Decaisnea fargesii
| Decaisnea fargesii | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 13' |
| Width: | 13' |
| Speed: | Moderate |
| Blooms: | Early Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Decaisnea fargesii (common name: blue sausage fruit)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[1], it then usually germinates freely in early spring[K]. Sow stored seed in February in a greenhouse. This usually germinates well, within 1 - 3 months at 18°c[2]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow them on under protection for their first winter. Plant out in late spring after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings.
Cultivation: An easily grown plant[3] succeeding in most soils[4], but it prefers a rich moist loamy soil and a sunny position sheltered from cold winds[2][1]. Succeeds in partial shade[1]. Prefers partial shade, succeeding in full sun if the soil is reliably moist[4]. Dislikes drought[K].
A very cold-hardy plant when fully dormant, but the flowers and young growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts[5][1]. Plants usually fruit well and regularly in Cornwall[5][6] and a specimen has been seen on a number of occasions at Kew Botanical gardens laden down with fruit[K]. The flowers are produced at the tips of the new upright growths in the spring[5][4]. Plants take some years from seed to produce fruit[4].
A very ornamental plant[7]. It is fairly fast growing but it looks gaunt and open in the winter[3]. Plants do not usually require pruning[4].
In some new floras, this species is seen as no more than a synonym for D. insignis[8].
Range: E. Asia - W. China
Habitat: Moist woods and thickets to 1600 metres[9]. Mixed forests, scrub on mountain slopes, wet area in ravines at elevations of 900 - 3600 metres[8].
Edibility: Fruit - raw[7][10]. A sweet taste, but rather insipid[9]. A very nice delicate flavour according to our palates[K]. The fruit looks like a bright blue sausage or broad bean pod[K] and is up to 10cm long[1]. You peel off the skin in much the same way as you would peel a broad bean pod, this reveals a line of seed running the entire length of the fruit surrounded by a relatively thin layer of flesh[K].
Notes: We would need to obtain seed and it would take two years from germination before we could supply it.
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
In Leaf: Mid Spring-Mid Fall
Seed Ripens: Early Fall-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bird, Alfred. Focus on Plants Volume 5. Thompson and Morgan, 1991.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Davis, Brian. Climbers and Wall Shrubs. Viking, 1990.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Ohwi, Jisaburo. Flora of Japan. Smithsonian Institution, 1965.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Wilson, Ernest and Charles Sargent. Plantae Wilsonianae.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.