キンカンライムなど Limequat etc

 水遣り以外、軒下でほとんど放置状態だったキンカンライムの苗を引っ張り出してびっくり。枝が左右に伸び放題で、こんなに樹形が乱れていました。

This is Limequat growing in a pot.  Apart from watering, I have been neglecting it by placing it under the balcony.  When I pulled it out into the open, I was shocked to see how the branches had grown - they looked out of control.

世話しなくても良く実がなる品種で、しかも粒揃いです。

This plant produces lots of fruits even with little care by me.  Also, the fruits' sizes are quite uniform.

１個だけ、色づき始めたものがあります。

One of the fruits seems to be maturing.

もう使えそう。料理やお茶など、ほんの少しだけ香酸類が欲しいとき、使い切りサイズなので便利です。

It looks ready to be used.  When I need only drops of citrus juice in cooking or for tea, I find this very handy by using the whole fruit.

今年は早めにユリ球根の植え替え作業をしました。うちには紅筋山百合がありますが、その中で２つのタイプに分かれています。

こちらは去年の夏に練馬の渋谷園芸本店で買ったほうで、比較的安価でした。去年の冬の植え替え時に肥料をたっぷりやっておいたので、今年の開花は去年買った時の花よりも大輪。

This year, I am repotting the lily bulbs earlier than usual, while it is warm and pleasant to work outside.  I grow Red Yamayuri and they are grouped into two types as below.

These are the ones I bought in summer last year, from a shop in Nerima, and they were inexpensive.  The flowers were small then, but after giving the bulbs plenty of fertiliser when I repotted them last winter, this year's flowers were much larger.

これ↓が今日 掘り起こしたときの球根で、それぞれの上根に１個ずつ子球ができていました。

When I dug them out today, I found each original bulb had a baby bulb among the upper roots.

こちらはヤフオクで買った球根からの花。球根は高かったけど、本格的な紅筋山百合です。

These are the flowers from one of the bulbs I bought on an auction site.  The bulbs were expensive, but the flowers are authentic Red Yamayuri, and different from Dizzy Oriental Lily.

今年花をつけたのは右の大きいほうの球根だけでしたが、今日の状態を見ると左の小さいほうも来年は咲きそうです。右の球根は買ったときよりかなり大きくなっていて、上根も沢山出ていました。

This year, only the bulb on the right produced flowers.  However, looking at the smaller one, I think it has grown mature enough for flowering next year - it has grown much larger than when I bought it, as well as having lots of upper roots.

この２個の球根には上根に子球ができていませんでしたが、まるで球根が分裂しそうな箇所はありました。ユリ栽培に慣れた人なら、うまく子球として取り外すことができるでしょうが、私は自信ないので、そのまま植えておきました。

Although these bulbs had no baby ones among the upper roots, each of them has a potential baby that seems ready to be detached.  A person with enough experience might be able to separate the baby and make it an independent one, but I am too scared to do it.  So, I simply repotted them as they were.

大きい球根のすぐ横に支柱を立てて越冬です。来年の春、だいたいどのあたりから芽が出るか、予想がつきやすくなります。

I placed a prop next to each of the large bulb, ready for winter.  This way, I would know where to look for the new buds in spring next year.

売れ残り苗を買ってきたパッションフルーツは、８月下旬のこの状態から

The leftover passion fruit plant that I bought in late August has grown from this state

いまは２個の実をつけています。

to this currently, with two fruits growing on it. 

最初に着果した下のほうの実と

Of the 3 flowers that appeared, the lower fruit is from the 2nd flower.

次に結実した上のほうの実は、だんだんと同じサイズに近づいてきています。明日の朝の最低気温は15℃の予想で、来週の後半には15℃を下回るようなので、そろそろ２階の南向き部屋に取り込む時期になりました。

The upper fruit is from the 3rd flower, and its size is getting close to the lower fruit.  Now, the expected lowest temperature for tomorrow morning is 15℃, and the lowest temp is forecast to fall below 15℃ in late next week.  I will be taking this pot to a south-facing room upstairs soon.

同時に買ったビラフランカレモンも順調に育っていて、大きいほうの実が若干黄色くなってきました。

The leftover Villa Franca lemon that I bought at the same time has also been doing well.  The larger fruit has grown a lot, and it is starting to turn yellow.

秋の気配 Signs of autumn

 毎年ヒガンバナより一足先に開花する、洋物リコリスが咲いています。花柄が大きく、花びらは分厚くてしっかりしているのに加え、濃い黄色の蛍光色で目立ちます。

This lycoris aurea starts flowering ahead of spider lilies.  Its flowers are larger than those of the spider lily and the petals are strong.  Most of all, I love the bright golden colour which I find to be stunningly beautiful.

