Ibu Kat writes: When I built my house 7 years ago there was already a mango tree in the garden. That year it produced 10 magnificent mangoes as big as my head. It has never bloomed/fruited again. We’ve cajoled it, threatened it, fertilized it, pruned it and fed it, all to no avail. The water tower is right next to it so maybe the excavation may have disturbed its roots, but the tree is perfectly healthy.
A curly one Ibu Kat and I am not certain that I have an answer. The tree is certainly older than 7 years, and I can think of no reason why it is not producing fruit. A seedling tree often takes 7-10 years to bear fruit and quality fruit cannot be guaranteed from a seedling. However, as you say, that one fruiting bore 10 magnificent mangoes.
As the tree is healthy, I do not think that being next to the water tower is the reason. I would take out an insurance policy by planting another mango (or more) in an open, sunny position. If you do this, seek out a grafted tree – these will bear fruit sooner and the fruit will come true-to-type. I find ‘Harum Manis’ the best of the local varieties.
If you a really keen, you could consider Garuda’s ‘week-end special’ and take a quick trip to Darwin. There are huge plantations there and the variety most prized in Australia is ‘Kensington Pride’, which is even better than ‘Harum Manis’. Unfortunately Indonesia does not seem to have same breeding/improvement programs that are common in the Land of Oz. If you go there, you could also pick up 2-3 varieties of avocado which are far superior to local avocadoes.
Back to your recalcitrant tree! There is an old proverb (sexist and most politically incorrect in this day and age) – it goes ‘A dog, a woman, and a walnut tree; the more you beat ‘em, the better they be’. I quote this saying with only half my tongue in my cheek. You see, I have friends back in Oz who had a 20 y.o. walnut tree which had never flowered nor borne nuts.
In disgust, they were on the point of removing the tree entirely. I mentioned the above to them, so they took a big chunk of building timber and gave the trunk of the tree a thorough beating. Next year it flowered and fruited and has continued to do so ever since. Nobody seems to know quite why, but what have you got to lose by not giving it a go? Even if unsuccessful, you still have a healthy, handsome, shade tree. Let me know the results.
Maggie of Ubud writes: It is wonderful to have a gardening column in the Advertiser - badly needed, I am sure, by many of us. So many plants I would like to try, but where to find them? Specifically – Vireya Rhododendrons, Flowering Ginger (Hedychium coronaria), Hoya, Saintpaulia (African violets), Gloxinia, Eranthemum, Stephanotis. The nurseries I know of all have huge quantities of the same limited varieties.
Thank you for your nice comments Maggie. You will need to go a bit further afield in your search. There are many Toko Bunga along Jl.Hang Tua, and Jl. Hayam Wuruk – Sanur/Renon. I know that H. coronarium is available there, but why not take a tour around your local gardens looking for this, as it is commonly grown. Most gardeners are generous people and I have never had a refusal when asking for a cutting of this or a root of that – especially if you can offer a prized piece in return.
The only sources of R. vireya (along with all the others you specify) I know of are in Singapore or Australia. Use your search engine for these. Most nurseries these days only offer stock on the point of, or in flower – especially true of Gloxinia and Saintpaulia. You may need to re-visit your local nurseries on a monthly basis. I have seen Bouvardia available when in flower; not so sure about Stephanotis.
The streets I have named often have specialist nurseries, so you could spend a very pleasant day wandering along them (they are quite close together – Hayam Wuruk is a right turn from Hang Tua). Who knows what precious little gems you might discover.
Every now and then most expats have to do the visa run to Singapore. There is a street there with many nurseries cheek-by-jowl. I don’t remember its name – I simply jumped into a taxi and asked him to take me to a place where there were many plant nurseries. It was plant-lovers heaven! If you do this, come back with a couple of bags of Chinese Burnt Earth – it’s wonderful for striking cuttings.
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