Cold Climate Tropical Gardening, Indoors

[Aanandinii]

Namaskar,

My question seems more appropriate here, because I'm most interested in growing plants for Lord Shiva. My question is related to a different thread I didn't want to sidetrack with my own questions. Please move this, if it's more appropriate elsewhere.

I've been looking for a way to get bael leaves here... It seems almost impossible. Even the places I go to for Puja supplies rarely see them. So, being a gardening hobbyist I began wondering about trying to grow a tree. I was encouraged at first as they seem by reputation to be pretty cold hardy. Unfortunately, not to my Horticultural Zone's tolerance though, I'm in zone 6B and it seems the lowest officially recorded tolerance is zone 8, possibly 7.

This leaves greenhouse, (not possible for me), or indoors. The good thing is I have a great room, which incidentally is becoming my new prayer and meditation room. I planned to include plants in the room, it gets great Noon to Evening sun, facing almost due west. Until now, I've been using that room to germinate seedlings for the garden in late winter. But wood apple is a very large tree, and I'm not sure if it would get enough sun in winter.

Then I read another thread here the other day, about growing Rudraksh. It's also a very hardly plant, and it seems some species are considered to be more 'shrubs'. They're also not hardy enough for outdoors in my climate though. But it has started me thinking again, and then the above linked thread prompted me to post and ask.

Does anyone know, is it possible to even manage either of these wonderful plants indoors, perhaps in a kind of 'bonsai' fashion? Unfortunately there is very little information on this online, so I'm kind of left guessing and searching. Is there any advice or guidance anyone could offer in this?

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Pranam-s

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: You mean bael or rudraksha? I don't know what bael is, and rudraksha is a very large tree.

I do know I'm in a colder zone than you.

Aum Namasivaya

[Aanandinii]

Namaskar EMji,

Thanks so much for your reply. I am asking about both, actually.
Yes, you're definitely in a colder zone than I am.

Apologies, there are several names for Bael, this is just the one I learned first so I tend to default to it. Also called Bel, Bilva, Bili, Maredu and Wood Apple. Hard skinned, sweet and aromatic fruits, and tri-folate leaves that are favored by Lord Shiva and often offered to him. The mature Bael tree itself is supposed to be about twice size of an Ek Mukhi Rudraksh tree, species Elaeocarpus Gantrius.

E. Gantrius Rudraksh is said to reach about 20-25 feet at maturity, but never having seen one I can only rely on what little information there is about them online. There are other species though, and those are smaller. Some are used for privy hedges in landscaping, it seems.

What I am asking is not if there are dwarf species though, but if anyone has tried managing a type of 'Bonsai' cultivation technique, or even just smaller size-scale indoor growth with either of these plants. I think that might be all I'm able to manage here, I'm pretty certain either tree would die outdoors. Unless, have you been able to grow either of them outdoors where you are? If you could, then I might be able to pull it off as well. I just wish there was more information on them. Anything I can find points to them not being able to withstand prolonged temperatures below -7C, (19F).

Pranam

[Jaskaran Singh]

Vannakkam: You mean bael or rudraksha? I don't know what bael is, and rudraksha is a very large tree.

bilvA is called bel (बेल) in Hindi; according to the bilvAShTakam, the bilvA plant is said to come from the breasts of lakShmI:

lakShmyAstanuta utpannaM mahAdevasya cha priyam|
bilvavR^ikShaM prayachChAmi hyekabilvaM shivArpaNam|| 6 ||

"Rising forth (utpannaM) from the breasts of shrI lakShmI (lakShmyAstanuta) and (cha) beloved (priyam) to mahAdeva (mahAdevasya), I do indeed (hi) offer to shiva (shivArpaNam) a single (eka) bilva [leaf] (bilvaM), for [it is] like (pra) offering (yachChAmi) an [entire] bilva tree (bilvavR^ikShaM)."

[Anirudh]

Namaste

Guess you would have found some links from web. Since I can't visualize the problems pertaining to your geographical locations, can not tell you authoritatively. How ever, learnt this tree grows in the foot hill of Himalayas (upto 1200 m)

I am providing few links, hope you can deduce your answers from the links..

#1. This is from yahoo answers by the member Haritha. Read also the sources provided .
#2. A pdf which explains from the biological perspective.
#3. Similar as above but has more information.

[Jaskaran Singh]

#1. This is from yahoo answers by the member Haritha. Read also the sources provided.

Lol, that person used the same quote from the bilvAShTakam, . However, the individual translated it incorrectly; he/she must have thought it said पृच्छामि rather than प्रयच्छामि.

[Anirudh]

Namaste Jaskaran,

Lol, that person used the same quote from the bilvAShTakam, . However, the individual translated it incorectly; he/she must have thought it said पृच्छामि rather than प्रयच्छामि.

I presented my Google search as the link talk whether they can be home grown or not.
I am not defending the mantra's he has has translated and that was not the my purpose of the reply. How ever he seem to be of the opinion that this tree can be grown in home also upto 1200 m in himalayas.

