Wednesday, May 22, 2013

A bonsai beauty!


Was writing a story on Star fruit for the Hindu when a lady named Minette Rajan who runs the Green Thumbs Boutique in Kamanahalli sent me these awesome pics of their eight year old Bonsai Star Fruit Tree. I nearly fell off my chair, just look at the tiny thing and just loaded with quite normal looking fruit! Interestingly this is what she had to say --"This tree is 8 years old and has been with us ever since it has been a sapling of 5 inches or about 2 - 3 months old.This is the fourth year of it bearing fruit and it tastes delicious. We get between 10 - 15 fruits each year. As it is a bonsai, the number of fruits is restricted and as the years go by, the flesh becomes a bit more tangy in taste when compared to a regular grown star fruit. This sapling was picked up by my husband, Ranjit a bonsai enthusiast. He has trained, nurtured and grown this beautiful plant and the fruit is relished by all in the family, on a first come first serve basis." I was so tickled with the little tree, as I have just put down two saplings which are barely six months old in Hoskote. And today I could not believe my eyes, as one of the baby trees, had around eight fruit on it and its just 2 feet off the ground! I took off all the fruit, raw and ripe, as they say it weakens the tree to allow it to fruit when it is so young. Have to train it to grow tall into a regular tree.