2008年1月20日星期日

Chinese Toon 香椿

My 2-week’s trip to Kunming ended just before year-end. It was a comfortable and relaxing trip. The warmth and the sunshine of the city Kunming and its daily temperature of 18-20C during my 2 weeks stay had unfortunately to be left behind, what I could bring back with me though were the many seeds I’ve always wanted to have, seeds such as Chinese Toon, Water Convolvulus (Water Spinach), Chrysanthemums, just to name a few.

A tree I’ve always wanted to grow in my garden is Chinese Toon, a fast-growing deciduous tree. Its new tender leaves can be used as a vegetable in the Chinese cuisine. When mature, the plant can grow into a big tree of 25 meters. People used to harvest young leaves (shoots) with a long bamboo cane. Pruning can get the size and the shape of the tree under control, I should reckon, but this is yet to be proven once I have the tree going in my garden. The winter cutting I took the year before failed to produce new growth. My trip to Kunming gave me the opportunity to look for Chinese toon seeds and I did find them.

There are two kinds of Chinese toon: a purple version and a green version. The purple one is said to be more aromatic and tender. There is no way to find out whether the seeds I brought back from Kunming were collected from the purple species or from the green ones but to sow them. These are rather big seeds that are difficult to germinate; they need to be pre-treated. Here is how I sowed the seeds and I prayed to God that it was the right way to do and that the seeds would germinate in a few days time. They did:
1.Soak the seeds in warm water (30C) overnight
2.Spread the soaked seeds on a wet kitchen towel and leave the seeds to germinate
3.Wait with patience
4.Once seeds germinate (took 6-7 days), pot them up with potting compost and water in well

18 条评论:

匿名 说...

THank you for your enthusiam for Chinese toon. I tried to bring back the tree from China to Canada first, then to US the year after. It's growing in Seattle now, still far away from Wisconsin. The seeds I brought back from China never geminated.

I found out today it grew in Ontario, Canada, which allows me to order the seads to try as the young trees are out of the season.

Good reading and keep up the good work.

Name: Ming 说...

Hi,

You grow Chinese toon as well? It is a very fast growing tree, isn't it? The seeds I mentioned in this blog have now become small trees of about 1.2m in height. I'm planning to write a follow up in my blog to tell more about the seeds I sowed and the plants they turned out to be. Your comments are appreciated. Maybe you can tell more about your experience growing Chinese toon?

Ming

匿名 说...

I am interested in getting a toon tree for my wife and I. We live near Spokane. I wonder if it would grow there? Seattle is more mild than Spokane, with a more even climate from Summer to Winter. We could grow it indoors, but what to do when it is of giant size?

Q Chen

Name: Ming 说...

Hi,Q Chen,

Chinese toon is a strong tree that is very hardy when growing outside. Only a less-than-one-year-old young tree need winter protection. You can control the size of a tree simply by pruning it into a low stem bush with several branches. The bush form allows easy access when harvesting the toon leaves. Hope this helps.

Physics 82 Class Blog 说...

There are places you can buy almost any seeds from within United States!

Please don't bring seeds from aboard. It is against law!

匿名 说...

My father planted a Chinese Toon in our front yard while I was young in Taiwan. Now I have three Chinese toons in my backyard in Chicago. It seems that Chinese Toons can grow in a wide weather range.

I read some articles about the seeds of Chinese toons; however, I have never seen them blossoming and, consequently, having no seeds. I have observed that Chinese toons grow young trees from their roots instead.

The purple buds are tender and delicious. They can be salted and preserved for use in winter.

Name: Ming 说...

Chinese toons can grow into big trees. Do you let yours grow freely in your backyard in Chicago or do you prune them to control their growth?

Yes, you are right, once you have a Chinese toon growing in your garden, you can have as many as you want by taking the suckers coming from the tree base and grow them on into individual trees. I’ve also read about propagation by root cuttings. I did take some root cuttings several days ago, and will know if it works or not in a short time.

匿名 说...

I saw one today in botanic garden. I am inteseted in getting one too in chicago

匿名 说...

My mom loves Chinese Toon, so I am planning to order a Chinese Toon tree from the internet and grow it in my backyard.

Do i need to have a full sun location for it to grow? How about watering and fertilize habit?

I appreciate any information about growing it.

Name: Ming 说...

Your mom is a lucky woman!

Yes, a sunny location would be the best for a Chinese Toon tree. You can look after a Chinese Toon tree the same way you look after a normal tree. For planting a new tree, soil preparation is essential since the tree will stay there for many years. By planting, dig in lots of organic materials such as compost. Water regularly to prevent it from drying out, especially in the summer. You do not need to apply fertilizer before the tree is fully established (the tree need to get used to the new environment first, fertilizer at the planting stage can burn the roots). Each spring, scatter some dried cow manure at the base of the tree and mulch the base with a layer of garden compost. Keep the base of the tree weeds free! That’s all you need to do. For the rest, just enjoy the tree, and have lot of picking pleasure.

Hope this is of help to you.

香椿樹 说...
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香椿樹 说...
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Name: Ming 说...

Hi 香椿樹, I've just sent you an email. Hope that the info I provided will help you find the 香椿樹 of your dream.

香椿樹 说...

我現在很高興地宣佈:我剛剛擁有四棵香椿樹苗了!
好了,我現在想向您們討教幾個問題:
1)在大花盆里養香椿可以嗎?
2)冬天移到室內當室內植物養香椿行嗎?
3)冬天香椿樹地澆水量怎樣掌握?
4)若移到室內或車房內,香椿樹一定要向陽喜光處嗎?
請賜教!

匿名 说...

Can someone please tell me where I can buy Chinese Toon tree or seeds? I really love it!
Thank you!

匿名 说...

If you're interesting I have them over in nyc

匿名 说...

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Unknown 说...

The Chinese Toon tree for sale at eBay
https://www.ebay.com/itm/302306853115

Thank you for watching,