I was given a plant by one of my elderly clients (82yrs old). She told me it was a plant her husband bought because he liked the foliage…Right, UGP..(Unidentified Growing Plant, let alone Object..)…..
She told me it was an ornamental goosberry….Something I Have never HEARD of, as far as I was concerned, gooseberries, lovely fruit as they are, are small bushes which have evil thorns…..they are horrid plants..so I never for one minute ‘believed’ there was an ornamental one…
So I took to trolling the internet for months, and still could NOT identify this one..
Yesterday I had a brainwave…contact someone who actually knows plants…..and hey presto, without even sending pictures, just a vague description of the UGP to a fellow blogger, artyplantsman …….. the mystery has been solved.
Needless to say he is now my No.1 on my CSI list of identifying UGP’s….
I am very proud to announce I now have Another Male in my family…and he is called a ‘Chinese Goosberry’ – in laymans terms a kiwi fruit.
Actinidia Chinesis….the proper term for him……..
My next mission is finding him a lady friend……..
and doing a CSI to find the culprit that eats the leaves…no trace of snails, slugs or caterpilla’s…..mmmmm,
How the ‘Chinese gooseberry’ became a ‘kiwi fruit’….
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/the-chinese-gooseberry-becomes-the-kiwifruit
More facts and info on this plant…..
https://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Actinidia+chinensishttps
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=600
I never even thought to google ‘KIWI’ fruit, so never a day goes by that one does not learn something new…Thank you …. artyplantsman
Very happy to help. Love helping with queries like this and thank you for the plug! You turned the story into a great post too😊. Leaf damage is probably nocturnal so suggest popping out after dark with a torch. Suspect a moth caterpillar or maybe even adult vine weevil.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Am on it..with a torch… Thanks again..you now have me on a new mission…:)
LikeLiked by 2 people
Vine weevil are my arch enemy…..have topped most of my pots with gravel to discourage the little blighter’s……didn’t think of my new man in the FAM…:). Thanks..
LikeLiked by 1 person
The evil weevil is the arch enemy of anyone who grows stuff in pots!
LikeLiked by 1 person
How lovely that Darren could help with this! 😄
LikeLiked by 2 people
Well, well. Why does it not surprise me that Darren was able to solve this mystery. I am smiling imagining you in your PJ sneaking outside with a torch at night in search for an evil weevil.
LikeLiked by 1 person
AND…., I did exactly that, and the culprit was a big vine weevil beetle..it took a couple of nights to track the culprit down, but the funny thing is, instead of taking a torch AND ammunition, I only took a torch….so, when I spotted the little shit, I had to run to the back garden to grab the AK47 filled with deadly chemical warfare, ( friendly chemicals I might add, but still deadly to critters) and run back to the front…needless to say the little bugger had disappeared….So, I went into full on frontline attack, and sprayed EVERYTHING, including the pot, inside and out…..So Far, I haven’t seen another leaf that has a war wound from a chomping critter…Holding thumbs I won the war…….Gawd knows what the neighbours thought…. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hihi… This is funny. About what your neighbours thought of you: It all depends on the PJ you were wearing at the time. If it was a lace nightgown they probably thought you were a magnificent goddess warrior. But if you had one of those flapjacks with an animal face and a trapdoor, right where the sun don’t shine… Sorry to tell you this, but they probably thought you were a little crazy. 😄
LikeLiked by 1 person
Common mad and just plain simple…my middle name…ROFL…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha… Have a great day!
LikeLiked by 1 person
He’s a good man that Darren 😉 great post 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person