If it can be grown in Himalayan foot hills, (see also the pdfs) then OP can compare his climatic conditions with that of Himalayas foot hills.

PS: Some times for a beginner (me included), these small clarifications do help in their pursuit. I learnt so many things by exploring and analysing tiny informations.

[Jaskaran Singh]

Namaste Jaskaran,



I presented my Google search as the link talk whether they can be home grown or not.
I am not defending the mantra's he has has translated and that was not the my purpose of the reply. How ever he seem to be of the opinion that this tree can be grown in home also upto 1200 m in himalayas.

If it can be grown in Himalayan foot hills, (see also the pdfs) then OP can compare his climatic conditions with that of Himalayas foot hills.

PS: Some times for a beginner (me included), these small clarifications do help in their pursuit. I learnt so many things by exploring and analysing tiny informations.

I just found it ironic that he happened choose the same shloka, that's why I mentioned that (although I'm not saying that you picked it because of that). Anyway, I'm not in a position to tell what climate it would be good in, nor did I ever study about a bilvA tree in my botany class.

[Eastern Mind]

E. Gantrius Rudraksh is said to reach about 20-25 feet at maturity, but never having seen one I can only rely on what little information there is about them online. There are other species though, and those are smaller. Some are used for privy hedges in landscaping, it seems.

What I am asking is not if there are dwarf species though, but if anyone has tried managing a type of 'Bonsai' cultivation technique, or even just smaller size-scale indoor growth with either of these plants. I think that might be all I'm able to manage here, I'm pretty certain either tree would die outdoors. Unless, have you been able to grow either of them outdoors where you are? If you could, then I might be able to pull it off as well. I just wish there was more information on them. Anything I can find points to them not being able to withstand prolonged temperatures below -7C, (19F).

Pranam

Vannakkam: There are several species of rudraksha, or it's close cousins in the genus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaeocarpus

I have never seen imported bilva. We do get paan leaves here. Perhaps bilva dries quickly. I really don't know.

Aum Namasivaya

[Aanandinii]

Namaskar Anirudhji, EMji and Naskaranji,

My thanks to you all for your replies.

Thank you for the links, Anirudhji. I had not seen the third one you posted, and it has some good information on cultivation I hadn't seen.
Yes, as you say, because it does grow in the Himalayan foothills it can withstand a wide range of temperature, so I had hoped it might be okay here. It also is very adaptable to a wide range of soils. But it turns out it can't survive the cold we get here.

Since I can't visualize the problems pertaining to your geographical locations...

Very true, my apologies. I should have been specific.

I'm in Massachusetts, USA. USDA Hardiness Zones are here. In Zone 6b,any plant intended to survive outdoors year to year must be able to withstand cold temperatures from between 0F to -5F, (-17.8 to -20.6C), and wind chill can get things even colder above ground. Because I'm on a lake we have an almost constant breeze, so when the weather is windy it roars off the lake like a wind tunnel, no protection from it. If the lake is iced over, the wind chills are enforced by that cold surface. In winter we get about 9.5 hours of semi-direct sun, an average of 4 feet of snow (1.2 meters), sometimes more sometimes less and sometimes seemingly all at once. LOL

Both Bel and Rudraksh are very adaptable and versatile trees, but but from what I've read so far, they have not been recorded to be able to withstand lower temperatures than 15F (-6.7C). This is why I'm trying to explore the possibility to grow them indoors... So I guess the main questions here is if anyone has any experience growing them, what kind of care do they need?

Then there's my curiosity if anyone else might have tried to keep them small and manage them indoors... I couldn't be the only one to think of it. If so, what were the strategies and outcomes? The strategy I am considering is an adapted form of Bonsai. If anyone is experienced with Bonsai, do you have thoughts on attempting this with these trees?

I completely understand if there aren't many gardeners on here. I am also exploring this at a gardening community I belong to. I just thought it was worth asking about it here as well.

I learnt so many things by exploring and analysing tiny informations.

I do this too.

Vannakkam: There are several species of rudraksha, or it's close cousins in the genus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaeocarpus

Thank you EMji, I saw that too and it gave me the idea that instead I might try a smaller species or cousin of the tree. But after that thought, the questions are all pretty much the same as the ones above with the Bel tree. At least with some of the more familiar species there is more care information available.

I have never seen imported bilva. We do get paan leaves here. Perhaps bilva dries quickly. I really don't know.

It's possible, I guess. We also get paan and curry. Some years we even get Kesar Mangoes. But not so much Bel, it seems. So you have never been able to offer Bel when in your home area?

As a side speculation, I'm starting to wonder why there isn't a North American source for some of these items that seem to have some small amount of demand now, from a growing Hindu community on this continent. They can't dry so fast they couldn't be shipped from a zone where they would grow, and those zones exist here. And not just these trees, but some fruits too. For instance cashew apples and custard apples.... yum!