The first of what I hope will be many malabar chestnuts has sprouted for me!!! Has anyone grown these? I've read the PlantFiles material. Will they need shade in our hot, humid summers?
Thanks.
malabar chestnut
HI...they grow beautifully here...in the sun! They are one of the 'trees of choice' to grow for shade..especially for a sun sensitive plant...they grow quickly and are quite lovely....and give good shade!!! You should have fun with it....
Carol
thank you. good information. i have three babies as of today.
I wish you guys would stop tempting me! I haven't got room for another tree, especially one that will grow up to 75 feet! Is that how tall yours grow Carol? Would love one though....
Howiz, Katiebear? I hope you got those bites under control and your foot is feeling better. How are the puppies?
Mom - I am much better, thanks. Puppies are fat and ahppy.
You can see pictures of the malabar chestnut at tradewindsfruit.com. It was the pitures of the flowers that grabbed me. When I read it also gives edible nut, I had to have it.
katiebear
If anyone is interested (Mom, are you listening?) seeds for this are available now from seedshawaii.com. They don't hold well so get 'em now.
Katie...To call the fruit edible is a bit of a stretch, I think. Perhaps in a famine, or stranded on an island... They need to be roasted but that is all I know.
You sound like you are having lots of fun!!!
Carol
Absolutely can't do another 75 foot tree! Just had to have 7 of the mangos topped....orchid trees growing out of control - I am really begining to hate orchid trees, pretty flower but what a weed here, every seed pod germinates!
Hum...need a patch as big as Carols!
Your seedlings look like they are doing so well Katiebear, are you growing them for the shade and fruit as well as the flowers? Do they really taste sort of like a peanut?
Jenny...Orchid Trees can be such an agressive thing...I saw a hedge (tall...but well pruned) made out of them....unless they are the fragrant kind...but if they seed they are not that. Why don't you get rid of them...or all but one. They can be such a pest!!!!
Hi Carol, no, they are not the fragrant kind unfortunately. I am finding them very hard to get rid of, I have cut them down to 1 foot stubs and within two weeks I have a whole bushy tree starting again! I am now seriously considering poison of some kind - I am not sure that roundup for brush will be strong enough...a fellow who lives up-country told me to drill holes in the top of the trunk and pour muracid in...hesitant to try this! One of the stupid trees is bigger around than my arms can reach - what a pest! Any tips on killing them short of dynamite?
Hi Mom, I haven't ever eaten the nuts - I planted all of mine. I have read that raw they taste like peanuts (maybe like raw peanuts which are not my favorite) and cooked, like chestnuts. I think it was in the plantfiles that I read about someone sprouting them. It will be a few years before I can tell you from personal experience.
Maybe others know? Speak up, people, we need information here!!
(My arms are much better. Yea.)
katiebear
Try diesel fuel to kill it. A friend and fellow DG member who lives about an hour away uses it on weeds. She just brushes it on and it kills that weed and it won't come back. She sometimes mixes it with something but can't remember what that is.
Thanks Pepper, I am going to try that. It's a pity because the flowers are so pretty, but it is a weed of the first order for me and seeds all over the place, you heard Carol, "get rid of them!". Here is a picture of the blooms, it's a shame isn't it?
A major shame! But we have the same problem with Rose of Sharon. Pretty but it is like a weed and can take over your yard.