Have you ever killed a plant? Probably lots, right? There is a funny gardening quote that always makes me laugh: a novice gardener has never killed a plant, an experienced gardener has killed a hundred plants, and an expert gardener can teach you how to kill a hundred plants.
Of course, our goal at Kerby’s is to make you a successful gardener and limit the number of plants that don’t make it, but gardening is nothing if not a constant experiment. There will be some bumps along the way, and some are bigger than others. I know because I am experiencing one right now.
My favorite plant is the Jaboticaba. Partially because I’m crazy for fruit trees, but mostly because it is a weird fruit tree. It blooms and fruits along its branches and trunk. It is also a plant that teaches patience since it takes anywhere from five to seven years to bear fruit. I’ve been growing a Jaboticaba for about 17 years now. It started as a little plant that I kept in a large pot around the nursery, where it could easily be watered and cared for. Eventually it started to get sizable, and finally after about 5 years, I found a perfect place for it in our yard. Right along the house covering a blank brick wall. Over the years, it has produced lots of tasty harvests. We have lost quite a few fruits to the racoons, but when we are careful and harvest early, we’ve been able to enjoy them fresh and to make Jaboticaba jelly.
This year, the tree was starting to get a little big, and with a home renovation starting it was time to find it a new home. I dug it carefully, trying to get as many roots as possible, but given the length of time it has been in the ground, who knows how far out the roots went. I dug a new hole for it, filled it with our Black Gold® Ultra Outdoor Soil, was sure to use plenty of Bio-tone® in the hole, and with a lot of effort managed to drag the rather large Jaboticaba to its new home.
We watered it regularly for the first few weeks, and at first all seemed well. We had a few heavy rains and that helped, but then at the end of this past summer when it got really dry, the tree began to struggle. It tried a few times to put out flowers and fruits, but that can often be a sign of one last hurrah. An attempt for a plant to create seeds one last time before it dies. So we started to give it up for lost. The few leaves it had became weak and started to fall. 17 years of work evaporating before our eyes!
With it being winter now, we figured we’d give it until spring and see what happens, but then just last week, we noticed little leaf buds starting to emerge. New leaves! Maybe it isn’t lost after all. Hopefully, we won’t have a freeze and my Jaboticaba will live to see its 18th birthday.
Garden success isn’t always easy and is filled with ups and downs. We’re here for all of it. Whatever questions you have and wherever you are in your garden journey, whether you are an expert, experienced, or novice gardener, we’re here by email, phone, socials, and of course in person. Come see us, and let us give you the best garden information for our area. It’s what we love to do!
And I’m already getting ready for our spring seminar series. Check out our Upcoming Events page on our website to see the full schedule and mark your calendars for the Spring Veggie Gardening Seminar on February 17th. I’ll teach you all about gardening in Florida and how to make sure that your plants thrive like never before.
