The Blue Sausage Tree - Decaisnea fargesii

Who says that sausages don't grow on trees?

Also known as the Blue Bean - the names refer to the bizarre fruits, that really look like they're from another planet!

The blue sausages you see are indeed edible! Open one up and you will find lots of large black seeds covered in slimy flesh. My favourite way to eat them is to open the pod like a broad bean and take a mouthful of flesh and seeds, then spit out the seeds, which are very hard. The flesh has a sweet and delicate flavour, it reminds me a little of watermelon. It is more of a novelty fruit than a staple crop but it makes a fascinating and beautiful little tree.

I feasted on lots of blue sausages at the Plants for a Future sight in Cornwall. They're ripe in September, and the tree is often heavy with fruit. I saved the seed and have germinated many little seedlings in July - they are 10-15cm tall now and have done really well given the short growing season I gave them.

This tree grows quickly up to about 4m x 4m, sometimes it can also form a shrub.  They are easy to grow, being very hardy, but need a moist soil with reasonable drainage. It's better to offer them a little shade and compromise fruiting than to allow the ground to dry out in full sun.

If you're interested in growing the blue sausage tree, I'd be really happy to provide you with seedlings. I have grown them in root trainers so they should grow away really well. Probably best to plant them outside after the last expected frosts though, as they're still very young.

As always I'd be delighted to swap a plant with you, or for a small sum of your choice! They're self fertile so you only need one tree.

The American Persimmon - Diospyros Virginiana

You've probably seen the big Oriental Persimmons (aka. Sharon fruit, kaki, Diospyros kaki) in the supermarket - they need a lot of sun and warmth to ripen well and are normally shipped in from the Mediterranean or parts of Asia. But not many are aware that we can grow a similar fruit successfully in Britain.

The American persimmon is very closely related to the kaki but doesn't need the same kind of long hot summers to ripen the fruit. The fruits are much smaller - about the size of a cherry tomato but can be born in profusion. It's still early days trialling this fruit in the UK, but they should do well in the southern half of England, since they ripen well in London and the Westcountry - sometimes needing a frost to bring out their full sweetness.

When they're ready though - they are said to be rich and delicious - Ken Fern raves about them in his book Plants for a Future.

Quite an easily grown tree - it will grow well in most well drained soils (it dislikes waterlogging). It grows moderately fast, up to 15metres in the UK and bears fruit at just a few years old. For the best fruit production, give them a warm, sheltered site. Once mature it is a very hardy tree (down to -35C) but it can be a little tender in its first couple of winters, so best to give it some protection/grow inside during this time.

  The species is dioecious - the trees are either male or female - though some say thatthe female tree can produce seedless fruits in the absence of a pollinator. Probably best to plant both male and female trees for good crops though. 

I was lucky enough to find a huge and beautiful female American Persimmon (20metres tall) growing in the botanical gardens of Paris in September - in full fruit.

Though the summers are hotter in Paris, the fruits were almost ripe in September (so I'd guess would be ready by November in the UK)

I collected masses of fruits, and germinated about 30 seeds. This is far more than I intend to plant so have many spare. I've grown them in root trainers and they look very healthy at about 20cm tall, despite little feeding.

If you're interested, I can post out the seedlings in February in return for a plant swap or for a small price that you feel is suitable.

A commercial crop in America:
 



Check out plants for a future for more details on this tree:

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Diospyros+virginiana