Lemon tree - Lamaiul

Simona a primit de ziua ei de nastere un lamai. Na, o data face omul 30 ani, nu-i asa? Si m-a rugat pe messenger sa vorbesc despre lamai. Eu m-am conformat.

Simona received a lemon tree as a gift for her birthday. Hey, once in a lifetime has a person 30 years, correct? And she asked me on messenger to talk about the lemon tree. I agreed.

"I wonder how
I wonder why
Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky
And all that I can see is just another lemon-tree
I'm turning my head up and down
I'm turning turning turning turning turning around
And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-tree
And I wonder, wonder"

Denumirea stiintifica a lamaiului este Citrus limon, care deriva de la cuvantul grecesc "kedromelon" - mar de cedru. Romanii au prescurtat denumirea la "citrus", care s-a pastrat la majoritatea popoarelor, cu mici modificari: citron - in franceza si ceha, citrom - in ungara, citros - in letona, Zitrone - germana.

Scientific name of the lemon tree is Citrus limon, came from greek word "kedromelon" - cedar apple. The Romans shortened the name into "citrus", and most of the languages kept this name with certain changes: citron - French and Czech, citrom - Hungarian, citros - Latvian, Zitrone - German.

Lamaiul, dupa cum bine stie toata lumea, face parte din familia citricelor si este o planta originara - se presupune - din India. Varianta de apartament este relativ micuta fata de cei 6 metri pe care aceasta planta ii are in mod normal.

The lemon tree, as you all know, is a part of the citrus family and is native - it presumes - from India. Apartment species is tiny comparing with the 6 m. tall this plant usually have.

Acum sa va spun lucruri pe care nu le stiti:
- exista un gen de lamai originar din padurile subtropicale din Australia care poate atinge si 20 metri inaltime. Acest soi se numeste Backhousia citriodora si a fost denumit asa de catre botanistul englez James Backhouse. Australienii folosesc frunzele la mancaruri cum ar fi pastele, peste, prajituri sau inghetata.

- lamaiul are proprietati antiseptice

- in zona mediteraneana a ajuns in jurul anului 1000

- Columb a avut si cateva seminte de lamai cand a ajuns in America

- carnea marinata inainte de preparare in suc de lamaie are un gust mult mai rafinat, iar pestele isi pierde mirosul caracteristic

- ati auzit de Limoncello? Este o bautura alcoolica realizata din lamai, foarte bine cunoscuta in Italia.

- datorita ph-ului scazut, sucul de lamai este antibacterial

- lamaia verde (lime) este o varietate des intalnita in zilele noastre si este din ce in ce mai apreciata.

- un japonez a realizat prin altoire un lamai care produce 11 fructe diferite

- in acest articol http://blog-director-de-gradinarit.blogspot.com/2009/05/vitaminele-din-fructe.html am scris despre vitaminele pe care fructele le contin. Veti regasi si lamaia in lista.

- Eva a furat un lamai din Paradis si l-a plantat in Menton, azi oras pe Coasta de Azur. Acolo, an de an, se organizeaza "Festivalul lamailor". Peste 600.000 de turisti din toata lumea viziteaza acest oras intr-un an, datorita acestui eveniment.

- cea mai mare lamaie din lume a cantarit 5,265 kg.


Let me tell you some things you don't know:
- a lemon tree species native from subtropical forests in Australia can reach even 20 m. height. This species' name is Backhousia citriodora and the name was given by English botanist James Backhouse. The Australians are using the leaves in cooked meals such as pasta, fish, cake or icecream.

- the lemon has antiseptical properties

- in the Mediteranean zone arrived around year 1000.

- Columb had a few lemon seeds when he arrived in America.

- marinaded meat in lemon juice before cooking has a better taste, and the fish loses the characteristic smell.

- have you heard about Limoncello? It is an alcoholic beverage made by fresh lemons, well-known in Italy.

- because of the low ph, lemon juice is antibacterial.

- the lime is a common species these days and is highly appreciated.

- a Japonese man graft a lemon tree and right now it produce 11 different fruits.

- in this article http://blog-director-de-gradinarit.blogspot.com/2009/05/vitaminele-din-fructe.html I talked about fruits vitamins. You will find the lemon among it.

- Eve stolen a lemon tree from Paradise and planted in Menton, today city in Cote d'Azur, France. There, year after year, the "Lemons' Festival" is held. Over 600.000 turists are visiting the city in a year because of this event.

- the biggest lemon in the world was 5,265 kg weight.

Fiind o planta care iubeste caldura, soarele si lumina constanta, trebuie sa va ganditi de doua ori inainte de a adopta sau a cumpara un lamai. Daca l-ati obtinut din seminte, va dura multi ani pana cand va ajunge la maturitate, cam 5-6, ca atare nu veti avea fructe prea curand. Daca este deja marisor, va puteti astepta ca in doi, trei ani, sa aveti fructe de-o limonada.

Being a plant that loves the heat, the sun and constant light, you should think twice before adopting or buying a lemon tree. If you obtained your plant from seeds, it will take 5 to 6 years for the plant to reach maturity, so you will not have any fruits anytime soon. If it is a small plant, you can expect that in 2-3 years to have fruits for a lemonade.

Pamantul trebuie sa fie amestecat cu nisip, pentru a mentine umiditatea necesara. Dupa cum spuneam, pentru ca iubeste lumina si caldura, va sfatuiesc sa alegeti o fereastra spre sud sau sud-est. Daca il scoateti afara vara, sa aveti grija ca noaptea sa nu fie sub 15 grade, pentru ca lamaiului nu-i place frigul.

