Any one growing Cloves ?

[raincrow]

Tropical huh,,,sounds like a bit of micro climate might be needed at my desert,,nothing a decent rock wont fix.

regards, Kimbo

Would you kindly elaborate on the size of rock and how it is placed? thanks

[Michaelangelica]

aroideana
If you send me some cuttings of cinnamon I will get it going.
i would need a lot (20-40) as strike rate its low.

[Grasshopper]

Im interested in growing Star Anise and Cloves and Cinnamon Nutmeg ,Tamarind and Allspice in the community garden.
I was wondering has anyone had any luck growing Allspice, Nutmeg and Star Anise from dried spices or are they picked to unripe or treated to not grow?

[Michaelangelica]

Im interested in growing Star Anise and Cloves and Cinnamon Nutmeg ,Tamarind and Allspice in the community garden.
I was wondering has anyone had any luck growing Allspice, Nutmeg and Star Anise from dried spices or are they picked to unripe or treated to not grow?

Probably best to contact your botanic garden or dept of agriculture (new crops division?)
Star anise plants are about if you look hard; i have grown a couple of varieties.
Tamarind, i am told, grows wild in far NT

You could give them ago from the spice rack but i think you would be disappointed Most spices have to go though hell to get into Oz.Whole Star anise might be the best to try.

[aroideana]

Mature clove tree at local farm was destroyed last year by Yasi . Luckily it had set some seeds , and I did source a few from Limberlost .. so a few trees growing around this area now , none spare sorry . Cinnamon survived and is looking very good.

[Michaelangelica]

There is a cinnamon in Sydney botanic gardens; not sure what kind;
like all Laurels it is a bugger to propagate by cutting

[Grasshopper]

Its good to know it will grow that far south,I was worried it was a little more true tropical.
I've rung Brisbane and Rockhampton Botanical Gardens no luck so far will keep trying there are nurseries that have it but cash is always the problem with community gardens.

I watched the documentary on spice on SBS
the clove tree becomes a monster, buttress roots, 100 plus feet high, that needs to be climbed to collect the flower buds.
The buds need to be picked before they open so they aren't fertile.
I would imagine the smell of the tree would be fantastic,with all the spice trees.

[Jislizard]

Well I got my clove tree in the end!

I have had it for about a year and a bit now and it flowered for the first time last month. It is in a pot which should limit the hieght.

The cloves were microscopic as you would expect on a young plant but I crushed a few anyway and there was a very pungent clove smell so that bodes well for the future. I didn't harvest any of them so it looks like I might get some seeds out of the tree, I will throw them in some dirt and see how lucky I get.

I also found a cinammon seedling online somewhere so I picked one of those up. It struggled a bit for the first year but now it has really taken off, not enough to take cuttings from though.

Both trees are doing really well in North North Brisbane.

[Twiggy -Sacred Earth]

Hello I am seeking to grow most of these species listed in this thread:

Cinnamon Cinnamomum verum
CloveSyzygium aromaticum
NutmegMyristica fragransStar Anise Illicium verum
SandalwoodSantalum spicatum

If anyone can please guide me in the right direction for obtaining plants/established cuttings? If failing that even seeds would do.

I am in Speewah (Kuranda, hills of Cairns FNQ)

Thank you very much.

[Jislizard]

eBay.

I picked up a cinnamon tree, Clove tree and Sandalwood seeds all off eBay. Actually I think they came from Cairns.

I have had no luck sourcing Star Anise or Nutmeg at any of the nurseries where I can usually find anything.

The sandalwood has a very complicated life cycle, I think I have to find a tree for it to form a symbiotic relationship with so that is on the back burner for the moment. The cloves have done vry well well but my greenhouse was blown over last night and all my seeds are now somewhere in a big pile of dirt, none had germinated so I might get something from the mess. The cinammon hasn't flowered yet and it is three years old. It is coming up to the time to start cutting it back so I will probably try to air layer some of the branches before I prune it.