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my green thumb (bonsai #2): dragon eyes!

most people these days are pretty familiar with the small, yet very delicious, lychee (荔枝: (lìzhī) in mandarin), a tropical fruit native to southern china. they’re sweet, juicy – addictive little suckers! but as a bonsai, unfortunately, lychees are just kind if lame. L

don’t get me wrong, lychees are great to eat! they just don’t possess enough of that special something (you know, intrinsic character), which is sought after in good pot trees. that’s why, in today’s issue of my green thumb, we’re not doing lychees (never mind those buggers). nope, instead we’re talkin’ dragon eyes folks! lol…/.

dragon eyes (龍眼: (lóngyǎn) in mandarin), or longyan, are named appropriately because of their resemblance, of course,  to eyeballs! <.>,<.> a little disgusting? ok, maybe. but they really do grow beautifully. plus, being from the same family as the lychee tree (sapinsaceae), they kind of even make up for its inadequacies a bit. >>>>

dragon eyes aren’t as widely eaten, or well-known, but they’re fun to raise and can be maintained without much effort. interesting leaf color changes occur from purplish brown (in the spring and summer) to dark green (in the winter and fall). and, as previously mentioned, the fruit looks like eyeballs! rflmao// the only downfall is that they tend to need a lot of sunlight.

this specimen was given to me as a gift. it wasn’t planted. i threw her in a small pot, and am now in the process of pruning it. :-)

longyan!! dun.. dun..dun… sweet as lichis, but better! – hurry over to your local chinatown store toda

y! lol…

hehe

..

just remember to come back and join us for the next issue of my green thumb… when we tackle the now famously popular subject:  hydroponically grown dwarf avocado trees! lol..

(one of my absolute favorites…)

see ya then,

BONSAI!!! ~ :-)

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