The soil must be mixed up with sand to provide the needed humidity. As I was said before, because the lemon tree loves the light and the heat, I will advise you to chose a south or south-east window. If you are taking it out in the summer time, be careful to have over 15 Celsius degrees outside at night, because the lemon tree hates the cold.

In Romania, lamaiul este crescut pentru ornament, este frumos si miroase extraordinar.

In Romania, the lemon tree is ornamental because is beautiful and smells divine.

A whole new garden!! Mine! O gradina cu totul noua! A mea!

Sambata, o parte din gradina noastra s-a schimbat complet! Adica, Dani a cumparat 7 Thuja, 2 pini gen Jenupar, pitici, si a primit gratis 2 salcii crete. A muncit toata ziua sa le planteze, a plecat apoi si a cumparat 4 pietre mari, iar rezultatul il vedeti mai jos:

Saturday, a part of our garden changed completely! Dani bought 7 Thuja, 2 pines (resembles with Jenupar), small, and received 2 free curly willows. He worked all day to plant them, bought also 4 big stones, and you can see the result below:



Alt unghi

Another angle



Nu sunt superbi?

Arent't they gorgeous?



Salcia creata

Curly willow



Pinii si pietrele

The pines and the stones



Tot aranjamentul

The whole mini-garden



Iar acum... pun niste poze cu dezvoltarea plantelor si florilor. Inceput de aprilie, la noi in gradina:

And now, some pictures with the development of plants and flowers. At the beginning of the April, our garden:

Thuja



Magnolia



Trandafir

Rose



Crin salbatic

Wild lily



Cires

Cherry tree



Gutui

Quince tree



Cais

Apricot tree



Magnolia

Our new thuja! Noile noastre thuja!

Ieri dimineata ne-am marit colectia de thuja, de data aceasta cu 5 exemplare superbe, mari si frumoase.

Yesterday morning we increased our thuja collection, this time with 5 gorgeous plants, big and beautiful.

Pe acesta rotund l-am vrut in mod deosebit, pentru ca mi-a placut ideea unei plante rotunde, pentru ca era perfect pentru ghiveciul mare realizat de catre Dani (ajutat de tatal meu) si pentru ca nu am mai vazut pana acum.

This round thuja I particularly loved, because I love the idea of a round plant, because is perfect for my big wooden pot made by Dani (helped by my father), and because I didn't see a round thuja before.



Pozele le-am facut acum 10 minute, dar era o lumina foarte ciudata afara, de aceea s-ar putea sa nu va placa. Dar ideea este sa vedeti plantele, nu? :)

10 minutes ago I made the pictures, but it was a very strange light, so it's possible not to like them. But the idea is to see the plants, right? :)

Grupul celor 3! Ideea lui Dani este sa facem un "zid" de thuja, ca sa fie izolant fonic si sa tina praful la distanta de intrarea in casa.

G3 group! Dani's idea is to make a thuja "wall", to sound isolate and to keep the dust away from our main entrance.



Thuja cea mare, plantata de catre Dani langa pin, aproape de foisor. E superba si imi place foarte mult!

The big thuja, planted by Dani near the pine, close to the garden wooden tower. It's gorgeous and I love it!



Thuja a devenit o planta foarte iubita si in Romania, mai ales in parcuri si in gradinile publice, dar si in gradinile particulare. Aspectul sau decorativ si faptul ca este mereu verde ii face pe multi sa o cumpere, sa o ingrijeasca si sa o iubeasca.

Thuja became a very popular plant in Romania (and loved), planted in parks and public gardens, also in private gardens. Its decorative nature and the fact is always green makes a lot of people to buy it, to care for it and to love it.

Cea mai cunoscuta specie de thuja este Thuja occidentalis si este originara din sudul Canadei si nordul Statelor Unite. Are talie inalta (10-15 metri), cu forma piramidala. Este foarte rezistenta la temperaturile scazute, la seceta si suporta tunderea, spre deosebire de alte variante de thuja.

Thuja occidentalis is a very well-known species and it's native south Canada and north USA. It's a tall plant (10-15 m), pyramidal shape. It's resistent to low temperatures, drought and can be cut, unlike other species.

Carolus Linnaeus a descris aceasta planta in 1753, iar numele i-a ramas pana astazi. Alte nume comune: Eastern Arborvitae, American Arborvitae, Techny Arborvitae sau simplu Arborvitae.

Carolus Linnaeus described this plant in 1753 and the name remains current. Common names: Eastern Arborvitae, American Arborvitae, Techny Arborvitae, or just Arborvitae.

Thuja orientalis face parte din familia Cupressaceae si este originara din China si Japonia. Era denumita arbor vitae, adica arborele vietii de catre vechii alchimisti ai Evului Mediu. Grecii, egiptenii si chinezii il foloseau in arta terapeutica de acum 3.000 ani. Insusi regele Solomon (il stiti, cel cu judecata dreapta lui Solomon) a construit templu din Ierusalim din piatra si lemn de thuja.

Thuja orientalis is a part of Cupressaceae family and it's native China and Japan. The ancient alchemists from the Middle Ages gave it the name "arbor vitae", that means life's tree. The Greeks, the Egyptians and the Chinese used it in therapeutical art since 3.000 years ago. Solomon himself (you know him, the one with the Solomon's judgement) built the Jerusalem temple out of stone and thuja wood.

Unele femei folosesc rasina proaspata fara sa stie acest lucru. Cu ajutorul ei se fac anumite creme impotriva celulitei.

Some women use the fresh thuja pitch without knowing this. You can find it in some cellulite cream.