Calabash tree
Crescentia cujete
Plant's characteristics
- Crescentia cujete : Calabash tree
- Family : Bignoniaceae
- Origin : Mexico
- Height in its natural environment : 12 m
- Hardiness : 2°C
- Colour of the flower : Yellow/Green
Height : about 10 to 20 cm (depending on seasons)
Fast grower
Description of the plant
This tropical fruit tree is not cultivated for fruit tasting, but for its beauty and originality. Its pretty gray and wrinkled wood develops into a beautiful, very decorative silhouette.
Its beautiful flowers remain hanging on the trunk and the branches themselves! Yellow-green streaked with purple, they exude their sweet fragrance for many months.
Then come these spectacular fruits, which can be found hanging from the branches as well as from the trunk, called calabashes or "coui" (do not confuse them with the creeping gourd also nicknamed calabash, they would get upset). The pulp is used against sunburns and the dried shell serves as a food container, as a spoon, as a percussion instrument, or in Brasil as the resonator for the Berimbau…
Decorative and useful, a feast for the eyes and the hands!
Also known as : Calabash, Tabung, Kayu
[Deyrolle board]
Growing tips
Repotting
When you receive your plant, repot it in a pot slightly larger than the bucket, which must be well pierced. Avoid pot covers which prevent residual water from draining away and encourage fungal diseases. Choose a fine potting soil, ideally with added perlite or sand to lighten the substrate (do not use garden soil or acidic soil such as heather). Then plan two repottings per year (spring and autumn), gradually increasing the size of the pot and adapting it to the size of the root network (the roots must have room, but not too much as the plant must be able to dry out its substrate between waterings). This avoids having to add fertilizer, which always risks burning the fragile roots of the plants and making the plant wither as soon as the fertilizer is stopped.
Watering
Moderate watering: watering should be copious (the whole root ball should be wet), but wait until the substrate has dried deeply before watering again (you can stick your finger in the soil: as long as you feel moisture, do not water). Your plant will recover better from a lack of water than from an excess of water. Always water at the base of the plant, and do not mist it, because stagnant water in the armpit of the leaves favors cryptogamic diseases. If your atmosphere is too dry, put bowls of water nearby (above radiators for example), so that evaporation humidifies the air.
For an indoor planting
Your plant is best taken out in summer, full sun is perfect for it. It should be brought indoors in winter, and ideally placed in a warm and luminous place, like in a veranda or behind a window. It fears excessive humidity when temperatures are low, so avoid cold rooms. Attention: do not take it out and bring it in all the time, it should be taken out in good weather, then brought in when the cold weather arrives, because plants adapt their foliage to their environment, which should not constantly change. It often happens that plants lose their foliage when they are taken out and/or put in, don't worry, your plant will adapt and will emit its new foliage accordingly.
For an outdoor planting
This plant is not frost and/or cold resistant and should not be planted outside except in limited parts of Southern Europe.
Pruning
This plant supports the pruning, but we do not advise it because that would make it lose its native form.
Fertilizer
Our plants are grown naturally, without chemical fertilizers, so we advise you to repot them regularly (twice a year) rather than adding fertilizer.
In case of pest attack
If your plants are under attack by aphids or other pests, the best way to control them is by hand. Change their soil, remove as many undesirables as possible by hand and then shower your plants with a strong stream of water to eliminate any eggs that may be present. Spray them (insist on the underside of the leaves) with liquid black soap diluted in water. Repeat the operation several times at a few days interval. Take them outside in good weather, rain, sun and wind will kill most of the aggressors!