Treetales#2

"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow".

I had said in the last post that our garden currently has five young tree saplings. Here are the details of two of them.

Curry Leaf tree (Murraya koenigii or Bergera koenigii) :

We had a big curry leaf tree until last year in our garden. It had produced loads of lovely fragrant leaves over many years for us but got infested with tiny insects over last year mid. Suddenly all of the leaves started withering and new leaves formed were curled inside. Its leaves are the main reason we grow them as part of kitchen garden and so this infestation is a case that had to be handled quite seriously and quickly.

After pruning

We pruned the tree heavily as is the general precaution taken to control pests in these trees. But the new growth kept forming curled leaves with whitish patches and then all of a sudden the entire tree wilted and dried one day although we suspect the reason for wilting maybe due to root maggots and not those insects whatever caused the leaf curl. Anyways when so many enemies attack a plant it can only put so much fight. We had removed the dried tree but its main root had gone quite deep so we could remove only those portions that are above the ground.

The new addition

We quickly bought a replacement tree sapling in the Sunday market, which turned out to be a good one with red tinted leaves(which adds taste) and very pronounced fragrance. My father planted it nearby the hibiscus patch so it could be watered well. Yes, the curry leaf plants drink water in plenty and had to be watered regularly to get a good harvest.

Pomegranate tree (Punica granatum):

Who would not love pomegranate fruits ? Maybe there might be some out there but everyone in my house loves them. So our ambition to grow them at home was kindled when we set the garden last year. In our earlier garden that we had around fifteen years back, we had a pomegranate tree that was fruiting but sadly we had to move to a new residence when the first season of fruiting began.So imagine our excitement in tasting its first fruits when we planted a sapling in our garden. 

It had been eight months since this little sapling was planted but it had grown only a few inches in height since then. This is mainly due to the rocky area in which it is planted but we do not have a better site for it. So let it take as many months as it wants, but I am sure it will put a good fight and grow big and fruit one day.

Picture taken when it was planted.