This is an interesting member of the brug family. It is unknown for certain whether S. Solanum aviculare and S. laciniatum are one and the same plant, but if they're different, they seem to vary only in the coloring of the flowers. The plant has an architectural interest with leaves somewhat reminiscent of marijuana and grows about 5' tall in my area. The flowers are small and don't seem to be borne in abundance. They have a star shape that is similar to nightshade, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, etc.
The seeds are quite small, as are the newly germinated seedlings. I've never grown them before, but started these in March.
They look great, Patrick! Mine are still really small... Are those under your lights too? If so that's the next stop for mine. At least they're not as tricky (for me at least) as Nicotianas, which are a continual challenge for me...
John - yes, I'm growing these under a bank of 6 fluorescent tubes, lighted about 16 hours per day. My plant stand used to have only 4 tubes & I found the light intensity wasn't strong enough. I was much happier after adding a 3rd light fixture.
Patrick
Brug Moderator
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place
Well I've still only got 1 fixture of 2 tubes, but the light is helping & mine are starting to leaf out more. They're kinda leggy, but I'll just plant them deeper when the time comes. Still waiting on those sang seeds though... Thanks alot for the info & seeds, Patrick.
I just noticed a characteristic in the Kangaroo Apple seedlings that seems to run in the family. Like the brugs, these plants raise their leaves into "prayer position" at night.
Mine are looking good...and very ready for transplanting. Right now they look like some kind of leaf lettuce.
Patrick
Brug Moderator
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place
Well, mine are leafier, but still fairly small. Guess I need more light... I'll have to add more lights later this year. Nevertheless, they seem to be ready to transplant. Have your leaves started elongating & "lobing" yet, Patrick? Mine are still "just leaves".
I have the first bloom on one of my Kangaroo Apples. Judging by the color, my guess is it's Solanum laciniatum rather than S. aviculare. The bloom is about the size of (and looks like) a large African violet flower. I have to admit I haven't transplanted it beyond a 4" pot & it is probably becoming rootbound. I'll stick some in ground and up-pot at least one.
That's beautiful, Patrick! Mine have yet to bloom, but the one in the ground is growing like crazy now. I'm in the process of moving the rest from 4" to 1/2 gallon pots. I doubt if any are as big as yours though. But next year I'll have more lights & greenhouse space to work with. I need to post picks soon...
Hey, Patrick, how have yours done in the ground? Mine got huge quick! It's above 3' or so with 1&1/2' leaves! It's working on it's second set of Y's now. Did yours Y in 3's too?
LOL...there were good intentions, but lack of space, time & energy. My plants are still in 4" pots & are a little over 2' tall. I haven seen any Y's form, but I continue to get a few blooms and some seed pods. I'll try to keep them alive over winter & go with them again next year. If they don't survive, I have a few seeds left to try again.
Patrick
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place
I only got one in the ground myself. The rest are still in 1/2 gal. pots, & 2 of them in 3 gal., I think. Next year I'll probably plant more out as they look rather nice. Next year I'm also going to be doing the local Farmer's Market & I think I'll take some seedlings there. I should have lots of seed from these, do you know how long it takes the berries to mature?
John, I don't know how old the pods were when I removed them from the plant. They were still green, so I selected to 2 largest pods, hoping the seeds inside were mature enough (that was in mid-October last year). I left the pods exposed at room temp for about 3 months before removing the seeds. Towards the end of that time, the pods changed from greenish to sort of a light tan color and began to shrivel a little. The small seeds were surrounded with a gelatinous goo, so I smeared it across a glass saucer and let it dry. Later, I scraped the seeds loose. I s'pose one could try rinsing the goo off, using a realy fine sieve. My method was a little messy, but worked ok.
I believe you told me you have them growing in pots. Guessing your pods are no more mature than mine, maybe you should move the plants indoors this fall, where the seeds can continue to develop while the pods remain on the plants. I expect to do that with mine. I may bring one in the house to see how it does as an indoor plant...and a few others will go in the garage along with the brugs.
Patrick
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place
Patrick, I saw one of your kangroo apples at Christiansons up in Mt Vernon. It was big and had a lot of fruit on it. By what I read on the tag is you treat it like a brug, maby under lights. The flowers were about 1.5 inches and a nice blue color.
These pics are about a month old, I'm working on some new ones. This was the first fork, which is now flat on the ground as the whole plant has begun to sprawl. It is quite a bit larger than this now, the longest branch is close to 3' long.
Does anybody know how long it takes the fruit to mature?
This is the first fork, which is growing across the ground now. You can see where it is sprouting up from the node. Sorry guys, I'm gonna buy a real camera one of these days...
Here's a pic with my hand included to show scale.
Here's a leaf, also with my hand shown for scale.
I just cut her back to the seedpods yesterday, so I'm hoping they will mature quickly.
