quite sweet, almost like candy. The leaves are grey green on top and silvery underneath, suggesting feijoa is quite drought tolerant and I have seen people using it as a hedge. The plant is facing east with afternoon shade and seemed ...

Plumeria is almost past its peak. Plumeria grows really well here in San Diego. It is so fragrant. Every time I see the flowers, I remember the plumeria leis in Hawaii. The one in the picture is the typical plumeria you see in Hawaii. I also have one that called "Raibow". The flower has pink, yellow and white colors, but it is still small and only have a few flowers. I also have a yellow flowered "cerise" and a red-flowered plumeria that have yet to flower. But they all grow very well and I can imagine the glorious flowers they will have next summer. The "cerise" had 3 branches. So, I cut 2 branches off, let them dried in the shade for a week and put the dried stems to 2 pots. The leaves are starting to growing on the top of the stems, one of the stem actually has several flower buds. So, hopefully this means they have rooted and will grow and flower next year.

The cymbidium Golden Elf "Sundust" is blooming beautifully now. It usually has several flower spikes and blooms more than once yearly. It has a very nice fragrance. Although the flowers do not last as long as other large cymbidium, it is very easy to care and flower reliably every year. I have sub-dividied the plants several time and have 4 plants in pots now (not including the 2 pots I gave to my brother and a friend as gifts) and all flowering now. It is also a miniature so it does not need lot of space. It is one of my favorate flowers.

This is my first blog. I live in San Diego, about 5 miles from the ocean. I have a few subtropical frut trees such as mango, cherimoya, Loquat, guava, wax Jambu (left picture) and Dragon fruit (right picture). The wax Jambu ( Syzygium samarangense " Black pearl") was planted 2 years ago and fruited the first this year. The fruit is crunch, sweet and juicy. The dragon fruit was planted last year and I have only a single fruit that should mature soon. I also have lot of flower plants which I will have pictures in the future.  . I grow vegetables such as tomato, pepper, cilantro, basil, and eggplant and some Chinese vegetable.