リコリスの手前には桃花ヒガンバナも上がってきました。こちらは本物のヒガンバナで、デリケートなピンクの花色です。

In front of the lycoris aurea, flower stems of the pink spider lilies are starting to come out of the ground.  In contrast to the red spider lily (lycoris radiata), this variety's colour is delicate pink.

赤花ヒガンバナも咲き始めています。

The lycoris radiata are starting to flower.

2024年に購入した日本ナツメが色づき始めています。うちでは数種類のナツメを育てていますが、去年 挿し木が成功した日本ナツメ以外はトゲ無しなので管理が楽です。よって、この↓苗もトゲ無し。この苗のヒコバエから育てた２株は写真上のほうのバルコニーに置いてありますが、まだ青々しています。

Fruits of the Japanese jujube tree that I bought in 2024 are turning yellow.  I grow several varieties of jujube and, with the exception of the Japanese jujube tree developed from a cutting last year, all of them are thornless, which makes it easier to look after them.  I have trees developed from the suckers of this tree, and they are peeping out of the trellis in the top part of this photo.  Their fruits are still green.

これくらい色づけば十分甘くてジューシーです。

The fruit is already very sweet and juicy with this much of brown on the skin.

果肉の色を示した写真を載せたくて、なるべく歯形を残さないよう努力しました。この↓ような果肉が白のタイプが私の好みです。

It is rude/bad mannered in Japan to show the bite mark, but I wanted to show the colour of the flesh.  So, I tried to avoid the teeth mark as much as possible.  I like jujubes with milky white flesh like this.

８月24日に購入した売れ残りパッションフルーツとビラフランカレモン苗は、この植え付け時の状態から順調に育っています。

The leftover passion fruit and Villafranca lemon that I bought on 24th August this year have grown significantly from this↓.

パッションフルーツのツルの長さは、元の状態と比べて３倍ちかくに伸びています。

The passion fruit's vine is 3 times that of the original height.

しかも節々に蕾も出ています。冬は室内越冬になるので、できるだけ成長を抑えたいところ。

Moreover, each node has a flower bud.  I will be keeping this plant indoors during the winter, so I hope the plant does not grow too much henceforth.

レモン苗は葉っぱが増えてきました。

The lemon tree is becoming leafy.

また、最初から着いていた２個の実のうち小さいほうの実が２倍くらいに肥大しています。

Of the two fruits that were already there when I bought the plant, the smaller fruit has grown visibly.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

午後になっても雨が降らなかったので、散歩がてらにタイガのオヤツを買いに出かけました。

Today, it did not rain even in the afternoon, so we went out for a walk and to buy Taiga's treats.

レモン＆パッションフルーツ苗 Lemon and Passion Fruit plants

 スーパーからの帰りに近所のJAを覗いてみたら、値下げ苗につい手が伸びてしまいました。JAは私がいつも買い物するスーパーのすぐ側、そしてうちはJAのすぐ近所なので、ついこういうことになってしまいます。でも、JAの事業再編の動きで２，３年後にはこの桜台のお店が遠く離れた平和台のJAに統合されるそうなので、近所で買えるうちにという気持ちが働いてしまいます。

ということで、右はレモン苗、左はパッションフルーツです。

I looked into the nearby JA on my way home from the supermarket and, before I knew it, my grubby large hands were on these plants.  The JA is located close to the supermarket, and my house is less than 100 meters away from the JA, so this happens often.  However, this will not last forever.  Due to the reorganisation movement of the JA, the outlet near my house will be merged into another one which is in a town far away from where I live.  So, I am taking advantage of the current situation while it lasts.

This morning, I picked up a lemon tree (on the right), and a passion fruit vine (on the left).

レモンはくたびれた状態の苗ですが、回復させる自身があります。

The lemon tree was a leftover and was in a sorry state, but I am confident I will be able to nurse it back to health.

品種はビラフランカ。うちに既にあるリスボン同様、トゲ無しなので扱いやすいです。私は基本的に果樹苗は、接ぎ木された太い一年生苗を買いますが、この苗は大きく育たなくても良いので挿し木苗で十分です。

It is a Villafranca.  As with my Lisbon lemon, this Villafranca is thornless, which makes it easier to handle.  Normally, with fruit trees, I buy a grafted one-year tree with a big trunk so that it will grow healthy and large.  However, I would rather that this tree remained small, growing in a pot, and I am happy with this one grown from a cutting.

