Fruit trees in your house
By Satish Narula

GROWING fruit plants and then seeing them give fruit is a pleasure. Bringing an orchard to a living room could be a pleasant change. A fruit plant kept inside could be a thing of curiosity for the visitors because it amuses and attracts people of all age groups.

Trees such as plum, peach, apple and mango can be raised as bonsai in shallow dishes. This, however, needs skill and patience.There are certain fruit trees which have miniature fruits. A true replica of their "big brothers", such trees can be raised in pots and shifted indoors when fruit appears. Chinese orange, a miniature version of an orange, is one such plant. It also forms an excellent specimen tree when grown in the garden.

Also known as kumquat or calamondin, the Chinese orange is easy to grow. It also suits pot culture. As foliage is smaller as compared to other plants of citrus species, it suits the miniature pot culture all the more. The requirements of this plant are the same as that of other citrus plants. In the pot, this plant grows to a height of two to three feet, while in the soil it rises to a height of seven to eight feet.

At any given time of the year, the plant bears scores of brillantly-coloured, tiny oranges. It is a tree that perennially, bears flowers and fruits. The flowers are creamish in colour and, though not significant, emit a sweet fragrance. The fruit takes two shapes, round and oval. When grown in the soil, a fruit-bearing kumquat is a feast for the eyes with hundreds of tiny fruits covering the foliage.

The plant could be raised from seed but it takes too long to reach the bearing stage. So it should be propagated by air layering.

Over-watering should be avoided. It needs light but frequent watering. If left dry for too long, the tree loses flowers and the fruits shrivel. The roots are superficial and that is why they are affected by drying. They may also get burnt due to exposure. Addition of an occasional dose of soil-manure protects them. Avoid deep hoeing. At this time of the year, all the dead wood should be removed. The plant needs plenty of sunshine, when grown in a pot. It fails to bear fruit if the pot is kept in shade for long. However, for a few days it could be shifted indoors to be replaced by other such pots in miniature pomegranate (anar) or Chinese (miniature) guava, which have amazingly reduced sized leaves and bear tiny fruits.

When grown in soil, they should be prominently placed, may be near the entrance or portico in twos or threes, placed close to each other, say eight feet apart. They can also be kept on a raised mound. One or the other plant is at its prime, throughout the year to be enjoyed by the viewers.

This feature was published on February 14, 1999