The first Root Awakening question was about flowering and fruiting of jambu and custard apple trees. It is important to note that jambu trees produce bisexual flowers while custard apple trees bear both male and female flowers on the same tree. Flowers that fall without formation of fruits are an indication that the flowers have not been pollinated.
The flowers of jambu are pollinated by bees while custard apple flowers are pollinated by beetles. One should refrain from spraying pesticides in the garden as these chemicals can affect the population of these pollinators.
Excessive foliage on a fruit tree is a sign of over-fertilization with nitrogen fertilizer. Note that many organic fertilizers are rich in nitrogen. To promote flower and fruit production, switch to a flowering fertilizer that is higher in phosphorus content.
The second question dealt with potted fruit trees which came with fruits but produced no further ones after one brought it home. Many potted fruit trees are grafted ones and a grafted tree may come from a branch already about to fruit from the parent plant. This could lead to early fruiting on the grafted branch. The new plant will need to grow until it is sufficiently mature before it gives more fruits. Fruit drop could be due to moisture stress during fruit development. Fruit trees that are not well watered during hot and dry weather can become stressed and they abort their fruits as a result.
It is recommended to lay a ring of organic compost as a mulch around the root zone to help keep the tree roots moist and cool and all times. Water your fruit trees more frequently during hot and dry weather. Compost will break down over time and release nutrients to your trees.
The last question asked about the growing of thyme in Singapore. Many culinary herbs require full sun to grow well. Plants exposed to direct sunshine for at least half a day will produce compact and fragrant foliage for use in the kitchen. Herbs native to the Mediterranean region can be grown in tropical Singapore but they need to be planted in very well-draining soil. Most need to be protected from heavy rain outdoors.
Fresh herb cuttings can be dipped in a jar of clean tap water. Remove the some of the bottom-most leaves to reveal the nodes for rooting. Most stem-cuttings derived this way will root within a period of 1 to 3 weeks and these can be potted up in soil separately. A good selection of culinary herbs can be purchased from HortMart (at HortPark), Oh Chin Huat Hydroponic Farms Pte Ltd and World Farm Pte Ltd.