パッションフルーツは、最も栽培難易度が低いエドゥリス。以前、この品種をバルコニーに設置した棚に這わせて毎年たくさんの実を収穫していましたが、ナツメ苗がバルコニーを占拠し始めたので一時中断していました。来年はナツメの大苗を庭に下す予定で、棚の再利用ができます。

The passion fruit plant is Edulis, the easiest variety to grow.  For several years, I grew this variety on the upstairs balcony using the shelf that I constructed myself.  It produced abundant fruits every year.  However, as I became keen on growing jujube plants, the balcony has been occupied by them, and I gave up growing passion fruits.  Fortunately, next year, I will be taking down some of the large jujube plants downstairs, leaving room enough for restarting passion fruits.

レモン苗は10号鉢に植え付け。パッションフルーツ苗は、冬の間 2階の部屋で管理になるので、持って階段を上り易いよう小さめの鉢です。

I planted the lemon tree in a pot with 30 cm in diameter.  As to the passion fruit, since I will have to take it upstairs for indoor wintering, I am using a smaller pot until next spring.

植物は鉢増しすると立派に見えるのが嬉しい。

Repotting a plant in a larger container makes it look much better.

種から育てたローゼル２本のうち、片方に花が咲き始めました。去年、JAで買った苗は「レッド」に分類される苗で、花はクリーム色、収穫時のガクの下の部分は緑色でした。今年育てているのは「パープル」に分類されるもので、花はピンク、ガクは全体が赤です。

This is one of the two roselle plants that I am growing from seeds.  This morning, I found two flowers on it.  The roselle plant I bought from the JA last summer was a 'red' type, with yellow flowers and the base of its calyx when ripe was green.  This year, I am growing a 'purple' type, with pink flowers and the whole calyx will be dark red.

あまりに主幹がヒョロヒョロ伸びたので、このあと天辺を摘芯しておきました。

The trunk simply shot up with few branches.  After taking this photo, I pinched the top of the trunk in order to encourage growth of new branches.

台風15号のあと After the typhoon

台風15号が昨夜 関東の上空を通過しました。タイガの早朝散歩で玄関ドアを開けてその影響を確認。まずは、種から育てているハイビスカスローゼルの10鉢が倒れて落ちていましたが、幸い下敷きになった鉢植え苗への影響は限定的。

Typhoon No. 15 passed over our Kanto region last night.  When I opened the door to go out for Taiga's morning walk, I saw some damages in the garden.  The roselle plant I have been growing from a seed dropped off its shelf.  Fortunately, the damage on the potted plants underneath was limited.

キンカンライムも落ちて鉢の表土がこぼれ出していたけど、折れた枝はなかった模様。

The kumquat also dropped off its shelf, and some soil had spilled out of the pot.  Again, fortunately, there was no damage to the branches.

２年前の夏に買った日本棗の大苗は12号鉢に植わっていましたが、地上部が大きく育っていたので倒れてしまいました。その際、近くにあったリスボンレモンの主幹が折れたようです。

The large Japanese jujube tree that I bought in summer 2024 was in a large pot (36 cm in diameter) but its base was not heavy enough to resist the gale.  As it fell down to the ground, it appears that it took the trunk of Lisbon lemon with it.

これがリスボンレモンの主幹。

The lemon tree's trunk broke off clean.

折れた主幹を取り除いたあと、小さな苗になりました。

After removing the damaged part of the trunk, the tree suddenly looked small.

倒れた日本ナツメを起こして支柱３本で固定しました。

I pulled up the fallen jujube tree and re-enforced the plant with props.

去年この苗の幼果は１個も残らずコガネ成虫に齧られたので、今年の収穫には期待しています。

The young fruits of this tree were all damaged by green beetles last year, whereas they seem to be left untouched this year.  So, I am looking forward to this year's harvest.

これは今年新たに実がなった日本ナツメですが、実の形状が上記の日本ナツメのとは異なり、細長いティアドロップ型。

This is the Japanese jujube tree with a different shape of fruits from those of the above tree - these fruits are elongated teardrop shaped.

だんだん黄色くなってきています。

They are turning light-coloured gradually.

実はこの苗、去年の春に挿し木したのが夏に発根したものです。

Interestingly, this is the tree grown from a cutting that I made in spring last year, which I confirmed that it had rooted a few months later.

これが去年の８月12日の写真。今年の春先に10号鉢に植え替えたら、勢いよく育って実が生りました。ナツメの生命力の強さには驚かされます。

This is how the plant looked as of 12th August 2025.  I replanted it in spring this year using a 30 cm diameter pot.  It grew fast since then, which demonstrates the vigour of jujube trees.