Wow, I just read it was done! I hope to learn a lot about it by reading though my climate is so different (Alaska) that I will probably just become a lurker on this one...

Maria

Hi Maria!
You are the second one here, unless everyone else is lurking? LOL
Just post a question or comment now and then to show you are still here. We all do some lurking and lots of learning.
Thanks for your interest.
See you again.

Hello from ChiangMai Northern Thailand

It'a a good new !!

Well there are parts of Asia that do have a climate pretty similar to Alaska, though I have a feeling most of the Asian posters at GardenWeb tend to be from more southerly parts of Asia.

Definitely winter time here now. 13C and 30% humidity. Brrrrr and so dry.

Hello all
bcgift52 signing in, ex India and ex Hong Kong, now in Beautiful British Columbia. Also love growing from seed and am going to attempt growing all those wonderful fruits from the past. Have started with Eriobotrya japonica and
planning on Clausena wampi. I am trying to find out the scientific name of a fruit called Armra or armrah, I think they were about the size of a small apple with a large seed with stiff fibrous spikes. Mostly eaten sour before fully ripe with salt and chilli powder. I have seen this growing in Singapore as well.

Finally there's an Asian gardening forum! I just joined today. I was looking around the site, wondering where I should post any questions I might have on my lucky bamboo plants (they're all tied together in a bundle). I knew that they weren't true bamboo plants, they loved water, but aren't exactly aquatic plants, and that they are good houseplants. It took me a while to realize there was an Asian gardening forum. It's just the kind of forum I needed.

This is a nice idea even for those of use who don't live in Asia, but use Asian plants and design concepts in our gardens that don't necessarily fit the Japanese Garden forum.

I think Anchorage has a GOOD summer growing season for many plants?? Fairbanks is more extreme in summer and winter.
I hope some gardeners will come and share from ALL parts of Asia!

Yay!!!! It worked! I am so happy about this. I have been away for a couple of weeks and just got back to find that my wish was granted. Thank you GardenWeb and to all who expressed their support for the idea!

I was in Hanoi, Vietnam, where it's currently quite chilly, but everything is a verdant green and thriving in the moist climate. It's almost Tet (new year) so there are fields and fields of dwarf citrus trees bearing tiny orange fruits, ready to be potted up and placed in people's homes, like self-decorating Christmas trees! Also, large Poinsettia trees, planted in the ground, are blooming throughout the city--lovely to see.

I lived in Hanoi most of my life and can't wait to move back there and have a little garden of my own, as it is, to me, really the ideal place to grow all the things I love; but, until I can accomplish that goal, I hope to indulge my fantasies with all of you Asian gardeners here in our new forum!

Maria, Alaska! we could see some of your frigid cold if you have spare capacity.

zeta (Singapore)

Btw Peaseblossom, those little X-mas citrus trees with little orange fruits are Kumquats. In Ha Noi, Kumquats and Peach Blossoms are home decorations for Tet.

The Kumquats symbolize goodness and abundance through the year. As I understand, this tradition originates from China. In early centuries when chemicals and fertilizers weren't available, it was very hard to culture these kumquats in harsh climate and soil. Yet, it was much harder to bear fruits. If a grower succeed with a kumquat filled with fruits, he/she would have a goodness (good fortune, good health, etc.) and an abundance (money, food, etc.) year.

Hey, what I like about these VNmese X-mas trees is that they come already with ornaments and these ornaments are edible! Unlike, the Pine X-mas trees in the US, you can keep these kumquats and have fruits all over again each year. Not to mention, the blooms have a wonderful scent.

I have a collection of 5 in various stages. They all have fruits and they're the sweet Kumquats :-) What I love about these is that they're self pollinate; so, you don't need 2 to bear fruits. If planted on the ground, they can grow quite tall. Here in Houston, we've seen some as 8-10 ft. tall. Hopefully, I can find a place in my yard for at least one of them. Currently, they're doing fine in pots. Here are some pictures of my kumquats that I took this past Tet. Although, they're far from the size of those you've seen in Ha Noi.

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Lovely pictures! Yes, I always called them kumquats, but whenever I search for photos of "kumquats" online, I get a more oblong-shaped fruit. I was told that they're actually similar to calamondins. Oh well, a rose by any other word...

Oh, and the ones you get in Hanoi certainly aren't sweet! Maybe they have sweet varieties now, but the traditional trees have very sour fruit which we would pickle in salt...yummm:)

You're right Peaseblossom. There are many types of Kumquats. The 3 common ones that we normally see are: 1) The oblong fruit that you mentioned are the sour type. The skin is smooth and slightly shiny similar to the sweet kind (the ones I have). 2) The sweets are round with the same smooth and shiny skin. 3) The 3rd kind is also round. These are the ones you commonly see in Ha Noi. Yes, they are sour too but the skin is not as smooth and shiny as the other 2 types. They're slightly rough and look very similar to a miniature tangerine.

The sour types are mostly popular during our New Year due to their heavy fruit bearing which makes them very attractive ornamental trees for decoration.

The fruits of the sweet kind are very scattered such as you've seen on these photos. I love eating them as is so I am more fond of the sweet kind. I am so busy and can't find time to pickle them and make them into jam/jelly. It is a very consuming process. I'm better off with just go out and buy a jar of it :)

I've saved some seeds of these this year and planted them to see if they grow from these seeds.