Outdoor Starfruit Grow

[Ascended Master Kief]

Plant species: Averrhoa carambola. Pretty sure it's not a commercial variety.
Planted: November or December 2012
In/Out: Outdoors
Medium: Miracle Grow Organics Potting Mix
Lighting: Big nuclear fusion reactor in the sky.
Status: Growing a little bigger every day! It won't start flowering for at least a year after germination, according to wikipedia.
Watering: When it looks thirsty, usually, but normally, along with the rest of my non420 garden every morning. I use a garden hose, tap water, rain-style sprayer. Usually give every plant (except cacti) a really good soaking.

Any other details y'all would be interested in hearing, ask me. Anywho.......

Growing starfruit trees! ​

Ever seen a starfruit? It looks like this:

From wikimedia:

Well, about 5 or 6 months ago, my neighbor came home with three or four big shopping bags full of starfruit from their friend's tree. So, I was given one of the bags full of starfruit, about 20 lbs worth! It was about 30-40 starfruit. Well, it took a while to eat 'em all, lol. Some were very ripe when I got to them, but very good eating. I got the seeds I planted from the very ripe starfruits, and simply stuck 'em in pots full of MG Organics Potting Mix. Been watering pretty much every day or two since, along with rest of non-420 garden.

Here's a pic from April 20th, about 4 months old, I think.

From today!

I have given away two of the trees, and am tree-sitting the one in the blue pot for a friend of mine. He wants it to get bigger before he takes it, so he doesn't kill it, lol.

I'll keep y'all posted on these trees' progress! I am really excited about them. First bona-fide tree I've ever grown.

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

They're gettin bigger!

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

I ought to update this, as it's been a little while, and the tree has grown a little bit since my last post. I'll get a picture tomorrow. The one in the blue pot, I gave to my friend finally. I'll probably help him transplant it soon, as I think it's being stunted by the pot being shallow, and probably rootbound by now. The one in the black pot, mine, has also had its growth slowed, probably due to filling its roots out to capacity. Bigger pot, soon. Hoping to graduate this to a really big pot, instead of the ground, because this is a tree I don't care to leave to my trailer park. A bougainvillea, yeah, I'll leave to the park, because I don't like my trailer park, but this starfruit tree stays with me! Walmart and Home Depot had some bins for toys or laundry or something, about 30 or so gallons, with rope handles, cheap plastic, but with drainholes, work perfect, and are only about $6, compared to a lot more for garden pots that size. Got some hibiscuses and a croton in those pots. More pics of them, too, tomorrow.

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

Sorry about the delay in getting pics. Been on psych meds, and they've been messing with my memory, and psychiatric well-being. Wanting to go back to natural meds, if ya know what I mean.
Anywho, the starfruit has gotten a lot bigger! Really excited about it. Tested something I saw on wiki about it being reactive to various stimuli. Flicked the trunk a little, and every leaf sorta hurriedly folded downwards, as it looks in the photo. In the photo here, it's just beginning to be sun down, so that's why the leaves folded, but earlier today did it. About five minutes after they folded, watched them slowly open back up. Really cool.

Crazy maybe, but I get along better with plants than I do with people. I have an easier time talking to plants than people, anyway. Social anxiety disorder sucks, but my potted patio garden is my zen area.

The bathtub in the pic will eventually hold a whole bunch of soil, and either a bunch of herbs, or flowers. Behind the bathtub, to the left, you can sorta see my pineapple plant, and to the right of the starfruit tree, is a varigated croton cutting. I have some sort of purple flowers above and behind the tub to the right. To the extreme left, you can just barely see a few leaves from my coral plant. It just started flowering last week.

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

Well, it's been almost a month again. I have a picture or two, but can't find it at the moment. Will look for it later, or take another one. Anywho, I think it's almost stopped growing, sort of. Although, each branch seems to have more leaves on it now. It just hasn't grown very far "up." On a side note, I got some apple (red delicious) seeds to pop, and will be putting them into soil very soon. Saving lots of money since I quit smoking cigarettes, so soil and gardening supplies are a little easier to afford now. I am planning to put the starfruit into a bigger pot, but I would ultimately like to keep the tree to sorta stay small, maybe 5 or 6 or 7 feet. Small enough for a big, yet moveable, pot.

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

Oops. Got high and forgot to update my starfruit thread, lol. Okay, so here goes, and even a pic!

I decided to put the tree into a bigger pot, as I wanted to transplant it before it got rootbound. Another month or two and it would have been, I think. Anywho, I used a #2 pot and loaded it up with MG organics garden soil. The tree seems happy!

