Lychee tomato - Solanum sisymbriifolium

[jayb]

Several months on the plants (still in quite small pots!), have managed the winter ok, but as yet no very hard frosts. Their leaves are fairly yellow and icky looking, I think in desperate need of a re-pot and feed. Some have flowers on, though I think too cold to set any fruit? But it does go to show they will keep on going given a chance.

Picture was taken a couple of days ago.

[Galina]

About half my leaves are toast and crispy brown - frost damage. If the other half looked as good as your yellowish ones, I wouldn't mind. But there is a little progress on one plant and with some imagination I think I can see developing flower buds deeply buried and weeks from growing out of the plant. So nice to see yours flowering. If you play mother bee, I hope you will get them to set.

[jayb]

I'm sure yours will be romping ahead very soon, daylight hours are really improving, though I'm not sure the weather forecast is any good for the next week or so. I'll have a go tapping the flowers, but it's not very warm and the weather is pretty damp, not the best conditions for pollen production!

[Galina]

I have just noticed something on the last picture that you posted, of your flower. It has 4 petals (unless the camera angle hides the fifth). Last year both yours and mine had 5 petals. And comparing the flower above to your flowers last year, it is much less frilly. Your flowers last year were frillier at the petal edges than mine.

[jayb]

I'll go and take a look a little later today.

[jayb]

Must have been two petals together, not quite fully open, coupled with the camera angle to hide this. The flowers that are open all have 5 petals.

[Galina]

Ok - not such an unusual flower after all. Here's hoping for early fruit.

[jayb]

I know, shame.

[Galina]

My sorry looking winter survivors, but there are a couple of new leaves and with a bit of imagination even tiny flower buds are visible.

[jayb]

I've notice a couple of mine are shooting from the base, good signs for bushy plants, because the look a bit wretched and straggly at the moment!

[Galina]

That's really good. No shoots from lower down here. I have planted a few at the base that I had sown earlier this year, but the old plants look to be recovering ok.

[Galina]

A couple of days ago the first flowers appeared here. Plants looking slightly better. Now when they first opened they were pure white and today (with all the thick cloud and much lower light levels), the same flowers were light blue. Light levels (when it is sunny) are very bright at the moment, probably brighter than they were later in the year last year when the blueish tint appeared. I now think the colour change is a light level response.

[jayb]

Glad yours are picking up, flowers are good

I'm afraid I've thrown mine outside as they savaged me once too often! When I have a chance (and I am brave) I'm going to find a remote spot for them!

An interesting point about light levels, I'd not considered that.

[Galina]

Outside may not be a bad decision, would certainly aid pollination. I am jiggling my flowers, but a few pollinating insects would help.

[jayb]

Lol, you might be right, but I think I need to plant them somewheres rather than leave them in the heap they are in, (bit of a tantrum on my behalf!)

[Galina]

Oh come on! - 'man up' girl! They aren't t h a t spiney, not tucked away. But it looks like yours need planting out - with your best bramble-fast gloves on ;-). Mind you, they are doing very well in their pots and, gosh, didn't they flower early too.

[jayb]

I really don't like them enough to put up with their aggressive behaviour. I swear they watch out for me passing by!
Hmm, I've still not planted them.....

[jayb]

The flowers yesterday were looking quite blue.

[Galina]

That confirms it - probably .............

[Galina]

Haven't written much about these for a while. Well they flowered earlier and fruited earlier and we had much more fruit than last year too. I had a couple of small fruit and some that were much larger. Even now every day we are getting a couple of fruit. The plants are looking much worse than they did during summer with yellowing leaves, but they are still flowering like mad (blue) and a lot of fruit is setting too. I wonder whether they will get through another winter? It was touch and go this year but starting again from seed is not difficult.