(and yeah, those are holes in the pot near the top, previously for 420 purposes)

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

Came home today to find the wind had bended the barely pliable trunk into a smooth 90 degree radius. Bent her back up, carefully. Will get pics when it's brighter out, the morning.

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

Going to HD this weekend, going to get some cheap stakes, to help hold my tree up. Its trunk is not yet strong enough to face my area's breezy climate. I'll try to grab pics of it today or tomorrow.

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

I finally found a photo of this tree, as a seedling! It's only a few days old in this pic.

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

At nine months, it's every bit of 3ft tall! It has not begun branching out yet, though.

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

Amazing sight, had to join these two pics together.
Seedling

Nine months old

This is one helluva fast-growing tree!

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

Wow, it's been a couple months here for this carambola thread.

In late September, I was screwing around and wanting to trigger branching, so I FIM'd her. Well, she's a tree, and if you read Tolkien, you'll realize trees do everything slooooooooowly. It took her a month or more to recover, but she did start three side branches, and the top has begun growing like crazy again! As soon as I get a big bag of dirt, she's going into a 20 gallon container, and down the line, into the ground.

Here's a pic!

EDIT: Note, it's been eleven months or so since I started that tree from seed.

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

At almost a year old, she's growing a few branches, and is about four feet tall. Heavy rain yesterday had her almost bent over, so since she's standing next to my outdoor fridge, I carefully used magnets to hold her up. Will get a pic or two if my camera cooperates.

EDIT: I think she wants to go into the ground, and let her roots stretch out. I don't want to do that, since I may be moving in the next year or so, so she'll have to deal with just a bigger pot. I have an HDX 18-gallon tub with rope handles that I'll bore some holes in and use. Got it at Home Depot for only $6. Hell of a lot cheaper than plant pots. I have a couple hibiscuses and a variegated croton that are in the same tubs, for over two years in the Florida sun, and are still very strong, and somewhat flexible, so they stand up to UV very well. And only $6. Can't go wrong. I'd recommend them for all plants.

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

Hey all, again!
Time to update my starfruit grow journal again. Took pics on January 31. It's a little over a year old! Its branches are getting bigger and bigger, but it's not getting any taller. I think it may be time soon to put it into a bigger pot.

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

Holy crap, this needs an update. I'll get back with pictures soon. For now, though, I should mention that the tree is doing wonderfully, having fully recovered from what I think was simply, a wintering. It hasn't got any flowers or fruit yet, but stands about a meter and a half tall, and has lots of leaves and some branching going on. Pictures soon!

 

[Richard Richardson]

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

I haven't got any new pics of my starfruit, sorry! (Right now pics of it would give away my position, lol) I actually plan to wait until springtime to grab pics, hopefully before she gets her leaves back, and as she gets them back. I think I missed that this year, and grabbed few, if any pics. The tree is about 2 meters tall right now, but has few leaves left. This year, she kept a lot of new branches, and I look forward to her bushing out next spring and summer. I am REALLY hoping to have fruit by 2016.

This year has seen an explosion of growth on her, and she even had a drunken fool fall on her, and break a few small, lower branches. Her trunk is about 1-1/2 to 2 cm thick at its widest point, and is quite strong. We get a lot of wind here sometimes, as there's nothing to stop the wind in this county but barbed wire cattle fences, and RVs. I think the wind has made her strong, and before the Spring Equinox, I plan to transplant her a semi-final time, into an 18-gallon home-modified tub/tote (HDX cheapo tubs you find at HD or Walmart, with rope handles--just cut some holes near the bottom, cheaper than plant container that big) container.

 

[wildjim]

Can't wait for spring to see a photo update.

WJ

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

Got a pic of my starfruit tree! Edited it a little bit (just cropped some stuff). She's doing very well, and I'll be repotting her very soon. I've got all the soil and stuff I need.

 

[wildjim]

She's growing AMK. And she is looking very good. How tall now? As much as she has grown you might get some fruit next year for sure. If you don't mind, I'll put up a photo of my tent garden before taking everything out in April. Let me know...

Got my tomatoes growing in a new 4x8 tent. They are 4 yrs old this spring. Still drop the blossoms even under the LEDs. But the will start producing tomatoes as soon as I put them outside in the system. Also have some Ruby Chard, Pak Choy and some nice Adrianna Bib lettuce, Already harvested two big heads of the lettuce.

WJ